A collaboration with young artist - Leyan

This time, we’ve collaborated with a talented young local artist to create our wool-felted goat milk soap collection. Each piece combines art and skincare, bringing beauty and creativity into your daily routine!

Here’s a closer look at the artist behind this unique collaboration and her creative journey.

Leyan Chen is a Chinese artist based in Auckland and a graduate of the Elam School of Fine Arts. With a deep passion for painting and crafting, she founded Le Handmade, a brand where she combines her love for art and practical design. To Leyan, Le Handmade is more than just a business—it is a personal project that celebrates the beauty of craftsmanship while making art functional and accessible.  

Leyan draws much of her inspiration from nature, which she sees as a powerful symbol of the wisdom of Mother Earth. She believes nature should be deeply respected and treasured, and this philosophy heavily influences her work. Currently, Le Handmade focuses on using wool as a medium to showcase the beauty of natural elements. Wool, a sustainable and eco-friendly fiber, also represents New Zealand’s unique heritage. Leyan explores wool’s creative and functional potential, using it as an unpredictable and dramatic medium that blurs the lines between painting and crafting, bringing her vision of nature to life.