with the beautiful soaps made by L'art du Bain.
I was first attracted to L'art du Bain because of their beautiful packaging and images, and since then have become a fan of the product as well.
Beautiful soaps, as far as I am concerned, fall into the same category as flowers and candles:
life's little {affordable} luxuries that can soften the edges after a long day.
And these products and their makers tick all the right boxes
along with a passion for design,
&
integrity of production
I asked Elsa Maanaoui, one of the founders of the company a few questions - make sure you read
right till the end
otherwise you won't know how to put yourself in the running for the
GIVEAWAY
of an L'art du Bain giftbox!
oh - and by the way , not only is this my first giveaway,
but it is also my first bi-lingual blog attempt
so please be forgiving as you read!
Q1: Tell us a little about yourself and
who is involved in L'art du Bain?
Je m'appelle Elsa, j'ai 33 ans, j'ai
passé mes 5 première
s années à Rabat avant de rentrer en France mais le Maroc
n'a jamais quitté mon coeur et je suis revenue vivre à Marrakech lorsque que
j'ai rencontré Youssef mon mari. Nous travaillons ensemble lui à la vente et à la sérigraphie des
packaging, moi à la savonnerie avec sa soeur ,Myriam. Ma cousine Elodie vient
de rejoindre l'équipe en s'occupant de notre site en France :
nyushashop.com
My name is Elsa and I’m 33
years old – I lived in Rabat for 5 years before returning to France, but
Morocco never left my heart and I returned to live in Marrakech when I met
Youssef, my husband. We work together now, with Youssef focusing on the sales
and the design and printing of the packaging, while I, along with Youssefs sister Miriam,
work on the soap and production. My cousin Elodie has joined the team now and
takes care of our website in France :
nyushashop.com
Q2: What made you decide to create artisanale
soap in Marrakech?
Quand nous nous sommes mariés, je
finissais mes études en France, Youssef m'a rejoint une année mais nous savions
que notre avenir serait au Maroc. Nous voulions un projet nouveau et qui nous
permettrait d'être créatif. Nous avons choisi la savonnerie presque par hasard,
mais comme si c'était un signe du destin dès que l'idée fut trouvée nous
avons tout de suite trouvé un savonnier
qui a accepté de nous former. Nous sommes parti pour le Maroc l'été suivant,
nous avons mis toutes nos affaires et notre chat dans notre voiture, l'aventure a commencé, avec presque rien!
When we got married I was
finishing my studies in France, and Youssef joined me there for a year, but we
knew that our future would be in morocco. We wanted to start a new project, one
that would allow us to be creative – we decided on soap almost by accident, but
it felt right, like destiny, because once we had the idea we immediately found
a soapmaker (savonnier) who agreed to train us.
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| yes . . . this is soap!! |
Q3:I love your packaging and design - it
is what drew me to your product.
Can you tell us a little about the inspiration
behind it.
Youssef
a eu il y a quelques année un coup de foudre pour la sérigraphie , il a
monté un petit atelier artisanal. Nous avons décidé de nous servir de ce savoir
faire pour la savonnerie, et l'idée des zelliges nous ai venu en Espagne, en
visitant la Mezquita de Cordoue, car c'est l'un des symboles du monde arabe
d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, le graphisme est très actuel bien que les dessins que
nous avons choisi datent pour certains de plus de 500 ans!
Youssef has always been passionate about screen printing and so he set up a small artisanale
workshop. We decided to use this knowledge for the soap making project along with the inspiration and
idea of the zelliges that we drew from visiting the Mezquita in Cordoba, which
seemed right as it is a symbol of the Arab world of yesterday and of today, and
the designs feel very contemporary even though some of them date back to more
than 500 years!
Q4:What makes your soap special?
Nous fabriquons nos savons de A à Z, par
la méthode à froid, (cold process) qui permet de travailler de matières
premières de premier choix, de garder la glycérine qui se fabrique
naturellement lors du processus et de faire
des savons surgras, respectueux et adaptés à notre peau.Nous les
enrichissons avec tout ce que le Maroc met à notre disposition de matières
naturelles, lait de chamelle, d'ânesse, huile d'argent, miel etc..
We
make our soap from start to finish, using the cold process of production which
allows us to work with raw materials of the finest quality and to maintain the glycerine that is created
naturally in this process, which is gentle and nourishing for your skin. We
enrich this with all the natural materials that Morocco has to offer, camel and
asses milk, argon oil, honey.
Q5): What is the best part for you of
creating this product?
Le découpage des savons. Tous les savonniers vous le
diront, c'est LE moment le plus incroyable qui ne nous lasse jamais!
The cutting of the soaps. All soap makers will tell you
this - it is THE most amazing time that we never get tired of!
Q6: If people want to buy your soap where
can they find it?
Nous avons une boutique à Marrakech dans
la médina, nous avons un corner au concept store 33 Rue Majorelle, ainsi que la boutique de notre
ami Khalil à Essaouira, dans la Scala. Pour l'Europe, nous avons notre site de
vente en ligne nyushashop.com
We
have a boutique in the medina in Marrakech, our soaps are in the concept store
33 rue Majorelle, as well as in the boutique La Scala which belongs to our
friend Khalil in Essaouira. In Europe we are now selling on-line at nyushashop.com
Q8: and one last question - where is your favourite place for coffee (or tea) ?
A la Terrasse des Epices en Marrakech, et pour le souvenir d'enfance, au cafe Maure des Oudaya a Rabat.
At the Terrasse des Epices in the medina of Marrakech, and on a more nostalgic note, the Cafe Maure des Oudaya in Rabat.
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| Elsas favourite coffee spot in Rabat: Café Maure des Oudaya. |
TO
WIN ONE OF THESE BEAUTIFUL BOXES OF THREE ARTISANALE SOAPS
MADE BY ART DU BAIN
A MARRAKECH . . .
all you have to do is
LIKE the Art du Bain Facebook page HERE
and, (if you haven't already)
LIKE the tea-in-tangiers Facebook page HERE
then answer this simple question
as a comment below:
WHERE IS ELSA’S FAVOURITE
COFFEE SPOT IN RABAT?
(there is even a picture to make it easier for you!)
good luck
bonne chance
x
Elsa & Pauline
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