The Tailored Soap “Origin Story”
The first soaps
In 2013, we stumbled upon some glycerin soap base while we were at a craft store. We didn’t know this was a thing, but when we tried it out, we were hooked!
For the first soaps we made, we used some tea light holders for molds, and added som herbs to one soap, and sprinkles to another!
Advancing quickly
After the first test round, and committing to actual supplies and molds, things escalated – and soon we were making cold process soaps from scratch in our apartment!
In 2015 we realized that we didn’t have enough hands to use all the soap we made, and started selling on Etsy.
Full time gigÂ
In 2016 we both finished our bachelor degrees, and I started working on Tailored Soap full time. We moved back to Stavanger after 3 years in Oslo, and I got my own soap making studio! 2016 was an amazing year for Tailored Soap, and we got featured by several big names, including Buzzfeed, who thankfully have shared our products quite a few times over the years.
Launching our own online shop
In 2017 we moved to a new location, and built a soap making studio from scratch just the way we wanted it! In early 2017 INSIDER reached out, and asked if they could make a video about our shop. We happily agreed, filmed and sent all of the shots that they wanted.
While we were out eating dinner to celebrate our 6 year anniversary as a couple, we got the message telling us that the video was live on INSIDER BEAUTY. We didn’t see it until it had been up for 40 minutes, and it already had a few hundred thousand views. A whirlwind of orders and new followers followed, and the video has been seen more than 10 million times. After that a local newspaper and TV channel did interviews.
August 1st we launched our own shop outside Etsy. The year continued with features from Buzzfeed, Fox News and more, and we even got invited to be the guest exhibitor at a Norwegian festival/faire, where we won an Entrepreneur of the Year award!
Production mode
2018 was the year when we launched a record number of new products, and our shop grew substantially. We launched more than 100 products, or relaunched almost as many with either new designs or packaging. INSIDER made another video in august, this time for the launch of our Galaxy bath bombs. The video was seen over 2 million times and we hit a new record of sales for a launch!
New packaging
In 2019 we focused on improving our products and packaging! We launched some new products and made our production even more environmentally friendly. We also did a record number of popup shops. It was a great year, as it was also the year we got married!Â
We are so excited to see what the next year brings, and we look forward to growing with you!
Who’s behind Tailored Soap?
Marte Ravn Tovik
Owner and creative
Marte is the one who makes it happen every day. She knows everything, and is amazing at customer service too – so you should look forward to reaching out to us!
Christopher Espeland Aitken
Husband, Marketing and IT
Christopher makes sure that all the pieces of running an online shop fits together. If you have any questions regarding our online store – he’s your guy!