The Walking Dead: Creative soap designer of the apocalypse

Denise Mancuso of AJSweetsoap designs realistic looking soaps in a variety of shapes that are sure to appeal to fans of the zombie show The Walking Dead.

Denise started making soap about 6 years ago as a hobby to de-stress after work. While searching through Michael’s for craft or hobby ideas, a soap making kit caught her eye.

The hardest part was figuring out what to make. She didn’t want to do anything ordinary or boring. The idea of foods and desserts came to her. She would see something in a store or bakery and think she could make it into a realistic looking soap. She became obsessed. She loved that people couldn’t tell that it was soap.

The inspiration for The Walking Dead soaps came during season 2 when Daryl made his famous ear necklace while he was on his search for Sophia.

"“That was the most disgusting thing – and the first thing that came to mind –“Hey, I could make it out of soap – and make it just as gross!”.   Severed ears – dirt – blood – now that definitely stood out as different!   I never imagined they would become as popular as they did – I was blown away by all the features and promotions for them  – from Buzzfeed and Atlanta Magazine to the countless Blog and Forum features – they are still one of my biggest sellers to date – and the most popular item for Christmas this past  holiday season.”"

The Walking Dead themed soap line grew from there and now includes almost 50 pieces.  She says the customers are even part of the process now and give her suggestions all the time.

With The Walking Dead collection, she finds the grosser, the better and people either get it or they don’t. She finds the folks who get it to be some of the coolest people around.

Her collection for The Walking Dead includes things such as Carl’s pudding, Merle’s cake with pink frosting, Hershel’s spaghetti for spaghetti Tuesday (or Mrs. Neudermeyer’s pasta maker), bloody brains, zombie hands, Lucille, Goo Goo clusters, Maggie’s pickles and many more.

Next: Creativity and Art in The Walking Dead Fandom

Denise will be bringing her The Walking Dead soap collection to Walker Stalker Con New Jersey and Atlanta this year where she can’t wait to meet fans of the show as well as people she’s met on Twitter and Facebook.  Be sure to ask her about her “moment with Norman Reedus” from last year’s Walker Stalker when she gave him a soap ears necklace.

And be sure to check our the links to find Denise on Twitter, Facebook and Etsy!