07.29.09
Posted in Blogroll, Everyday Journal, Farmers Markets at 2:21 pm by admin
After three months of waiting, today is the birthday of “Moments of Happiness” herbal soap.
It’s been most of the day in the soap studio with my hands in the soap pot and finally, finally, after three months of planning, deciding, rejecting and replanning, it’s done. “Moments of Happiness,” inspired by my amazing trip to Thailand and my beautiful new grandaughter who lives there, is complete.
I couldn’t help myself. Here are two new photos of Eva. One is with a big yawn, ready for bed, and the other is discovering her toes … best toys ever.
Some soaps are so easy to plan and create … it seems as though they appear in your thoughts full-grown. This one did not. Well, there was a lot to consider for it … a gorgeous baby girl and an exotic Asian culture with more adventure, laughter and new awarenesses than I ever expected to experience. My universe shifted a lot this year, and I probably will not be the same again. All that had to settle a bit, and then I tried to transfer my feelings to my soaping passion.
The first and easiest part of the soap was its name. That did come to me full-blown one day as I cast my eyes on another fantastic view of tropical Thailand. I noticed that sometimes Thai businesses or items have very descriptive names, often including the impact they hope to have on people who encounter them. I figured when “Moments of Happiness” popped into my mind, it was Thailand’s gift to me and my soapmaking quest.
The second part of the plan was to include sesame oil in the formula. Sesame is a staple in Thailand and I was pretty sure I wanted to use it. Turns out sesame oil is recommended for psoriasis, eczema, arthritis and rheumatism. Since the therapeutic side of soapmaking and aromatherapy are important to me, I figured I had a good start going.
Then came the crucial stage of a scent combination, and here’s where I waffled. I wanted an Asian scent that I thought my family who live there would like. I considered several rather “spicy” formulations but decided to go a different route, at least for the first try. I ended up with a combination of sandalwood, ylang ylang, black pepper, ginger, vetiver and lemongrass. Sound good? I hope so. I won’t know for sure until I’ve had a chance to live with it for a while, and also see the reaction when that steady flow of people stop by my booth and pick it up. It won’t take long before it’s very obvious whether it’s loved by a few, by no one, or by lots of people.
I know I can sell the soap … it has great oils including the sesame, as well as shea butter. I fixed a beautiful swirl in it, and I intend to wrap it in a glorious wrapper of a special mulberry paper I brought back with me from Thailand. But whether or not this is the final version of the scent combination remains to be seen.
And Also…
Moments of Happiness right next to Cucumber Basil Mint…a good day’s work I think.
In addition, the summer vegetables are at their freshest right now, so my second batch of the day was Cucumber Basil Mint. Of my three farmers’ market soaps, this was the big hit last year, so I recreated it with no changes. It’s a beautiful soap, a pretty light green, with flecks of cucumber, cucumber skin and basil leaves running through the soap.
People have actually been asking for this soap. One customer likes it so much she refuses to buy anything else. She stops by my table every few weeks just to check. Well, I guess that’s a good thing.
So Far This Summer
I wonder how other soapers are finding sales this summer. Last year I expected sales to be down but they weren’t. I attributed that to a growing consciousness about buying fresh, locally-grown farmers’ market produce and other locally-produced products such as soap combined with the desire among some rural areas to support locally-owned vendors and businesses when possible. This year, however, as the economic downturn grinds on and people continue to search for ways to cut back, I think I can feel the pinch. My sales are holding strong, but they did not grow this year … they are very near what they were last year and a little down at some points.
Still I feel fortunate and grateful that I can continue to explore this passion for healthy, handcrafted soap and body products.
Does it get any better than this on a July afternoon? I think not!
Sharon
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07.20.09
Posted in Blogroll, Everyday Journal, Farmers Markets at 7:38 am by admin
Jamison chose her bean and held onto it at Saturday’s market.
I had a visit from my most favorite farmers’ market customer (and her good mama) Saturday. Little Jamison Elise was born in October in Frankfort, and she’s the apple of many peoples’ eye around here. She’s made it to nine months and is fearless, funny, inquisitive … and she bends in half at the waist and dives for the floor just when you think she’s safely nestled on your lap. Well, I’m onto those tricks now, and Saturday, we both headed right for the ground and played there while her mama watched my table.
Right away we needed some “props” because there were lots of less desirable objects of interest on the ground. We quickly came up with two green beans (fresh from the garden, of course) and a yellow summer squash. Now Jamison has sprouted two small teeth on the bottom of her mouth, and when she chose one of the beans, it turned out to be just the thing to gnaw. Before she left, she had neatly removed the top quarter of that bean and had a great time doing it. We walked over to the Ayres’ Orchard booth and ordered the reddest apple Larry had in the baskets. He did a search and we came up with a great one. I made the first dent, but after that Jamison wouldn’t let that apple get far from those little teeth. She loved it! Her mama, Jessie, told me something I did not know … that babies don’t develop taste buds for the sour flavor until later, and that Jamison will suck a lime slice dry.
The perfect summer bean
Well, we had a great time, and as I watch Jamison grow, I often think of little Eva who is four months younger and far away in Thailand. I visited with Eva via web cam last week and watched her get up on her knees with the intention of going somewhere. She was not sure how to coordinate the top half of her body with the bottom half though, so she lunged forward instead, bonking her head on her favorite toy … the wipes box. Oh, there is so much to learn in these first months!
My day is better, my life is richer!
What a privilege to share experiences with these two beautiful little girls. My deep love goes out to both of them. And here’s a quote from Picasso that Jamison’s mom sent to me last week … something we might all want to remember.
“To be young, really young, takes a very long time,” said Picasso. “It’s not easy to hone your ability to see the world fresh over and over again. You’ve got to work for years to immunize yourself against the millions of people who think they’ve got everything figured out. To cultivate an ingenious and fully awakened innocence, you have to continually shed your temptation to rely on habitual responses, never ceasing from the effort to greet every experience with a beginners mind. This playful approach to life goes against the grain of almost every ideology and political system, which means only the fiercest individuals with a highly developed sense of self can summon the courage to do it.”
So here’s to a renewed sense of wonder, to two absolutely precious little girls who light up my heart, and to the artist in all of us.
Sharon
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07.13.09
Posted in Blogroll, Everyday Journal at 11:29 am by admin
Kitchen soap has ingredients especially good for preventing poison ivy.
As much as we love summer, 2009 has proven to be problematical in terms of poison ivy, mosquitoes and other pests. We’ve had lots of rain, and although it is truly beautiful in this rural area in Kentucky, there’s also plenty of poison ivy as well as our share of summer mosquitoes. Anything we can do to fight back is welcome. I thought we might turn our attention to our specialty handmade soaps which, because they’re made with care and in small batches, are likely to be both effective and safe … certainly safer than many of the commercial products on the shelves.
I developed a two-fold approach to poison ivy, and it seems to be working well. The first step is to be sure all the oils from the plant are washed off the skin as soon after exposure as possible. For that I recommend Anna’s EsSCENTials “Old Fashioned Kitchen Soap” which I developed to absorb cooking odors a few years back. An added benefit is that the coffee grounds and poppy seeds in the soap are slightly abrasive and appear to do a superior job of removing those offending surface oils. Often, this step alone is enough to prevent an allergic reaction to poison ivy.
The second step helps after itching and bumps appear. Anna’s Rhassoul Clay soap is especially good at removing toxins in the skin, and those who have used it on poison ivy report it speeds the drying and healing process. Essential oils also help reduce swelling.
The combination of these two soaps has become popular this summer as a preventive and healing aid to poison ivy outbreaks. I’m not willing to infect myself to test it out, but I can report good results from the many people I meet at soap tables.
Bugs Away
And then there are the flying pests. I’m one of those individuals particularly vulnerable to mosquitoes, so you can imagine when I realized I could make a soap that helped keep them away, I went for it big time, making Bye Bye Bites soap. Always a doubter, I did not have a lot of hope for success. With research to scout out essential oils the creatures don’t like, I came up with a soap that very quickly got the attention of a lot of moms whose children really wanted to play outdoors at dusk, or kids heading for camp … that sort of thing.
When this soap began selling in bundles of five or six, I began to take notice. One evening I decided to use myself as a guinea pig. I took the dry bar and rubbed it lightly over my exposed skin, took a deep breath, and headed outdoors at the peak of mosquito season. It took only seconds for the first wave to head for me, and no one could have been more surprised than I was to see those blood-thirsty critters swoop toward my bare arms, do a sort of double-take, and change their minds! What a glorious sight to see them flying away from me instead of toward me.
I have to tell you, this was a thrilling moment! With no chemicals, DEET or other insidious poisons, I could safely go outside and survive the onslaught. Since then, many people have asked me if this soap will work for chiggers and other awful creatures. Once again, I am NOT willing to use my body to test with chiggers, having been awake many a night with ice packs on swollen places, but I will say that when I go into the tall grasses of my hillside now, I’m always covered with a coating of Bye Bye Bites as well as a very light amount of commercial bug spray, and it works. I also shower or bathe immediately after finishing my gardening or other work.
Summer is for fun
I love summer. And I’m tickled to feel like these products help me enjoy more of it!
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