Thank for all the outpouring of comments and support over the last few months. It’s been a while since I did a “We Love Our Commenters” surprise prize. I’ve put together 3 prize packs (partially shown) with fragrance blends (using Bramble Berry products, of course), one Milky Way Candle Mold and some assorted Labcolor colorants.

I did a random drawing of all the people that commented in the last week and came up with (drum roll please!)

We were floored when The Saponfier results came out and readers for this industry magazine voted Bramble Berry the Best Supplier for 2008. Bramble Berry also won for Best Fragrance Oil Vendor and placed 3rd in the Best Essential Oil Vendor and Best Fixed Oils Vendor and 2nd for Best Soap Molds.

Thank you for the honor. Everyone at Bramble Berry is thrilled to have the joy of interacting with our friends and customers daily through this blog, our Twitter account, the Teach Soap Forum, MySpace and Facebook. We feel so thankful to have the trust and support of the industry.

We had quite an intense few days of orders at Bramble Berry – and we’re excited to see how many people are planning ahead for the upcoming gift giving season by making their own handmade gifts. At Bramble Berry, we’ve always believed the creativity creates powerful memories and experiences and it’s gratifying to see how many of you agree.

With the busy order flow, we’ve mis-poured a few things today so I snagged them for one lucky Soap Queen Commenter. I appreciate how many people actively participate in this blog through comments and discussions in post threads. It’s nice to have a conversation and I’d like to elicit more of them. To reward those who have given their opinions and honored me by reading my posts in the last month, I used a human randomizer to pick a comment to win the schwag. Courtney in Customer Service picked a random number, Norman in Operations picked a random number and I used those two numbers as a locator to pick our “We Love Our Commenters” winner!

Sha-Marie from My Adventures in Soap is the proud winner of:

* 14 ounces of Vitamin E mixed with 2 ounces of Grapefruit Seed Extract
* 8 ounces of Oakmoss fragrance (mislabeled “Not Dragonsblood”)
* 8 ounces of Lavender Surplus mixed with Strawberry Surplus (it’s delish)
* .7 ounces Rhassoul Clay
* 1 discolored Santa Embedding Mold

Thank you Sha-Marie for commenting and being an active participant at The Soap Queen. Email me at info (at) brambleberry (dot) com with your address and I’ll wing this prize to you via Fed Ex this week. I hope you enjoy your goodies!

Best in Show, Chestnut & Bay LLC Soap. Tara Bukowsky makes one fab bar of soap!

Today was a long day – an intense day with back-to-back classes. I taught Goatsmilk Soapmaking 101, Goatsmilk Lotionmaking 101, Cold Process Soapmaking 201 and Beginning Marketing. All in all, I made four batches of soap and two batches of lotion – all while talking like a highly caffeinated, speed-ridden (“speed”, as in the slang for the drug) hyperactive person.

Every single class was overfilled with standing room only. Many of the classes had up to 25% people sign up the day-of the class, leading to some shortages and quick recipe changes. It was a challenge to stay on top of it all. After seven straight hours of talking, I am exhausted with a scratchy voice and sore throat … but there is no rest for the weary when you’re at a Dairy Goats Convention. These farmers know how to party.

There was an open bar party Thursday night with cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese … and well, you get the picture. Hundreds and hundreds of cheeses made from small micro-business dairies. I had not one but TWO entire HUGE heaping plates of cheese. And then, I took tupperware full of cheese back to the hotel room (shhhhhhh). Seriously, there was that much cheese. This is like the Cheese Mecca of the world (want to come next year? It’s in Buffalo, New York. Head to www.adga.org to find out more. They need a soap judge and a soap teacher. Think you’re qualified? Email me or comment here to be put into the running for the position). Notice my first plate on the left has fruits and vegetables on it. By the 2nd plate, I had given up on all pretense of pretending I was doing anything but shoveling the cheese straight into my mouth, with nary a cracker or fruit break in sight.

Here are me and my Mom, hanging out at the reception. We had a great time, laughing and enjoying the entire atmosphere. It was our first Mother/Daughter week and we enjoyed it to the fullest.

The soap below is the runner up soap that literally won 2nd best in the entire bath and body products competition. I bought this very soap for $45. That’s right – $45 entire dollars for ONE bar of soap (that yes, I could probably make myself).

But, amazingly, this was not the most expensive bar sold this evening. The auction procceds went to a good cause – next year’s bath & body competition costs. Two bars of soap at the auction went for $150 EACH. The winner paid $300 for two bars of soap. Now that is some good soap!

Do you want soap like this? This is Caroline Lawson, a proud Bramble Berry customer and the owner of TLC Farm Soaps. Her soap went for $150 per bar at the auction. You can buy it for the bargain price of $5 per bar here. Jackie won the entire Bath and Body competition in 2007 and was my Mom’s favorite soap for this 2008 competition. TLC Farms won for Best Soap (Fragrance Oil) and 2nd overall Best in Show (2008) for all the categories.

My Mom and I travel back to Washington state today. We have enjoyed sleeping in today (for sure!) after our busy and full workweek. It’s been a delightful time for both of us to be here. I’m thankful to be given the opportunity to teach so many new soap and lotion makers the science, art, and joy of making handmade toiletries.

Click Here to take survey

Answer three simple questions about how you use Patchouli, and you’ll be entered to win 4 ounces of Smoky Patchouli, 4 ounces of the not-yet-for-sale Patchouli Dusk and 1 ounce of Patchouli Essential Oil. Winner will be notified on June 14.

Answer Away!

Johanna in Customer Service made this awesome cold process soap with Smoky Patchouli, Grapeseeds and even knitted the washcloth herself! Nicole in Customer Service made the cute stamped soap on the right with Labcolors Orange and Energy Fragrance. They’re both great bars of soap with smooth even textures and amazing lather.

I’ll be randomly picking a winner for the 5 Aloha Mold prize tomorrow. If you missed the post and contest details, click here to read up and enter.