Member Spotlight: Kitty Kat Kreations, Arcana Shanks

Executive DirectorMember Spotlights2 Comments

She has been a tough little nut with a whole lot of personality since day one. When she was born she was little, jaundiced, and allergic to a lot of things – soap being one of them. She was the reason why a company was built and now she provides inspiration for it to continue. At just 11 years of age, Arcana Shanks has already overcome many obstacles in her life and has achieved some great goals as well.

She is most recently recognized as HSMG’s youngest official handcrafted Melt and Pour Soapmaker member. Her paid membership at this year’s Conference in Palm Springs sent a virtual buzz of activity around the soapmaking community which served to remind us all about the spark, passion, and love of soapmaking which knows no limits of age, gender, race, or other social stigma.

Arcana loves to make a lot of different things and this can be seen in her own company, Kitty Kat Kreations, which makes and sells jewelry, potpourri, soaps, and a variety of other treasured items. She used her company last year to sell product and collect donations for the local fire department, raising a total of $173.00 which was donated towards their “Courage” Program.

This Program delivers stuffed Dalmatian toys to victims of emergency services. Her soaps also sell well at school craft shows where the profits are contributed to the classroom and are used to purchase books and additional school supplies.

Perhaps one of Arcana’s favorite events is when her girlfriends come for a soap party and they all sit around the crock pot with their molds ready, the table strewn with sample scents and colors, just waiting for the melting to be complete! What a great way to spend a Saturday! She loves blues, purples and silvers and really enjoys working with botanicals. The art of color in melt and pour is a challenge so she is looking forward to learning more about that in the future. Arcana hopes to be able to re-create her book of soap drawings into real life works of art. Arcana has certainly had a good role model through her Mom, Denaige, at www.bubblehut.ca/
Maria Gelnett
P&S Chair

2 Comments on “Member Spotlight: Kitty Kat Kreations, Arcana Shanks”

  1. Way to go Arcana. We are so pleased to have you in the Guild. I am certainly looking forward to seeing you in Denver next year and seeing what wonderful creations you bring with you. My daughter will also be attending next year, so hopefully you two can hang out. Gillian

  2. Hi Arcana! What a nice surprise to be checking out the HSMG website and stumble onto this feature on you.. TOO COOL! Love the name of your company and that’s wonderful that you are donating to local community organizations – very inspiring. I’m excited that you and your family are coming to The Nova Studio at the end of this month for our 2-Day Soap Boot Camp. Looking forward to seeing you again!

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