Sorticulture

It's show time! The time of the year when it's all shows, shows, shows. This weekend is Sorticulture, Everett's Garden Arts Festival. This is such a fun weekend - so many plant and garden art vendors with great stuff. Plus there are display gardens, kids activities, demonstrations and lectures, music performances and food too. Free admission. Parking is a little tight sometimes, but there are shuttles from other lots (see here for more info).

June 11 - 13
Fri 10-8, Sat 10-6, Sun 10-5
Legion Memorial Park
145 Alverson Blvd. at West Marine View Dr.
Everett, Washington 98201

Link to the schedule of speakers and music

"Sorticulture unites art and the garden in a celebration of creative outdoor living. Our featured artists create distinctive hand-crafted garden art and our nurseries produce a wide variety of plants to transform your backyard. Learn tips and tricks from top regional gardening experts including Ciscoe Morris."

Another poem about peonies

My peonies are in full bloom. The huge blossoms are always a bit too heavy for their elegant stems, but right now, weighted down by raindrops, they lay flounced all over place. It's one of my very favorite flowers - white ones, double pinks, I love them all. So today is another poem which captures the very essence of their gorgeousness.

Peonies by Mary Oliver

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open ---
pools of lace,
white and pink ---
and all day the black ants climb over them,

boring their deep and mysterious holes
into the curls,
craving the sweet sap,
taking it away

to their dark, underground cities ---
and all day
under the shifty wind,
as in a dance to the great wedding,

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again ---
beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.
Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
and softly,
and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?

Peonies

This is from the Writer's Almanac the other day, and so beautiful:

Peonies by Jeanne Lohmann

Grandma called them pineys, and I didn't know why.
They smelled so good, the full lush petals
crowded thick, the whole flower heavy on its stem,
the leaves dark and rich and green as shade in Chatauqua Woods
where each spring I hunted for violets. What could there be
to pine for on this earth? Now I think maybe it was Missouri
she missed, and maybe that was what somebody she knew
called peonies there, before she traveled to Ohio,
a sixteen-year-old bride whose children came on as fast
as field crops and housework. Her flowers saved her,
the way they came up year after year and with only a bit of care
lived tender and pretty, each kind surprising,
keeping its own sweet secret: lily-of-the-valley, iris,
the feathery-leaved cosmos, lilacs in their white and purple curls,
flamboyant sweet peas and zinnias, the bright four o'clocks
and delphinium, blue as her eyes, and the soft peony flowers
edged deep pink. In her next life I want my grandmother
to walk slowly through the gardens in England and Kyoto.
I want to be there when she recognizes the flowers
and smiles, when she kneels and takes the pineys in her hands.

"Peonies" by Jeanne Lohmann, from Calls from a Lighted House. © Fithian Press, 2007.

Apartment Therapy

Apartment Therapy: that's the name of one of my favorite websites, permanently bookmarked. It's mostly interior design oriented, but it's inspiration for all kinds of things. Even though my business is scents, I'm really a visual person. And I love the eye candy here - so many gorgeous photos. I love to check into the NY and SF pages especially (no Seattle one -- yet). I used to live in San Francisco years ago, and it's always fun to see the insides of people's homes there. Usually drop dead gorgeous. I can't tell you how many great ideas I've gotten from here, or how thrilled I am with the note that came in my email box today.

Anne R.M. sent me a message that she has been using my sprays for awhile now and loves them. And when she wrote a little piece on spring freshening and aromatherapy today, she included a photo of my Lavender Lemongrass spray, plus a link to my site in her little resources section at the end of the article. What a lovely compliment! Especially sweet since it was out of the blue, and yet from a website that I truly admire and enjoy.



I've already gotten a little bunch of orders for sprays this afternoon, so I know that people are paying attention. I'm tickled pink to be sharing my aromatherapy goods with the world.

Oldies but goodies

Have you noticed how much more satisfying it is to check something off your "to do" list when it's a task that you really dreaded doing and put off for a long time? I've procrastinated on a few things for days, and yesterday afternoon I forced myself to finally get them finished. Wow. That was a relief and it felt good. It wasn't really bad at all to actually do them. And it was such a nice feeling to be done. I wonder why I waited so long in the first place.

I usually start my day with the little, super easy stuff first. Just to get something going and once the ball is rolling it's easier to move on with some of the harder, longer tasks. And in the back of my mind, I'm hoping I run out of time in the day to do those last few things on the list that I really didn't want to do anyway. That's my method. It not one I recommend to everyone. But it usually works for me. Unless I let those icky jobs go too long . . . Sure, it there's probably a more efficient way to work. I'm too old now to change my ways.

Speaking of old. I found a new radio station the other day. I usually listen to NPR when I'm in the car, catching up on news that I missed. But I got bored of world events and punched around and came up with an oldies station. Yeah. Gah. They supposedly play 60's and 70's stuff (104.5 fm). 60's is way before me, and I'm not really sure that they do that much of it - the occasional beach song. Mostly it's 70's - Top 40 pop/rock that I listened to when I was a kid and I know all the words. No soul music, no disco music, just white bread. And seriously, I know all the words. Which is scary. I can't believe any of that is still in my brain - it's been so long since I've heard those songs or even thought about that time period.

It feels sort of like a little vacation - going back in time, especially this week when summer feels like it just busted out. Riding in the car with the windows down and a warm breeze. Singing (badly) out loud and just remembering a different place and time. What I used to feel like many long summers ago, when the world was innocent and my whole life was still ahead of me. I must be really losing my grip. Didn't we used to groan when our parents did this stuff - and make them turn off the radio in case somebody in the car next to us looked over? Yes. Yes we did.

Heaven help me . . . Peter Frampton, Journey, Firefall . . . they are keeeeling me.

U District Street Fair

This weekend is the U District Street Fair. I always feel like this is my first summer street fair. It never really feels like summer until after Mother's Day around here. And right on cue, this week is finally warming up and everything is leafed out, green and growing.

I finally pulled out the patio furniture and cleaned it all off today. I can sit outside and sun with the cats! Well at least for a couple of minutes in between racing around here with orders and prepping for the weekend.

The details for the show:

University District Street Fair
University Avenue, Seattle
May 15-16, Sat 10-7, Sun 10-6
My booth location: #323, between 42nd & 43rd, west side of street (in front of Chipotle's)

I'm in the same block as always, a little further north than last year, same side of the street. I'll have a few of the spring soaps left - there isn't much. And all the new summer stuff. Plus the rest of the kit & caboodle. And the weather looks like it's going to be beautiful, so it should be a great weekend. Hope to see you there!

Summer 2010 Newsletter

As I like to do, I am posting the full text of the Summer 2010 Newsletter here. I've got the snail mail letters shlepping arouand in the mailman's sack today. And the email version has just been pinged off to that little list too. So I'm posting the whole shebang here for anyone else I might have missed. And just because it's easier, I'm adding only a couple of links instead of the overkill for each and every one of the items mentioned. Happy Monday!



Dear Friends,

Summer is the season of romantic flings, sexy novels by the beach, and sensuous star-filled evenings. The warm, sunny days lure us into getting a little more intimate with the outdoors and the elements. Skin, oh lovely skin, hiding under sweaters for months, gets to cavort with the breezes and skinny dip in the water. Bare toes flirt with anything - tall grass, sandy beaches, flip flops, even hot sidewalks.

The four elements of nature: earth, air, fire, and water are at their very best this season. Sweet, warm earth grows a mind-boggling array of flowers, herbs, veggies and weeds. Bright blue sun-filled skies give us more fresh air than we can drink in. And who can resist the scent of sizzling, fiery, barbeque grills, the smoky goodness that curls and swirls from our neighbor's patios to our own little deck and then on down the block? Ahhhh, the cool water - beaches, pools, rivers, or creeks, we've all got our own favorite watering hole. Summer is simply grand!

SUMMER SEASONAL SOAPS

In a tribute to summer, I've created a couple of special soaps to celebrate the flavors of the season. These unique soaps are available only for the summer season (May - August) and are made in limited production. ($4.25 ea or 4 for $16.00)

SWEET SPEARMINT: When it's hot and steamy outside you want just one thing - to feel cool and fresh. A chilly shower with this bar is the ultimate in refreshing - an icy breath of luscious spearmint paired with the tiniest squeeze of juicy lemon just to kick it up a notch. (100% natural ingredients)

PEPPERMINT GRAPEFRUIT: Due to popular demand, I'm bringing this one back from last summer's menu. Cool and tingly classic peppermint with the energizing pop of pink grapefruit, sweet orange and a teeny pinch of ginger. Colored with a spoonful of real tomato powder, it's a luscious cantaloupe color. (100% natural ingredients)

OTHER SOAP BITS

SACRED SMOKE soap is back by request. I've added it back to the web site for ordering any time. But I won't bring it to my summer street fairs or fall craft shows - only because I have such limited display space. If this is a soap that you are coming for specifically, call or email in advance and let me know. I am happy to bring what you need to whichever location works for you. Hey - this special request thing is good for any of my other products too. If you're needing a few of this or a dozen of that and you want to pick it up from my booth at wherever, just give me a heads up and I'll have it set aside for you.

DEAD SEA BATH SALTS

Did you think that bath-taking was only for the cooler months? Silly rabbit. Soaking in a cool bath after a hot, hard day sounds a whole lot better than packing up and shuffling down to the public pool - no screaming tots, no splashing belly floppers, no getting chopped in the head by the lap swimmers. It's just steps away, quiet, private, and smells a whole lot better too.

These bath salts work wonders on purifying and detoxifying, improving circulation, moisturizing skin, soaking away stress, and relaxing muscles, aches and pains. Chill out with SWEET SPEARMINT. GRAPEFRUIT LEMON and MANDARIN ORANGE, are both incredibly juicy, bright, and sunny citrus blends that are super fresh for summer. Or relax with one of our standard scents, FRENCH LAVENDER, VANILLA BEAN & HONEY, or ALMOND GINGER. Giant 16 oz bottles of beautiful spa-quality soaking salts ($ 8.00 each).

AROMATIC SPRAYS FOR SUMMER

Summer is the perfect season to indulge in one of the aromatic sprays. Splash yourself and your little summer sun dresses, freshen your rooms, liven up your sheets, spritz the car seats, and squirt the dog. I've brought back the much-loved ORANGE GINGER spray, a delightful sweet orange scent with a bit of spicy ginger. And for a touch of the exotic, SANDALWOOD ORANGE is mellow, earthy and woodsy with a bit of citrus. Take one of our lovely sprays with you everywhere this season - LAVENDER LEMONGRASS and FRENCH LAVENDER are perfect warm weather pals too. ($ 6.00 ea)

I also have the ever-popular BUGGER OFF spray, an all-natural bug repellent that really works! Essential oils of cedar, bay, orange and eucalyptus mask your human scent and repel all kinds of irritating little critters - mosquitoes, fleas, and gnats. Safe for kids and pets, this spray works best when sprayed on clothing or bedding so the scent lingers longer. It's clean, woodsy and pleasant to wear, with no strong citronella that keeps the people away too. ($ 6.00 ea)

WEB SITE ADDITIONS

I've been in this business for 14 (!) years now, and I've researched a library's worth of information on oils, herbs, skincare, and health. So I've added a new page on the site with detailed information on my ingredients and the process, for anyone who wants to know more. (See "Healthy Ingredients") Plus, I've added a bit more skincare and aromatherapy info to each product page too, under "Mind/Body."

SUMMER FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

I get so excited each year to pop up my tent and start another season of street fairs and festivals because I get a chance to meet and talk to all of you. For more details on my summer schedule, including booth locations, check out the schedule section on the website, SoapworksStudio.com.

What's on your summer list? Drive-in movies, camping, garage sale hunting? It's time to get out there!

Heidi Risse

Happy Mother's Day

What a beautiful weekend we have to celebrate our Mom's!

Thanks to all the Mom's out there. Nothing would run at all without them.

Summer Schedule

I'm working on updating my summer show schedule on the website today - in preparation for the summer newsletter announcement which goes out Monday. But just to get it in place here too, I'm posting the full list. Most of the usual stuff. A few new ones, like the Gig Harbor Garden show and the Bellingham Art Festival. I'll give you all more detailed info on these as they come up - like booth locations, directions, descriptions. But if there is anything you want to know more about right now, just let me know.

Trying to get this all done quick so I can get out and enjoy the sunshine today. It's gorgeous out there!


Upcoming Events

May 15 - 16
U District Street Fair
University Ave, Seattle

Jun 11 - 13
Sorticulture
Legion Park, Everett

Jun 26-27
Gig Harbor Garden Tour
Gig Harbor

Jul 9 - 11
West Seattle Street Fair
The Junction, West Seattle

Jul 17 - 18
Gig Harbor Art Festival
Judson St, Gig Harbor

Jul 23 - 25
6th Street Fair at
Bellevue Art Festival
Downtown, Bellevue

Jul 1 - Aug 1
Bellingham Art Festival
Bellingham

Aug 6 - 8
Anacortes Arts Festival
Commercial Ave,
Downtown Anacortes

Aug 18 - 20
Summer Gift Shop
Group Health Campus
108 - 15th Ave E
Capitol Hill, Seattle

Sep 10 - 26
Puyallup Fair
Western Washington
Fairgrounds, Puyallup

For more information, please see the calendar section of the website

Mondays. Bother.

I'm not the biggest fan of Mondays. It's the day when I have to do all the stuff I procrastinated on Friday and avoided doing all weekend too.

It's not only work chores, but house chores too. Because I didn't get around to cleaning or doing laundry either this weekend. I spent it outside doing garden work. I'm making a little rain garden pit under my rain chain downspout. And pulling out a couple of waaaaaay overgrown bushes, so I can put in more appropriate plants there. Tucking in the tomato, zucchini and flower starts that I've been babying in the kitchen the last couple of months. Plus fighting aphids. Oh. my. stars. Those little suckers are bad this year - all over my favorite euphorbia and hellebores.

I like the gardening stuff. I'm not that keen on the inside stuff. Bother.

Just a small timing update - usually the summer newsletter goes out this week. But it just hasn't quite felt like summer yet, and I could use another week getting all the little details together. So I'm finishing it up this week, and it will be in the mail next Monday. Oh yeah, another happy Monday. But it will feel great to have that out the door and into your hot little hands.

Science Friday

(Photo: New York CIty in the Fog)

I've featured "Science Days" in the past, but not for a long time. Today seems like a good day to share a few links, stuff I've read lately that's interesting. About food and diet, scent and stars. Science stuff fascinates me. And the new information about health and nutrition changes daily.

In case you've got a minute or two, here's a little snippet of spots that's I've surfed in the past week or two.

Just for Earth Week, whale poop will save our oceans. (New Scientist)

Being fat is bad. But it's especially bad for your brain. (New York Times) Heavier people in their middle age have significantly atrophied brains in later life, leading to dementia and other problems.

Eating healthy is getting harder and harder. Agave sweetener is worse than high fructose corn syrup (Huffington Post)

Health insurance companies invest in fast food corporate stocks. (ABC News) Not surprising, but very telling. Here's how it works: they want to make profits. They profit on us being sick. The more we eat fast foods, the un-healthier we are. Connect the dots. And the top 5 investments? the five largest fast-food corporations: Jack in the Box, McDonald's, Burger King, Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and others), and Wendy's/Arby's. Reason enough not to eat there.

"Of all the people in human history who ever reached the age of 65, half are alive now." That's a pretty shocking thought. We are becoming a planet of elderly folks. Welcome to the elderly age (New Scientist)

Portable ozone machines, found in hunting stores, are scent killing devices which could be the new secret weapon for terrorists and criminals. (Fox News) It destroys scents completely, allowing drugs or bombs to saunter right past the bomb-sniffing dogs at airports.

Learn about the stars in the sky at Hubblesite.org. A short video explains the constellations to watch for each month. April is the beginning of spring and features Leo the Lion. (Hubblesite.org)

And because this always makes me laugh: the most stupid wheel of fortune fails of all time (Urlesque)

Garden Art Fair this week

Here's where I'll be this weekend - in Anacortes:

Depot Arts Center's Annual Fundraiser - 7th Annual Garden Art Fair

Saturday, April 24 & Sunday, April 25, 2010
10 am to 5 pm both days. Rain or shine.
Green gardening meets tight budgets at Depot Arts Center’s 7th Annual GARDEN ART FAIR in historic Anacortes. Display gardens, plants, garden art, art exhibits, demos, food, wine & beer garden in a marketplace for one-of-a-kind shopping.

Whether it’s indoor and outdoor gardens or the gardens of our imaginations, inspiration and opportunities for creative, budget-minded gardening and outdoor living abound as Depot Arts Center’s Garden Art Fair returns for a 7th year in historic Anacortes on Saturday, April 24 & Sunday, April 25.

Visitors can enjoy a series of outdoor display gardens specially created for the show. From small space and container gardens to larger designs with special features, see what’s possible when plants co-mingle with fertile imaginations.

Sat and Sun 10am-5pm
Located 611 R Avenue, Old Town Anacortes

It's happening "rain or shine" which means we'll have a little of both, just like last weekend. Rainy day on Saturday, sunshine on Sunday. See ya there!

Tulip Festival

This weekend I'll be at the Mount Vernon Street Fair - part of this month's Tulip Festival.

The weather was so warm in early spring that the tulips started to come out early. But then the last few weeks has been quite chilly, gray and rainy, and it all slowed down. So who knows? There probably are some tulips still blooming, and some are done. The display gardens are always a good bet. And the weather is supposed to be quite nice the next few days, with sunshine and low 60's temps. Remember a few years back when we had that freak snowstorm on this weekend? And almost every other year it's dumping rain or freezing cold on this festival weekend. So this is going to be a real treat!

Details:

Friday through Sunday, Apr 16-18
Fri 10-6, Sat 10-7, Sun 10-6
Downtown Mt Vernon - it runs for blocks through the main street of downtown

My booth location is space #151, which is the very topmost block to the north, on the west side of the street. Everyone gets a corner booth. I don't have a great map, but I'm guessing it's pretty close to the food co-op up there.

Hope to see you there, having fun in the sun!

Tax Season Special

Save some moolah this week!

It's tax deadline week and pennies are tight. We can save you a little extra cash this week - we'll pay your sales tax for you!

Here's the big print: order anything, order any amount, have it shipped anywhere - we will pay the sales tax amount on your entire order.

Offer good Monday, April 12 through Thursday, April 15.

Fill your shopping cart HERE!

Save Big!!

There is no fine print. Just place an order on our website any time between Monday, April 12 and Thursday, April 15. You will not be charged sales tax on your order(s). As always, orders are not charged while you are online, but rather processed here at the studio when we get your order information. That means that your online confirmation will be for merchandise only. We add the volume discounts, shipping charges and taxes (none this week!) on our end when we finalize the transaction. Capiche?

No Foolin'

Here's the birdie picture I tried so hard to post the other day. Super cute.

Watch out for pranks today. Text-only Youtube? A Walmart being built in Wallingford? Their concessions to the school and park they are replacing: classes in the children's section of the store, and senior citizens activities in the RV area of the parking lot. Heh.

What's not a joke is that the city of Seattle will have no 4th of July fireworks this year. So sad. I love those Lake Union fireworks shows - they are the best by far.

I'm at Group Health this week. Started yesterday. It's just me there this week, none of the other gals joined me - so no jewelry or caramel corn. But it's all my stuff, new tin flower pots and gardening gloves for garden sets. A bit of Easter decor stuff. Piles of the little wire baskets to make Easter baskets for grown-ups. Ribbons and cards galore. Mother's Day isn't too far off. And it's Secretary's Day (oops Administrative Asst Day) in a couple of weeks too.

Here's the deets:


Mar 31 - Apr 2, Wed-Fri 9:30a-4:00p
Soapworks Studio Spring/Easter Shop
Group Health Shop Space, Central Campus, Capitol Hill
Address: 108 - 15th Ave E, Capitol Hill
half a block south and across the street from the Safeway at the corner of John St.

Monday

I wanted to post a picture here today, but it ain't working. Just another thing. I've tried in several browsers and it looks like it's going through the whole process of uploading, click "done", etc. . . . and nothing. I can't seem to authorize my computer to play any of my songs from ITunes today either. Something funky in the air. Electrical or magnetic or whatnot. Which shows up as a computer malfunction first. So frustrating.

It's Monday and I'm pooped. I just typed "popped". That's probably true too.

Two shows last week, with only a day between them and last weekend's show. And I've got only today before I set up my shop-style show at Group Health tomorrow. It's a bit of a run. And it's all just "ok". Not great. I haven't lost money on these shows yet, but I haven't made much either. It's a tad slow this month, yet such a grind.

I want to wear my softest clothes today. And sit in silence. Eat only warm, creamy foods. Sigh a lot.

Which I'm sort of doing. At the same time I'm packing up a pile of orders from Friday through the weekend. A wholesale order, which needs extra sprays and bath salts made too. And catching up on email and calls - there were a bunch.

Easter is next weekend, and I'm doing brunch here. Which I am looking forward to. But I've got to get it set and planned out and start working on it, because I'm at the shop all week. So that's a priority today too. Menus. What to cook.

I can't type real sentences today. It hurts to think in more than little chunkies. I wish that stupid picture would load. It's little birdies and so cute.

The weather is teh suck today too. Windy, dark, rainy, stormy. I'm not unloading my car. I'll just take the whole mess over to the shop and deal with it there. Figure out what more I need to bring, from the leftovers of yesterday.

Gotta get to the bank too. I need change. Maybe an item or two on my list can wait til tomorrow. I'll just start the first one first, and then see how long I hold up.

That's what a busy show schedule feels like. It ain't pretty. I know some people do back-to-back shows all the time. Even go out of town from one to another, without the days in between to sleep at home, restock, recover and recharge. I don't know how they do it. Lots of them are much older than me too. Although I can't imagine anybody can actually feel older than I do right now. My eye bags are carrying extra bags. I should charge them, like the airlines.

Shows this week: Mar 23-28

First off, I have to thank Mamafey for the lovely Sunshine award she bestowed on me the other day. How lovely of you to include me!

I know the rules are that I need to link to a dozen other sunny, creative and inspirational bloggers and pass this on. But I just have 5 minutes to post this morning before I have to rush off to a show, and I can't do it now. I will do it later tonight or tomorrow when I can sit down at this computer again, I promise. Just wanted to acknowledge it for the moment - it's been days since I've even checked in here.

Next, I wanted to post about the 2 different shows I'm doing this week. It's a busy little flurry in March, and I need to keep up.

Here's where you can find me this week:

Mar 23 - 27 Starving Housewives
Echo Falls Country Club
20414 - 121st Ave SE
Snohomish (Maltby)
Starving Housewives

Mar 27 - 28 Best of the Northwest
Hangar 30, Magnuson Park, Seattle
Sat & Sun, 10am-6pm
Northwest Art Alliance

Next week I'm doing another one of my little retail shop gigs at Group Health on Capitol Hill, Wed through Friday. I'll post more details about that later too. Just a heads up in case that's a closer place to stop by for Easter presents or spring gifts.

Enjoy the sunshine and warm weather today!

Shows this week

I've got a show this week, one day only on Saturday.

It's a fundraiser for Eastlake High School in Sammamish. The Leadership committee is hoping to raise money for a new electronic reader board for the school.

This is a different group than the fall show, but they are hoping to have a somewhat similar craft show. It's held in the gym and cafeteria, like we did in the fall. There are over 80 artists participating in this show, so it should be a fun event, and lots of great spring gift ideas. Easter is coming up in a couple of weeks (April 4) and Secretary's Day and Mother's Day are right around the corner too. So it's a good time to find a little special something.

Address:
Eastlake Sammamish High School
400 - 228th Ave NE, Sammamish

Time:
Saturday, March 20, 9:30am-3:30pm

ps sorry for the double postings today, i'm having real trouble with google. and am i the only one who can't get into gmail for the past two days? what's up with that?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

The luck o' the Irish be with you today!

Milky Way

The White Mountain from charles on Vimeo.

Just in case you haven't seen this little video somewhere else, it's a gorgeous time lapse of the Milky Way from Mauna Kea Hawaii.

I heart stars (not the Hollywood kind) and never get to see them enough in the big city. Love this.

p.s. if you click on the link you can see a much bigger version.

March. Forward.

I can't believe that the third month of the year is already under way. Great scott, those last two months went by fast. And here we are, in March. Marching onward. I hear drumming, and feel like high-stepping around at a brisk pace.

Oh I've got nothing else today. I've just started wading through all my tax documents to get started on that hideous project. It's spread out all over the place.

Other items on my list? internet searching for wholesale garden gloves. Cleaning out my old cd pile to sell. Books up next. Maybe closets after that. Spring cleaning, I guess. Or maybe watching that episode of "The Hoarders" inspired me to purge. Urgh that show is creepy.

I spent the last few days filling out show applications and writing booth fee checks. I've got a lot on the schedule, if I get accepted to them. That part I won't know for weeks. So nothing is really updated on the website for a bit until I get notifications.

I'll need more daffodils for next spring. I used to have a lot more, I think. It seems like less than usual came up this year, and I'm green with envy at the houses that have borders just stuffed full of the sunshiney flower faces.


Happy Friday. I'm going to get out in the dirt while the sun is shining this afternoon.

Happy Friday

Apologies for the brief absence, I've been painting. I usually try to get a short vacation in around this time of the year. But we're redecorating a room instead.

So the last week has been cleaning, prepping, painting and more painting. The built-in cabinets with all those shelves are really tough. The "red room" is now olive green and cream. So long "lipstick lounge." It's so much brighter and cleaner. Carpet goes in Monday. There's still a bit more painting - another coat on the walls and window trim touch-up. Whew.

Next week it's back to soap full time, instead of squeezed in around the edges. I've got bunches of shows in March, so I need to get busy.

And can I just mention how darn glad I am that I live in Seattle instead of the East Coast. What's more fun -- early spring or Snow-i-cane? The third crippling snow storm in a month, or my rhubarb and peonies starting to leaf out? Plum and cherry trees in bloom. Daffodils and crocus sprinkled throughout the yard. Tra la la, it's SPRING!

Fresh This Week: Helping Hand soaps

Yanno how I had that brainstorm last year to add some little mini soaps to my product line, with half of the profits going to Kiva.org? I spent so much time trying to hatch up a good name. And eventually I decided on "Suds for a Brighter Day." I don't even remember how I arrived at that one. I just know that I wanted it to be cheerful and give some sort of hint that it was a "doing good works" kind of thing, without it being overly "charity"-like. If that makes any sense. Anyway, last week while I was just staring out the window in a stupor, a moment of total brain fog and I sort of got lost in what I was doing, a new name just popped up out of the blue and brought me right back to reality. The new name is "Helping Hand" soaps. It's so much more accurate. Perfect really.

The small sized soaps are truly hand soaps (or travel size) soaps. And they are designed to fundraise a little bit for one of my favorite organizations: Kiva.org , thus the helping hand part. The next little bit (in italics) is directly from the website and explains it all in more detail. I've kept the "Suds" listing on the site for now, but added the "Helping Hand Soaps" listing too, so that you can find one or the other easily. It's a perfect gift item. And I've sold bunches of them in the past couple of weeks, so I'm super excited to send them a really big number of loans at the end of the month.

The new soaps are more of the mini-soap bars (a la The Pacific Northwest Collection) that I added last fall. They are roughly half the size of my standard bars, 2x2 inches square, and weigh 2 ounces each. I am selling them in groups of four, packaged in a sweet, natural jute string bag, and the scents will change with each new batch.

The “Helping Hand” part is that half of all the proceeds for these new soaps will go directly to Kiva, the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. Tiny little loans of $25 go towards goals of several hundred or a thousand dollars, whatever is needed for a small business owner in a developing nation to get the help they need to start their business, or to take the next step towards sustainability. It doesn’t take much to help somebody who is struggling to make their little business a livelihood for themselves and their families. I’m so grateful that for the last 13 years I’ve been able to make a living with my own micro business, and I want to share just a little bit of what I have to help others do the same. It’s my way of having Soapworks Studio give back, and having you all - my most fabulous customers- share in that process, while getting the most adorable little mini guest or travel soaps in return.

One more thing – the fragrances of these will be in a constant rotation. This first edition has a fruity floral combo. I’m constantly doing experiments with new scents for seasonal soaps, or testing out samples, so I seem to have an endless amount of scents to try. These will be my new playground for now. You’ll get to try different, fun, new stuff. And as the year continues, there will be new groupings of 4 soap scents to choose from, matched so that they go well together.


Alright then? It's the same great little sack of tiny soaps with a new name. When the summer newsletter comes out in May there will be new scents to choose from. And the Helping Hand name will be official on the website and in the brochure that I send out. Have a great weekend - don't get too crazy with Spring Fever in all that sunshine!

Cheery Cherrys & Presidents

Who could possibly chop down a beautiful cherry tree? I don't believe that story about George Washington. Especially after visiting Mount Vernon last fall. It's beautiful, and it's obvious that he had a strong connection to growing things, with all his farm land, orchards, kitchen gardens, experimental gardens, even a greenhouse!

Monticello, Jefferson's home, was even more beautiful. For me anyway. I loved those gardens even more, and the stately view of the valley from his huge hilltop was breathtaking. Getting a chance to spend a few days taking in the history of our presidents gave me a new perspective into our Founding Fathers, and a greater appreciation for the vision of a few great men who built our country. Ethics, values, courage and determination are words that get tossed around in current political debates without much meaning, because they've become code words for other things. Power and money have infiltrated everything. But we have had great leaders in our country, and it's a good day to appreciate them. All of them, not just the two.

Quite the festive weekend we're having, eh? With the Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day under our belt, today we are honoring presidents, and then tomorrow is Mardi Gras. Let the good times roll!

Happy Valentine's Day

The scam

It started out innocently at first with a simple email:

"Hello,

I am (name removed), I need to know if your products are available in stock for immediate order,so can you reconfirm your website,so i can review again with the products interested in,and do let me know if there will be any special pricing i need to know about.

Lastly regarding payment I will be sending you my credit card for the full payment charges for my order,do you accept Visa or Master?


I hope to hear from you as soon as possible so we can proceed with the Order.

Regards"

Hmmm, new customer. Who prefers not to read the website first but would rather just email to get all the information. Okay. I can deal with that. So I give a brief explanation of the process, the products, the 4-bar discount, the acceptance of credit cards, and a few links back to the site so they could read it all in more detail. All good.

Then I get the next email:

"Below here is the list of my order:

soap bars
Qty: 300

Please get back to me with the total cost estimate for this order so that i can make my payment via my credit card,so DONT worry about the shipping,I will have the shipping arrangement for the pick up of these items from your place through my shipping agent.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW THE GRAND TOTAL OF MY ORDER AND ALSO THE ESTIMATED WEIGHT OF THESE ITEMS FOR SHIPPING REASON AND PICK UP ARRANGEMENTS."

All this with a contact name, business name, address, phone and fax numbers, from a trading company in Thailand. Wow. This was not what I expected at all. I was just thinking it was a local lady who wanted to order a few bars. Not a huge wholesale request from overseas. So I'm confused now - so many questions. Who is this? Where did they see my product? What kinds of soap are they even buying?

All of these questions and more I send back in my reply. Who is the shipping agent? Are they picking up the boxes from my studio? How are you sending me the payment information? Plus I explained that it would take 2-3 weeks to get the order together, and I would need half of the money up front as a deposit.

Then I start the googling and following up. There is nobody listed with that name, that trading company. No traffic from Thailand, or anything else unusual on the website. And I get a response which makes it all more clear. The language in this next message is very bad English and the punctuation strange. But it states that the shipping agent has shipped for them before, but unfortunately is not able to accept credit cards right now because they are "upgrading their credit card facilities." Whatever that means. Nothing.

But the gist is that they want me to take the entire credit card transaction for my whole order, plus $965 in shipping charges, plus a $100 credit card transaction fee, plus another $50 for a western union fee to transfer money back to the shipping folks. And please do it immediately upon confirmation. They will get me the credit card right now. Am I online? Their payment is ready immediately. Today. Again, right now. Money coming your way. Lots of it.

No response to any of my questions about who they are, what is the nature of the business, and more importantly, no response about what they are actually ordering from me, beyond the ambiguous total of 300 bars of soap. Clearly not legitimately interested in the product, or my business. Just want to get that money thing done. Today. Right now.

So I started to write a response about how I would not accept funds for somebody else's business services, that if I could do the Western Union thing, so could they. But I just didn't want to play any more. So I went silent. And they've left me alone for a day. I'm guessing we're done.

I have no idea how the scam operates. Obviously it's a stolen credit card number. But I'm not clear how it goes from there. Like do they somehow back out my credit information through the transaction process? Or is it just simple money laundering and they get their half, and I get half for doing it for them? Am I responsible somehow for those fraud charges? I don't care, really. I'm not interested in getting involved in any way. And I'm so tired of having to watch my back all the time. People are so darn busy and creative in their criminal endeavors, aren't they?

On a happier note, the last week has been incredibly busy with orders and requests. The shop went well last week. I'm trucking along through February at a brisk pace, and all is well. Valentine's Day this weekend, and Mardi Gras a couple of days later. Who Dat!?!

Groundhog Day

All you have to do is read the words "Groundhog Day" and it brings up the old Bill Murray movie. And with it, the notion of living the same day over and over again repeatedly, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

It's the code name for living a totally boring life, swallowed up by a daily routine that plays itself like a broken record. As much as I'd like to imagine a life where each day is a new adventure, I'm sort of stuck in a rut. Like most everybody else. There are jobs and schedules and routines that are unavoidable. It's hard to find ways to mix it up, to break up the monotony. Like drive a different way to the same old places. Eat breakfast for dinner. Listen to a totally new radio station for an hour.

Maybe I'll do some of that today. Because today feels like all those days in December when I worked harder than I wanted to. The mailing went out and already there are orders in the inbox this morning. And I've got a big wholesale order that needs to go out today too. And I'm trying to pack up everything, old and new, for a show this week. I'll be at Group Health in my little shop space on Thursday and Friday.

I usually don't have so much going on this time of year, but I needed to get started earlier, and I had a lot of catching up to do in January. That quiet time in the winter? Didn't happen. Which isn't altogether bad. But I don't want to live in Groundhog Day either. I like the up and down tempo, busy and slow times of the year.

Punxsutawney Phil said 6 more weeks of winter this morning. Maybe by the time the official spring rolls around, I'll get a little break and head off to somewhere interesting for a short vacation. In the meantime, I'll settle for little mini variations in my day. Chicken and waffles for dinner? A trip to the beach for a quick walk?

Spring Newsletter 2010

I've just mailed out the Spring 2010 Newsletter to the mailing list, and emailed out the same info to the email list, so I'm posting it here too, just to cover all the bases. Like before, rather than spend a huge amount of time adding links to each and every product mentioned, I'm just adding one link to the Seasonal Products Page, where you can see all of the new items at one glance.

Here is the Seasonal section of the websitewhere you can find it all. And below is the full text of the newsletter:

Dear Friends,

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, I don't even have to tell you that Spring is on it's way. With the unseasonably warm, dry weather we've had this month, bulbs and leaflets are beginning to pop out all over. Crocuses! A pink cherry tree in bloom! Gardeners are itching to get their hands in the dirt and get going - the anticipation is irresistable. When the whole outdoors begins new life, you can't help but feel hopeful and happy and ready for new beginnings.

SPRING SEASONAL SOAPS

To celebrate the season of love, flowers, and new beginnings, I've cooked up a few new soap fragrances. For me, Spring scents are inherently flowery, even a a bit girlie, unlike most of my other scents throughout the year. After months of dead leaves and barren trees, the whiff of blossoms in the breeze is a breath of fresh air. Pretty flowers, flouncy skirts, tip-toeing through the tulips - that's Spring!

White Lilac - A runaway hit when I introduced it last year, this one is a repeat for spring. Absolutely true to its name, it's a gorgeous lilac fragrance, just a blush fresher and lighter than a darker purple bloom. Sophisticated, elegant, lushly floral in a creamy white bar.

Jasmine Mint - A few years ago I featured this stunner, and I've recently been craving this particular blend, so it's back for an encore performance. It's a marriage made in heaven, with sweetly floral jasmine blossoms paired with fresh mint leaves. It's light, cool, and perfectly lovely. Pretty pink petal-colored, it's love at first whiff.

Orange Blossom & Lily - If you've ever walked into the lobby of some fancy spa or hotel and stepped into a fragrance cloud of pure tropical floral heaven, you'll understand that there is nothing dreamier and intoxicating. The scent of this soap is elegant, luscious, and blissful in the way that only an opulent bouquet of flowers can be. Classic orange blossom, or neroli, blends with tuberose and lilies, with hints of jasmine and gardenia. It instantly transports you to paradise. The color of a juicy peach, it's enchanting and captivating.

Sweet Dreams - This soap is a companion to our long-standing linen spray of the same name, it's an aromatherapy blend of lavender and chamomile essential oils. Both of these natural oils are calming and relaxing, soothing and healing - who doesn't love that? A very light, soft purple color, it's sweetly herbal and clean, with just a wisp of violet. (100% natural soap.)

Other Additions and Subtractions - Since we're still (supposed to be) in the middle of sniffle season and grey skies, I'm keeping the Eucalyptus Lemon soap in stock. I'm also bringing back the Cinnamon Pear from the Autumn seasonal list, due to the gazillions of requests for it. The Red Currant & Tangerine and Sacred Smoke are being discontinued.

PRICE INCREASE

We haven't had a price increase around here since 2005, when the soap bars went from $3.95 to $4.00. This year they will increase to $4.25 each, and I'll keep the 4-bar discount, which will now be 4 for $16.00.

For a 4.5 oz bar, it's still a better price and value than most of the other handcrafted soap out there, locally or nationally. And we like to think it's still better quality too.

DEAD SEA BATH SALTS

Our Dead Sea bath salts are so lovely, so nurturing, and such a great value that they rank high on the list of most popular products. These rustic, chunky salts come directly from the Dead Sea. Soaked in for centuries, these pure, fresh salts have a mineral content that is 7 times greater than other types of sea salts. They work wonders on purifying and detoxifying, improving circulation, moisturizing skin, soaking away stress, and relaxing muscles, aches and pains. And did I mention, the unbelievably soft, silky smooth skin? Oh my. For little foot baths or long evening soaks, these are the best bath salts I've ever tried. Giant 16 oz bottles of beautiful spa-quality soaking salts ($ 8.00 each).

I'm keeping the standard scents of French Lavender, Vanilla Bean & Honey, and Almond Ginger that have been on the menu all year. And I am adding two new Spring scents of Grapefruit Lemon and Mandarin Orange, both incredibly juicy, bright, and sunny citrus blends that are luscious for soaking in and cheering up the dreary winter blahs.

SPRING SEASONAL SPRAYS

In addition to the soap, I'm also bringing back the Jasmine Mint spray. It's such a sweet, fresh, happy fragrance to lighten up your surroundings for Spring. (4 oz bottle, $ 6.00 each)

And, of course, the Lilac Garden spray is one of our standard scents, but especially lovely in the spring too - mmmm, dreamy.

Or pair our Sweet Dreams spray, Sweet Dreams soap and the new Sweet Dreams lip balm too in a beautiful gift set.

NEW SPRING LIP BALM FLAVORS TOO!

These are all natural flavoring blends, for 100% natural lip balm. Sweet Dreams (lavender, chamomile and vanilla), Jasmine Tea, and juicy Passionfruit. Wickedly delicious. Don't forget - there's a kissing holiday coming up and you'll want to pamper your pucker! (1/2 oz tin, $2.00)

SUDS FOR A BRIGHTER DAY

I started this idea last spring - a new product line of mini-soap bars packaged in sets. The bars are roughly half the size of my standard bars, 2x2 inches square, and weigh 2 ounces each. I've changed the packaging this year, and selling them in groups of four, packaged in sweet little polka-dot organza bags. The four scents available are the four new spring scents: White Lilac, Jasmine Mint, Orange Blossom and Sweet Dreams.

The "brighter day" part is that half of all proceeds for these soaps goes directly to Kiva.org, a person-to-person micro-lending group, empowering individuals to lend directly to entrepreneurs in the developing world. Tiny loans of $25 go towards goals of several hundred or a thousand dollars, whatever is needed for a small business owner in a developing nation to get the help needed to start their business, or take it to the next step towards sustainability. It doesn't take much to help somebody who is struggling to make their little business a livelihood for themselves and their families. I'm so grateful that for the last 14 years I've been able to make a living with my own micro business that I want to share just a little bit of what I have to help others do the same.

VALENTINE'S DAY GUILT-FREE TREATS

There's plenty of time to order a gift for your favorite sweeties. Bath goodies are the perfect thing for those of us with healthy New Year's resolutions. And I've got sweet pink polka-dot organza bags, charming heart-patterned ribbons, and vintage postcards to dress up just a single bar or a whole basket full of treats. Check out the web site to see some of my ideas, or give me a call to rustle up your own.

Fresh This Week: Spring Show Schedule

Just a heads up - my Spring Show Schedule is now updated and in place on the web site. There's quite a bit going on earlier in the spring this year.

There are 2 shop appearances at Group Health this spring - one right around the corner, just in time for Valentine's Day, and the other one is the beginning of April - perfect timing for the start of spring, Secretary's Day and Easter. I've done a number of times over the past couple of years, setting up a temporary shop in their tiny retail space. And I've reserved it for 4 times this year (Feb 5, Mar 31-Apr 2, Aug 18-20, and Dec 15-17). So excited to do a hearts and flowers theme for Valentine's Day with all the brand-spanking new spring stuff.

Best of the Northwest is moved up to March, and we're back out at Magnuson Park for this one, but in a different hangar than before. It's still super easy to get to plus free parking.

I'm headed back to the Mt Vernon Street Fair in April, for the Tulip Festival. I've missed it the last couple of years, just scared of the weather, but since we've had such a mild winter, I'm going to give it another shot and hope I'm not rained out or blown away. That weekend is always so iffy. We've even had snow. Fingers crossed that this year is at least partly sunny and mostly dry. That's all I ask.

There's a new spring show at Eastlake High School in Sammamish, and it's in the gym, like we were in November. So if you are in that neighborhood - it's Sat only, March 20, and a great time to stock up on spring scents and stuff.

Then there's the usual Starving Housewives show in March at Echo Falls Country Club. A new (for me) Garden Art show at the Depot Arts Center in Anacortes, April 24 & 25. And finally I'll be back at the U Dist Street Fair in May (15-16).

That's the show scoop. And next week is the big Spring Newsletter and all those exciting announcements, so meet me back here for all the news. Have a great weekend!

Simple pleasures

Last week I posted the quotes that I chose to signify the philosophy behind my business. Today I wanted to share the ones that didn't make the cut, but that I still keep nearby, and refer to from time to time, just for inspiration. They are all in the same theme, and all still pretty good too.

"One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats." Iris Murdoch, The Sea The Sea, 1978

"It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1917

"It isn't the great big pleasure that count most; it's making a great deal out of the little ones." Jean Webster, Daddy Long Legs, 1912

"Taking joy in life is a woman's best cosmetic." Rosalind Russell

"Simple pleasures are the last refuge of the complex." Oscar Wilde

"Smell is a potent wizard that transports us across thousands of miles and all the years we have lived." Helen Keller

"In the end, what affects your life most deeply are things too simple to talk about." Nell Blaine

"Beauty is an ecstasy, it is as simple as hunger." Somerset Maugham

And if you're not into all the quotes -- I promise I'm done for a while :)

Sunrise

The colors in the morning sky this time of year are spectacular. Dark purples transforming within minutes to exotic oranges and pinks as the sun pokes its head up over the mountains, streaming into the windows.

You've got to get up early to see the sunrise show. But that's my favorite part of day, quiet and peaceful as lights pop on in windows around the neighborhood. Dogs and their walkers start their daily route, the jangle of leashes breaking the silence of the sleeping world.

I can't wait until I can sit outside with my coffee and watch from my patio. The lure of spring is getting louder and louder.

Fresh This Week: New Lip Balms

Such a hectic day. There hasn't been much time to get to the computer until this evening. But there is new stuff in the studio this week. It's a little sneak preview of some of the new Spring Seasonal stuff, just for those of you paying attention.

I have 3 new lip balm flavors which I'm announcing in a couple of weeks in the newsletter. I just finished them today, and they are different than the usual stuff, and pretty great. They are all natural-flavorings, so the lip balms are still 100% natural, with a natural sweetener and a ton of great, nourishing oils in them. No color, just clear and a tad bit glossy, but not gooey. It's the perfect mix of oils to wax so it's not too soft and not too hard, a nice balance. Some people have said it's the best lip balm ever. But you can decide for yourself.

Ok, drumroll please. The newest flavors are: Jasmine Tea, Sweet Dreams and Passionfruit. Jasmine Tea is a lovely blend of Jasmine Blossom and Green Tea leaves. It's subtle and natural, a light floral green tea scent and flavor, and perfect for tea lovers.

The Sweet Dreams is a complement to the aromatic spray of the same name that I have made for a million years. It's a blend of lavender and chamomile, sweetened with a bit of vanilla sugar. Flowery and similar to the Lavender lip balm I made a couple of years ago, this one is light and fresh, not overpowering, but delicious.

And the Passionfruit is a luscious tropical fruit flavor, similar to mango. The kissing season is coming up soon, after all, with Valentine's Day just around the corner. What better way to pamper your kisser and get it in the mood than to pucker up with Passionfruit lip balm?

Ingredients: Almond oil, coconut oil, beeswax, avocado oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, vitamin E, natural sweetener, natural flavoring oils
Nt. wt. 1/4 ounce.

Luscious Lip Balms HERE! I've just put them up on the web site so you can purchase them any time.

The power of words

When I first began dreaming about my business, and trying to come up with an entire new concept and name and logo and whatnot, I decided I needed a little inspiration. I wanted to convey simplicity and necessary daily luxury, but I wasn't quite sure how to put it all together.

So I headed to the library, and hit up a couple of bookstores, searching for books of poems and quotations, looking up those phrases and related ideas. It has always seemed to me that just the perfect little phrase conveys so much more meaning than endless sentences and paragraphs of lengthy description.

I wanted a meaningful tag line for my new brochures. And I ended up with pages of them. Then it was a matter of editing it all down to the single one that worked the best. I couldn't do it. I ended up with two, and they've been there since the very first day, on every printed flier I've done for the past 14 years.

For those of you who might not have seen one of my simple little brochures, on the very back of the 3-fold brochure are two quotes. The top one I found in a pile of ancient magazines at an antique show, and it absolutely stopped me cold. It's from Woman's Home Companion, December 1935. And it could have been written ten years ago, or yesterday. It's absolutely the theme of the day, in this culture that we live in right this very minute. I can't imagine how different the world was then, and yet the sentiment was so much the same:

"Year by year, the complexities of this spinning world grow more bewildering and so each year we need all the more to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities." Woman's Home Companion, December 1935

Each time I read it, it seems more true than before. So it stays in place.

The second one is a poem from Edna St Vincent Millay (1982-1950), a fascinating woman poet, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923, for The Harp-Weaver, and Other Poems. Her best-known poem might be "First Fig" from A Few Figs from Thistles (first published in 1920):

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light!

As much as we all love that one, the one I chose for my brochure came from the Pulitzer prize winning book, The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems, 1923. It's just two lines from the poem called The Goose Girl:

"And all the loveliest things there be
Come simply, so, it seems to me."

The full poem encompasses so much more and sort of takes the sentiment off track, for my own purposes, but it's here:

"Spring rides no horses down the hill,
But comes on foot, a goose-girl still.
And all the loveliest things there be
Come simply, so, it seems to me.
If ever I said, in grief or pride,
I tired of honest things, I lied:
And should be cursed forevermore
With Love in laces, like a whore,
And neighbours cold, and friends unsteady,
And Spring on horseback, like a lady!"

I'm not sure I have ever shared the story of why these quotes are on the back of my brochures. But it probably seems obvious anyway. I treasure my little simple daily luxuries, and a beautiful bar of heavenly soap in the shower each morning is one of them. I was hoping that sharing my own hand made soap bars would give that special lift to other people who used them too. And after all these years, and all the different evolutions of the scents and products, I still hope my customers feel that way.

A Totally Sunny Day, for a change

The things that will destroy us are politics without principle, pleasure without conscience, wealth without work, knowledge without character, business without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice. - Mahatma Ghandi

I know, it's MLK Day and I should be quoting Martin Luther King, Jr. today. There are a gazillion good ones of his too. But I'm purging files this afternoon (so holiday-making, eh?) and found this little quote tucked into a corner. It's worth sharing.

I spent the morning out in the garden. Which is sooo cool. We've had endless days of gray and rain. (In Seattle? Why, yes) But today is warm and sunny enough to be outside basking in just shirt-sleeves. The temperatures have been fairly mild, instead of freezing, but today blows the roof off. Garden hands in January! What a hoot! Little pink nubs of things are poking out everywhere. And bitty leaflets of things coming out of the ground. Now I'm getting desperately anxious for spring to arrive, fully knowing that we've got a couple of months yet.

Since there is no mail delivery today, shipping of orders will resume tomorrow. And I presume, the rain will too. But today is shiny and happy and bright, and I hope most of you had the day off to enjoy it.

Fresh This Week: Erm . . .

Ok, so I've committed myself to posting a blog every Friday, announcing what's freshly made or new this week. It seemed like a great way to be more regular with the blog, more productive with my communication and a way to describe what's going on behind the scenes here at the studio/factory. All really good things.

One of the most important things I want to do with this regular "Fresh" feature is to link to the cool new stuff on the web site and hopefully increase traffic and sales. Of course. This is a business after all.

But this month it's really hard to do that. The "what's new" is still curing for a couple of weeks. I'm up to my eyeballs in making batches of soap to catch my inventory up to speed for the whole spring seasonal announcements in a few weeks. I'm making batches of the regular scents, batches of the spring scents, soap, soap, soap.

And I don't want to spoil the anticipation and excitement of what the spring stuff is too soon, so I'm keeping my lip zipped about that this week. In fact, I'm not even 100% sure what they are. I do a few experiment batches alongside the ones I think I'm going to do. Just in case something turns out super good, or super bad. It gives me wiggle room.

The other thing I've spent a ridiculous amount of time on this week, is sourcing new packaging. Sitting on my butt at the computer searching the internet for cute new bags and bows and boxes. Retail is all about packaging, so they say. And I strive to have new and unique looks to the gift stuff. I'm reworking the Pacific Northwest collection for this year, and the Suds for a Brighter Day sets that I had last year, where a portion of the sales went to Kiva. The balance is concept vs cost. I can't make it too expensive that it won't sell and I'm stuck with a big investment of pretty doo-dads that sit on the shelves. I placed a couple of small orders yesterday to try out some ideas. So that's not that fresh either . . . hmmm.

And finally, I've spent a few days shuffling around the show applications, pencilling in and scratching out things on the calendar. Trying to come up with new and better photos for jurying for the shows. Today the whole pile of them get mailed off. This particular task? So not fresh or exciting to announce. I won't know which shows I get into (or not) for weeks. So the show calendar on the web site is totally bare for 2010. I've got a few that I know for sure, a few that I'm pretty sure about, mostly later in the year. But nothing groovy and new to announce this week.

Other tasks going on this week: planning out an email promotions schedule for the year, supply orders, errands to pick up supplies and equipment, costing out shopping bags, catching up on filing and cleaning my desk, infusing the healing salve oil for production next week, drafting the spring mailing newsletter, buying stamps and getting envelopes ready for the mailing, sending out orders, trying to keep the cats from going insane with all this endless rain day after day.

So that's it. Nothing fresh, new, exciting or linkable for this week. But in the spirit of keeping up the commitment, I've duly noted what is happening here in the studio this week.

Perfectionist

I was going through the exercise of cleaning out my blog drafts today. Lots of times I start something, even if it's just a sentence or two, and sort of file it away for a day or two in the future, when it's had time to perk and develop. Or I need a little extra help to get started writing. And after several years of ignoring them, I decided to clear out space.

As I was going through the list, I found this one from January 2006. It's fully written and rather potent. I guess I finished and then chickened out from actually posting it because it was a tad too personal at the time. It probably still is. But it still rings true for me as I sift through my goals of what I'd like to accomplish in 2010.

What is a perfectionist? I use that term for myself sometimes, but I’m not sure that’s what it really is. On occasion, it seems more like an excuse. I’ve started writing a few blog entries over the last couple of days, but never finished them. I wasn’t happy with the topic, the tone, or the way it turned out, so I didn’t publish them. I just chalked it up to being a “perfectionist” and that they needed more work. But I think it’s really fear. Fear that somebody else reading it would find it unacceptable or not worthwhile.

This is a ridiculous assumption, and crippling. Even if I was writing articles or best-selling novels, if I let fear stop me from writing what I was thinking, I would never get anywhere. I know that I let this niggling fear stop me in many projects I would otherwise like to try, and I knew I would struggle with it in this endeavor. I just didn’t know it would show up so quickly and be so pronounced. But here it is. I’ve called it other names too – laziness, procrastination, lack of focus. Today I’m going to call it out as fear and see if I can’t get to the heart of it.

I’ve got lists and lists of things I wanted to do – craft projects, classes, new business ideas – all of them either stopped in the research phase, or the idea phase, because I felt I didn’t have the skills to make it work. And I wanted to do it right, if I was going to do it at all. My rational mind fights back with “how can you possibly be an expert before you’ve even started it.” I know very well that you need to just jump in with both feet and make a few mistakes and keep trying in order to teach yourself how to do something well. Even brilliant geniuses or experts in their field, even people who were “born to do” something, still started somewhere, made mistakes, looked foolish before they became really good at their own particular gift. And the best of them still fall down once in awhile or screw up. Everyone does. So this reluctance to start something because you may look foolish? Is the most foolish thing of all. Yes, this is my brain fighting with my ego and my self-confidence. We are going to duke it out today.

And today I am filing this little blurb about why an otherwise intelligent, accomplished and confident woman sabotages and limits herself with irrational excuses, instead of just living her life full out. Embarrassing to admit it? Maybe. But I’m doing it anyway. (And I’m leaving the little non-sentences in too, for kicks.)

Fresh This Week: Clearance Sale

One of my big new ideas is to be a little more consistent with this blog. And to let you know more about what I'm making here in the studio on a weekly basis. To sort of let you into the process of how the products get made.

So I'm going to try to institute "Fresh This Week" journals each Friday, as a way of announcing what is new, and what I'm working on.

This week has been a frenzy of making more of my regular soap scents to build up my inventory. The last little Christmas rush put me out of stock of many of the most popular flavors of soap. And as I've said before, it takes several weeks for the little buggers to cure, so it's time-consuming and a lot of batches to get caught up again with the full menu of scents that I carry. Since that is so totally boring, it's not worth a big crowing about blog post.

The other thing that has to happen here in the first few days of January is the big inventory. For tax purposes, I am supposed to count every single item and supply in my entire stock and studio, put it down on paper and call it a "year-end inventory." What sucks about this particular task is that it needs to be tied to a monetary cost. Each product - a bar of soap or a jar of bath salts - has to be broken out to it's actual costs, from raw materials to the packaging and container bits. So I count how many jars of bath salts I have on hand, and cost out the salts, the fragrance, the jars plus lid, and the label, and come up with my actual cost of what that product costs to make. That's the "actual cost." And this needs to be listed next to every item. Plus every ingredient I have on hand too. Lots of searching for invoices from earlier in the year.

Ingredient costs vary a lot throughout the year, and from year to year. It's not that easy to just transfer the costs from one year to the next. Olive oil has gone way up, and back down. Sometimes a particular container radically changes price too - like the tins, due to cost increases to produce it. Anyway, it's a time-consuming effort and boring and blah, blah, blah. The only silver lining is that it keeps me on track with knowing if I'm out of whack with my prices, and what I need to cut back on. Plus it makes me look at what I have on hand that just needs to be cleared out of the studio to make room for new stuff. Odds and ends of items that need to go. Clearance sale!

That's the long, rambling, prelude to my announcement that I've got the Clearance Sale page back up with a few items that I'm putting up at a huge discount. There isn't a lot of stock of any of these items, so if you're interested, don't delay.

Here's your link to the sale page to BUY NOW! When it's gone, it's gone.