Fall Didn't Wait for Me • Notes from the Mountain No. 24

Fall Didn't Wait for Me

Notes from the Mountain • Issue No. 24

Notes from the Mountain is Mountain Goat Soap Co.'s weekly journal, where I share stories from the outdoors, the workshop, travel, and the everyday adventures that inspire both my life and my work.

Fall apparently did not wait for me this year. I usually like to have my fall collection ready well before now. This year? October 5th. Not exactly according to my plan.

It's been an unusually full year personally, my "real" job has been demanding, and somewhere along the way the calendar kept moving even when my production schedule didn't. But yesterday, finally, the Fall Collection launched.

And if there was ever a collection I don't mind being a little late for, it's this one. Fall has always been my favorite season to make soap. There is something about the colors and scents that lets me go a little darker, richer and moodier than I do the rest of the year. Rust. Gold. Deep red. Brown. Olive green. Pumpkin and cardamom. Apples and bourbon. Woods and spice. After months of brighter summer colors, I'm always ready for it.

Of course, getting fifteen different bars from an idea in my head to the curing rack is never quite as straightforward as it sounds. I choose fragrances. Plan designs. Mix colors. Change my mind about colors. Change my mind about the design. Pour the soap.

And then, occasionally discover that a new fragrance oil has apparently developed plans of its own. A couple of this year's bars made very strong arguments for not returning next year. They smell fantastic. Making them was another matter entirely. 😂

That's part of making soap, though. Even after doing this for years, I can plan every detail of a bar and still cut into the loaf the next day not knowing exactly what I'm going to find. Sometimes it's not quite what I pictured. And sometimes it is.

I've already been asked which bar is my favorite from this year's collection. Turns out I can't give you just one. It depends on what we're judging. If we're talking purely about design, it's Painted Hills.

I love this one simply because the design is so striking, and really, who doesn't love stripes. Nine meticulously poured layers in earthy fall colors, and it's one of those rare bars that came out pretty much exactly the way I'd pictured it in my head. That does not always happen.

But if we're talking about the one that means the most to me, it's Quaking Aspens.

This one might be the most personal. I've spent a lot of time in Colorado over the years, and there are few things that say fall in the mountains to me quite like the aspens. We call them the "quakies," and if you've ever stood in the middle of a grove when the leaves are moving, you know exactly why. The slightest breeze gets them fluttering and shimmering, and when they've turned gold in the fall, they're spectacular.

I wanted this bar to feel a little like those Colorado days; golden leaves, pale bark and the ground underneath. It's scented entirely with essential oils: ho wood, fir balsam, bergamot, petitgrain, black pepper and cedarwood. It smells like somewhere I'd rather be.

And if we're choosing purely by scent? Leaves.

I don't have a sentimental story for this one. I just LOVE the way it smells. It's one of those fragrances that immediately smells like fall to me, and every time I walk past it in the studio, I want to pick it up and smell it again. So apparently my official answer is:

Favorite because of what it means to me: Quaking Aspens.
Favorite to look at: Painted Hills.
Favorite to smell: Leaves.

There. I've chosen. Sort of.

There are twelve more bars in the collection, and every one of them has its own little story, from the fragrance that inspired it to the design I wanted to try to the occasional soapmaking battle required to get it poured successfully.

And now, after weeks and weeks of pouring, cutting, curing, photographing and occasionally arguing with fragrance oil, they're finally all sitting on the shelf together. A little later than I wanted. But they're here.

Fifteen fall soaps. Some returning favorites, some completely new, and a whole lot of time spent in the studio. And for once, I'm going to use Notes from the Mountain to shamelessly tell you to go take a look. 😊

[SHOP THE FALL COLLECTION]

I've spent the last several weeks feeling like I was behind. Behind on soap. Behind on photos. Behind on getting all of this onto the website. Meanwhile, fall just showed up anyway. The temperatures are starting to change. The days are getting shorter. The leaves are starting to turn. Apparently the season didn't particularly care whether I was ready for it.

And now that the collection is finally finished and I can see all fifteen bars together, I'm not thinking much about the date anymore. Mostly I'm thinking...

Yep. This is why fall is my favorite. I hope you find a favorite in there, too.

From the Trail:

A short reflection inspired by the outdoors.

"Maybe being a little late isn't the same as missing it."

More soon,

Dianne

Bring the outside in.