With LOTS of calendula flowers that’s how. Calendula has so many wonderful skin care properties that it just begs to be put into handmade soap. Every year, I grow a garden patch of calendula, pluck off the flower heads every morning and dry them. Once dried the petals are pulled and put into bags for future use. The dried flowers can be made into an herbal infusion which makes an excellent addition to handmade soap bars and is one herb that retains its natural color through the soap making process. The dried flowers yield a beautiful soft yellow to handmade soap bars. Take a look at the Pearberry soap we make. It has ground up and whole calendula petals in it and is very popular with both retail and wholesale soap customers.
Popularity: 26%
Here is a new handmade soap made in the past couple of weeks. It’s scented with a simple but perfect blend of Virgina Cedarwood and Lavender essential oils and has a fabulous woodsy aroma making it a perfect handmade soap gift for that special man in your life. Sometimes simple is best! Coming soon!
Popularity: 31%
I’ve gone ahead and ordered more custom molds specifically for one ounce handmade soap bars sized for hotels, bed and breakfast inns, and bulk wedding favors. I’m so excited. These will make a great addition to my collection of molds and they are silicone! Yippee! Got to be a soapmaker to appreciate the ease of silicone molds. They are simply wonderful. So easy to use and a breeze to clean. I love making handmade soap with them! Check out Woodfields. Larry will make custom sized silicone molds. I get mine in about a month and can’t wait!
Popularity: 21%
Well, it’s the second weekend setting up a sales booth for my handmade soap company at the Portland Saturday Market and boy am I out of my comfort zone. First problem, getting there and not getting lost. 2nd problem, hauling booth, displays and product in without getting exhausted before the market opens. Third problem, how to set things up in an 8 x 8 stall instead of the standard 10 x 10. There is a huge difference between a 10 x 10 space and a 8 x 8 space. Saturday, we were going to just set tables up for the handmade soap right at the front of the booth, however, since we were sandwiched in between vendors I realized that I’d have to crawl under the tables to get out! Not fun! I improvised and set things up as best I could but didn’t have much room for my body let alone a chair, storage boxes and extra product. I also felt like I was in a cave since both vendors on either side of me had curtains up. So Saturday evening, I went home and pulled out some 2 x 4 tables, along with a couple of smaller tables and did a quick mock up of something I thought might work better. I’ve got alot of different handmade soap bars to sell and this set up worked in a way but still needs work. Customers were drawn to the handmade soaps up front but had to be shown the handmade soaps on the smaller table. Oh well….I know what I’ll be working on this week!
Popularity: 36%
It’s with a heavy heart that we have moved the weekend market operations of our handmade soap company from the Vancouver Farmers Market to the Portland Saturday Market. This was a tough decision to make after almost eight years, however, it is a necessary move. If you are one of our cherished regular local Vancouver customers you can still continue to buy handmade soap off of the website or by visiting our sales booth at the Portland Saturday Market. For those local Vancouver customers wishing to place orders off the website, please email us for a “Free Shipping” coupon.
Popularity: 22%
