An artisan creating comforts for body and soul

As autumn days grow darker and colder, many of us pine for summer, just like Shawna Villalvazo.

- MARLENE FARRELL

“A couple of years ago I stood in my shop wishing I could be out by the river in summer,” she said. “I wanted the warmth, so I went to my soap pot and mixed up all the scents I remembered.”

The result was Naked by the River, one of the most popular soaps sold in Shawna’s shop, The Bubblery, in Leavenworth.

Speckled with clay and sea salt, this turquoise soap has a sweet but earthy bouquet from a combination of apple, sweet grass, and mint.

Each of the body care products in The Bubblery, from Moonflower and Sunset in Bali to drunken Pear and Wild Pumpkin Fig, may entice a customer by fulfilling a sensory and nostalgic longing.

Inventing new soaps, lotions, and bath fizzers is Shawna’s favorite part of her work. “My research includes walking outdoors, looking at the sky and foliage on the ground or craving a particular dessert, and then finding how these items can be made into a soap or body care product.”

Her work area is full of dozens of bottles and jars, containing kitchen ingredients such as turmeric, rosemary, ground ginger, and coconut sugar, and lots of herbs like calendula and rose petals, and lavender, as well as a variety of essential oils.