River County Soapworks produces high quality soap and toiletries that are both pleasing to the senses and terrific for your skin. I invite you to try our products.
One of the problems of having a handmade soap company is finding “fun time” for experimentation. I’m in the process of testing some essential oil blends in soap and decided to try my hand at some different handmade soap designs while testing these blends out for longevity and appeal. One of the blends is “Mojito” which has Lime, Bay, Spearmint, Litsea and Bergamont in it. I poured handmade soap layering three colors of white, green and gold one on top of the other in a small log mold. This test mold yields seven handmade soap bars so it is the perfect size for testing a scent or soap recipe in. After the anticipation of cutting into the handmade soap log, I was very pleased with how this soap looks. Reminds me of tie die and smells wonderful! If you like the look of this soap it will end up in the grab bag.
As an handmade soap company I want to include both handmade bar soap and also handmade liquid soap. I’m almost ready to add liquid soap to the web site. The only thing holding me up is what type of bottle and labels. We are close though and I hope to have labels designed in the near future. Then it is only a matter of bottles & tops! In the meantime, I thought I’d share how I make my handmade liquid soap. The process takes a bit longer than handmade bar soap but once you get the hang of it then it is like anything else, practice makes perfect! Here is what I do.
1. Combine Melted Oils and Potassium Hydroxide on the cook top using very low heat. Stick blend. The solution emulsifies.
2. After stick blending for a bit you will feel the solution start to smooth out.
3. Then you get bubbles…big fat bubbles….
4. After the bubbles comes the beginning of the taffy stage….
5. Thick taffy…
6. Before you know it you can’t stick blend anymore. The soap is too thick and won’t budge. I take a big stainless spoon at this point and flip the paste around. Turn your burner off. I used to cook the paste on the stove top in a rigged up double boiler. What a mess this used to make. Remember you are cooking the soap paste for several hours. So now, I just turn my oven on to 185 degrees, put a lid on the pot and cook the paste in the oven.
7. This is the paste at 3 hours. When I first started making liquid soap I read to cook it for 3 hours. Well.. that is definitely not enough time for my paste. I cook for several hours until I get a good translucent gel. When I say several hours I really mean it. I’m talking 12 or more. This has saved me a lot of frustration.
8. Here is the liquid soap paste ready to be diluted. It’s perfect! Can you see the difference?
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!
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.
