It’s that beautiful time of the year…early May, warm breezes, spring flowers and all the best hopes for fun to come.

At Anna’s EsSCENTials, I’ve been planning something new since last year, and I’m on my way! I started creating my herbal flower anti-aging soaps last fall, and two are done. See Karma & Hibiscus and Calendula & Mango for details.

The third in the series I could not do, however. The herbs I needed were NOT AVAILABLE here from any of the herb vendors I could find. So, I ordered some herb plants for this soap, and they arrived this week. One of the ginger plants is shown above. It is great for rejuvenating dull and tired skin, for moisturizing dry skin and for tightening pores.

This is pretty exciting stuff. Now I’ve just got to grow the herbs all summer and harvest them in the fall. I’ll make an infusion and use it in the third soap in the anti-aging series. I expect the third anti-aging herbal flower soap will be done before Christmas…something to look forward to!

This one is for real…a whale tale that is. What this soaper works for…a couple of weeks enjoying the whales off the coast of Maui where they come to give birth and mate. Humpback whales have made a good comeback after being on the endangered list for some years, with numbers estimated to have risen from 900 to 22,000. The are remarkable creatures, and it affects me to my core to be near them each year.

So I’m just back from our spring, 2012 trip, and needing to get back into the soap studio to prepare for this spring’s farmers’ markets. The problem is, my body is here in Kentucky…it’s my mind and heart that are resisting.

So here are a couple more tropical photos to share…just hoping to prolong the enjoyment of that very special place.
Sharon

Early morning cup of Kona coffee on the lanai.

Color, like this beautiful hibiscus outside our door, is everywhere.

Well, it’s over…Kentucky Crafted: The Market 2012…the biggest, most expensive and (I admit) exhausting show I do every year. Carting all that booth-building stuff there, actually building the booth, and surviving four show days until 8 p.m. puils on a bit of my reserves. But when it’s over, it’s GREAT to smile about and look back on.

This year’s show did not disappoint. We had rain (downpours, actually) the day I drove to Lexington for setup. I actually drove home that night, thanks to little Joey, the straw-colored kitten who won my heart by climbing right onto my shoulder the first time he found his way to my cottage and decided he belonged there. But arriving home at 10:30 p.m. and having to be back the next morning was not a good plan I quickly realized, and so I’m grateful for my neighbor, Wes, who endured Joey’s wrath at being left behind and got him food and water for the duration.

Friday was the day of tornados…yes, tornados. They were widespread and tragic in this part of Kentucky, and one of the smaller ones struck just south of where we were. At one point, about 300 of my closest friends and I were herded into the storm shelters of the Convention Center where we mingled, each with her or his own little communication device in hand. A sign of the times! Luckily for me, neither the convention center nor my cottage was damaged, but it did make for a break in the day.

Saturday was huge. It was the first of the public days of the show, and I heard that people were lined up around the block to get in. This year the show returned to Lexington from Louisville, and I have to say we were given a very warm welcome. From 10 a.m. until about 3 p.m., visitors could scarcely walk through the aisles, and sales were booming! Once again, my dear friend Veronica managed to be there for the worst of it, and her help got me through.

Sunday was slower in terms of visitors, and much more comfortable I think. But by the end of Sunday, I was glad to pack up and head home. Joey greeted me with only mild complaints about being left outside for four days with thunderstorms and tornados about. By the way, that night we got four or five inches of snow, and 60-degree temps the following day. So wild!

There are a few very important things I’d like to add. In honor of my new herbal flower anti-aging soaps, I spent time trying for a more “upscale” look to the booth. I had some parts of that in place before, having already made my own black curtains and table coverings. But this year I spent more time on signage, all black with gold lettering, and for the first time ever, things pretty well matched in the booth. There was more consistency, and it was gratifying.

Herbal flower anti-aging soaps sit next to a display of “Man Soaps,” which also garnered a bit of attention.

I put the herbal flower soaps on a new display shelf I purchased just for them, and placed it at the end of a table near where people walked by so they would get the benefit of the scents and easily see the signage. I had finished a little brochure about the soaps, and placed it next to the shelf. Well, the good news is that I vastly underestimated how much of these products to bring, and within the first half hour of the show’s opening on Saturday, the display was decimated! I had to make an emergency call to dear friend Bill, who went to the soap studio, collected and wrapped a bunch more of the soaps, and got them to me that afternoon. It sure pays to have good friends when you do trade shows!

My long-awaited (by me) new soap for spring is out of the molds, cut, and on the drying racks. It’s gonna be greeeaaat! It’s called Karma & Hibiscus, and I mapped out a series of herbs and flowers I wanted to add because of their anti-aging properties. In addition, this soap has a base of olive oil, avocado oil, shea butter and mango butter, among others. Essential oils include a blend from Brambleberry called Karma, and I added a little natural peachy color to the base and for a swirl.

As I said, I’d been planning this one for a while…since last fall actually. It was a pleasure to finally get my hands in the soap pot and see what I came out with. It will be finished and ready for debut at the upcoming March 1-4 Kentucky Crafted: The Market trade show in Lexington, KY, and now I have to design a new label befitting of this beautiful new artisan soap.

I did some searching for herbs I wanted to use in the infusion. Actually, a couple of the herbs I really, really wanted appear not to be available in the U.S. I’ve found a great deal of excellent herbal knowledge in Asian cultures, where awareness of the benefits of herbs for skin care goes way back. However, getting my hands on some of them is the problem, and I may be growing my own this coming summer.

However, I was able to settle on four herbs for this soap. They are hibiscus, which is an anti-oxidant and is wonderful for inflammation, burns or infection; an amazing Asian herb called Fo-ti, known for its anti-aging properties and protecting from free-radical damage from UVB rays; cleavers, great for inflammation, eczema and psoriasis, and tightening aging skin; and licorice, which is another anti-inflammatory herb which is also anti-viral and good for sunburn and insect bites.

I just completed a photography session for this new soap, and will try to write again about feedback from other people as that happens. For now, it’s just great knowing the soap actually exists on the drying shelves instead of only in my imagination! For more information see Anna’s EsSCENTials Bodycare site.

KENTUCKY CRAFTED: THE MARKET
Lexington Convention Center
Lexington, Kentucky

Saturday, March 3, 2012 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. EST
Sunday, March 4, 2012 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST

Go to http://1.usa.gov/Market2012 to purchase tickets and view a complete program of Market activities.

As many of you know, Anna’s EsSCENTials Bodycare is a vendor at this very popular trade show, and this year the show is moving to the Convention Center in Lexington, KY. I’m in the midst of getting ready for this biggest of all the shows I do, and with the accompanying pre-show jitters. WHAT have I forgotten this year? I’m going to introduce my new soap, Karma, with essential oils from Anne-Marie Faiola of Brambleberry. This is one I’m really looking forward to! Watch for a new listing on annas-soaps.com.

I guess there’s not much better than the work of a truly professional therapeutic massage therapist. We’re very lucky to have one here. Lucarroll Craig has helped many people in this little town, and she has a growing following both here and in other towns in northern Kentucky.

I have to say also that Lucarroll is a gentle, caring soul with hand strength and a memory like a steel vise. If you’re limping this week, she’ll remember three months later which foot was causing you problems and why.

Each year, Lucarroll orders muscle and joint massage cream from Anna’s EsSCENTials Bodycare, and I just finished this year’s batch. Actually, her clients like it so much, they ask her for more during the year as well. (An untapped market for Anna’s?) Anyway, I am pleased to make this cream for her to give to clients. It has a special ingredient which comes from Thai herbs, and it seems to work wonders, especially for joint problems. For information, see Anna’s Muscle & Joint Massage Cream

It’s almost holiday time again, and each year about this time I am reminded of the joy and pleasures in my life that spring from humble things. Sharing a laugh with a friend, hearing a new story about granddaughter Eva, reading an email from a daughter or son early in the morning, grappling with the weird and wonderful world of quantum mechanics…it gives life a zing that is inherent in friendships, family, learning and giving.

Since this space is dedicated to the hoorays and oops’s of handcrafted soapmaking, I’ll stick with that part of the equation. I feel very privileged to be a part of a time in history where we are rediscovering the value in locally made, grown or produced items, from food to clothing to furniture to personal items to crafts. Handmade soap and body products are a small but vital part of this movement, and I maintain that no corporation or conglomerate could produce these products at any cost with the quality we do for minimal cost.

For example, when I developed my formula, I did it based on ingredients I was convinced would make an actual difference…and not just a drop or two of them but large amounts. Olive oil is among the best emollients of all the vegetable soap making oils. When we add shea butter or mango butter, we’re sweetening the pot! Then think of the rice bran oil or pomegranate seed oil, hemp seed oil or avocado oil…the list goes on and on. (See Carrot Honey Butter handmade olive oil soap shown above.)

At the end of the day, I know this small, humble luxury may cost only $5.50 or $6 or $10, but it’s worth much more. And I am glad to have had the opportunity to share it with my little part of the world.

So…happy holidays everyone. And thank goodness for many humble luxuries.

Sharon

It’s that time of the year, and there is a legitimate question about whether handmade soap and body products make an appropriate gift for a guy. It’s probably not your first thought. Around here a red pickup truck might get you big points, or maybe a new iPad or even golf clubs. But soap? Hmmm.

I am here to tell you that nobody was more surprised than me when the numbers of men visiting my soap table became obvious, even to me. I just expected it to be a feminine thing…a little luxury…a few nice soaps…wonderful, delicious scents…some gentle moisturizing. However, maybe things are changing in the world of males or maybe I missed it all along. But some of my best customers are men, and truth be known, none of them look embarrassed or hesitant when they look hard for good quality handmade soap and skincare.

This actually makes me happy, and not just because I like making excellent handmade soap. Even more, I think it’s a sign that men are more likely to think about their own health and well-being. So far, what I’ve seen has concentrated on an interest in good, moisturizing soap. However, I believe it’s only a matter of time before men discover they could use a good lotion and skin cream as well.

Remember, most of us work in an office or other workplace where the winter air is very dry. That environment sucks the moisture right out of our bodies. In addition, men have to deal with harsh razors that nick and cut the skin, as well as ingrown hairs from the shaving process. A good quality handmade soap can help a lot if it is used with every bath, shower or shave. And most soapmakers are very aware of this. You will find a number of excellent handmade soaps and body products with scents that are enjoyed by men and appropriate for them. Always look for products with good ingredients…fresh, quality oils, shea butter, various clays and essential oils…and avoid those using lard, tallow, mineral oil, artificial fragrances and the long list of chemicals in most commercial body products.

So when you’re shopping for your favorite guys this year, consider a special treat of good handmade skin care products. You may be surprised at how well this gift is received. And if you’re looking for a good source, Anna’s EsSCENTials Bodycare has a number of holiday gift items to peruse, many of them appropriate for men.

Hi Everyone. Yesterday I finished this year’s “Holiday Surprise” handmade soap. It even has a name — “Winter Wonderland.” http://annas-soaps.com/products-page/olive-oil-soap/holiday-special-winter-wonderland-olive-oil-soap After thinking about it for a long time and changing my mind over and over, the whole project came together in a flash. I combined a luscious group of essential oils: tangerine, sweet orange, rosemary verbena, ylang ylang, and yes, frankincense and myrrh. And then I made a glorious deep red swirl with Brambleberry’s Merlot Sparkle Mica, and put it in some unusual molds. Well, not unusual exactly, just different shapes from what I ordinarily do. There will be round ones and large, flat ones as well as some regular bar-sized ones. And I intend to use the crinkle cutter to make them just a little more special. When they are cut and on the drying racks, I’ll post a couple photos of the actual bars. What you see here is the swirl in the large mold.

And, to get a jump on winter, I decided to try another approach this year. Usually I go into denial mode about Oct. 1 and come out sometime in January when the icy winds and thigh-high snowdrifts penetrate my self-induced fog. But along with “Winter Wonderland,” I made a new batch of my favorite beach soap yesterday…”Orange Coconut.” http://annas-soaps.com/products-page/olive-oil-soap/orange-coconut-olive-oil-soap It will remind me that through these long cold months ahead, there are sand, warm beaches, fresh fruit and coconut palms somewhere in the world. (At least I hope it does! Some little voice way in the back is saying, “Yeah, right. THAT’s going to help!” Sigh.) Oh well. The Orange Coconut is done and gorgeous and ready for spring.
Sharon