I recently received an email from a business owner in the middle of ramp-up stresses. She asked, “I guess I should ask you of all people, who has achieved what I consider to be the greatest of success… does it get any better? Is there light @ the end of the tunnel???” I ended up writing her a small novel and after I hit the ‘send’ button realized that if she had this question, perhaps other people did as well.
Search Results for: candle
Business In a Box
Have you ever wanted it to just be easier? For someone to pick out all the stuff you needed and point you to the correct resources so all you needed to do was create safe products and sell? That’s what we’ve done with our Business in a Box kit. It is literally everything you need to get started making 100 pounds (roughly 375/545 bars) of soap, learn the basics of safe soapmaking, get an overview on starting a craft business and even includes label templates that are designed with correct INCI labeling. These kits are unique in that they include our most popular Quick Mix oils. You don’t need to worry about designing a recipe that works. We’ve done the work for you (though, full disclosure, soapmaking is addicting and we’re betting that you’ll want to do more research in the future and create your personal idea of a ‘perfect’ recipe). All you need to do to start is read up on business and soapmaking to get the basics under your belt, get your state and city business license, explore insurance, make the soap using our easy and safe recipes, add your address to the labels, cure your soap and get out there and sell! When you buy this kit, even with all the start up costs of the molds, equipment etc… included, the soap comes out to just under $1.39 per bar (without your overhead costs like rent, energy and labor worked in).
Valentine’s Day Mashup
Valentine’s Day is just right around the corner (19 days if you are counting!), and I know many of you are going to make some special soapy projects for the wonderful people in your life. From Cold Process and Melt and Pour soaps to Lipstick, Lip Balms, and Massage Candles, here’s a convenient mashup of ideas for making those fun and soapy Valentines.
Ombre Heart Soaps, Chocolate Lip Balms with Cocoa Powder, Lipstick Recipes, Rose Melt and Pour Soaps, Valentine Soap Wraps, MP Loves CP [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.
Facebook Photo of the Week 1/7 – 1/11
It’s Friday and you know what that means! It’s time to announce the winner of our weekly Facebook Photo of the Week. This week was a particularly creative week on our Facebook page. Keep those soapy pictures coming! They make us all drool (for soap).
This week’s photo comes to us from Becky Sheffler. This is her Faux Funnel Soap using Bramble Berry’s Neon Colorants. She said she was super pleased with the outcome and noticed that the soap even looks like it is smiling at you. I love the bright colors that she used in her soap! Thank you so much, Becky, for sharing your photo with us and we can’t wait to see more from you. A little fun and soapy package is being sent your way.
Missed previous Facebook Photo of the Week posts? Check out our winners here:
1/4: Jasmine Hales
12/28: Crystal from She Dragon Body Products
12/21: Linda from the Enchanted Bath
12/15: Kira and Cody from Oak Street Soaps and Candles
12/7: Lisa Bilik
11/30: Marcy from Kiku’s Creations
11/23: Juli from Inspiri Body
11/16: Mike from Soap Passion
11/9: Brooke from Her Best Apple
Would you like your photo or project to be featured in a blog post? Come join us for soap talk, contests and lots of crafting inspiration at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page. Share a photo with us of your latest project and your handmade soap might be next weeks feature!
Hot Process Series: Oven Process Layers
Ever wondered what the difference is between CPOP, HPOP, and CPHP? I’m hoping to set the record straight when it comes to various methods of using heat to aid in the soapmaking process. Or, at the very least, I’ve set out to tell my own accounts of what happens when I soap with these different methods. I’ve already rocked out some CPOP and CPHP tutorials, and today we’ll be visiting HPOP.
HPOP: Hot Process Oven Process. This method of using hot process calls for heat being applied while the soap spends time in the oven. Like the oven’s purpose in CPOP, and the crock pot’s purpose in CPHP, the oven facilitates holding the temperature of the soap at or above 160 degrees, speeding up the saponification process. Remember from the CPOP post that according to Professor Kevin M. Dunn, author of Caveman Chemistry and Scientific Soapmaking, heat speeds along the saponification process. The major difference is that HPOP cooks the soap in oven before it goes into the mold instead of after, which gives the finished soap a more rustic look. Questions? Check out the FAQs at the end of the post!
Click here to tweet this tutorial!
Facebook Photo of the Week 12/10 – 12/14
This week I’ve been getting ready for Christmas by baking cookies for our upcoming cookie swap and going on our annual Salvation Army shopping trip! It has been so much fun seeing all your fabulous Christmas-themed products in our Make it Monday: #Christmas Schwag Challenge (check out the Facebook album here). Now onto our winner for our Facebook Photo of the week…
Hot Process Series: Crock Pot Camo
Ever wondered what the difference is between CPOP, HPOP, and CPHP? I’m hoping to set the record straight when it comes to various methods of using heat to aid in the soapmaking process. Or, at the very least, I’ve set out to tell my own accounts of what happens when I attempt these different methods. We’ve already visited CPOP, so next up let’s take a look at CPHP.
CPHP: Crock Pot Hot Process. This method of using hot process calls for heat being applied through the use of a crock pot (or a double boiler or jacketed soup tureen). Like the oven’s purpose in CPOP, the crock pot in CPHP facilitates holding the temperature of the soap at or above 160 degrees, speeding up the saponification process. Remember from the CPOP post that according to Professor Kevin M. Dunn, author of Caveman Chemistry and Scientific Soapmaking, heat speeds along the saponification process. The major difference is that CPHP cooks the soap before it goes into the mold instead of after, which gives the finished soap a more rustic look. Scroll to the end of the tutorial for some FAQs!
Click here to tweet this tutorial!
Make it Monday: #Christmas Schwag
It’s coming up on the end of the year (I can hardly believe it!) and that means it is our very last #Make it Monday challenge of 2012. We’ve seen some pretty incredible projects over the last six months and can’t wait to see what you have in store for us for this challenge! Are you ready for it?
Mission (if you choose to accept it)
- Create a unique product that follows the theme for the challenge of the week. This week is all Christmas themed bath and body products. Anything from melt & pour and cold process soaps, bath bombs, lotions, and more!
- Post your pictures of your cute and creative Christmas projects to Bramble Berry’s Facebook page during the entry period (December 3rd – December 17th).
- Your entry must have the hashtag of the week in order to be entered into the contest. This week, your picture must have the hashtag #Christmas Schwag
- At the end of the entry period, Team Bramble Berry will pick our favorite entries. The winners of the challenge will be featured on the Soap Queen Blog. You have until Monday, December 17th to post photos of your #Christmas Schwag. Please submit your photos by 12 pm (pacific standard time).
- You can submit up to three different pictures!
And now here are a few ideas for some extra-special holiday inspiration [Read more…]
Bath Bomb Winners!
This week is Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for and that includes you, our wonderful customers, friends, fans and readers. I’ve enjoyed seeing all the creative ideas that everyone has come up with for our Make It Monday: #Bath Bombs Challenge. From adorable little cupcakes to chill pill fizzies and even bubble gum bath bombs, it has been so much fun to check Bramble Berry’s Facebook page everyday and ooh and ahh over all the fizzy creations you have created. Like all our Make It Monday challenges, it was difficult to choose the winners. But, it had to be done. Drumroll please…
Top Row:
Athena from Antoinette’s Bath House – Orange You Glad I’m Naked Bath Bombs
Odette from Riverlea Soap – Bath Bombs Fizzy Soap Combo
Anntoinette from the Yard Store – Natural Bath Truffles (from the Soap Queen tutorial) with Lavender-infused Olive Oil
Middle Row:
Aneta from Sapuneta – Scented with Raspberry
Laura Harris – Lil’ Animal Fizzies scented with Exotic Fruit Smoothie
Elizabeth from Tidal Creek Candles & Soaps – Happy Snowman Bath Bombs scented with Cranberry Fig
Bottom:
Amy from Sunbreak Soaps – Coconut Lime Verbena Bath Bombs
Marisa from Soaps Temptation – Sabonetes Artesanais
Ginger-Vee from Champ de Fleurs – Sweet Orange and Spicy Ginger Bath Bomb Cupcake
Thanks to all who participated and keep your eyes peeled for our next Make It Monday challenge being posted later today. If you need some extra fizzy inspiration over the Thanksgiving weekend, take a look at our #Bath Bomb Facebook album to check out all the bath bombs that were entered. In the meantime, I’ll continue planning for Thanksgiving (I’m making the lasagna and the kale salad) and being extra grateful for such a fun community of soapers (and fizziers!) to share my days with.
What’s New: Summer Soaping Supplies
Talk It Out Tuesday: All Things Lotion
Woohoo! Here we are again with another installment of Talk It Out Tuesday (check out our previous TIOT’s on bath bombs, colorants, melt and pour and our latest on preservatives). I am delighted about the topic this week because I know many of you have questions about water-based lotions. I can’t wait to help you answer them. So read on and find out everything you wanted to know about lotions! And, if I didn’t answer it, feel free to ask me in the Comments section.
What is lotion?
Lotion is a basic skin-care product that is used to soothe dry skin and often has ingredients that are intended to give extra added benefits to your skin. Body butters, balms, salves, lotion bars, creams, and massage candles can all be considered a lotion. Generally, a traditional lotion will have water + oils + emulsifiers + preservative.
How do I make lotion?
While there are hundreds of recipes for lotions, body butters and salves out there, a basic lotion recipe would consist of your oils/butters, preservative, fragrance, an emulsifier and distilled water. To create your own lotion from scratch, you can go by the following guidelines: [Read more…]
Business Insurance for the Handcrafted Industry
You have home owners insurance. You have car insurance. Should you get business liability insurance? Having business liability insurance is not mandated by law. If you wish to run a craft business without insurance, there is no governing agency that will force you to buy insurance. Your bank, should you ever get a loan, will ask you for insurance (they’d like to ensure they get repaid on their loans no matter what happens with your business). Buying insurance is a prudent choice to protect your family’s assets should anything go wrong in your handcrafted soap and toiletry business.
We live in a litigious society. People can sue or claim damages for anything and everything. If someone slips in the shower using your salt scrub, they could claim it was the fault of your scrub. If someone uses your soap and decides that the rash they developed the next day was from your soap, they can claim damages. They might not win a possible lawsuit but dealing with the issue would take valuable time away from you and your business. Additionally, any legal fees could be costly and put you and your family assets at risk. Finally, if your house were to (knock on wood, throw salt over your shoulder, turn around 3 times) burn or have fire damage, your business property might not be covered under your home owners insurance. [Read more…]
The Handmade Marketplace Contest Winner
We’ve picked a winner (127 comments later) from last week’s contest to win a copy of The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin. Thank you to all our wonderful readers who shared their amazing business goals with us. We are so impressed by your responses and all the hard work that you have done and continue to do!
Drum roll please…our winner is…Rhonda Tevik of Theodora Soaps!
Here is what Rhonda said: “I have just entered my third year of selling soap. In 2011, thanks in large part to the tremendous support, information and products of Bramble Berry, I have slowly added Lip Balms, Lotions, Body Butters/Lotion Bars etc to my products. I currently sell at small local Farmer’s Markets, with an event or two thrown in – but not many. I carry soaps at two local shops ‘in town.’ I recently started selling on-line again thru FaceBook & Artfire. I have several repeat and word-of-mouth customers. I’ve become a regular donator to a local annual Foster Parent Organization and Breast Cancer Awareness events. My business goal for 2012 is three fold: 1) Become a member of the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild 2) Get a better handle on my weakness in packaging; which can sometimes affect that all-important “branding” and 3) Branch out into making Candles. I am a small venture and have no real plans of expanding to a brick & mortor store front in the too-near future. I work in a profession I also love as much as making soap! I would however, like to solidify what my business is today and become a viable and consistent part of my small community. I would like to grow my business in the on-line market place in the form of more consistent sales. I’d like to branch out into larger surrounding Farmer’s Markets and Events. I trust Bramble Berry as you are my ‘First Love’ in the Supplier chain =) Therefore, I trust that this book will help me achieve my small business goals for this year and the coming years.”
Congrats, Rhonda, and good luck with your business! Please email contest(at)brambleberry(dot)com with your shipping address and we’ll get your book in the mail=)
There were so many wonderful comments about your business goals. Here are two more comments for inspiration!
Jennifer Caballero: “My business is that of keeping my kids healthy, and helping other mothers to do the same. We have taken all the additives and preservatives out of my child’s allergy life and he has improved in leaps and bounds. My specific goal is to help other mothers out there with their kids needs with my products by growing my online business by 25% and establishing one local store connection.”
Donna Roberts of Zoe Life Soapworks: “I am opening a new storefront of my own in 38 days! My goal for the first year is to really establish myself in the community. I am going into a town that does not completely understand hand made soap and lotions so I also hope to give them a better understanding of how much better for you a handmade bar of soap is. I plan to join the chamber of commerce and start meeting some of the other business owners in town not only to learn how they deal with the challenges they face but to also just to network. They have a local farmers market so I also plan on selling in that market as well. I have never sold this far “down valley” but have had great success “up valley”. My first year I hope to grow as a soapmaker, a business owner, and as an individual. But in regards to business growth I would like to increase my farmers market client base, my special orders, gift baskets, and get some people in the shop doing some fun soapmaking classes!”