Circling Taiwan Swirl Winners
April 2023 Soap Challenge
We re-visited the Circling Taiwan swirl, a technique that the Club did back in January 2016. The crisp lines and repeating patterns are highly satisfying and easily accomplished by beginners and advanced soapmakers alike.
The goal of the challenge this month was to create fluid swirls with crisp and even swirl lines between contrasting colors throughout the entire soap. Members had to use at least two vertical dividers and were allowed to incorporate as many colors as they liked.
Tatsiana Serko of Creative Soap by Steso is spoiling our winners with her custom handmade soap molds with personalized engravings! Second and third place winners are receiving coupon codes for her soap tutorial website, and she has chosen multiple Sponsor’s Choice winners as well.
Congratulations to all our winners!!
Winners Category
Grand Prize
Fire and Water
Second Place
Chasing Butterflies
Third Place
The Flame
Recognition Awards
Best Technique
Criteria Fluid swirls with crisp and even swirl lines and a contrasting color palette
Name Peech Keller
Location Colorado
Link Instagram
Fireside
Best Presentation
Criteria Well displayed soap with interesting presentation and excellent photography (focus, lighting, etc)
Name Rachel Casamassa
Location California
Link Instagram
Psychedelic Summer
Best Use of Color
Criteria Well-mixed colors in a beautiful, contrasting palette
Name Will Baczek
Location Massachusetts
Link Instagram
Springtime
Advanced Category
Grand Prize
Green Taiwan
Second Place
Name Marty Johnson
Location Minnesota
Link Instagram
Prize 30% off coupon code – Tutorial Steso Soap
Blue Skies
Third Place
Name Silke Johns
Location United Kingdom
Link Instagram
Prize 20% off coupon code – Tutorial Steso Soap
Birds of Paradise
Recognition Awards
Best Technique
Criteria Fluid swirls with crisp and even swirl lines and a contrasting color palette
Name Barbara Tietz
Location Germany
Link Instagram
Harmony
Best Presentation
Criteria Well displayed soap with interesting presentation and excellent photography (focus, lighting, etc)
Name Dani Demyen
Location California
Link Instagram
Coachella
Best Use of Color
Criteria Well-mixed colors in a beautiful, contrasting palette
Name Nicole Strayer
Location California
Link Instagram
Casual Vibes
Regular Category
Grand Prize
Tea with a Twist
Second Place
Cosmic Lava
Third Place
Name Tricia Rismiller
Location Ohio
Link none
Prize 20% off coupon code – Tutorial Steso Soap
Taiwan Taipei
Recognition Awards
Best Technique
Criteria Fluid swirls with crisp and even swirl lines and a contrasting color palette
Name Elin Önnerlöv
Location Sweden
Link none
No Name Inspiration Soap
Best Presentation
Criteria Well displayed soap with interesting presentation and excellent photography (focus, lighting, etc)
Name Alexandra Bastille-Lavoie
Location Canada
Link none
Orchid Swirl
Best Use of Color
Criteria Well-mixed colors in a beautiful, contrasting palette
Name Jeanette Galindo
Location California
Link Instagram
Ha’aheo
Bonus Category
Note from our sponsor: When Amy said I needed to choose one entry in the bonus category before the next evening, I thought I would do it fast. But when I saw all these beautiful works – OMG! I realized it would be hard. I needed to select only one favorite, but I marked 4 entries.
In addition to the prize mold I created for this category, I have decided to gift one mold from my personal stock (I didn’t plan it, but it’s beyond my strength) and recognize my other two favorites as well.
Congratulations to the winners and I want to say thank you to all the participants for such excellent work. You all did a great job!
Sponsor’s Choice #1
Name Wan-Ting Gonzalez
Location California
Link Instagram
Prize personalized custom soap mold
Feedback “I know how hard it is to make bright swirls in soap without a main white color. Nevertheless the soap is very bright and 8 colors – it was risky. But risk pays off. Perfect swirls, great color matching and impressive number of colors. And beautiful soap texture and presentation. ” -Tatiana
Rainbow Village
Sponsor’s Choice #2
Name Leah Stinman
Location California
Link Instagram
Prize personalized custom soap mold
Feedback “Stunning, natural shades. Perfectly blend with each other. In addition, perfect soap texture and presentation.” -Tatiana
Poppy
Honorable Mention #1
Name Diane Seimetz
Location Texas
Link Instagram
Feedback “Strange swirls and I like everything strange. In addition I like gradation. ” -Tatiana
Neonpolitan
Honorable Mention #2
Name Melanie McNeice
Location Australia
Link Instagram
Feedback “I would choose the same colors if I do soap using this technique. It came out very gentle, lovely soap texture and great presentation.” -Tatiana
Citrus Twist
Great job to all our winners, as well as everyone else who participated in the challenge this month! If you would like to see the rest of the entries this month, check out these links:
Registration for the May through August challenges opens Monday, May 1. We have some exciting techniques coming up! Check out the Upcoming Challenges page for more information and sign up to be notified as soon as registration opens.