The Nova Studio Blog

You gotta love the internet!

If you have 5 minutes, check out this link to a video to watch a soap bar turn into a soap flower. Pretty cool.

Description: The street artists of the Night Market in Chiang Mai, Thailand carve flowers out of soap bars. This video shows how a flower is carved from a single bar of soap

The March Calendar of Classes is now on-line! We have one brand new class, Polaroid Image Transfer with Angela Silva and several others that don’t show up on the calendar as often like Knit a Hat Series (learn to use double-pointed needles) and Learn to Use Your Sewing Machine (or sewing 101).

Our February Class Calendar is now on-line! We have several new Valentine’s Day Themed classes to choose from, a Girlfriend Spa Day, Valentine’s Day Bath & Body Gift Making Class, and a Valentine’s Theme Beeswax Collage Class. We also have a Mother & Daughter (ages 6-12) Spa Day if you are looking for an alternative activity just for the “girls” on Superbowl Sunday.

Well, that’s all she wrote for 2005. Spending my last few minutes of the year researching soap on-line (my favorite past time when i’m not teaching product making), I came across an interesting article about bath & body industry trends on SoapWire - here’s an excerpt:

In the course of 2005 many manufacturers started to highlight the natural and organic ingredients in their cosmetic and toiletry products, a trend that should increase all the more next year. In particular, baby personal care products have become a major part of this move, with product lines from major players such as Johnson & Johnson featuring natural ingredients, together with smaller US player Jason, which also launched an organic baby care product range this year. Added to this experts also believe that bath, shower and hair care products will also become key products to include natural and organic ingredients as a part of formulations during the coming year.

This is good news for people like me (and possibly you) who make natural products - as evidence that people are learning about the benefits of natural ingredients. It’s nice to know that there will be more natural products on the market. For the sake of our health (and the planet’s health), let’s hope it continues.

Interested in volunteering at The Nova Studio? Give the gift of your time through our new Volunteer Program. There are many opportunities to help out and get your creative fix. Everything from window displays to packaging natural products to office/computer work to brainstorming new class ideas to dishes. =)

Although volunteer positions are non-paid, you will receive a small amount of class credit for the hours you work. We are currently in need of several volunteers, each able to help out approximately 5 hours per week. You will be rewarded with good feelings that come about while helping others. Help take The Nova Studio to the next level!

Brand new at The Nova Studio - Mother and Daughter Spa Days with Joan Morais. We had our first one last weekend and the feedback so far is excellent. We just scheduled two new dates (one in January, and one in February on Superbowl Sunday) and I just added them to the website. The first class is Luxurious Body Pampering and the second is Herbal Spa Facials. The age range for these classes is 6 - 14. We will have another date set soon for ages 14 up through adult. Visit the website www.thenovastudio.com for more information or call 510-234-5700.

“Beeswax collage is fun and addictive. Diane had everything ready to go, so we could start creating right away. The class was relaxing and creatively stimulating.” - Allison Torres

“It was great fun at the needle felting class on Sunday. Fun, exciting and it gave me Great Ideas! - Angela Valente Romeo

“I loved the bath salts & salt scrubs class! The hands-on experience, the tips & printed resources… As a beginner, the class was very informative and easy to follow. Thank you so much. I will definitely make more and give them away as Christmas gifts!” - Anonymous from Survey on 11/9/05

“The candle making private party for Hannah’s 12th birthday was an unqualified success. They loved every minute at the nova studio and the food and service at your husband’s restaurant (Rosamaria’s Cafe) were perfect! I can’t thank you enough. I’m sure you will see many of the girls around holiday time. Thanks again!!!” - Deborah, Michael and Hannah