01.19.09
Posted in Blogroll, Everyday Journal at 2:29 pm by admin
Here’s today’s batch of Green Tea Mint, all reformulated and ready for a better tomorrow.
It’s the day before inauguration, and the country’s attention is focused on Washington, D.C. In honor of the new president, inauguration festivities and hope for a greener tomorrow, I spent the day in the soap studio reformulating a soap I’d like to dedicate to a better future. Green Tea Mint is a soap I developed a few years ago, but I chose some essentil oils that don’t “hold” as well as they should, so it was on my list to make changes before the next batch. Today was the day.
In consultation with my soapmaking buddy, Charlotte Hayer, I’m going to do something a little different. I wanted to recombine the mints, so I chose both spearmint and peppermint, and added them to a good dollop of sweet orange and a bit of vanilla. Now, sweet orange and vanilla are a wonderful combination, but the orange fragrance is fleeting. So I decided when the orange fades, the mints will be there to pick up the slack, along with that softening note of vanilla. I hope it works. I’ll let you know.
So, here’s to hope and the future … green for environmental awareness, tea for wisdom and honor, and mint for health and well-being!
Sharon
Permalink
01.08.09
Posted in Uncategorized, Blogroll, Everyday Journal at 10:15 am by admin
Here’s one corner of a storage cabinet built originally for office supplies, I’m sure. But I inherited it with this studio office and it will forever smell great! Soap stock is depleted now, but not for long.
Happy 2009, everyone. From my perch above the town square, I am watching snow blowing horizontally across the windows. Up-and-down snow is one thing … side-to-side snow is quite another. After a weekend with temperatures in the 40’s and melting snow, it looks like we’re back to normal in Kentucky.
After some consideration, I’ve decided to ignore the dire economic forecasts for the time being and forge ahead with soap production. Anybody else making different plans? I have this year’s Kentucky Crafted trade show in Louisville Feb. 19-22. We’ll see if I can complete this one with my body in one piece. Last year’s show was done from a wheelchair and I’d rather not repeat that spectacle. Or hear one more person ask me if I’d slipped on a bar of soap on the way to the show. This is an expensive undertaking, and I try to break even and hope the coverage and prestige of being there will pay future dividends. This year I’ll be crossing my fingers AND my toes. No, that might lead me back to the wheelchair. Guess I’ll just take my chances.
I’ve started serious production already and just took delivery of another big oils order. One of the soaps I developed in the fall, Serenity, was such a hit that I have a new batch on the curing racks already. It was completely gone. (The entire batch of holiday soap also sold out … I’ll do that one again too!) I think I’ll let Serenity be my new soap for this spring, even though I introduced it in a trial run in the fall. Lavender Rose Clay will be the second new introduction. I always like to go to markets with something new in the spring, and it’s surprising to me how many people ask me what’s new.
To get ready for production, I’ve spent the last two days cleaning out the soap studio, especially the big cabinet where I store soap that has cured and is ready to go to market. I re-alphabetized everything, made new labels and moved it all around. Looks lots better! I rearranged everything to make places for the new soaps and I see that I’m now in trouble. I have only a few slots left, so this year I vow to cut out a slower-selling soap before experimenting with any new ones. That’s easier said than done.
And lastly, I mopped the floor. It’s amazing how “goopey” the floor of a soap studio gets…all little soap shavings mixed with a fine layer of oil I guess. So tomorrow, serious production begins!
Let’s hope for some warm breezes soon, soap addicts! We might as well look forward to the adventures of 2009.
Sharon
Permalink