“What’s the good of news if you haven’t a sister to share it?” ~Jenny DeVries
Beauty in Haiti
Guest blog by Amanda Griffith, from the Lovin’ Soap Blog, author of the Lovin’ Soap E-Zine series (check out Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3) and creator of the Pourable Silicone Kit + e-book. She has also authored many popular blog tutorials like the Buttermilk Bastille Baby Bar and the biz-related post The Importance of Keeping Customers. One of the kits she created, Sunset Over Water is here. -Anne-Marie
On January 10th, Marla Bosworth and I traveled to Haiti to teach a group of women how to make soap. These women live in a government-owned tent camp with no electricity and no running water. They have very little to their names, but they had the desire to learn to make soap. They hope that by making and selling soap – and other beauty products – they can improve their lives one step at a time and eventually move out of the camp into their own place.
The women range in age from 18 to 82 years old. They met after the earthquake and decided to stick together and create a community – that they could be stronger as a supportive group for one another. They began meeting under a tree in the tent camp to support and encourage each other with hope and possibility. They named their group OFEDA (Organisation des Femmes Devouees en Action). [Read more…]
Fruit and Veggie Wash Soap
I’m a huge fan of fruits and veggies of all types! From green smoothies to kale salads, I rarely meet produce that I don’t like. And of course, for me using soap to clean my veggies goes together like…peas and carrots (pun intended!). You’ve probably already noticed that many of your soap making oils are also common oils used in food preparation, and many can be found in your kitchen. Common fixed oils like Coconut, Palm, and of course Olive Oil are food-grade and often used in cooking. Sodium Hydroxide is even used in food preparation. True story! Pretzels, bagels, and lutefisk all have preparation methods involving lye. Sodium Lactate is also a food additive (FDA listing here). That being said, fixed oils from Bramble Berry aren’t meant for use in your food, because our warehouse isn’t certified for food storage and handling practices. But for a wash-off product like this fruit and veggie wash, the vegetable oils will do just fine!
A(nother) Big Announcement!
We’ve been full of big news lately, from finding out that we’re having a baby girl (eek!) to launching this year’s Bramble Berry Athletic Club, there’s been a lot of happy hustle and bustle and I couldn’t be more excited. But before you go thinking that’s all I’ve been busy with, there’s another big announcement…a secret I’ve been keeping for almost a year now:
I’m writing a book!!(!!!!!!!!!)
I’ve been working with the fabulous team at Storey Publishing on my new print book, Soap Crafting. It has been an amazing, mind-blowing, grueling, exciting experience so far (really, a little bit of everything). The book contains 31 Soap Queen designed and tested Cold Process soap recipes that I hope will knock your socks off. The book shows how to infuse natural colorants, how to dilute and work with LabColors, incorporate fun additives and even includes a glossary of soapmaking terms. Plus, for beginners, there is a ton of introductory information about making Cold Process soap, a basic beginner recipe AND a breakdown of common soap making oils. Whew!
The book is due to come out in August (three months after Bramble Girl is due to arrive if you’re keeping track!), which feels like such. a. long. time. But as the book comes together, I’ll be giving regular updates on its progress. [Read more…]
Bramble Berry Athletic Club: Bonnie Garrity
Here’s another one of our BBAC 2012 athletes! Bramble Berry is committed to donating a portion of our profits to charity (and has been ever since we opened our doors!). BBAC is all about bringing YOU in on our charitable contributions. Today’s interview is with one of our star athletes from last year’s team, Bonnie Garrity, owner of Good Earth Spa. You can catch Bonnie’s BBAC teammate Andrea Edgar’s feature here. I hop you feel totally inspired after reading (I know I do!). There’s still plenty of time to apply to be a part of BBAC 2013! Check out the details here.
Why a Newsletter is a Must
Newsletters aren’t new. They’ve been around ever since the postal service was first created. Donna Maria from Indie Business Network (a trade organization for the handcrafted soap and cosmetic industry) has blogged about the importance of having a newsletter (as have many smarter business people than I). But, this subject just came up in a phone call I was having with a customer who was trying to determine what to best spend her limited marketing time on. After all, there are SO many social media outlets. This is what I suggested for her limited time allocation – by priority. And, if she can only get to 1 or 2 … just do the two most important:
(1) Blog
(2) Newsletter
(3) Facebook
(4) Pinterest
(5) Tumblr
(6) Twitter
There’s a method to my madness putting an old school, boring newsletter in my top two content marketing (aka: communication) strategy and this post will cover newsletters – why they are important, some best practices and how a newsletter is your strong foundation for a good content marketing strategy.
Realize Beauty Interview
I’m always on the hunt for new ideas and science to make Bramble Berry’s products even better. A couple of months ago I ran across this incredible blog, Realize Beauty. Amanda over at Realize Beauty does formulating for products, brand positioning and market development, raw material evaluation, interactive communication, technical writing, market profiling and more! Her blog focuses on personable science journalism and educates readers about cosmetics. I knew I had to introuce you to this great resource. Put her blog on your blog reader so you can keep up with her thoughtful way of explaining consumer cosmetic science. -Anne-Marie
Proud Grandpa!
As you might recall, my dad is the best family practice doctor in Olympia, WA (biased, anyone?). He also happens to ADORE his grandchildren (including the granddogs) and every quarter he puts a new poster up in in each exam room and up on this website with new photos of this grandkids. He tells me that his patients love seeing his little grandbabies grow up. Awww…
The poster from when Jamisen was just a tiny little thing…I can’t believe how much he’s grown!
I love the conversation bubble in this one! “I distinctly said ‘D-O-G’. What is this ‘S-I-S-T-E-R’ thing everyone is so excited about? A mistake, Santa?” Classic.
Facebook Photo of the Week 1/11 – 1/18
What an exciting week we’ve had here at Bramble Berry! I’ve enjoyed watching the hundreds of photos coming in from our newest Make it Monday contest and awed and inspired by your creativity. We still have another week to go and I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us. We’ve also released another new SQTV episode featuring Jeanee from Dirty Laundry — check it out here. Are you ready for this weeks winner? Check below…
Fave Pins of the Week
We’re trying out a new feature here on the blog…Fave Pinterest Pins of the Week! These are some of my favorite recent Pins from my Pinterest boards. Click the links below to get a better look, or you can check out my Fave Pins of the Week Pin Board here.
I love anything spicy, so this Buffalo Cauliflower is right up my alley.
It’s never too late to Do Something Today…
These Newborn Photography Tips will come in handy soon.
Oh that Jimmy Choo. ‘Nuff said!
I swear, Pinterest has made me cook more, work out differently (and more!) and want to be more creative and crafty. I (heart) Pinterest. =)
How to Make Petit Four Soap Video
This is the second video I made with Jeanee Duval of Dirty Laundry (if you missed the first one see it here). In this video, I show her how to make some cute little Melt & Pour soaps that I designed just for her. As you can see from the outtakes at the end we had a great time making this video! Jeanee is a blast to work with and so talented! Check out her stylish blog and cute Etsy shop to see for yourself. She is also the author of a wonderful e-book on how to sell your handmade goods called How to be a Craft Show Genius. And best of all, she designed a custom box template for this video that fits the cube soaps perfectly; you can find it here.
Note: The Rainbow Sprinkles have been discontinued. This kit now comes with Red Jojoba Beads. [Read more…]
Bramble Berry Athletic Club 2013: Get in on the Action!
Last year was the inaugural year of the Bramble Berry Athletic Club, where we brought YOU in on Bramble Berry’s annual charitable contributions. Check out last year’s team here, and our spotlight on team member Andrea Edgar here (other team member spotlights coming soon!). BBAC is the perfect fusion of Bramble Berry’s commitment to social responsibility and my love of health and fitness. It was a blast to follow along with the BBAC 2012 athletes, get to know them, and read their stories. So we’re doing it again, and this year we’ve added a twist: we’re opening up the entries to BrambleBerrians who work at Team Bramble Berry! Double the fun!
Anyone who follows me on Twitter or has read this blog for a while knows that I’m dedicated to health. I believe life is a marathon and running a business is a grueling (but fun!) part of that marathon. I’m already so proud of Bramble Berry team members who have taken initiative and focused on healthy eating habits as personal goals in the last year, and I’d love to encourage them even more by having them join in the fun of BBAC with you guys. [Read more…]
Make it Monday: #Photography
It’s the very first Make It Monday (er… Tuesday), contest of 2013 and I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us. This last week has been a blur of activity from these fun Hidden Color Bath Bombs to Making Soap for AmeriCares (Go Team Bramble Berry!) and our first Soap Queen TV episode of the year. On Wednesday last week, we finally learned the gender of Bramble Baby #2 (we are having a girl, did you guess right in our poll?) and I had to keep the secret until we could tell our family at a gathering on SATURDAY. People, do you know what that was like?? It was soooo hard to keep a secret!
That being said, I’m excited to bring you the Make It Monday (errr …. Tuesday!) contest. Are you ready for this? Drum roll please…
Mission (if you choose to accept it) [Read more…]
Gender Reveal Party, Party Two
Our Balloon Gender Reveal party was just a party for the three of us: Jamisen, Chris and myself. We were all delighted and surprised when we found out a little girl would be joining our family this year. Baby Number Two is a planned, very loved addition to our family and no matter what the gender, we knew our family would want to celebrate in a big way. I designed a special fizzy that takes over a minute to dissolve and show the color (missed that tutorial? Check it out here) but before we did that, everyone had to vote “Team Blue” or “Team Pink.” [Read more…]