“When I, an outsider, was offered the opportunity to become a Master Craftswoman ‘Sabonera’, I felt very honoured.”
Many caress their skins with her work every morning. ‘The Soap Lady’, she is often referred to, and when she welcomes you with her Brittish accent to her soap shop, decorated with vintage excuisities, soft ’20′s music playing in the background, you imagine yourself entering a different world…

"This is me in blue with our Gaia therapist Blanca Ticha in the Albatros Hotel Spa. We helped design the spa area, the treatments and products and we trained all their therapists."
Who are you?
I am Trudi Murray – otherwise known as The Soap Lady, I suspect!
Where are you from originally and how did you get here?
I was born in Colone, but spent my formative years in London. It was there that I met and married my first husband.
We travelled to the Carribean and back on a sailing boat with two very young children and settled on Mallorca as our choice of home. That was 24 years ago.
What do you find the most interesting about your work?

"Here I am in my soap making room, mixing in all the ingredients for my lavender soap."
I think of myself as a chef; just that I create soaps and natural cosmetics from things that grow around me. It is always a great pleasure to come up with a new idea or concept, source the ingredients and then take to my soap making room! Like cooking, it is one of life’s pleasures; the creation of a new product.
What do you find most difficult about working here in Mallorca?
I really can’t say that I find anything very difficult. Perhaps sometimes in the middle of August it is hard to make things happen fast… Also I suppose in Mallorca nobody snaps back into action after the Christmas/New Year celebrations until mid February.
What is the most amazing thing that happened to you in your professional life in Mallorca?
When I first came up with the concept of reviving an old Mallorquin craft, I found a lot of the local Mallorquín people, especially the older generation, very interested, supportive and knowledgably. The Mallorquín are prudent people who don’t like to waste things; of the people I spoke with, many remembered their grandmothers and mothers making soap from left over olive oil. And when I as an outsider was offered the opportunity to become a Master Craftswoman ‘Sabonera’, I felt very honoured.

"This photo was taken in my shop while we were doing a mother-daughter workshop in making 'bath-bombs'. I love to make things look pretty and to have a nice set up ready when the people come in."
What strikes you as typical about the Spanish or Mallorquín culture?
The Mallorquin have not found it difficult to go back to doing things in a more natural way. They had never really truly lost that sentiment in the first place. If there is a natural and usually more cost efficient way of doing things, they are the first to know about it.
There is also a great pride in their cultural heritage and I love that.
Tell us something nobody here knows about you.
I am an all through German! Many people think that I am British as I speak English with my family and new husband Eric and believe that I have an English accent when I speak Spanish. Aber ich bin wirklich hundert Prozent Deutsch.
How does living and working in Mallorca make your life better?

"This is where I live, on top of a mountain. The space on our terrace table is often taken by settling soaps."
I can live on a mountain top with my Gaia production… my nearest neighbours are 1 km away. Yet I can be in the heart of one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Palma, in just 30 minutes. When I lived in London I would be stuck in traffic for the same amount of time, just to go to the nearest supermarket 5 km away. It has to be life’s ultimate luxury to live in perfect tranquillity and privacy yet make it for sunset to a Cappuccino Bar in 10 minutes.
The other thing that is fabulous about Mallorca, is that it is a fantastic international melting pot, that you would usually only expect to find in London or New York. I have worked together very creatively with a number of nationalities and currently the people I work the closest with are Blanca from the Czech republic, Rosa who is Mallorquína and the French-Canadian Anik. It makes our approach to business and business philosophies more worldly.

"This one I took on our 4th aniversary. I call it 'Multiple Mother'."
Which question should we have asked you and what would you have answered?
You should have asked me: “Do you like having your picture taken?”
The answer is: Yes, I do and nobody ever does, because I tend to be the photographer. That’s why it was so difficult to find these pictures of myself to share with you.
As a young person I trained and majored in Photography and over my life it has always been me behind the camera, only very rarely in front of it. I sometimes think about when I die and there will not be any pictures of me that my kids can remember me by. They will be in doubt whether I was there in all those fabulous places and at those great birthday parties. So a few years ago I started taking pictures of myself, when the opportunities arise. Usually in mirrors somewhere, always looking my best of course!
What is your personal motto?
‘A good idea and 1000 hours of hard work and you are there!’
    
Where can you find Trudi?
You can find her in her shop ‘Gaia Bathtime’, just outside Plaza Mayor in Palma.This is where she is located. You can also visit Trudi’s website and she would love to become your friend on facebook. And do take a look at her blog, filled with tips, stories and offers.

You will find interesting and sensitive interviews and recognize many island faces on this site and it is well worth keeping an eye on it!
http://interviewmallorca.com/