Search Results for: soap guild 2013

Meet our Soap Guild 2013 Guest Bloggers

April 24, 2013 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Excitement is building around our offices as the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild Conference quickly approaches. The annual conference draws attendees from around the country, and it’s a great place to learn new techniques, make connections and befriend fellow soapmakers. I’m super disappointed that I can’t attend this year, but it’s for a very good reason: our Bramble Girl is due smack dab in the middle of the conference! To keep everyone in the loop on the fun, we are sending the famously wonderful Kat (see two of her blog posts here and here) to teach an advanced soapmaking class and two Soap Queen guest bloggers to keep us updated with blog posts and photos throughout the conference. Don’t be shy; say hello!

Michele Lang, Tierra Verde Handmade Soaps

“I’m a wife, mother, blogger, and self proclaimed soap nerd living in Lubbock, Texas—a place best known for our expansive horizons, cotton and Buddy Holly.

What began in 2008 as a mere curiosity about the soap making process quickly became an insatiable passion. I fell in love with the intriguing chemical process, the artistic expression, the earthy perfume of essential oils, and the overall connection to the beautiful ingredients. I’m really just a gal who sees handcrafted soap as a beautiful art form. I feel a connection to the ingredients and my goal is to feature them as “the star” of the show.

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Soap Guild Conference Recap from Kat

July 7, 2013 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

The 2013 Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild conference has come and gone, leaving more than 300 attendees overloaded with valuable lessons regarding all aspects of soap making and business practices. Tired? Yes! Inspired? I can hardly control myself. I could barely sit in my seat during Amanda Griffin’s peacock swirl demonstration.

This is my third time attending and speaking at the conference, and it feels like they just get better each year. The classes were engaging and informative, the Soaper’s Showcase had the cream of the crop, and the goodie bags were generous to say the least.

I had a great time talking about my favorite subject, color, in a Cold Process Colorant Master Class. You all had such great questions and I was thrilled to hear the sound of relief in so many voices who expressed their gratitude after the class. I also have to thank those who attended the second session and were fantastic sports when my mic went out part way through. It wouldn’t be as exciting unless there were at least some challenges along the way.

Missed the conference? You can buy Kat’s Advanced Colorants e-book here!

I met a few of my soap idols as well, including Sharon of Platypus Dreams (who came all the way from Australia!) and Marie Gale, author of Soap & Cosmetic Labeling, Good Manufacturing Practices, and 300 Years of Natural Recipes. We sat next to each other at lunch and talked about horses while I giggled like a fool.

There was a game show night that had us all picking our brains trying to answer trivia, both soap related and general. Eh-hem, go Team Orange!! There was also an English carnival themed event with games like bocce ball, bean bag toss, and stack the soap molds. Everyone left with their arms full of prizes.

The conference also has meals specifically designed in such a way where attendees get to network and meet fellow soapers from all over the nation and beyond. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions and converse with those who are doing exactly what you are, with all different experience levels and stories.

I, for one, cannot wait to get back to my soap pot and put some new ideas into practice. Next year’s conference is being held at an incredible spa in Tucson, Arizona and early bird registration has begun. I have to thank the HSCG and all of the hard working coordinators who made this another successful and rewarding event. If you’ve never attended, I strongly encourage you to go. Split the cost of a room with some soap friends if it’ll help. You’ll never forget it!

Soapy Social Media Roundup

June 21, 2013 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

It’s still baby mania around here! I’ve been trying to get back into my normal routine (with Lily always in tow, of course), and I’ve been making it into the office for at least a few hours every day. Lily is the unofficial Bramble Berry mascot these days. She loves being walked around the warehouse. We also received some exciting news this week. Team Bramble Berry was the top referrer of new members to the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild for 2013! I can’t say ‘Thank you’ enough to the HSCG board and volunteers. Their conference is an event I look forward to each year (curious about our coverage of this year’s conference? Check our archives here!). As a gift for referring more than 30 new members, they even sent me a fantastic cheese basket! They know the way to my heart; if I had to live on only three things in life, they would be cheese, bread and cupcakes.

In the social media world, everyone is abuzz because you can now use hashtags on Facebook! The tags work the same way they do on Twitter or Instagram. The reason to use them is that they give you a quick and easy way to search and find groups of posts. We’re going to start using hashtags such as #brambleberry, #soapqueen and #soapcrafting, and we’d love for you to do the same when you post relevant content on your Facebook business pages.

Use the hashtags when you add a photo, comment on our Facebook page, or use a Bramble Berry product. My hope is that you’ll be able to search the tags and be rewarded with a wealth of information and awesome photos from your fellow soapers =)

This week was fun in social media. Here are my favorite Pins, Tweets and Vines of the week:

Pins.

Top left: How cute is this Bentley Ruched Short Dress? I love the bright fuchsia color! And, it looks figure flattering for post-baby.
Top right: Rain is something we’re used to in Washington State (they didn’t coin the term ‘Juneuary’ for nothing!) and this is an inspiring quote no matter where you are.
Bottom left: I’m such a fan of foodie themed soaps, and these cupcakes from Jennifer’s Handmade Soaps are some of the best I’ve seen. Bright, fun colors and excellent attention to detail make these really stand out. Want to see more of Jennifer’s work? We interviewed her earlier this week!
Bottom right: It’s been hard to find a spare minute to get back into the kitchen, but I am just dying to try these Southwest quinoa stuff peppers. Quinoa is a great source of protein and fiber, and I eat it at least once a week if not more. The rest of the family hardly notices when I slip it into random things, like pancakes, cookies and burgers.

Vines:
With dreams of a summer vacation on my mind (and no, with a newborn and a 2 year old, that will not be happening this year!), I made a Hawaiian shirt-esque cold process soap yesterday. Keep your eyes peeled for a full tutorial coming to this blog. We scented the soap with our brand new Shave and a Haircut Fragrance Oil, which was one of the winning scents chosen by our 2013 S.O.A.P. Panel. It performed admirably, giving me plenty of time to get a perfect design in the soap below.

Here is the final photo from the Instagram feed here.

Tweets:

These are some excellent tips on raising girls to take charge and become leaders. I especially like numbers 3 and 5. Good things to keep in mind as Lily grows!
With so much going on around here lately, reading about these 8 things I can cut out of my day to make it more productive was particularly insightful. Habits like multitasking during a meeting or checking my phone every few minutes and seeing one million new notifications are doing more harm than good.
Do you make and sell your own soapy products? Consider this article about how important color is in determining customer purchases. Color is 85% of the reason a customer is interested (and purchases) a particular product.
If you have little ones too, you know how important it is to stay active and engaged in their lives. These 5 tips are just little things you can do to stay connected. I especially like number 3 — and want to incorporate nightly dinners more into our routine.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Chris is doing his first triathlon tomorrow (!!) and Lily, Jamisen and I will be there to cheer him on at the finish. What projects do you all have in the works? If you’re looking for some inspiration, try your hand at our newest Make It Challenge. This one has a patriotic theme, and I’d love to see what you all come up with on our Facebook page.

Soapy Social Media Roundup

May 26, 2013 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Between the arrival of Miss Lily and getting recaps from our HSCG Conference guest bloggers (here, here and here), there has been serious excitement in the air here. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite happenings this week in social media. I have been making it online in between feeding Miss Lily seventeen trillion times a day.

Favorite Pins

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Update from the Soap Guild Show

May 20, 2013 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Soapers from around the country made the pilgrimage to the biggest soaping event of the year: Soap Guild 2013, held this weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina. Luckily we were able to send two excellent some soapers to cover the conference for us. Michele Lang of Tierra Verde and Jean Horne of SoapArt have been reporting back to us with excitement and glee. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the soaps that have were entered into the annual conference contests:

From the “Best Appearance” Category [Read more…]

Soap Guild Conference Goodie Bag Giveaway! (giveaway closed)

May 16, 2013 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Bramble Berry is proud to once again sponsor the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild Conference! We’re providing conference goers with super sized sample bags packed to capacity with some of our favorite Bramble Berry products, and sending along super soaper Kathryn Hackney (check out previous Soap Queen appearances here and here) to teach a Cold Process Colorant Master class. Don’t forget that our fabulous guest bloggers will be reporting back on other classes and conference happenings!

Bummed about not being able to attend this year’s conference? Not to worry. We’re keeping everyone in the loop by offering you the option to purchase the a super-sized version of the kit we included in the goodie bags through Brambleberry.com in a full size handy cold process kit. And we’re offering a PDF download of Kat’s amazing Cold Process Colorant Master Class and Powerpoint presentation so you can feel like you were right there with her. While it’s not quite the same as being there, it’s a close second.

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Guest Post: From Gel Phase to Sell Phase

July 2, 2014 Filed Under: Business Musings

It’s many soapers’ dreams to be able to open up a real storefront. Our guest blogger Dawn gives us an excellent recap of a 2014 Soap Guild session by Charlene Simon, a small business owner who has opened up three storefronts (!!!) in 6 years. Read on for some small business tips from an expert! — A.M.

How do you take your best bath and body products and turn that into a successful business? That is what Charlene Simon presented to us in a fun, inspiring session.

In under 6 years, Charlene Simon has successfully brought to life three retail storefronts, Bathhouse Soapery, Fat Bottomed Girl’s Cupcake Shoppe (as seen on Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars”), and evilO Oils & Vinegars. Charlene shared her experiences of making these hobbies into income producers.

Charlene Simon has successfully brought to life three retail storefronts in 6 years.

Charlene explained that in her storefront, customers get to physically see the products and she showed us a great shot of her storefront where she showed how she displayed her products.

Earlier this year we interviewed Kensico Soap Bar, which also opened up their own storefront. Click here to read about how they opened their beautiful shop.

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HSCG Conference Guest Post: Single Cavity Silicone Molds

June 30, 2013 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Saturday was a day full of interesting sessions, one of which was a session by Amanda Griffin on how to make single cavity silicone molds. Amanda lives in Dallas, Texas and teaches soapmaking classes that include the basics of formulation as well as more advanced soapmaking techniques that include working with color, swirling and she’ll even teach you how to make your very own silicone molds.

Have you ever found a little ornament you thought would be the cutest soap, or wished you could make your soap into something more personal? Learning to make your own single cavity silicone molds offers you a wide range of new and interesting shapes for your soaps. Think about unique shapes such as Buddhas, pine cones, cupcakes, fake food, grandma’s figurines, thrift store finds, and holiday themed items. The possibilities are endless!

Within the session Amanda explained the types of materials that were best suited for the use of making silicone molds. Pretty much anything goes, however your surface needs to be non-porous, if you find the item you’ve selected is porous be sure to seal it before making your mold.

You will also need to give thought as to how pliable you would want your mold to be for example; if you are making a slab or log mold you might want the walls to be more sturdy to hold in the larger amount of soap. Small single cavity molds will need to be more pliable to release your small irregular shaped item.

Amanda gave several examples of household items that can be used to make a mold box-the mold box holds the item you want to cast (and will ultimately become your mold); such as a pine cone, fake food item, nail polish, etc. She also explained that in order to make the proper amount of silicone you need to figure up the cubic inches within your mold box minus the space your item will take away. Don’t be afraid; there’s a calculator for that.

Getting set up for the mold.

Pouring the silicone.

One great option for pourable silicone is the DIY Pourable Silicone Kit and E-Book from Bramble Berry that includes Part A and Part B with complete instructions written by Amanda Griffin. This kit is perfect for making fun single cavity molds. (Pssst, another tip! For those more experienced with making silicone molds, Bramble Berry also sells the pourable silicone on its own!)

Silicone slab/log molds make soapmaking so much easier as they solve the huge problem of getting your soap to release without the headache of all that pushing, tugging and destruction of your soap-saving you time and money. Making your own mold is a great solution to the costly expense of purchasing a ready made mold and if you want a very specific size it is the best option. Amanda showed us how she made her very own slab mold from just a few pieces of melamine (as her mold box) from the local hardware store and pourable silicone. Yes, a new slab/log mold is really just a DIY project away.

New Products at Bramble Berry: Summer Edition

June 24, 2013 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

The first day of summer was this past week (and it rained, but really, who tracks that stuff?!). Here’s a treat so you can start your summer off right — brand new Bramble Berry products (yay!). Team Bramble Berry has been busy testing all the new products, and we’re happy to share them with you.

About a month ago, the Soap Guild Conference and Bramble Berry gave a special gift to attendees. Every conference-goer got a mini-cold process kit that included our brand new 4″ silicone loaf mold and various colorants & scents. You can check out the full tutorials and ingredients here. We didn’t want you to miss out on all the fun, so we made it available for everyone!

Soap Guild Cold Process Kit

Who doesn’t love new stick blenders (now available in green and white), as well as a brand new smokin’ hot stand mixer that comes with an awesome 5 quart glass bowl. Looking for just the bowl on its own? We’ve got you covered there too! These mixing bowls are great for large soap batches, and they even give you enough room to do a generously sized in-the-pot-swirl.

Top Row: Stand Mixer with 5 Quart Glass Bowl & 5 Quart Glass Mixing Bowl with Lid

Bottom Row: Green Stick Blender & White Stick Blender

Trying new molds is one of the best parts of soaping, and there’s almost a dozen new ones for you to experiment with. Experiment with the Pirate Mold for a fun summer party for example, or the 4″ silicone loaf mold for those recipes you’ve been dying to just try out (it holds just 18 ounces when filled to the brim, perfect for test batches). The Silicone Liner for 18 Bar Mold will save so much $$$ in time alone (no more lining that mold!).

Top Row: Guest 5 Hearts Mold, Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold, Rounded Oatmeal Mold

Middle Row: Pirate Face Mold, Guest Lotus Mold, Tray Carved Heart Mold

Bottom Row: 4″ Silicone Loaf Mold, Large 9 Ball Silicone Mold, Silicone Liner for 18 Bar Mold

Looking for a new book to help boost your business? We’ve got ’em! Good Manufacturing Practices by Marie Gale and Efficiency in Scaling by Kendra of Amathia Soapworks are excellent for high volume soapmakers who want to streamline their processes. Our very own Kathryn Hackney also wrote the Cold Process Colorant Master Class for those of you looking to hone your soap coloring skills.

Top Row: Craft, Inc. Revised Edition, Craft Inc. Business Planner, Good Manufacturing Practices

Middle Row: Chick Days, Small Business Accounting Simplified, Branding Basics for Small Businesses

Bottom Row: Soapmaker’s Handy Reference Guide, E-Book Cold Process Colorant Master Class, E-Book Efficiency in Scaling

The newest issue of Let’s Get Soapy from Soapylove is now available. Neon colorants and geometric patterns are all the rage right now, and the tutorials are perfect for fun summer projects. The magazine comes with a set of color blocks, sent to your house, to get you started on your perfect neon soap tutorial.

Soapylove E-Zine Neon Kit

These downloadable cards add a great finishing touch to any Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day bath & body products.

4th of July Day Cards Digital Download, Mother’s Day Cards Download & Valentine’s Day Cards Download

We’ve also introduced a triple-threat of new oils. Get ready to soap with Argan, Canola and Chia Seed Oil! These lightweight oils will add that extra touch of skin-loving goodness to your cold process and balm recipes, and you’ll be wondering how you ever soaped without them.

Argan Oil, Canola Oil, & Chia Seed Oil

With a whole line of botanicals, you can try your hand at a new project — potpourri! You can also use these botanicals to infuse your oils to create all-natural colorants for your soaps. For more on how to infuse, check out this e-book.

Top Row: Cloves (Whole), Cinnamon Sticks, Juniper Berries (Whole)

Bottom Row: Rose Hips (Whole), Cedarwood Chips, Orange Peel (Ribbon Cut)

Never made potpourri before? Try Nature Fix, the ultimate fixative to make the scent of your sachets last longer. It is a great alternative to other fixatives like benzoin and orris root which have been known to increase skin sensitivity and cause an allergic reaction.

Nature Fix

You’ve been asking and we finally got them back in — plastic bail jars in both the 4 and 8 ounce sizes. These jars are great for bath bombs, scrubs, salts, and more. Let us know what you use them for on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page!

4 oz Plastic Bail Jar & Short 8 oz Plastic Bail Jar

If you need another all natural colorant, these Cambrian Clays perform beautifully in cold process soaps. They come pre-dispersed so you can add them to your batch without having to worry about cracking, accelerating trace or separation.

Cambrian Blue Clay (wet) & Cambrian Yellow Clay (wet)

Cera Bellina Wax is natural derivative of beeswax and will give any lip balm, lotion bar or emulsion and nice smooth and luxurious texture. Try using the wax in the Tutorial for Everything Balm or the Lotion Bar Love tutorial to feel the difference for yourself.

Cera Bellina Wax

We have a surplus of Olive Oil Melt & Pour and we wanted to share it with you! Our Olive Oil Melt & Pour Base is super gentle and provides a deep, creamy lather. If lotions are more your thing, we’ve also included an Aloe Lotion Base.

Surplus Olive Oil Melt & Pour Base

After weeks of testing by members of our S.O.A.P. Team, we finally revealed the winners. Check out this blog post for more info, and welcome Tart Apple, Shave and a Haircut and Spring Meadow Fragrance Oils to our fragrance family. And because we love new scents so much, we’re also introducing Cucumber Oak Fragrance and Green Tea & Cucumber Fragrance Oil, as well as our newest essential oil, Red Brazilian Mandarin. If you lean more toward lip balms, we’ve brought back a reformulated Coconut Flavor Oil, and added a Winter Clementine Flavor Oil.

Have you tried any of Bramble Berry’s new products? If so, let me know in the comments what you thought, how you used it, and what you’d like to try next!

Happy New Year! Yearly Wrap-Up

January 1, 2013 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

“Here’s a toast to the future, a toast to the past, and a toast to our friends, far and near. May the future be pleasant, the past a bright dream; may our friends remain faithful and dear.”

– Unknown

This year, like all of them, has seemingly flown by. Having a toddler in the house definitely adds to the surreal feeling of time being extremely fleeting. Some of the highlights were: [Read more…]