Shows this Week: Dec 1 - 4

Racing along on my little hamster wheel over here, trying to keep it all together. This season is always such a rush, rush, rush.

There are a couple more shows this week - Lights of Christmas at Warm Beach and Phinney Ridge Winter Festival. Details below:

Warm Beach Camp sets up their gigantic light display (over a million lights!) every year with entertainment stages, fresh hot donuts, carolers, gift shops and the works set up all month. It opens Thursday, Dec 1st.

Dates: Thurs thru Sun Dec 1-4, 8-11, Thurs thru Christmas Eve 15-23, Mon - Wed 26-28.

Hours: are 5pm to 10pm. There is an admission charge and you can buy tickets online from the site. Check there for more info on everything, including driving directions.

Address: Warm Beach Camp, 20800 Marine Dr., Stanwood

I set that up yesterday and it is really starting to look good. I can't wait to go back myself and see it all lit up. I am definitely going out there again this year to see it. So gorgeous!

Phinney Neighborhood Center's Winter Festival

Dates: Sat and Sun, Dec 3-4
Hours: 10am - 5pm both days
Address: Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave N, Seattle

One of my very favorite shows to do every year! If you are looking for unique and handmade gifts for the holidays, this is the place to go. There are so many wonderful artists here. There is an admission fee - $2 for PNA members and $4 for the general public. There are treats, fresh wreaths, entertainment too. So looking forward to this. PLEASE NOTE: I'm in a different spot than usual this year. I'll be upstairs in the Blue Building, on the top floor in the big room (Room 7). It's a smaller space and I have to hand carry my goods up a flight of stairs, but it's worth it.

Next week I'll be back at Group Health in my little shop space (Dec 7 - 9). Also Allied Arts in Bellingham is ongoing throughout the whole month of December and I'm restocking there weekly - it looks great this year. And for those of you looking for me at Group Health in Bellevue - I think we have the date of Mon Dec 19th set up to do a last minute holiday show over there.

For those of you who like to shop from home - the mail order is bananas this year. I'm keeping up with orders and they are shipping out usually the next day. Nothing is officially sold out yet, but with all these shows, inventory is getting low in spots, so I don't recommend waiting til the last minute.

Pedal to the Metal

Petal to the medal. Or testing my mettle.

It feels like I've been sitting on my butt in the car for an astronomical amount of hours the last couple of weeks. And there's a whole lot more of that to come. I really hate traffic.

Every single day there is another set-up or tear-down of a show. Shlep, shlep, shlep.

This is the hard part of the year. Luckily it is short. And seems to go by fast.

Unluckily, it's also the time of year you might want to slow down a little, so you can enjoy the holidays, celebrations, events with family and friends. And to do some of the fun stuff people do. Like baking, decorating, shopping. I was going to say crafting. Because I always love to play around and make hand-crafted holiday presents. But right now, just the word "craft" makes me squeemy.

Carry on.

Holiday Shows: Week Nov 14

Hi all. Quick post about the holiday shows happening this week. There's 3 - Allied Arts in Bellingham, Vasa Park and Best of the Northwest. Details below.

Allied Arts of Whatcom County - Holiday Festival of the Arts ( LINK)

We're setting up now, but it officially starts Friday. It's a gallery style show, in the same location as the last couple of years. And it runs through Christmas Eve. So much great stuff there, and lovely handmade holiday gifts.

Dates: Nov 18 - Dec 24
Hours: Wed through Sundays, 10am - 6p,.
They will also be open Monday and Tuesday, December 20th and 21st for last minute shopping before Christmas. The Festival will close at 3pm on December 24th
Location: 3548 Meridian St, south of Bellis Fair

Vasa Park Christmas Craft Show

Dates: Nov 16 - 18
Hours: Thurs - Fri 10am - 7pm, Sat 10am - 5pm
Location: Vasa Park Ballroom, 3560 W Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE, Bellevue

Best of the Northwest - NW Art Alliance

This is a fine art show, filled with 250 artist displays, entertainment, a wine tasting garden, food, a big day of fun. Really, you shouldn't miss this one, it's wonderful. Artists come from all over the Pacific Northwest to showcase here. There is simply nothing else like it.

Dates: Nov 17 - 19
Hours: Fri and Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-5pm
Location: Smith Cove Terminal, the cruise ship terminal under the Magnolia Bridge in Seattle.

LINK: for discounted tickets, parking info, directions, lists of participating artists, entertainment guide etc., it's all there.

Eleven.Eleven.Eleven.

Today is some sort of freak binary date. The last time it happened, November 11, 1911, temperatures in the U.S. fell a jaw-dropping 60 degrees over the course of a single day, causing blizzards and tornadoes. But this time around? Everyone is getting married today.

And celebrating our Veterans too.

I don't have anything auspicious planned. Just working on soap business. And waiting for this big storm to hit us later today, with a big cold front, giant winds and rain expected. Hopefully the weather won't be as bad as last time.

Also I'm updating my web site a little bit. It truly needs so much updating - it's old, tired and un-interesting. Much like myself lately. But come January, or sooner if I get some time to sit in front of my blinking screen, I am going to make it look more like this decade. With better links, more photos, colorful whatnots. No IPhone apps or flash plug-ins, just a fresher look. Gotta keep it fresh or it's over y'all. Damn those technologies and social media - it's always racing so far ahead.

Echo Falls this week

Just a reminder - I'm participating in the Starving Housewives show out at Echo Falls this week. It runs through Saturday so there's still time to check it out.

Dates: Nov 8 - 12.
Hours: Tues - Friday, 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm
Location: Echo Falls Country Club, 20414 – 121st Ave SE
(Maltby) Snohomish

Lots of great Christmas gift stuff there, and antique/collectibles too. Plus home decor to get your place in the holiday spirit.

Next week we set up the Allied Arts show in Bellingham. I'll be at Vasa Park in Issaquah, and the great big beautiful Best of the Northwest show at the cruise ship terminal in Magnolia. More details on those 3 shows to come soon.

The week after that is Thanksgiving, and I'm not at any shows - just catching a breath and getting ready for the huge December blitz which starts immediately after the holiday weekend. So if you're shopping in November, check me out at one of the above shows . . .

Winter Holiday Newsletter 2011

As I always do here, I'm posting the Winter Holiday 2011 newsletter that just went out in both snail mail and email formats today. Plus one link that takes you directly to the Seasonal Products page on the website where everything discussed below is for sale with photos, longer descriptions and ingredient info. Whoop-de-doo - the season is upon us!

All the Seasonal goodies here!

WE HAVE ONLY THIS MOMENT, SPARKLING LIKE A STAR IN OUR HAND AND MELTING LIKE A SNOWFLAKE.
- FRANCIS BACON, SR.

Dear Friends,

Spring is spontaneous, Summer is carefree, but Winter is the season of traditions, bringing us back to family, friends, and rituals as comfortable as a favorite sweater.

We excitedly look forward to this time of year, filled with happy celebrations, holidays and comforts that we’ve waited months for. Cooking up heirloom recipes, unpacking beloved decorations, treating ourselves to special goodies – we wrap ourselves up warmly in winter traditions, usually by a crackling fire.

In keeping with our own traditions here at Soapworks Studio, we’re bringing back some of the most favorite Winter Holiday treats over the years. Inspired by this magical season comprised of single moments as fleeting as snowflakes, we’ve also created a few fresh winter wonderful gifts and goodies to share right now.

As the holidays get closer, the gift lists grow longer. Since we’re all still tightening our belts and pinching pennies in this economy, instead of exchanging piles of “stuff,” we all seem to be looking for gifts of simplicity and meaning in a cost effective way. Handmade items that are both useful and use-able make perfect sense. Soapworks Studio’s little gifts of soap and bath goodies are the perfect fit. All locally handmade and reasonably priced, there is something for everyone on your holiday gift list.

Holiday Seasonal Soaps

This Winter Holiday season we are featuring some of your most requested soap fragrances, back by popular demand. Some folks have been waiting all year (or longer!) for these to reappear on the list. How nice it is to have a little stash of treats on the shelf waiting for you, or to share something you love with a friend. ($4.25 each or 4 bars for $16.00)

Ponderosa Pine – The perfect winter day is spent outside in a lush Northwest forest – skiing, hiking, or searching for that magical Christmas tree. The fresh pine and fir needles, balsam spruce, juniper berries, woodsmoke and newly fallen snow transport you right into the woods. A lovely green bar, this will be a hit with your nature-loving friends or the discerning men on your list.

Sleigh Ride - One whiff of this scent and nostalgic scenes of horse-drawn sleighs with children bundled in blankets, jingling through snow covered fields and forests dance through your imagination. An enchanting blend of green apple, peppermint, clove and orange is crisp, tingly, fresh and yet reminiscent of holiday spices and treats.

Cinnamon Cedar - Warm, earthy cedarwood is the perfect base for a cinnamon soap. The finished scent is cinnamon stick all the way. Simple and true, it’s all cinnamon spice, the quintessential scent of the holiday season. Men will love it. Women will adore it. Kids won’t be able to put it down either – don’t let the dog get it! (100% natural soap)

Helping Hand Soaps – The Perfect Gift

Just introduced last fall, these charming packages of mini soaps have been a huge hit! The set features small 2 oz bars in the most popular year-round fragrances: Lavender Lemongrass, Clove Mint, Vanilla Bean & Honey, French Lavender and Moroccan Fig. One of each of the 5 fabulous scents are piled up in a little stack, and tied with bakery twine. Such pretty colors. Such a great idea for guest baths, travel soaps, or small gifts. Such a reasonable price too - it’s only $10 for the whole package. You’ll want loads of these for the upcoming holiday season. And with a portion of the proceeds for these Helping Hands soaps dedicated to the charitable organization Kiva, it’s a gift that multiplies around the world too.

Holiday Home Fragrance Sprays

Our own little holiday tradition around here, and I know many of you can’t wait for it either, the Holiday Spice aromatic spray. It’s just not the holidays without it. We spritz around the house just before guests arrive, and they all coo about how great the place smells. And we spritz gift boxes, cards and stockings too before sending them off -- family and friends get a whoosh of holiday goodness when they open their presents! Holiday Spice is our most requested seasonal spray, every year since the very beginning - oranges, cranberries, spices and greens all blended together for the perfect scent of magic and delight. This year we’re adding Sleigh Ride – over the river and through the woods, a companion to our newest seasonal soap. It’s also woozy with holiday fun, destined to be a new tradition.
(4 oz bottle - $ 6.00)

Snow Day Bath Crystals

Beautiful bath salt crystals in a small French square glass jar look like real ice crystals. Scented with a delightful blend of sweet vanilla sugar, a pinch of warm spice, and hit with a snowball of frosty mint. It’s icy cool and cozy warm at the same time, in a best of both worlds kind of way. Like after a day of frosty snowy sledding, you arrive home and pop open the door to the smell of freshly baked cookies -- that kind of good. Smaller than our regular salt jars, these are the perfect size for stockings, little treats, or adding to goodie baskets. (4 oz bottle $ 5.00)

Charming Tote Bag Gift Sets

We’ve got new tote bag designs to make gift sets with. The fabric is white jute in a tote bag style, which is charming in that simple yet rustic and natural way we can’t get enough of. The smaller one (5”x5”) fits a bar of soap with a cotton washcloth or scrubby mitt, or a soap dish, or both ($12 - $16). All 3 items look adorable in that little square bag.! The larger rectangular tote (7”x6”) can hold a wider variety of items, including adding bath salts or sprays ($10 and up, priced individually). The web site has photos to jumpstart your imagination. You can make it easy and let us do the choosing, or you can custom build to your heart’s content.

Internet & Mail Ordering (Free Shipping on orders $100 or more!)

Holiday shopping online or by mail saves you time, expense, and the headache of traffic jams and crowded malls. And now we’re offering free shipping on all orders $100 or more. We usually ship within two business days, and can send your items directly to family and friends with gift enclosure cards too. Send in the enclosed order form, call during business hours, or for late night brainstorms, order from our website at SoapworksStudio.com. Spend more time celebrating and less time fretting. Let Soapworks Studio be your answer for holiday gifts!

“We have only this moment . . . “ as Francis Bacon reminds us. And in the silent, hopeful, chill of winter, we pause to give thanks for the many stars we’ve been given. Touched by their beauty, warmed by their glow, awestruck by their vastness, we appreciate our small moments here. With sparkly wishes for the new year,