Marte Ravn Tovik never planned to become a soap maker. She was just looking for a hobby to fill her gap year after high school. But when she stumbled upon a soap making kit in a hobby shop, she was intrigued.

She started making more soaps, experimenting with different colours, shapes and scents. She invented her signature Galaxy soaps, which looked like mini planets. She set up a web shop called Tailored Soap, and sold her creations online. She kept soap making as a hobby while studying marketing at university.

In 2016, she graduated and decided to make soap making her full-time career. She moved back to Stavanger, her hometown, and rented a soap studio. She increased her production and developed new products. She had over 400 unique products in her web shop.

She also got some lucky breaks. Buzzfeed featured her Galaxy soaps in an article. Business Insider asked to make a video about her for their INSIDER BEAUTY channel. The video went viral, with over 10 million views. Orders poured in from all over the world, especially from the US.

But it wasn’t all easy. Marte faced many challenges and obstacles along the way. She had to deal with a lot of paperwork, regulations and approvals to produce and sell soap legally. She had to cope with a lot of competition from other soap makers. She had to do everything herself, from making the soaps to packing and shipping them, from marketing to accounting.

She admits that she sometimes felt like giving up. But she didn’t. She says that she is stubborn by nature, and that she loves what she does. She says that her secret is to make soaps that she would buy herself, and that appeal to her customers’ tastes.

Her advice to aspiring soap makers is to start small, focus on quality, and be original. “Don’t copy others,” she says. “Find your own style and niche.”