It's often said that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

Unable to procure her favourite soap, Wellington born-and-bred local Janelle Frappell decided to have a lash at making her own.

Now she’s one of the top boutique producers in the country, having recently come up trumps again at a major interstate competition where her goats milk creations are a long-time winner.

“What happened was, I couldn’t get the one I like, lemongrass made with essential oils, at the markets in Wellington anymore,” Janelle explained. “Then about 15 years ago, I made my first batch and shared it around with my family and ran out, so I made some more,” she added.

Encouraged by the results, she decided to use “family connections” to dip her toe in the bath-water to see if there was a demand for her unique craft creations.

“My mum had a market stall, and I used to sell my soaps at one end, with the date and walnut rolls and pickles, down the other.

“That‘s how I started, but it got too much variety and demand for my stuff, so I decided to go out on my own; that was 10 years ago,” Janelle recalled.

Success of her venture — Janelle’s Soaps and Succulents — has seen her make a nice vocation on the market circuit around the state with her one-off combinations of soaps, flowers, and scents.

“When I go to a market, about 10 a year, I have the soaps on one side — I have heaps of them — and the succulents on the other.

“This year is my first decade, so it’s pretty exciting, my favourite is the Black Raspberry and Vanilla soap,” she revealed.

Another specialist soap she makes, Janelle explained, has also seen her a major success at an annual competition on the Apple Isle.

“I make goats milk soap as well, I’ve had a lot of success with it an events in Tasmania called ‘GoatFest’, a festival that is all things goat,” Janelle explained.

“Four years ago, I was ‘Best in Show’ in the goat milk soap competition, this year I took out ‘Best Exhibit’, three firsts, and two seconds… my ‘Best in Show’ was for my scented lemon myrtle,” she said proudly.

The secret of her success, Janelle believes, is variety and the love of her craft, which is known technically as “saponification”.

“It’s fun to make, there’s an art to it, and every bar you make, there’s a different pattern on almost every one and some uniqueness in each bar,” Janelle said.

“It’s also a good stress relaxer to make, it’s enjoyable in itself,” she concluded.