Success Stories Archives - Page 13 of 22

Test Tube Samples

August 15, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

Have you heard about TestTube? It’s a sampling program for all the latest, greatest (?) nutraceuticals. If you’re anything like me, you’re tempted by the glossy ads, the promising superlatives and the embryonic-looking models. But, perhaps like me, you’re a frugal person who believes in a little bit of prudence in a big way when it comes to splurging on things you can (a) probably make yourself and (b) you knowuse less than 1% of the active ingredients they so proudly tout on the label.

I’ve been satisfying my curiosity for $29 per quarter for the last year and am lovin’ it. So far, every single line I’ve gotten (save one – I’ll admit it – $150 Prevage pretty much rocked my skeptical, penny pinching world) has not lived up to the overhpyed claims. And, rather than spending $hundreds$, I’ve spent $120 for the entire years’ worth of samples and generous testers.

If you see the glossy ads and think, “Hm, maybe I should spend that $300 on GDSB (Glossy Department Store Brand),” then the NewBeauty TestTube Sampling program might quell that urge. And, at the very least, it’ll give you a healthy boost of self esteem as you realize that despite the lack of fancy-schmancy packaging, your homemade soap, lotion or cleanser is just as awesome and effective as the GDSB one.

Beauty TestTube, $29 every 3 months, here.

World Wide Soaping

August 5, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Beautiful Soaps from Liliana in Puerto Rico. I received the nicest email today that just made me smile and I had to share. Right before I head to the Hill on behalf of small home crafters everywhere, it was the perfect reminder that home soapers do amazing, innovative things and that keeping options open to small business everywhere is important.Here is a little snippet from Liliana’s email:

“I am perfectly happy with your products and especially happy with your service. I have to say this, because I live in Puerto Rico, and you know sometimes the shipping and delivery costs are very high and that is the hard point when selling our products. So your company always helps me manage costs in a very efficient way. Thanks for that!!”

Thanks for your email, Liliana! It made my day here in Washington DC.Check out her beautiful soaps below. I’m sure once the Brambleberrians are awake and get to work that they’ll be oohing and ahhing over the cuteness all day.

I love the embedding here. It’s so good that it almost looks fake.

Thank you Lillian for sharing.

Iron SoapMaker

July 15, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

The ISOCAN Iron Soapmakers Challenge:
Brought to you by the Illinois Soap and Candle Conference

If you have a competitive spirit and are up for a challenge, the ISOCAN Iron Soapmakers Challenge is for you. All competitors will receive the same box of ingredients including oils, butters, colorants, fragrances, lye, molds, etc. With only five minutes of preparation time, the soapers are off to create the best bar of soap they can in hopes of bringing home first prize!

Participant’s soaps will then be pictured on the ISOCAN.org website where the public will cast their votes and pick their favorite. And yes, the winner will be rewarded with a prize!

But wait, there are more perks to this competition! Participants can pay just $10 and receive a bar of soap from every one of their competitors or just participate for free! I want to pay money to get all of the soaps too! Is there any way that I can do that?
On your mark…Get set…Start soaping! Can you handle the pressure? Get more information and the official rules here.

Where Is Matt?

June 25, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

If you haven’t seen Matt or his dancing antics before, you’re in for a treat. It’s a video, so FeedBlitzers, ya’ gotta head to the blog to see it. The clip is more than just a cheap world traveler being silly. It makes me recognize the common threads we all share; language and cultural barriers are surmountable.

Cool! Where Do You Buy Your Supplies?

June 18, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

Click here to see the entire list of Commonly Asked Craft Show questions.

Click here to see the answer to “Why does your soap cost so much?”

Click here to see the answer to “Cool! How is this made?”

Click here to see the answer to “Cool! Can you teach me to make this?”

Cool! Where do you buy your supplies!?

Answer You Might Want to Give: “Sorry, no. I’m not telling you where I buy my stuff so you can go copy all of my best ideas. Learn how to do it like I did it – from scratch with hard work and effort put into it. Good luck.”

Or “Can you keep a secret?” (they nod) “Well, so can I.”

Being diplomatic at all times is a good business skill to learn and there’s no better time than right now. Here are some different answers for this pesky question based on your comfort level with freely sharing your knowledge. At Otion, one of our Core Values is that we freely share information. I generally divulge everything I can without jeopardizing our core business. Where you fall on this scale (stony silence to verbal fountains) determines how friendly and encouraging you’ll want to be with this answer.

Nice Freely Sharing Knowledge Answer: “I am so flattered that you like my XYZ (scent, color, mold). I get it at Bramble Berry Soapmaking Supplies. Their web site is www.brambleberry.com and their phone number is 1-87-SOAP-STUFF. Soapmaking is so fun and easy! I hope you like it as much as I do!”

Less Sharing but Still Nice Answer: “I am so flattered that you like my XYZ (scent, color, mold). I’d prefer not to share my sources for my supplies but I’m happy to give you some good starting places for you to search around so you can find a (scent, color, mold) that’s unique to you and really appeals to your sense of style.”

“When I started out, I actually bought all of my molds and stuff at Michael’s craft store. You could get a basic starter kit there or you can always go online and Google “Soapmaking Supplies” and some of the top vendors in this industry will pop up. (transition question) So, you’re crafty? What other crafts do you do?”

Martini Soap Schwag

June 17, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I was thrilled to get this yummy Margarita Shea Butter Soap from SeaGarden Design last week. I especially liked the nice touch of the flamingo stir stick and faux martini olive.

Despite being sent all the way from Florida, it still arrived totally safe and sound. Thanks for thinking of me. =)

Soap, Sun & Thunderstorms

June 15, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Day Two of the Alabama Soap Meeting did not disapoint (click here for Day One). Jen Merk, the 10 year (outgoing) President of the show kept things running smoothly. The Demonstrations were particularly interesting on Day Two.

My favorite demonstration was one on hand dipping candles. Who knew it was so easy? Or time consuming? The demonstration was very hands-on, with most everyone in attendance getting a chance to dip.

Mid-day, an amazing thunderstorm of Biblical proportions struck the little town of Pratville. The skys opened up with such force that I feared for the roof of the convention center. My husband text-messaged to say that it was a beautiful sunny day in Bellingham. Ah, the ironies …

The food on Day Two was stupendous. Every single item was cooked in multiple sticks of real butter. The potatoes were swimming in little pools of butter, the green beans were wading through golden rivers of fat and the broccoli cassrole was a double whammy with mountains of cheddar cheese and ponds of melted butter. It was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten and I safely should only eat such a meal once every ten years. My arteries have never seen so much pure butter in their entire lives.

Being a soap show, of course the soap was wonderful. I especially liked this checkerboard soap. The creator (Darlene English) shrugged off all compliments and generously shared her technique. I can’t wait to try it.
I was especially tickled to see Karen White’s key differentiators. She said she bought them because she saw them on this blog. Awwww … (no wonder I liked them!)

We ended the night with the board generously taking me out to dinner (thanks!) at an amazing restaurant. I had Fried Green Tomatoes for the first time. Everyone swears they were fried in Olive Oil. And, when the waitress came out and said they had run out of Red Velvet cupcakes? I was bummed but stuffed…. only, she had lied! The Board had conspired to custom order an entire platter of Red Velvet Cupcakes.

It was a perfect way to end the evening – laughter, conversation and cupcakes.
Thank you Alabama Soapers for a a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Fit for a Queen

June 13, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I am having a wonderful time at the Alabama Soap Gathering.

They generously presented me with an honorary membership, monogrammed soaping gloves, pearls and a tiara.

Now I’ll really feel like a true soap queen making my next batch of soap!

Button Flowers for Summer

June 8, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I made some cute Daisy (or as we call it on the Bramble Berry web site: “Button Flower“) soaps this week (all in the name of more color and fragrance testing) but really, I just can’t get over how adorable the mold is. It must be the overcast weather in Bellingham that makes me gravitate towards this happy mold. Hopefully summer will be here both in name and weather patterns soon.

The Daisy on the left is my favorite. Because the color is a bleeding colorant, it won’t stay beautifully mottled. Within two to three weeks, the entire white bar should be more of a muted pink without the unique look the bar is sporting now.

If you want to recreate any of these bars, you’ll need the Button Flower mold, clear melt and pour, white melt and pour, fragrance of your choice (might I suggest Midnight Pomegranite or Energy?), and Merlot Mica, Non-Bleeding Red, Red Labcolor and Sparkle Gold Mica.

The bars on the right and middle are simple multi pour soaps. Simple Instructions: Melt, color and fragrance the soap in different containers. Pour the soaps at the same time. They will naturally swirl and mingle in a surprising fashion. I painted gold on the rims of the soap molds before pouring. That’s where the sheen comes from.

The white soap on the left is actually just a white overpour with chunked up pieces of red soap cut up very small to give a different embedding look. All three bars are simple to make and use basic melt and pour techniques yet they look so varied and different. Melt and Pour truly is a consumable and usable art form.

Cool! I Want Product for Free!

June 6, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

Click here to see the entire list of Commonly Asked Craft Show questions.

Click here to see the answer to “Why does your soap cost so much?”

Click here to see the answer to “Cool! How is this made?”

Click here to see the answer to “Cool! Can you teach me to make this?”

Cool! I want product for free for my VERY GOOD CAUSE! Can you donate?

Your answer requires you to be able to articulate your personal philosophy about donations. I’ve got some general skeleton answers for you but they will only work if you’ve figured out what your approach to giving is.

I have a varied approach: at Otion, we say “Yes” to a maximum of 7 events per month for donations of goody baskets. At Bramble Berry, we say “Yes” to most soap gatherings and donate a flat % of net profits every year to nonprofits.

Having a clear understanding of what you are comfortable in giving will help you answer this question.

If saying “Yes“:

“Thanks for asking! We’d love to help out. When would you like to pick up the gift basket? Do you need my logo for any sort of recognition in the programs or signs?”

If saying “Maybe“:

“Thanks for asking. We do get asked a lot and I actually end up having to prioritize our giving because we’re a small company. Can you tell me a little bit more about the opportunity? Do you have a tax exempt number? Will you be able to give me a receipt? How many people will be at this event? Will you be acknowledging donors? If the recognition will be in a program, can you use my logo?”

If saying “No”:

“Thanks for asking. Your XYZ cause sounds amazing and I am so impressed that you are putting time and energy into it. I love donating my time and money when I can but unfortunately, this month I’m tapped out. We get asked a lot and I definitely do as much as I can but I can’t do any more right now.”

Rollin’ the Soap

June 5, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

All of the Brambleberrians are squealing with delight over this adorable soap! We. Love. It. At $10 for both dice, it’s an attractive price too.

Check out DugShop, a cooperative of artists with very whimsical soap designs, here.

Spotted Cow Soap

June 3, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Thank you to frequent Soap Queen Commenter, Spotted Cow Soapsin Vermont for sending me an amazing bar of soap. The soap smells fresh and clean and the green luffa is a perfect look for this refreshing scent. The ribbon and bow is a nice packaging touch. I can’t wait to use the soap! Thank you for the treat.

It’s That Time

June 1, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

It’s that time again – fund raising for political candidates has started in earnest.

Chris and I co-hosted a fund raising for Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire last night. It was well attended, in a gorgeous art gallery. The Governor was well spoken, personable and absolutely hilarious. She had the crowd laughing and whoopin’ it up with some of her off-the-cuff, situational one-liners.

It was a fun evening and we were both thrilled to participate.

Cool! Can You Teach Me to Make This?

May 28, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

Previous Craft Show Questions answers: Why does this stuff cost so much?! click here. Cool! How is this stuff made?! click here

Cool! Can you teach me how to make this stuff?

(big grin)

Gosh, I am so flattered that you think my product is nice enough to actually want to learn from me. Unfortunately, I am totally packed up right now (insert things for your life here) trying to run my small business, be a decent mom and actually do my part time for pay job on the side. But, it’s actually not all that hard to make the product really. I actually taught myself if you can believe it!?

In fact, let me write down this web site for you – here’s a good start for you to start learning – www.teachsoap.com – while it’s not very difficult to make all these goodies you see here, it’s time intensive so it’s good to start researching on your own.

OPTIONAL ADD-ONs if you’re feeling very friendly and helpful

CP: Also, my favorite book for learning to make cold process soap, the kind of soap I make here is “The Soapmaker’s Companion” by Susan Miller Cavitch and “The Everything Soapmaking Book” by Alicia Grosso. Or you can watch the DVD on making cold process soap. It’s called “Learn to Make Cold Process Soap” and you can buy it at brambleberry.com or amazon.com

MP: Also, my favorite book for learning to make melt and pour soap, the kind of soap I make here is “Melt & Mold Soap Crafting” by Kaila Westerman. Or you can watch the DVD on making melt and pour soap. It’s called “Learn to Make Melt and Pour Soap” and you can buy it at brambleberry.com or amazon.com

Liquid Soap: Also, my favorite book for learning to make liquid hand or dish or clothing soap, the kind of soap I make here is “Making Natural Liquid Soaps” by Catherine Failor.

Lotion: Also, my favorite book for learning to make lotions from scratch, like I do here, is “How to Make Lotion.”

End with:(ASK FOR THE SALE!)

Thanks so much for stopping by my booth. Did you want to pick up any of my XYZ? If you buy 3 of them, you get the 4th one free!