Darren Jorgensen

In Beyond Beginners: Advanced Soapmaking for the Rest of Us, author Darren Jorgensen gives his considerable soapmaking knowledge to us. A soapmaker for many years, Jorgensen knows the ins and outs of making soap - including using all kinds of alternative liquids and additives that change a good soap into a great soap.

In Book One, Jorgensen concentrates on the art and craft of soapmaking. Here he details all kinds of information that will help not only the novice soapmaker but the considerably more advanced soapmaker will find lots to chew on, too.

In Book Two of Beyond Beginners: Advanced Soapmaking for the Rest of Us, Jorgensen takes us through "Exercises" that teach us how to not only make a perfect layered soap, but also how to work with all kinds of alternate liquids and additives.

From foodstuffs to coffee grounds, from liquid goat milk to powdered goat milk, Jorgensen teaches us how to work some of the harder elements of advanced soapmaking.

But it's not just his recipes - or exercises as he calls them - but his prose on the soapmaking world and how to navigate its many pitfalls. Whereas in Book One he teaches so much about soapmaking as a craft and an art, in Book Two he teaches so much about soapmaking as a business.

From farmers markets to craft fairs, from trade shows to medium-scale clients, Jorgensen adds his observations, his critique and his helpful advice.

BOOK ONE REVIEW: "Great book. It is a must read for soap makers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it extremely helpful." - Nancy Perkins