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

Name Sayani Biswas

Location Texas

Link Instagram

Prize personalized custom soap mold

Fire and Water

Second Place

Name Teri Endsley

Location Indiana

Link Instagram

Prize 30% off coupon code – Tutorial Steso Soap

Chasing Butterflies

Third Place

Name Maura Yurkins

Location Florida

Link Instagram

Prize 20% off coupon code – Tutorial Steso Soap

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

Name Yumi Mori

Location Japan

Link Instagram

Prize personalized custom soap mold

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

Name Rachel Havener

Location Virginia

Link Instagram

Prize personalized custom soap mold

Tea with a Twist

Second Place

Name Joyce Ortiz

Location Canada

Link Instagram

Prize 30% off coupon code – Tutorial Steso Soap

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.