Been thinking a lot about this next year and what changes and new products I need to focus on.   My primary focus of this business is offering handmade soap but I also like to round this out with other natural bath and body care products that customers ask me specifically for.  Feedback is very important and I do listen.  It may take a bit but I store all the bits and pieces of information that I receive from my wonderful customers in the back of my mind until I’m ready to draw on it.  So..with that said, I want to add several goat milk soaps to the goat milk product line.  All based upon natural fragrances.   Got two specifically in mind that I tested last season.  A mojito blend using a killer key lime essential oil and a complex citrus scent using a blend of lemongrass, litsea cubea, key lime, folded orange and a touch of bay and patchouli.   I’m also really partial to spearmint and patchouli.  Simple but delicious!   Two spa type handmade soaps will debut in the Spring.  A dead sea mud and massage soap with tapioca pearls.  I think these will do well for our wholesale soap customers.  I’m finally moving closer too to adding liquid soap to the product line.   The soap formula is done.  What’s been holding me back are the labels.  I had the disk sent here with the graphic art work but it cracked and is not useable so I have to order another disk.  Bummer!  It’s been a bit of a headache but it will get done!   I’ve also decided to bring back the massage oil I used to make due to the many requests I’ve had.    The plan is for a muscle/pain blend, a sleep blend and another that is fragrance free.   And..if I can at all make it happen, I’d really like a goat milk and shea butter body cream to pair with the lotion.  Whew!  I’ll be busy.

Popularity: 13%

Our family owned and operated handmade soap company is growing and I need to ramp up production of our popular handmade soaps.   Yeah!   We make our own silicone soap molds or should I say my handy other half makes our molds for me.  Before investing in the silicone, however, I need to test out the process of making a larger batch so went ahead and ordered a block soap mold from Upland Soap Factory.   Silicone is not cheap and I need to make sure this type of handmade soap mold is what I want before we make the investment.  Our handmade soap bars are not the standard size so unfortunately, I have to make due, and I can with one of the standard size soap molds available until I’ve got the process down and then we will design a mother mold for my particular bar soap size and Rick will pour several silicone soap molds for me like he did with my slab molds.   This new mold will hold 35lbs of handmade soap.  Yep, you got it!  35lbs.  I’m so excited!  You could not pay me enough to go back to lining wood molds!  Silicone is the only way to go.

Popularity: 12%

Lately, I have been really busy making many batches of handmade soap in the shop.  Those of you who buy handmade soap from me know that I like to use color quite a bit.  Otherwise, I’d be bored with making lots and lots of plain handmade soap bars!  I just like color!  It’s a fun part of the whole process for me.  You would think as a handmade soap company I would have come up with a simple solution to mixing pigments up some time ago but I have to confess that the light bulb just went off about a month ago while I was busy mixing up some soap batches.    A few years back, I purchased a mini mixer to mix up small test batches of lotions and it has been sitting staring out at me on the shelf every time I go into the shop to mix up some more batches of handmade soaps.   This little mixer is the perfect solution to avoiding clumps in your color solution.  I just add a bit of oil to the colorant and mix away.  No more clumps of pigments!   Perfect, clean color in the final handmade soap bars.   Don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.

Popularity: 21%

Well…it’s quickly becoming apparent that pricing is climbing quickly on a certain essential oil I use a lot of in making handmade soap.   All forms of Lavender oil is taking a huge hit.   I am starting to get concerned.   We are not talking little price increases but huge jumps and quick ones at that.   I think Lavender is the most asked for fragrance when customers buy handmade soap directly and also when we wholesale soap.   Big sigh…from what I can find out this is the third year for bad Lavender production and so we could see high prices for the next year or so.  Not good at all.  I’d really hate to have to use a Lavender fragrance oil until pricing comes back down but may have to if things get too much out of hand.  We will see!  Not only Lavender but Patchouli and Coconut Oil are also climbing again.  Oh fun!

Popularity: 12%

Today I made a bunch of Tanzanian Clove handmade soap and I’d like to give some tips on how to handle those fast moving fragrance oils that I’ve learned over the years.  You know, those tricky fragrance or essential oils that make soap on a stick as soon as they hit the soap pot!  This particular fragrance oil sets up real quick and the specs on it says not to attempt any fancy swirls or color schemes when making handmade soap bars with it.   When I make this particular handmade soap I do put a swirl of color in it.  Just because I like color!   I tend to soap by feel so am not used to watching oil and lye solution temperatures anymore.   Been there, done that but not anymore!   Maybe just chalk it up to experience but I can tell by what I’m looking at and the how the soap pot feels on when to add my lye solution.   I guess I cook this way too with a little of this and a little of that.  With that said and because I had the idea to write about this I did take the temperature of the oils.   They were at 92 degrees.    Anyhow, back to those tips.   When I have a fast moving fragrance or essential oil blend to scent a batch of handmade soap, the first thing I do is add the fragrance oil to the melted oils and stir it around.  After adding the lye solution to the melted oils in the main soap pot instead of taking a stick blender or mixer to it I will mix vigorously with a wire whisk just taking the mixture to an emulsified state.  Not even a light trace.   Just emulsified.   I pour some of the soap mixture into the the container I’ve got the color in that will be the swirl color in the handmade soap bars and mix that well using another wire whisk.   Then depending on how the large pot of soap mixture is doing I will usually take the stick blender and just pulse it a couple of times to make sure everything is well blended before pouring the main soap mixture into the mold.   It moves quick so just a couple of pulses of the stick blender will usually take things to a light trace.  You don’t want to be playing around and have the soap set up too fast before pouring into the mold or you won’t be able to add your swirl color.   Quite often I am pouring these fast movers at a very, very light trace when the soap is very fluid and you might even think the solution might break.   It’s ok because the soap will continue set up in the mold and you have bought yourself some time to add the swirl color.   Note that you will want to have all your tools and molds lined up  and ready to go.  Shutting the phone off is a good idea too.   You do not want any interruptions because you will need to focus and move very fast to beat the fragrance oil into submission.

Popularity: 11%

I have decided to send our handmade soap shavings, bits and pieces and underweight handmade soap bars to Clean the World on a regular basis.  This is a non-profit organization that collects, recycles and distributes soap to help fight preventable diseases in all parts of the world.    I think it is a worthy cause to support and am happy I can help in a small way.

Popularity: 11%

The past couple of week ends I’ve had the new handmade soap displays set up at the outdoor market I attend most weekends.    This market is the Portland Saturday Market which is gigantic and keeps me pretty busy.   I get to meet and talk with retail customers but also potential wholesale soap customers too.   Handmade soap is very, very heavy and so it was really important to try to come up with a display system that would allow me to fill it in the shop and just set up at the market.  Reduction of tubs of inventory was the main motivator in order to save my back every week end.     Every outdoor market, fair or special event that I’ve attended  to market my handmade soap company at has always had 10 x 10 booth spaces.  Trying to condense things into a 8 x 8 space is no easy task.   We are almost there but not quite.  I love how the handmade soap bars are displayed in their new do but the booth is still too stark.  We will need to jazz things up a bit.  How?  Well…now, guess I’m going to have to figure that out.  

Popularity: 25%

Yes, River County Soapworks is a handmade soap company which should have been on Facebook a long time ago.  Unfortunately, the soap maker who makes all the handmade soap around here is not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to all this social networking stuff.   Yes, I’m really, really good at making handmade soaps but really lacking when it comes to computer stuff.  I mean, REALLY lacking.   You wanna see a blank face.  Just say blog, facebook and twitter.  Not to mention, upload, download and photoshop!   Please join me in my new adventure.

Popularity: 22%

For those that like to buy handmade soap it’s always fun to try something new.   I am gradually adding to my goat milk soap line and have a new handmade soap to introduce.  I’m calling it Summer Solstice because it reminds me well, of warm summer days.    Anyone who lives here in Washington this year will appreciate that I need something to bring summer back into my life.   The weather just hasn’t been cooperating.  Anyhow, this handmade soap is scented with Litsea Cubea, Lavender & Patchouli.   The resulting fragrance is warm, sunny and bright.  Just like a bright summer day!

Popularity: 32%

I like to use dried Calendula and Bachelor Buttons as toppings for some handmade soap bars or soap logs.  They are pretty dried up and tossed either in the handmade soap or on top of the logs.   There is something very eye catching when displaying a row of handmade soap logs with sprinkles of blue and yellow petals on top of them.  I just think they look gorgeous all in a row.  Each year we grow both Calendula and the blue Bachelor Buttons in the garden.  I pick the flower heads, dry them in the soap curing room and save them for the next years handmade soaps.   This year it is a bit tough as the weather has been really cold and wet so the plants haven’t done that great.  I’ll harvest what I am able to and plan for a better flower busting garden next year.

Popularity: 20%