Meet the Qrafties: Chiara Degan, Artisan behind Bubbles and Spells

5 Mins Read

Chiara Degan is an Italian artisan based in Hong Kong. Chiara started her handmade journey with making bath bombs and sugar scrubs and gradually expand her skill and knowledge on making Cold Process Soaps. “I am very picky as to what I want in them so I spent my time creating products with natural ingredients and testing to make sure it is providing the benefits that I am looking for.” says Chiara. Her aim is to combine the Italian soap tradition with technique in other countries. Outside of her handmade work, Chiara is a proud mama of two and a fellow animal lover. She also enjoys hiking and observing nature in Hong Kong.

When and how did you start your handmade journey?

I have had a passion for body products, essences and natural ingredient for as long as I can remember. The art of soap making in Italy is passed on from one generation to the next. Before moving to Hong Kong with my family, I worked as a flight attendant and I was lucky enough to travel and learn about different body care traditions. I was fascinated by the Japanese beauty products. I have learnt a lot from the Ayurveda approach with the use of herbal and essence ingredients in India. I also find the millenary tradition of Arabian soaps such as Aleppo soaps and the American handmade bath bombs very interesting. Few years ago, I wasn’t happy about the body care products I found and I wasn’t sure where to get what I want in Hong Kong. I then decided to make my own for my kids and myself. I was a full time mother and had the great opportunity to make good use of my free time to do what I enjoy. I mixed my own skills in soap making and attended courses to learn about Japanese soap tradition. People started asking for my products and I then eventually started the adventure to run my own business. I was so happy to be appreciated and to contribute to household expenses.

I am very conscious about the environment and creating zero waste products. My aim is to minimise the use of plastic and I’m happy that lots of my finest products like shampoo, conditioner, deodorants, soaps and body lotions are eco friendly and plastic free. I am a firm believer in self care and I put my love into creating high-quality, handmade creations that are made in small-batches for everyone who loves unique products.

What do you enjoy the most about hand-making?

I love the chemicals. Indeed! I love the magic in working with raw ingredients like powders, oils and batters and creating something completely different and useful. Isn’t this like magic? When I work with my ingredients to create soaps, I disconnect from the outside world and focus on my work. What draws me is the texture of the soap batter, the lightness of the clay powder and the smell of fragrances and essential oils. Some of my favourite scents are lavender, will musk and patchouli. I love mixing them with sweet orange, vanilla and frangipani. I also love bright colours and all things sparkly. My themes are often mystical such as unicorns, mermaids and fairies. I like creating bakery themed products as well. I can spend hours to decorate a bath bomb or a soap bar and sometimes people tell me that they are too beautiful to use.

As a Mother of two, how do you find balance between family, work and your personal time?

I have a recipe for all or almost all but not for life balance. My family comes first and my monthly schedule is based on kids activities: school, extra curricular activities, sports and friends. Once everything is settled, I focus on my work: new collections, customer orders, new products, testing, checking and orderIng new ingredients, packaging and creatIng labels among other things. Sometimes I might need to take up less work to take care of my kids and I’m ok with it. I tried to squeeze some time out for myself (maybe not too often) as I think it is important to have some me time out of all the responsibilities. I need these moments to recharge and connect to myself. This gives me the energy to take care of my family and continue with my work.

What is success to you?

Success to me is a combination of different things: Achieving good result after many failures (and I know what it means), receiving positive reviews and getting a hug from a child because he had his favourite bath bomb ever. Success for me is also about being able to accomplish a dozen things in a day without loosing control. I am proud of myself when my children are happy and when they have had a good day. There are good and bad days and it is about learning from our mistakes and not to be deterred by difficulties. If you can build a life that you are happy to live in, you are a successful person.

Share with us a time when a customer’s feedback touched your heart.

I am over the moon when customers are satisfied with my products and find time to tell me. One of the feedback that touches my heart comes from a super mum. Her son has Autism and the bath experience he had with my creations was amazing. He enjoyed the colours, the scents and reactions of the bath bombs in the water. She told me that it was great for her son’s sensory processing disorder. Being a mother can be overwhelming and I know how important it is to provide moments of joy, relaxation and fun to our children. The sincere smile of a happy child is invaluable.

What do you enjoy the most in Hong Kong?

I am so grateful to live in Hong Kong. It is incredible how many interests you can find in this city. As much as I love the downtown with its lights, colours and breathless view, I prefer to live in Lantau, my beautiful green island. I enjoy the peacefulness, the long white beaches and the thousands of trails in Lantau. I love hiking with friends and lost myself in the wild nature. I am a flower hunter! I have to take pictures of every flowers and plants I met along the way. I am also on a Dragon Boat team, the Renegates Dragon with 22 amazing women from all over the world. We practiced in Stanley, a bit out of the way from my place but it is worth it! Sometimes I need a little carefreeness as well! I’m so lucky to spend sparkling evening with my lovely girlfriends and enjoy the night with a glass of wine.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

The best piece of advice came from my creative friends: “Do what you love!” In our work, we tent to indulge the trend of the moment and the risk is conform to mass production losing the uniqueness of the handmade products. This is why I create what I love and what I feel as my own. I know that this means some products are not those preferred by the customer but I am happy to take the risk to not given up the reason I create Bubbles&Spells: I want my personality to shine though my creations.

Many makers spend a lot of time creating alone. Do you think it is important to be in a community too?

Community is all! I truly believe in community power and support. I work alone and cannot be different. I’m very picky and I must have total control of the whole creative process. If I have a project in my mind, I must pursuit it with no interference. I am always hard with myself and I consider producing my products massly would not be the same. This is why I preferred to be the only one involved in the making process. Having said that, I rely on creative community like other entrepreneur mums and small business owners. It’s difficult to stand out In the market and the community helps each other out such providing advices and business tips with each others. We sometime do combined shipping on common ingredients and tools order to save cost. Qraftie is another good example of what community means: a place to find many talented artisans with unique pieces and a diverse selection of artwork. Above all, the community help you to never give up. We can have tough time where business is slow or we can’t find our inspiration. Sometimes we just need a friendly chat or a sincere compliment and the creative community in Hong Kong is a key resource.

What is next for you?

I am setting up workshops for children and adults. It is a project that I have been thinking about for a long time. I wanted to share with people about the process of handmade products, and how traditional soaps are made as well as introduce them to raw ingredients, natural components, and eco-friendly products. I would like to organise private pampering days where we make bath bombs, bubble bars, and sugar scrubs together and people can make their own creations based on their needs. Because of this special time, I had to postpone this activity till a better time.

WORDS FROM OUR FOUNDER

“Chiara joined Qraftie as a seller at our pre-launched stage. We first met at a local market where she shared with me her wide range of creations. I can feel her passion during our first conversation and I am inspired by how organised she is despite being a mother of two and running her own business. Chiara has been an engaging member of the Qraftie Community and she always appreciates other Qraftie sellers’ creative works. I find Chiara to be a very positive and collaborative person. I look forward to seeing Chiara grow her passion together with other members of the Qraftie Community. And as a fellow dragon boat paddler, I think it would be fun if we can paddle together for a race one day.”

Thank you for being an appreciative reader as always. Meet the Qrafties is a series of Qraftie sellers’ stories, sharing with you the passion and hard work behind the creative works you see in their Qraftie stores. If you enjoy reading this blog post, please share it with your family and friends. Stay tuned on our next Meet the Qrafties story.

August 2020

Meet the Qrafties: Chiara Degan, Bath Bombs and Soap Maker in Hong Kong

WORDS FROM OUR FOUNDER