A lot of storytellers start their stories with “once upon a time”. Myrtle & Soap is one of these stories that sounds like a fairytale but in fact it is all too real.
The story began with an educated young girl who had travelled the world and even seen the stars, but was not very happy. In fact, as her intelligence grew, her heart felt less satisfied. She spent years studying the earth, the moon and the stars, but she didn’t want to be a spectator any more. She wanted to be a “creator”.
So, she visited as many libraries as she could, researching a subject she can focus on, and make her own. It wasn’t an easy thing either. Because everyone knows that all the places and all the signs have to be aligned in order for you to find your true calling.
And many years, and many studies later, she finally found it. The ancient art of soap making. Dated back to 2800 BC in ancient Babylon. A creation of soap made of water, alkali, and cassia oil was written on a Babylonian clay tablet around 2200 BC. Later records of soaps are included in the Ebers papyrus, in which shows the ancient Egyptians bathing in what seemed to be a substance created by the combination of animal and vegetable oil with alkaline salts.
Anastasia was fascinated by that art, and she wanted to create her own soaps. So she started to experiment, and create and fail, and then experiment again and try new things and different ingredients. She spent hours and days and months on top of bowls and cups and cauldrons. Until she finally managed to create her first soap. Oh how proud she was! It was finally something to call her own.
Many miles away, in an island bound by fog and rain, lived another girl, whose fate was about to collide with Anastasia’s. She was a dreamer, which we all know is a bit frowned upon in this day and age. But she didn’t care. When news of Anastasia’s first creation reached her, her heart skipped a beat.
Was this what she was waiting for? Was this the opportunity she has been dreaming of?
Ellie couldn’t sleep that night. The images of the future creations she could accomplish with her new partner were dancing in her head, making it impossible to fall asleep. She thought of flowers and herbs, she could almost smell the cocoa butter and the coconut milk’s sweet scent.
The next morning it was settled. It didn’t matter that they were separated by an ocean, Anastasia and Ellie would make their dreams come true. And that is how Myrtle & Soap came to be. Just two girls with big dreams and a lot of hard work.