Nautilus Swirl Winners
May 2024 Soap Challenge
The Nautilus swirl is derived from the Ocean Waves swirl created by Etsuko Watanabe of Primadonna in Japan. What I appreciate about this adaptation on Avant Studio‘s YouTube channel is that the name “nautilus” opens up more possibilities for colors. You can learn how I made this Starry Night version in the video and written tutorial, now available in our Tutorial Shop!
Our sponsor is Nurture Soap, providing $100 gift certificates for the grand prize winners in each of the competitive categories, as well as the Sponsor’s Choice prize in the bonus category, and 20% off coupon codes for second and third place winners in the competitive categories.
Nurture Soap is a small company dedicated to bringing you the very best in soap making supplies. The owner, Carrie Jack, has been making soap and bath and body care products since 2004. Every single product has been stringently tested by her with a soap maker’s perspective. They make many items in-house and shop and buy local whenever possible. Every product offered is ethically sourced. There is not one aspect of the company that has not been touched with care and concern for people, the earth, and the environment!
This challenge has been completely blind, so no names were attached to the entries until now, and no one was allowed to post anything on the internet about their soaps, so if you’d like to find more information about these soaps, check #soapchallengeMay2024! The links go to Instagram or Facebook profiles for those that have them. The photos are not linked to specific posts about the soaps.
Winners Category
Grand Prize
VooDoo
Second Place
Blue Lagoon
Third Place
Golden Nautilus
Recognition Awards
Best Technique
Criteria Swirls are fluid, symmetrical and consistent
Name Will Baczek
Location Massachusetts
Link Instagram
Waveberry Nautilus
Best Presentation
Criteria Well displayed soap with interesting presentation and excellent photography (focus, lighting, etc)
Name Maria Merle
Location Germany
Link Instagram
Spring is Coming
Best Use of Color
Watermelon Mojito
Advanced Category
Grand Prize
Seavolution
Recognition Awards
Best Technique
Criteria Swirls are fluid, symmetrical and consistent
Name Amy Bruederle
Location Illinois
Link Instagram
Apple-Kazam!
Best Presentation
Criteria Well displayed soap with interesting presentation and excellent photography (focus, lighting, etc)
Name Hayley Moeller
Location Australia
Link Instagram
Squid Ink
Best Use of Color
Finding Nemo
Regular Category
Grand Prize
Name Alyson Brandt
Location Wisconsin
Prize $100 gift certificate
Penelope
Second Place
Name Richard Heinichen
Location Texas
Prize 20% off coupon code
Flight
Third Place
Name Jamie Ikemoto
Location Arizona
Prize 20% off coupon code
Spring Swirl
Recognition Awards
Best Technique
Criteria Swirls are fluid, symmetrical and consistent
Name Evelyn Blommestein
Location Canada
Link Instagram
Nautilus Pompilius
Best Presentation
Criteria Well displayed soap with interesting presentation and excellent photography (focus, lighting, etc)
Name Jennifer Mason
Location California
Link Instagram
My Cup of Tea
Best Use of Color
Sanibel
Bonus Category
Sponsor’s Choice
Name April Nandico
Location New Hampshire
Link Instagram
Prize $100 gift certificate
Feedback “There were so many great entries to choose from, and it made this choice a little difficult! In the end, I kept coming back to the Old Book of Wisdom. The swirls were great, but the details sold me. The soap was carved to look like a book, the pages were defined, and wisdom was stamped on the spine. So cute! I wish this book were real. I want it!” -Carrie Jack
Old Book of Wisdom
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, check out these links. The names are now attached. Just click on the title of the entry to see them.
Registration for the June through August challenges opens Monday, June 3! We’ll be doing Spin Swirls in June. Check out the Upcoming Challenges page for more information about the July and August challenges and sign up to be notified as soon as registration opens.
Here is the soap I made for the June tutorial using the Groot mold with silicone liner and Caterpillar cutting station from our sponsor Custom Craft Tools (P.S. Everyone who signs up for June will receive a 10% off coupon code for anything sitewide from CCT!!):
