Sweet Swap!

This April I participated in a sweet swap with Audrey'sCountryCrafts on Etsy. I swapped my handcrafted soaps to get her teal raggedy bag, handmade by her out of cotton homespun material. This good sized bag is lovingly stitched using an "X" pattern and lined with cotton batting with 2 pockets on the inside. It is large enough to hold my medical files when I go to my doctor appointments and this is great! Gorgeous and functional! Beautiful work, Audrey, I am most proud of my bag and would jump at the chance to do another trade with you. Anyone wanting something unique and handmade should rush to Audrey's Etsy store and check her out, you won't be disappointed.

Taking Charge

A year and half ago I discovered soaping. I had long been trying to find a handcrafted niche that would suit me. I am an artist but my hands are being destroyed by nerve damage so i don’t do pen and ink or charcoals any more. I also have serious health problems, am disabled by it, and i am not one to sit back, worry, and await the bad. I knew I needed a creative, positive outlet to get personally involved with. I can’t knit, crochet, or draw and I stumbled upon soaping. I wish I had found it years ago. It is right up my alley: math, science, creativity, artistry, marketing, socially involving, lots of alone time, improve my own health, something I could be in charge of; everything I could ask for and more! I can’t use lye so I use premium bases to make my products. I am quite proud of them and am making the move on my glycerin melt and pour soap bases to a more natural glycerin base as my goal is to avoid synthetic chemicals in my products. I also LOVE animals, Maltese dogs in particular, and have been able to combine my love for soaping with my love for dogs in my 3 D dog breed collectibles made from soap. They’re pretty unique and I love doing them. I also handmill cold process soap and I am quite proud of it. Since using my own products my skin has cleared from the terrible itchies and rashes I have suffered from for years. Even my dog soap is all natural and my dog does not have the itchies either and I know what I am using on her is safe for I made it and i know exactly what is in it. I firmly believe the widespread infliction of skin allergies we and our dogs are now suffering from comes directly from the chemical stews stores sell us as bath and beauty products. I also believe in aromatherapy and I find lovely scents from essential oils do indeed make me and my dog feel more relaxed and happier. In some of my products I do use pthalate free fragrance oils, if it is a scent that is not found in nature or the cost of the essential oil is prohibitive. I use as little as possible and all my fragrances are used in absolutely skin safe ratios, mathematically correct, so my products will not reek, (they shouldn’t anyway) you can be assured they will be safe to use. My goal is to provide safer, more natural bath and beauty products made with luxury ingredients at an affordable price. If you have sensitive skin, or skin allergies, I urge you to get off storebought bath and beauty products and find poeple who handcraft these things, but make sure they are truly knowedgable, for natural is NOT always safer and better, expecially if one does not do the research and know what they are doing. Many crafters drench their products in scent, using NON skin-safe ratios, this is not healthy for you. Read the ingredients, read up on the ingredients so you will know what is bad for you, and switch to high quality (not necessarily high priced) handcrafted bath and beauty products. Your skin and hair will love you for it! And you will be putting more money into our community instead of fat cats’ pockets.

Feathered Friends Mementos/European Goodies Review

Today I received the most wonderful surprise! My good friend Johanna of European Goodies on Bonanzle send me a pair of the most exquisite feather earrings lovingly handcrafted by Heather of Feathered Friends Mementos on Etsy. Uniquely crafted of caged blue green feathers captured in silver wire metal. Such a creative, elegant design: a perfect juxtaposition of elements: light/heavy, air/metal, animal/earth, and freedom/caged. Heather's workmanship and ingenuity are refreshing and a beauty to look on. As a bonus, I received the matching necklace, on just the right length (so hard to get) of silver metal chain. Heather handcrafts an assortment of jewelry, original artwork, bookmarks and keychains, and fine art photographs. Some of her designs utilize feathers from her beloved caique parrot, Royal, like my earrings. Beautiful work, thank you, Heather. If you want divine, one of a kind, handcrafted, keepsake items, please check out Heather's shop on Etsy.

European Goodies is owned by Johanna a wonderful German lady who has lived in the United States for 12 years and is of Koziol family fame, her father invented the snow globe and was the Ivory Carver! European Goodies features unique vintage times including genuine pre-banned old ivory jewelry and what nots, and other quality vintage items along with her own custom designed website banners like the one on my site. For quality vintage, vintage pewter, custom banners, collectibles, and other nice things, drop by Johanna's Bonanzle Shop. Thank you, Johanna!

You 2 ladies made my week!

new direction: marketing spa bags

Happy Monday everyone! since I last blogged and told you about the retail company that flaked out on me bigtime and I had to fire leaving me stuck with bottles and bottles of lotion and shower gel and vinyl spa bags, I am going to take these around to all the local gift shops and boutiques around me. I am confidant some of them will be interested in buying these wholesale as they are unique and in a unique scent that knocks the pants off everyone and if there is enough interest I will continue to invest on my own in this spa bag venture. I am currently offering them in oh so sexy Black Knight of Avalon and they contain: one 8 ounce bottle of hand & body lotion with goatmilk, honey, & emu oil, 8 ounces moisturizing shower gel, one 4.25 ounce bar of beautifully layered Black Knight of Avalon glycerin soap, one 2 ounce bottle of dry cologne, and a bath puff or loofah. This is a men's spa bag, I am not sure what I will wholesale it for yet. OK, my wholesale price will be $25.46. They will retail for at least $38.00. I should be ready to market these by the first. Wish me luck!

Terminated New Wholesale Account

2 weeks ago i had had enough and terminated my new venture with the retail company that wanted to feature my medieval product line in thier product line. After a multitude of patient emails to them trying in detail to explain the FDA laws regarding legal labeling of products for retail they kept insisting on trying to make me market my products illegally and completely ignoring my efforts at educating them to keep us both out of trouble. I am out $500, stuck with product I had no intention of investing in for myself, and am glad I found out how unscrupulous they are NOW rather than later when orders started coming in...I was going to dropship the itmes, so that meant they would be remitting payment on orders to me, I probably would not even have been paid for my products. I learned 3 valuable lessons: 1.) CONTRACT, contract, contract. 2.) Insist the retailer invest half the investment monies up front before any work is done. 3.) An exclusive contract costs $20,000 and a license must be signed. They wanted to have exclusive rights to my products, in the bath and beauty business, that is worth $20,000 to cover lost future revenue on my behalf since I would have to remove my products from my stores..Learn from my experince, get it in writing and get earnest money up front to cover your expense. any company that knows nothing about the bath and beauty business MUST follow your lead, it is your business that is on line, when the FDA levies fines, it will be YOU they levy them against if your products are not manufactured legally.

MaMere's Punkin' Pie Soap with Emu Oil and Shea

Granny's wonderful handmilled cold process vegetable soap with shea butter, cocoa butter, real pumpkin with its skin nurturing caroten, vitamins A & C, and fantastic Emu Oil. Gentle at least @4.5 ounce bar with good suds. Great for your sensitive skin, contains NO artificial colors or synthetic chemicals except for a bit of skin safe pthalate-free Pumpkin Brulee fragrance oil. A delectable indulgence and perfect for any season!

Ingredients: Water, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Elaeis Guineensis (Palm) Kernel Oil, Glycine Soja (Soybean) oil, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Goatmilk, Emu Oil, Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin), Vanilla planifolia oloeresin, Fragrance, Turmeric Powder

http://2VirgosDesigns.etsy.com

New Wholesale account for Primo's Pawtourage Dog Themed soaps

This morning a very good friend whom I get my custom incense and some fragrance oils from asked if she could feature my dog themed soaps on her wholesale site! YES and YES! suddenly, I have 2 !!! wholesale accounts! I will make less money per item but more sales therefor more money. She makes big buck compared to me and has an established customer base. We shall see. Things are happening for me and it is such a blessing and time will tell.