56 Hobson

Last chance for heirloom seeds 😊✌️

As many of you will know we’re heading off travelling shortly with no clue when we’ll be returning. We wanted to give everyone one last chance to pick up a selection of tomato and chilli seeds ($5/pk) before we head off. Just DM us to make your order 😊 We have the following seeds available:

TOMATOES 🍅
Lemon Ice (3 ft determinate - mid season)
Cherokee Purple (indeterminate - mid-late)
Whero Kowhai Dwarf (determinate mid-late)
Marzipan Gold (indeterminate mid-late)
Mon Amour (indeterminate - Potato leaf)
Batyana (indeterminate early)
Sub Arctic Plenty (determinate - early)
Rebel Starfighter (indeterminate mid)
Beauty King (determinate mid)
Polish Pink (indeterminate mid)
Alice’s Dream (indeterminate mid)
La carotina (indeterminate mid potato leaf)
Shadow boxing (determinate mid)
Sunrise bumblebee (indeterminate early)
Honeybee (indeterminate early)
Sladkiy zhemchug (indeterminate)
Brads Atomic Grape (indeterminate)

Chillies 🌶

Red habanero
Orange habanero
Red rocotto
Orange rocotto
Birdseye
Aji limon
Jalapeño (mild)
Jalapeño (hot)
Gepetto (our own weirdly monstrous hybrid)

We have a small number of soap dishes available from the very talented .ceramics for $35. Available in either Sunset or Robin Egg Blue these are the perfect way to store your soap to ensure a long life (and a beautiful aesthetic 😉).

We’re offering a free bar of soap with every purchase, making this a perfect gift for yourself or a loved one. You can order by following the link on the photo or sending us a DM here on Instagram.

🥰✌️


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Our last cold-process soap workshop (for now 😂) is on on Thursday 13th April 2023. Come along - whether you bring a friend or fly solo, you’ll learn an incredibly satisfying, sustainable and accessible new hobby 😊😊✌️

The stall’s last day 😢😢

Everything is $5 today. Feel free to come say hi - we’ll be in the back yard 😊

Hi everybody,

We have been procrastinating about posting this because it feels so sad to say goodbye (even temporarily) to all of you, but we want to let you know that on June 2nd, we will be heading overseas for at least 6 months for a really exciting trip together, and don’t have a set return date.

We have LOVED starting the honesty stall at 56 Hobson and watching it grow and take on a life of its own. The stall has created community and a sense of connectedness for us, more than we ever thought possible.

Receiving notes in the stall notebook of joy, gratitude and love from neighbours near and far has been a true blessing. Catching snippets of conversation out our living room window as passersby enjoy the whimsy of an urban honesty stall has been a huge source of joy. More than anything, it’s reminded us that when given the chance, 99% of people are inherently honest, kind, and goodhearted.

If you’ve come to one of our workshops, thank you. We hope to continue these when/if we return to NZ.

We aren’t sure if/when we are coming back to NZ to live, and we don’t know if will be living in Wellington if we do, so this is a goodbye to our beautiful little city as well as the business (for now!), and to all of you who have been the heart and soul of it so far.

We will be having big sales on soaps at the stall, so get in quick to grab some or message us to order before they run out. We also will be selling heirloom seeds right up until we leave, or as long as stocks last.

Please drop by and say hi/bye, leave us a note, tag us in your posts, and remember to be the weird ones on your street, it just might pay off

xx Jack and G

The stall is absolutely flush today! Tomatoes are starting to slow down, so if you want to try some interesting varieties come by and check it out. And don’t forget you can seed save from all our tomatoes to grow your own next year. If you’re interested in knowing more about the varieties just send us a message 😊😊 J&G

The bounty on return. Garden is starting to kick into gear and we’ve got tomatoes every colour of the rainbow. Such a great time of year - the season of tomatoes on toast 😊😊. Hope everyone’s gardens are thriving despite the weird weather!!

So it begins… 🥰

After Christmas the stall should once again be flush with zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, chilies and greens 😊

Top 3 from ! ⭐️🤩⭐️

🍋1) Gin & Tonic - Fresh with heady notes of juniper. All but sold out on the day, with just a couple left on the website.

🌊2) Kelp & Sea Salt - cleansing and refreshing, like a morning swim. Must be the maritime environment, but this one’s always a winner with Wellingtonians!

🌿3) Unscented Kawakawa - nourishing and perfect for sensitive skin. Time and again this is the soap we find ourselves reaching for at home.

All of these are available on our website www.56Hobson.co.nz and make perfect Christmas gifts (including for yourself). If you’re Wellington based don’t forget you’re welcome to pickup - just select this at shipping.

Please order by the 18th of December to be sure they’ll make it for Christmas 😊😊

Thanks to everyone that popped along to see us at the fair - it was wonderful to connect with so many people in person! ✌️

Two more dates for upcoming natural soapmaking workshops at Wellington Apothecary - the 19th January and the 16th of Feb! They sell out fast so it's a good time to grab a ticket. Find out more and book at
https://www.wellingtonapothecary.co.nz/collections/workshops/products/natural-soap-making-workshop

Make delicious, easy homemade yoghurt without any fancy equipment! Save this post and read on for full method 🥛😋

I never fully grasped how simple it is to make yoghurt at home. And the best part is, because yoghurt is a self perpetuating food (like sourdough), you'll never need to buy another container of it after your first batch.

Equipment and ingredients: 2 litres of milk (cows milk or alternative is fine), some plain yoghurt from the store or from a previous batch of homemade yoghurt, 2 one-litre jars (or a bunch of small jars that equate to 2 litres), a thermometer, a saucepan, and a slow cooker (although you can use your oven)

Method:

1. Heat 2 litres of milk to 85 degree Celsius, then let cool to 45 degrees celsius.

2. Wash or sterilize jars and lids thoroughly.

3. Divide milk into jars, and spoon 1/4 cup of your starter yoghurt per litre of milk into the jars and mix well.

4. Place the jars into slow cooker, sous vide, or over to incubate (this lets the bacterial culture grow and reproduce).

For cooker, place jars upright, surround them with hot (not boiling) water, and put the lid on cooker. Keep cooker off, and wrap it with towels to contain the heat. Leave for 6-8 hours or until yoghurt reaches the desired tanginess.

For sous vide, set temp to 45°C for 6-8 hours.

For oven, turn it on to the lowest temperature for 15 minutes while empty, then turn the oven off and place the jars into it for 6-8 hours or until yoghurt reaches the desired tanginess.

5. Place yoghurt into the fridge, it will keep for up to 3 weeks.

You're done! You can add fruit or maple syrup or anything else you please at this stage

6. Optional bonus step: if you want to make Greek yoghurt, strain the yoghurt (I use a strainer lines with cheesecloth over a large bowl). Make sure to leave it in the fridge while straining. This will yield around half the amount of yoghurt, but it will be thicker and creamier.

7. Don't forget to save 1/2 cup of yoghurt to use as starter for your next batch!

Need some stocking stuffers? The stall is out pretty much every day and is full of beautiful gifts like handmade soaps, seedlings and heirloom seeds. We will even be putting out some handmade cards in the next few weeks. Bank transfers accepted! Come down and say hi sometime 🏡

Super excited for next week's workshop at Wellington Apothecary - There are still a few tickets remaining, we'd love to see you there! You can book at https://www.wellingtonapothecary.co.nz/collections/workshops/products/natural-soap-making-workshop

We are super excited to have these exclusive, gorgeous 56 x Arlē Bell Collab handmade ceramic soap dishes on our website, made by skilled Wellington artist Arlē Bell Ceramics! They pair with our soaps like peas in a pod, cows and their cow besties, ketchup and mustard...I could go on. Find them at 56hobson.co.nz/shop

EXCITING UPDATE! WE HAVE A WEBSITE!
In an increasingly digital age, we started the old-fashioned way. You couldn’t call it bricks and mortar - more of a shelf screwed onto a fence - but you get the idea… Along the way we were really taken by the people reaching out on Instagram and Facebook from around the country wanting to buy our soap, seeds or inquire about our workshops. So, with a little (lot of) help from our friend Maddie McLeod we’ve launched our website to hopefully make this so much easier for everyone. As the holiday season rolls round consider us for sustainable and plastic-free gifts for friends, family and yourself. We so appreciate the kindness and community that supports 56 Hobson. And if you have any feedback on the website, we would love to hear from you!

www.56hobson.co.nz

Some gorgeous shots showing exactly what coming to one of our Natural Soap Making workshops is like! Hands on, loads of fun, and a chance to bond with family members, friends, colleagues, and strangers as you learn new skills together.

If you'd like to book us privately, send us a message! We facilitate workshops for work groups, hens evenings, birthdays, you name it!

We love making new skills accessible, so you come away feeling able to tackle the activity yourself at home.

By popular demand, we are holding another Natural Soapmaking Workshop at Wellington Apothecary! You will get to learn all the basics to make your own soap from scratch, and best of all, you'll get to design and make your own while you're there. No prior skills needed and we provide all equipment. Get in quick because these book out fast!
https://www.wellingtonapothecary.co.nz/collections/workshops/products/natural-soap-making-workshop

Spring means...TOMATO PLANTING TIME. This is a photo of some of last season's varieties (the Rebel Starfighter Prime was a particular juicy favourite). This season we have even more heirloom varieties, and will have heirloom seeds and fresh tomatoes available in the stall through summer. 🍅❤ We have heirloom tomato and chili seeds and a small number of tomato and chili seedlings available for purchase via message too if you're keen to get a jump start 🌱

In case you hadn't picked up on it, Jack and I are quite a 'use all parts of the animal' sort of couple - we like to try to come up with creative ways to reduce what we throw away, which is how our Confetti Soap was born! Made from our soap scraps and off-cuts, and set in a lovely 100% coconut oil soap, you get the best of all worlds. $9, available via message or at the stall.

There's a new kitt on the block 😎🧢 and he's too cool for you (not really, in fact he would love some pats).
You may have noticed Nori isn't out and about greeting you as you stop at the stall. We have kept him as an indoor cat since his run-in with a car early this year.
But now we are officially those people. The ones who walk their cat on a lead. Just adding to the overall eccentricity vibe that we already had in spades.♠️
Norbert, of course, is taking it in his stride. The most relaxed cat I've ever met.

Our soaps looking very charm at Wellington Apothecary 😍. Stop in and sniff them if you're strolling down Cuba Street.

🙌 SO DARN PROUD 🙌 of everyone from our Natural Soapmaking Workshop at Food4Thought who created these gorgeous things last night!

We had the best time, and are excited to be running another SOLD OUT workshop next week too.

If you're keen to learn how to make beautiful natural soaps from scratch, sign up for our mailing list (via message) so you'll be the first to know about future workshops.

We also run these for private groups of 12, so gather your friends/family/coworkers and send us a message to book a date 🧼

🍬 Licorice! 🍬 do you love it or you hate it? Let us know below 👇. This soap smells EXACTLY like beautiful rich black licorice, and is all natural. We are team licorice 💪

Want to know how we make our best selling coffee soap?

☕️ First, we brew a big pot of coffee. Once we're done drinking that, we brew another, and use this as the liquid base of the soap
🥥🥑 We use oils like coconut and olive which are nourishing for the skin. Did you know olive oil is an awesome acne fighter?
😴 we add coffee grounds for a bit of extra wakeup power (and they smell delicious)
And voila! a soap fit for any caffeine fiend.