Posted by admin | Posted in Miniature | Posted on 12-06-2009
Tags: art, community, design, flash, writing
Looking For Original Handmade Early ? Then This is Where You Want to Be
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 EAST OF INDIA NEW WOOD SAIL BOAT STARS AND STRIPES USA  US $6.31
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 EAST OF INDIA NEW WOODEN FLAG UNION JACK ENGLAND ROYAL US $4.73
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 Washington DC Early Century Street Poster Oil Painting US $309.99
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 Floating Market In Italy Original Canvas Oil Painting US $309.99
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 Early Century Village Center Original Art Oil Painting US $309.99
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 Early Century Streets In Italy Original Oil Painting US $309.99
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 Early Century Square In Italy Original Oil Painting US $309.99
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 Early Century Seaport In Italy Original Art Painting US $309.99
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 Early Century City View Original Canvas Oil Painting US $309.99
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 PAIRS 15M FINE NEW CHINA BELLY DANCE 100 SILK FANS US $21.99
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 BESPOKE GENUINE DICHROIC FUSED GLASS PENDANT HAND MADE US $3.15
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 15M PAIRS HAND MADE BELLY DANCE 100 SILK FANS 66666 US $21.99
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 15M PAIRS HAND MADE BELLY DANCE 100 SILK FANS 888888 US $21.99
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 Walter BOSSE Beautiful CHAMOIS Hagenauer era Bronze US $69.99
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 15M PAIRS HAND MADE BELLY DANCE 100 SILK FANS 999999 US $21.99
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 4 NEW FOAM AIR FILTERS FILTER SUZUKI RM125 2004 TO 2007 US $31.49
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 HAND MADE BLACK BELLY DANCE HIP SCARF WITH TASSEL 363 US $10.99
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 ★★★★baroque style Song master flames violin 3 4 4176 US $275.00
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 Antique Coffin Shaped Smooth Plane Circa 1800 Unsigned Unsigned Steel US $85.00
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 HAND MADE BLACK BELLY DANCE HIP MESH SCARF 365 US $9.99
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 Q719 PURPLE TOP TUNIC DRESS MADE 2 ORDER 1X 2X 3X US $25.99
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Soap Story: How the World Cleaned Up Its Act
The earliest reports of the use of soap-like substances come from India where Hindus were obliged to bathe everyday and did so using the powdered Reeta nut (also known as soapbutter and soapnut). This plant contains saponion, a natural detergent (which is also contained by many other plants), hence its use as a cleaning product.
There are also records of ancient Egyptians using combined animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to create a soap-like material which they used for bathing and early soaps were also made by Muslim chemists during medieval Islamic times in Palestine, Iraq and Iran - where both solid and liquid perfumed soaps were made.
Though nowadays soap is manufactured on an industrial scale, there are also many small scale producers of handmade soup and there is an increasing interest in these as they are considered to be of a higher quality as well as a more interesting alternative to mass-produced bars. Such is the growing interest in handmade soaps, that in 1998 the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild was formed by a small group of enterprising soap makers. Their mission is to 'promote the handcrafted soap industry', and make the 'joys of handcrafted soap more widely known to the general public'.
The handmade soap industry is wide and diverse, incorporating a massive variety of original ideas into a single bar of soap. There are an infinite number of shapes, colours and aromas. In fact, when it comes to making soap the only limit is the imagination; from gin and tonic soap, to goat milk soap; from Citrus-Balsam soap to Cucumber-Melon soap - the world of soap-making resembles an ice cream parlour with its endless range of varieties.
You might wonder why you would want to buy handmade soap when you can pick up a generic white bar from your local supermarket for less money. Well, in this age of environmental and ethical concern, there is a strong feeling that handmade soap is more natural and therefore less damaging for the environment and a better product to use on the body too. Industrially made soap tends to have most of the glycerine removed, (glycerine is a moisturising fat) and therefore can leave skin feeling dried out whereas natural handmade soap can restore moisture to the skin. Others like the vast choice and individuality and luxury that handmade soap offers and are also keen to support a niche industry.
So, rather than choose a mass produced generic soap, maybe it's time you cleaned up your act and started to explore the wonderful world of handmade soap.
About the Author
Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.