Salmon Days 2011

Salmon Days is happening this coming weekend. I think it's supposed to stay mainly dry, mostly cloudy, a few showers. Posh. We're used to a lot worse. A few raindrops and clouds is nothing, right?

It's Sat and Sun, Oct 1 and 2. Hours are 10am-6pm both days. It's the whole downtown area of Issaquah, with the main streets closed off. There are so many activities and vendors it always amazes me. There is a new gal in charge this year, so a few things have been moved around a bit. I won't be in the same spot I've had the last few years on that beautiful corner to the entrance of the fish ladder across from Shishkaberries. But I'm just over a few booths in another corner. The old booth number was #318, and I'm now in #315 this year. It's just 3 spots up in a corner that faces north instead of south, same side of the street, basically in the same place. Hopefully you'll smell me, and not miss me.

Click the link above for all the scoop on the parade, the live stage entertainment schedule, parking and shuttles, food booths, artist vendor lists, maps and all the rest. This is a super huge show, great fun, and so much to do and see - don't miss it! Free admission, did I mention that?

Studio Closing Announcement

Fall is here! And it hit with a blast the last couple of days. Big winds, dumping rains - that's the weather we have come to expect.

Are you starting to think about ordering the fall seasonal soaps right about now? If so, just a word about what's coming up.

I'm going to be at Salmon Days this weekend, with all the fall goodies. And I'll post about that in a minute. But if you're planning on placing an order, please do it this week.

I am taking a short vacation before all the winter and holiday show season gets under way. I need a break from the grind and we've got a big family celebration to boot. So I'm closing the studio from Monday, October 3rd through Monday October 17th. Yes, two whole weeks! I don't remember ever going that long. But it's necessary and much anticipated.

Since it's just little old me over here behind the green curtain, that means no orders are going to be shipped during that time period. You will still be able to place orders on the website. But there will be a message informing you that it won't be shipped until Tuesday, Oct 18th. I'll start in on them right away and take them in order that they are received, getting them all out as quickly as possible.

Any questions or comments or whatnot, please give me a shout this week too. I'm working like a crazy person trying to get everything in order. If you need something from me, just let me know as soon as you can.

The Puyallup Fair was good this year, just a smidge better than last year, so as of yesterday, that is in the rear view mirror. What a long haul those two weeks are. I think it turned out ok. We're still calculating some of the sales and numbers overall. But for myself, I did alright this time out, and have a few good ideas for new stuff to do there next year.

Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, the Winter Holiday newsletter and new products announcements will still happen as usual during that first week of November. No change in any of the schedule for the rest of the year. Just a little time-out in October.

Puyallup Fair

So uh yeah, I was supposed to yap about the Puyallup Fair last week, and give you all the deets. I sort of got busy and forgot. But it's already happening. The fair, that is.

Dates: Sept. 9 - 25
Hours: Sun - Thurs 10am-10pm, Fri & Sat, 10am-11pm
Place: The Puyallup Fairgrounds, or Western Washington Fairgrounds, or whatever you call it. And if you don't know where that is, wow. It's the biggest thing in the town of Puyallup and signs for exits and where to go are plastered on every corner. Plus all the highway exits. But of course there is a map and directions too, on their website.

So as I mentioned earlier, I'm located in the "Artists in Action" area. It's a gallery/store located on the ground level of the Grandstand. The Grandstand is where the concerts are. Artists in Action is right next to the Fisher scone line, which is always loooooong. It's the west end (north end?) closest to the Red Gate. Gah. I've been there 5 years and I still know nothing.

Well I do know something: this year the "Totally Fried" booth is serving up deep-fried butter. Just to keep up with all the other insane fairs around the country. The deep-fried oreos and snickers looked alright, but I'm still pretty scared of the Krispy Kreme Chicken sandwich there.

Ok, back to the art. There's close to 70 artists in our show, doing fiber stuff, pottery, wood work, metal work, jewelry, clothing, hand-painted all kinds of things. Some new artists and new stuff. We've mixed it up and changed around the booths a little bit. We're still doing demos all day of how we make our wares. I'm working a bunch of little small shifts in the mornings, so I'll be in and out.

The rodeo part was last weekend, and I guess that's over. But there is a pretty good concert line-up. And lots of stuff to do. Just don't eat the butter.

Autumn 2011 Newsletter

The new Autumn newsletter is on its way! Snail mail versions are en route and should arrive tomorrow. The email version has just been popped off a few minutes ago. So to cover all the bases, I'm posting the info here too. The full text is below the photo. And a LINK TO ALL THE FALL GOODIES IS RIGHT HERE. That linkie-poo gets you to the Seasonal page on the web site, where you can travel around and check out whatever else you'd like to see too. Cheers!

Dear Friends,

The lazy, hazy dog days of summer headed out of town. It’s a bit of a shock, I know. Frolicking about in the glorious warmth of summer, it feels like it will go on forever and ever. And then suddenly summer is gone and we’re dumbstruck. How could it have passed by so quickly, we wonder?

September heralds the advent of autumn, with shorter days, cooler nights and a return of the “routines.” Like a well-worn path, fall has a welcome familiarity that brings us both comfort and a quiet joy.

Autumn has its own special pleasures - cozy snuggling by the fire as the leaves dance in circles and the rains patter against the window. It feels good to head inside and rediscover the warm comforts of hearth and home.

AUTUMN SEASONAL SOAPS

Autumn’s cool, crisp air crystallizes our senses. The whisper of wind and the crunch of dead leaves shoo us back indoors to the warm delights of home – soups stewing, goodies baking and fireplaces crackling. This year’s Autumn Harvest soaps highlight our favorite fruits and spices, taking the best of the season and celebrating the bounty. ($4.25 each or 4 bars for $16.00)

Sugar Pumpkin: This year’s version of the ever-popular pumpkin soap is scented with creamy pumpkin, vanilla, a sprinkling of spice, and warm brown sugar. Sweet and cinnamon-y, it is the quintessential fall fragrance, sure to mark the start of the season.

Cranberry Harvest: Tart, juicy cranberries and zesty orange peel, loaded with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and pepperberry. This is a soft red bar - brightly fruity with a nice compliment of traditional spice.

Honey Orange: Fresh honey is the special ingredient in this soap, gently soothing and calming skin while adding extra moisture. Scented with sweet orange and a luscious honey fragrance, it’s soft and comforting.

Milk & Cookies: Who doesn’t love this treat? Especially on a rainy, blustery day. This soap is brimming with fresh, pure goat milk. The scent, however, is fresh-from-the-oven snickerdoodles – yummy, buttery, sugary vanilla and cinnamon.

HOLIDAY SPICE HOME FRAGRANCE SPRAY

It’s not too early to start spritzing a little festive spicy holiday spirit around the house! Holiday Spice is 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. Cinnamon spice and harvest fruit pair well with our fall soaps and set the mood in your cozy home. (4 oz bottle - $ 6.00)

HELPING HANDS SOAP SETS

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.

DEAD SEA BATH SALTS

Our rustic, chunky bath salts come directly from the Dead Sea. Completely unrefined, these salts are sun dried from the waters of the Dead Sea in southern Israel. Pure, fresh salts with 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.
The Dead Sea salts are quite concentrated in their healing and nourishing properties, so a little goes a long way. Just toss a small handful, or approximately a quarter of a cup into your bath water, and use even less for foot soaks. The fragrance may seem a little strong at first whiff in the bottle but they are scented to fill a full bath.
Just for fall, I’ve added a new seasonal scent: Red Currant – a gorgeous deep fruity berry scent. And the every day favorite fragrances are: French Lavender, Vanilla Bean & Honey, Sandalwood Jasmine, and Almond Ginger. (16 oz bottle - $ 8.00)

THE SEASON OF SHOWS, SHOWS, SHOWS

The next few months are chock full with craft shows, fairs and festivals too. I’ll be doing what I can to bring the goodies to your neck of the woods. See the enclosed calendar or log onto the website to get more details on the “Show Schedule” page.

As always, I sincerely appreciate your loyal business throughout the year, and wish you a brilliant and abundant harvest season!

Program Notes

Well, that's assuming I actually DO have a program going on over here. Mostly it's been a mix of slacking and revving up for fall.

The slacking part came after the Anacortes show at the beginning of the month. It was the best ever, and I needed some time after that to just recuperate from it all. A weekend off to go camping. A few days of just taking it easy, doing the bare minimum to keep the balls in the air.

Now is the revving up part. The fall newsletter and introduction of all the fall stuff. The Puyallup Fair in September. The beginning of all the fall shows, which immediately become winter holiday hoopla etc. It's all just about to pop.

So that's what today's blog is about - the stuff about to pop. If you're thinking it's just about time for another newsletter, you're right. I'm going to send it off next Tuesday - a week from today. Nobody is really thinking about fall too much until after Labor Day weekend is out of the way. So next week will be the newsletter in the mailbox and the email inbox and also here on the blog.

The website will be updated accordingly next week, with a little different look - new colors and photos of the seasonal stuff.

And Friday of next week is the first day of the Puyallup Fair. It runs Sept 9 - 25 and I'll be back in the Artists in Action area under the grandstand. I'll do a separate post with all the details on that show next week. But this is just a heads up. Click the link above for advance info, early tickets etc. The first day is free admission from 10am to noon if you bring a donation to their food drive to the gate. Insider tip: a lot of folks rush the gates early, get their re-entry stamp and then head off to their day, coming back later in the afternoon or evening to actually do the first day of the fair. It's a huge rush, though, so you have to like crowds.

Gosh, I just can't believe it's all happening already and that summer is over and September is here. The tomatoes are still green. But the leaves are already falling off the trees and most of the garden has keeled over dead. I guess that means it's just another crap tomato year.

Well, Tally ho. Enjoy the last few days of it. Meet me back here Tuesday.

Anacortes Arts Festival - Last Summer Fair

OMG - It's time once again for the Anacortes Arts Festival. It's happening this weekend, Friday through Sunday, and it's a humdinger. It's the 50th anniversary of this annual festival and it should be a blast.

On August 5, 6 and 7, 2011, The downtown streets will be filled with 250 outstanding juried Booth Artisans, music on multiple stages, Culinary Art and beer garden featuring ethnic and regional tastes, and a creative Youth Area.

The north end of the Festival features Arts at the Port fine art exhibition showcasing work by artists spanning 50 years of the Festival's Permanent Collection. Experience Art with demonstrating artists and a new Gorilla/Guerrilla Open Art area round out the north Commercial Festival events.

The info:

Dates: Friday through Sunday, Aug 5 - 7
Hours: Fri and Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-5pm

Soapworks booth location - NEW THIS YEAR! I'm an invitee this year, which means I must have had a pretty good show last year, despite the rain on Saturday. So I picked a new spot. I'm one block south of my old space. I'm in the 500 block, meaning half-way inbetween 5th and 6th Street. That's the Gere-A-Deli block, so about half a block south, right near that alley, and I"m in the center of the street with all my sides open, so you can see me better. It's space #512C if you've got a map (map located HERE).

This is my last outdoor summer show this year - I don't have any more scheduled for August. So I'm hoping for a bonanza. And if you wanted to try any of the summer seasonal scents, this will probably be it. In just a few short weeks the fall newsletter goes out, the Puyallup Fair starts, and it's going to be Autumn over here at the studio, no matter that we still have warm weather outside. Come and get it while the getting's good!

Change Ain't Always Good

The biggest thorn in my side in this business is packaging. Or changes in the containers and doo-dabs that I use to package my products. Just when you think you've got it all figured out and stream-lined, something goes belly up.

This week it's those dang slidey lip balm tins. Something on the manufacturer's side changed, and the new batch of tins I got last week was different. I noticed it was a little harder to slide the top on while I was making up a bunch of new flavors for the Bellevue show (on Thursday afternoon just before I headed out the door to set up for the show). So I knew something was afoot, but I had to take them out on the road anyway.

Almost everyone who tried to slide them open to get a sniff of the flavor had trouble with them. It was awkward. And not fun. Because most of my flavors are the older style tin and are so easy - they just glide and snap like a breeze. But the new ones don't "pinch and pull" the same way. They have to lift and slide. I've opened like a hundred now and even I still can't quite get it open easily. Imagine it in the hands of the little girls who want to try the Raspberry Soda or Root Beer. Lids are on the pavement. Little fingers are in the balm. And I'm standing there trying to explain it all, feeling foolish. Bleh.

So now what? It's the same old question. Do I spend a lot of time trying to find new ones just like it that work better? Do I change the container altogether? I've had those things for years and years. Customers won't recognize a tube-like thing. And I've got all those darn labels made up already. Changing them means throwing out money on the labels. And there's no guarantee that another supplier will have something better. They probably all come from the same place.

It happens constantly. The (fill in the blank - ribbon, bottle, label size) suddenly isn't available any more. Or out of stock for months at a time, during the whole busy summer season, because a container from China is lost, stuck in customs or whatever. The manufacturer went out of business. The supplier discontinued carrying them, and nobody else has them. It's all the same. A headache.

I'm taking them out to Anacortes this weekend because I have to. People expect them. They come to stock up. They recognize them instantly - I've had those same tins for a dozen years now. And if it's like last weekend and they struggle with the lid, ultimately tossing it back instead of deciding to buy it because it's just too darn hard to open? then they are toast, people.

I added the lip balms to my line mostly so that all the young girls who come to sniff the soap, but don't have enough allowance money for soap bars, will still have an affordable little something to buy from me. Girls just lurve them some lip goop too. They can never have enough. So it's been all good. But it's a lot of work to make all those flavors and not a lot of profit in it.

I'll just have to think about it another day. My brain hurts right now, going around and around. It's MONDAY. This kind of stuff is too much for a Monday after a long 3-day show weekend.

Bellevue Art Festival - July 2011

Somehow, the way the month of July worked out on the calendar, we must have had an extra weekend in there because I had last weekend off. No shows, beautiful weather and a break from all the usual summer madness. It was so nice. Almost like a real summer.

But this week has been back to work in a big way. Tomorrow is the start of the Bellevue art show trifecta. The museum show is at Bellevue Square, in the parking garage. Then there's the other show across the street in the Cost Plus parking lot. And then there's us - the Sixth Street Fair - which sets up on 106th, a block over. I'll be in my same wonderful space in front of the California Pizza Kitchen, under the trees and next to Andrew the glass guy, who I neighbor with every year - he's a blast. This is a really huge event with hundreds and hundred of artists all over the place, drawing massive crowds.

Tee hee. I just checked back on what I wrote for this show last year and just to prove that nothing changes and it's groundhog day, year after year, I'm going to paste in the whole weather paragraph from exactly this same week last year. It's 100% true right now too:

"And so many years it's been hotter than Hades - we're all wilting in the heat and everyone is running for the indoor air conditioning. But not this time. Because this year we are having the summer that never showed up. I'm sure that if you are reading this from the East Coast or other parts of the country you probably don't want to hear us complain about our chilly summer. The heat waves everywhere else are insane. But we are not having any of it. Overnight it gets cloudy and cool, dropping into the low 50's. We wake up to early spring weather. And if we are really, really lucky (maybe a dozen days now) we can get into the 70's in the afternoon if the sun breaks through. It's stupid. Which proves to everyone that I'm not a true Northwesterner. Because a lot of people around here love that. Me? I'd be happier with more sun, warmer temperatures, and an actual summer-like day or two."

Isn't that crazy!?! Actually the past week has been a little better. And we're going to have a dry weekend in the mid-70s with a bit of sun. So it should be perfect and a great time to get out and do the summer stuff we've been waiting for.

Show deets:

Friday, July 29: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Saturday, July 30: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Sunday, July 31: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Here is the map which lists all the other vendors and their locations. There is food and music too. Hope you get a chance to come over.

Gig Harbor Art Festival

Just a quick note with details about this weekend's show. I'll be in Gig Harbor for their annual summer art festival, hosted by Peninsula Art League.

It's July 16 & 17. Hours are 10am-6pm on Sat and 10am-5pm on Sun. Location is Judson Street, in front of the QFC mall, downtown Gig Harbor. I'm smack dab in the middle of it all on the QFC side of the street.

I usually hope for shade because this July weekend can be one of the hottest. But it doesn't look like that's going to happen this year. Seems weird to have such cool, cloudy weather in July. But all the weather people keep telling us that we've got it so much better than any other parts of the country, so I guess we shouldn't gripe about it too much.

Anyway, this is a good show with a great turnout of local folks and a lot of fun. Looking forward to seeing you there!

West Seattle Summer Festival

West Seattle Summer Fest is happening this weekend, July 8 - 10, and I'm looking forward to being there with my little 'ol soap booth again this year!

West Seattle Summer Fest is a FREE 3-day street fair, hosted by an organization of local area merchants, the West Seattle Junction Association. Now in it’s 29th year, West Seattle Summer Fest is host to dozens of bands, hundreds of merchants and artists, and over 30,000 attendees.

FESTIVAL HOURS:

Friday: 10am – 10pm (Vendor sales until 6pm and food vendors until 8pm)

Saturday: 10am – Midnight (Vendor and food sales until 8pm)

Sunday 11am – 5pm (Vendor and sales until 5pm)

This year they are planning a GREENLIFE Garden and Sustainability Expo too. There will be vendors and non-profits to share their knowledge of Living in the Green Lane! A full roster of classes and demonstrations includes solar energy, back yard chickens, canning and preserving, and beer making at home. Yes – home brewing is considered a GREEN activity:) For a full list of classes and demonstrations, please visit the GreenLife Page. The Greenlife area is at the south end of the festival, near the corner of Edmunds St.

Check the website for maps. The list of vendors is HERE. There's a zoomable map on that page that will give you close-up directions to specific booths.

Soapworks Studio booth is space #133 - which is located on the north block, between Alaska and Oregon Streets. I'm on the west side of the street, with a beautiful corner, same spot as last year. I forgot which business I was in front of, but it's closer to Oregon, the Art Dive and the Beer Garden than it is to Alaska and the food booths.

This is a really fun neighborhood event, with all kinds of stuff to do for kids to adults. All the businesses roll stuff out into the street, the dozens of restaurants have outdoor seating. From the kiddie bouncie/jumpie blow up thingies to the evening music, it's all a good time. See you there.

It's not really gardening -

it's more like hacking through a jungle with a machete. In fact, I'm using an axe, my wood saw and only rarely, the clippers.

I got pretty inspired by the garden show in Gig Harbor last weekend. Everyone's garden was so very lovely. And tamed. And weed-free. Oh, I know - they've worked on them like crazy people for weeks. With probably a team of helpers too. It's not like they look like that all the time. It's just for a weekend, to show off for the garden tour.

But in my fantasy world I should have a garden that looks like all those magazine spreads of fabulous cottage gardens, kitchen gardens, beach view decks with fire pit, and a huge patio with the built in kitchen, pizza oven and fireplace all spread out. Maybe a tiki bar in the corner too. In my dream house I have all of it. It's a beach-front farm with gourmet kitchen patio. Oh, I almost forgot the pool. There's one of those too. With a cabana, outdoor shower and guest house. Why limit your dreams?

Instead I have a tiny little postage stamp patio. And a teeny weeny little patch of grass with a few plants in the borders. A crunch of too many tomato plants in a corner near the back door. And then everything else at the moment is weeds higher than the fence. Or ivy slowly creeping in and covering what I thought was the front yard.

My next door neighbor is an empty lot of green things that will continue to live and take over the earth, even if we have a nuclear or global warming disaster that takes us all out. Ivy. Blackberries. Creeping morning glory or chokeweed junk. Holly trees. You can't kill them. I've tried - repeatedly. Nothing works. But the hacking is necessary, because if I don't make a tiny little dent over here on my side by the fence, then by next summer, you won't even know my house is here. The jungle will grow right over the fence, over the house and continue on.

The back yard neighbor is a rental house with kids who only stay there for 6 months or a year at a time, and nobody owns a lawn mower or any other garden type tool. They don't even go outside. So it might as well be a jungle too. In between renters, somebody comes by and hacks down the chin-tall weed-grass. But at this time of year, it's so contrained by one single yard, that it's bursting through all the little fence cracks trying to break free.

So I'm out there the last day or so trying to tame the jungle. I can't really call it "gardening." The cat's don't care.

And if you're curious about what my little casa/home studio actually looks like - here's a picture of the front today. It's a work in progress and clearly I need to do a little hacking in the front yard too.

Gig Harbor Garden Tour

It's been so long since I've blogged over here, that I almost don't even know how to do it anymore. Rather than make excuses or long explanations, let's just say I've been off doing regular life stuff - taking my focus off business for few minutes just for brain space.

But this weekend I'll be at the Gig Harbor Garden Tour. I had the lovely opportunity to participate in this show last year for the first time and it was so enjoyable, that I'm doing it again. It's a garden tour of private houses all over the Gig Harbor area, and they change each year so this year will be all new ones.

You need to buy tickets either in advance (online) or at the first house. You get a little badge or bracelet or whatnot, and then you get a map and more information. I don't have many details, so I'll just post the link to their website for all the latest scoop - http://www.gigharborgardentour.org/.

It's Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 10-4. I'll be at Dick & Sara Bowe's house (garden #3) with Dianne Kimball (pottery, garden art) and Randy's Nursery (hardy plants).

Note - I just checked the website myself to see if there were directions, and you can buy tickets through tomorrow (Sat) online. I guess you have to actually do that part first. And when you do, you are given a will-call location as to where to pick them up. Otherwise the addresses are not published and there is no map available until you've got a ticket. So go buy a ticket and head out to see us. The gardens were really special and something to see last year, so I expect these will be spectacular too - so much work goes into getting them ready.

Latest Logo

This is my latest logo-type thingie. I had to mess around with making a little square digital image for a few things in the last month, and this is what I came up with.

I'm working on getting new business cards printed with it too. A little different version because it's a smaller rectangle size. If you've seen my business card from the last year or so, they've been chocolate brown with bright flowers all over it. But I'm running out of those soon and needed new ones. I thought I'd go with something a little fresher and lighter this year.

I spent a whole morning working on it, but it's so hard to see the little tiny image on your computer screen. It's not until they arrive in the mail, all printed up, that you finally get a sense of whether it worked out or not. When I hit "submit order" I was kind of happy with it. Now that I'm looking at it more, I'm thinking it's a little boring. It will be at least another week before they get here. I suppose I'll fret about it some more until then - because you just can't get enough fretting into a regular day.

First Thursday - Pioneer Square

It's so funny how the universe works. Always on the day I'm packing for a show, the phone starts ringing with orders. It's like the powers that be out there somehow know that I'm ready to sell stuff and the message goes out. My lovely customers respond - calling in their orders for soaps, sprays or whatnot. They all have kind words and happy things to say about the products. What a joyful way to take the stress out of an otherwise anxiety or stress-filled day. Not a one of them needs anything immediately right now ("no worries, no hurry, just send it when you can").

Ok, if I'm being totally honest, sometimes it feels like a little extra stress to know that I've got a pile of orders waiting for me on the day I unpack and try to recover from a long weekend. But that's not too often. Usually the orders are pretty easy and I'm just grateful to have them. And even more thankful to have such nice, sweet customers too.

Today I'm packing up for First Thursday/ArtWalk in Pioneer Square tomorrow. It's my first time at this, so I don't know much. Hours are 11am - 8pm, or thereabouts. The real artwalk hours are around 4-8, dragging on a little later if the weather is nice and people are out. So we're hoping for a few lunchtime folks to stop by too. We are lined up on Occidental, along the park. And it's at least 27 artists who are signed up as of this minute, but it's open to last minute folks too. A few will arrive later in the day due to work schedules.

I just hope the weather is better than the last couple of days. I'm really tired of all the drizzle and chilly. More honesty here. I'm just really tired of it all at the moment. It feels like it's been a long month. And if I have to spend another day outside for 12 hours in the damp and cold, I'm going to be really sad. At least there are hot soup and sandwich places right there. And I'll be close to my car if I need to jump in and heat up. I guess summer is going to show up for the weekend and I have a couple days off then. Huzzah!

Folklife - my spot

Just got back from the big load-in over at Seattle Center and I'm thinking it's going to be pretty hard to find me if you don't know where to look.

So here's the scoop. We are over at the Center Square Stage area, between the Center House and EMP - the far other side of the Center House, headed towards EMP. There's a big stage there, and a bunch of outdoor craft vendor tents, which are part of our group. And the rest of our group is inside the 'Center Maintenance Building'. That's what they call it. It's a long, skinny metal building directly behind the Children's Garden set-up. It's got giant garage doors that will be open all weekend, so it will be visible and open. But we're still covered from the elements, which might come in handy.

If you're headed over there for the festival - stop by to say HI! BTW - I'll be out of the studio an awful lot the next few days, so if you're trying to get me, it may take an extra day or so. Have a great holiday people!

Thursday is garbage day at my house

which means nothing, except that I loathe to run around collecting trash and recycling and rushing it out to the curb in my pajamas on Thursday mornings. Especially when it's cold or raining. Which it wasn't today. But it certainly isn't summer either. It's another full week of cloudy, showery, chilly and waiting for the sun to show up.

Just a quick quote from a mini-guide to success that I read somewhere (and if I can find it again, I'll post the link):

"Don't make the dull thing that everyone will yawn and settle for. Make it sharp and glittering and irreplaceable."

I'm off to set up Folklife today. I can't quite tell from my map where I'll be but it looks a little hard to find. I'm inside, not outside on the walkways. So I don't have to worry about our cold, rainy forecast for the weekend. I'll post better directions here when I get back so that anybody looking for me at the show can find me.

New Banner ad on KOMO

So many big announcements this week!

I've signed on to be a community sponsor with KOMO News, which is just a fancy-pants name for paid advertising, but in a specific geographic area of the Seattle area.

If you live/work or access a computer in the Beacon Hill or Georgetown neighborhoods of Seattle, you will automatically see my little banner ad flashed across the front page of the KOMO news website. It's just above the "Top Video" bar and directly below the "Sports" section. If you click on the button, it takes you to my profile page in the Communities areas for both Beacon and Georgetown. It's like another whole web site there, with all my info, photos, my show schedule etc.

If you do not live in those areas, you can still see it by clicking the handy link I have pasted over there to the left - the image that says "proud supporter of KOMO communities" thingie. The other method (a lot more clicking) is go to the KOMO home page, click on "Communities" across the top menu bar, choose Beacon Hill (or Georgetown), and then click "Businesses" in that top menu bar. All the categories are listed in the left hand box. I'm of course under "Bath & Body Products." You can also see me if you click the "All Community Sponsors" button in the right hand box of a few select Community Sponsor ads.

Sort of roundabout to find me that way. But if you're in my neighborhood, you'll be seeing my nice banner every time you open the home page, which is really cool.

Yep, that's what it looks like, for those of you outside of my neighborhood. The profile page is there all the time for anybody, but the banner ad is specific to my own location. I'm giving it a try for a few months to see what happens. KOMO News has the largest news website west of the Mississippi, so it can't be a bad thing.

It's all about the marketing, people. Marketing, marketing, marketing. It can start to make you fruitloops if think about it all day. This has been a roller coaster week.

Folklife! I'm There!

Whoop, whoop! I'm going to be at Folklife this year!

A friend of mine, Chuck at Down to the Wire Designs, needed to share a booth space this year and invited me to help him out. I wasn't planning on it and it's not on my schedule anywhere. But I'm going to do it because it's too great an opportunity to pass up. It's a last minute add on.

We're part of the Indie Roots area at Center Square, organized by Urban Craft Uprising

"Voted Best Place for Urban Crafts in the Seattle Weekly’s 2010 “Best Of” Awards, this year we warmly welcome Urban Craft Uprising to the Northwest Folklife Festival, Memorial Day Weekend!

Making their debut at our new venue, Indie Roots at Center Square, we’ve partnered with UCU to bring you a unique and awesome array of crafts. The Urban Craft Marketplace in Center Square will be open the entire weekend from 11:00AM-8:00PM."

So it's Memorial Day weekend - Friday, May 27 through Monday May 30th. We're open from 11am-8pm each day. I've got just a half a booth, so I'm not going to have everything, just a selection. If you are hoping to pick up something specific, please call or email and I'll make sure to have it there for you.

For more info on the festival - Folklife

U District Street Fair 5/22

Hey, just a reminder, this weekend is the U District Street Fair. I know, it feels early. It's the first big street fair of the summer, and sort of the whole announcement that summer is here. But it feels like we've barely squeeked into spring around here, it's been so chilly.

This week is the first bit of sunshine and truly warm weather we've had. But of course it's not supposed last into the weekend. We'll be back to the clouds and rain showers for Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully it will be sporadic and mild and the crowds will get a chance to come out and parade up and down the Ave.

The details for the show:

University District Street Fair
University Avenue, Seattle
May 21 - 22, Sat 10-7, Sun 10-6
My booth location: #315, between 42nd & 43rd, west side of street

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. Hope to see you there!

Summer Newsletter 2011

The summer newsletter went out in the post a week ago, and I guess I forgot to put this up on the blog too.

I'm posting the text here too, so those of you who are not on the mail list or email list can get the scoop also. Here it is, with one big giant LINKIE POO to the summer seasonal product page where everything mentioned in the letter is listed.

Dear Friends,

I remember back when we were school kids and we just couldn’t wait another minute for summer to arrive. Crossing off the days on the calendar with big black X marks, the anticipation for the first day of vacation was sweet agony.

Summer meant freedom and seemed to last forever. No matter how old we get or how far away from classrooms and long vacations, we never really forget that yearning feeling when the sun finally comes out. We just want to get out there.

Even if our “summer vacation” is just a few weekends from June to August, we want to pack in as much fun in the sun as we possibly can. And here in the Northwest we’ll wear shorts and sandals with goosebumps just to hang onto our favorite season a little bit longer.

I’m starting my list of summer activities so I don’t miss a thing – barbeques, outdoor concerts, picnic parties, beach afternoons, parades, and festivals. Oh yeah, summer’s going to be good.

SUMMER SEASONAL SOAPS

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

EUCALYPTUS: When it’s hot outside you want only one thing – to feel cool and fresh. A chilly shower with this bar is the ultimate in refreshing. Eucalyptus is grassy and green with a caress of icy cold fingers down your back. It’s a great morning zinger bar or a zesty after work-out soap too. (100% natural ingredients)

ORANGE GINGER MINT: This minty scrubby soap was introduced in the last newsletter for spring. It’s been a runaway hit and it seems to work perfectly for summer too, so we’re keeping it on the menu. Happy and energizing, it’s blend of sweet orange, a pinch of ginger, peppermint and spearmint, plus a sprinkle of poppy seeds for texture. A soft cantaloupe color, the poppy seeds help with gentle exfoliation or a wake-up massage in the shower. (100% natural ingredients)

OCEAN BREEZE – A soft blend of ocean and air, this scent is light as a breeze, fresh and clean. With a zen-like calm, its soothing marine fragrance and beautiful translucent sea glass color transports you directly to the spa.

COCONUT ALMOND – A delicious treat - it smells like dessert! Gorgeous coconut goodness paired with yummy nutty almond. It’s creamy and mild with no color added for a creamy white bar.

AROMATIC SPRAYS FOR SUMMER

Summer is the perfect season to indulge in one of the aromatic sprays. Keep one in the fridge for a little spritz of icy cool on your neck or décolletage. Spray a little bit of yummy on your summer sundresses, fresh sheets, steamy car seats or stinky dog. This superhero stuff goes anywhere and everywhere, making the world smell a little more pretty. (4 oz bottle, $6.00)

Two new scents to try, just for the summer season: COCONUT LEMON or EUCALYPTUS. Coconut lemon is tropical and bright – a bit of creamy coconut with a squeeze of tart lemon. Eucalyptus clears your head with a top note of camphor, but mellows into warm grasses and wood, for a clean, fresh fragrance.

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. Bugger Off Spray comes highly recommended and is amazingly effective. ($6.00 each)

SUMMER FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

The arrival of summer means another year of sidewalk fairs and festivals. I’ve got a full season planned and am looking forward to meeting and seeing you all. For more details on my summer schedule, including booth locations, check out the schedule section on the website, SoapworksStudio.com.

We’ve all waited through such a long, cold spring that this year’s summer is going to be the best ever!

More cowbell

Wow, it sure was cold out there in Mount Vernon all weekend. Frigid, freezing and drizzly. Except Sunday. Sunday was actually sunny. Only warm in the sunbeams, but at least it brought out all the kids and families to get a little fresh air. Sales were a mixed bag for most artists, but I did pretty well and am happy with the weekend. Even the part where some guy hit my car while I was parked there on Saturday. He was nice enough to leave me a note, and even took the time to call the police and report it too. It's basically a bumper dent and not that big a deal, but it's good to know that integrity still exists. Who knew?

For those of you that missed me there, or for those of you that bought something/didn't buy something but want to get more - my products are still at the Berry Barn there thru April 30th. You can save the shipping by heading over to Charlene's show (and pick up a delicious pie while you're there). The Berry Barn is just off Hwy 20 on the LaConner road.

Of note: the tulips are finally out. Some fields popped over the weekend, and some are just coming out right now. So this coming weekend should be spectacular. They only leave them out for 10 days before they get topped and dug up for bulbs. Don't wait around til it's too late.

New shows! Northwest Art Alliance (Best of the Northwest shows) has just taken on organizing the Art in Occidental Park show, which happens in Pioneer Square on the First Thursday artwalks. It starts next month - the first Thursday in May and runs through December. My summer and fall schedule is already pretty full so I can only head over there a couple of times. I'm scheduled for June 2 and September 1. Here's a link to what goes on over there. Looks like we're setting up our tents all around Occidental Park - and it's a long day of it too - 11am to 10pm. Sounds like it might be a lot of fun!

Tulipmania

Just a quick post about this weekend's events. Friday through Sunday (4/15-17) is the Mount Vernon street fair - the big hoopla show in the Skagit Valley and center of the tulip festival activities.

Hours are Fri and Sat 10am to 6pm, Sun 10am to 5pm. My booth is located in the same spot as last year, sort of catty corner from the front door of the food co-op. I'm in the furthest north block of the fair, at the corner of Washington, in booth #149. You can't miss us - they shut down almost the entire downtown area to set up our sea of white tents.

Oh it's going to shower a little bit and be cloudy a little bit and it's not going to be very warm either. But it's not expected to have snow or hurricane winds or monsoon rains either. All of which have happened in previous years. So this is a probably going to be considered a "good" year for weather - just have to wait and see. I'll need longjohns anyway.

And one other show announcement: the Country at Heart show up at the Berry Barn over there is going to say open longer than originally planned. The tulips are not out yet, even though the show's been on for a week. We just need a couple more days of sun and they should pop. But the gals are going to keep the show/shop open for an extra week and go through the whole month of April. The plan is to close up Sat evening, 4/30. Just to get a few more days of tulip tourists and lookie-loo shopping in. Tip: The gal who owns the place has PIES. Freshly made pies of all kinds. Including little individual ones that are cute as can be. Plus super good ice cream. So even if you aren't in the buying mood, it's a great place to stop for a treat. Just off Highway 20 on the LaConner road. It's on the tulip map -

Taxes

I'm beginning to think paying taxes is only for the little people. The little tiny people who have hardly any sheckels to begin with. There is something seriously wrong here:

"EXXON MOBIL: The oil giant that was the world’s most profitable corporation in 2008 has spent $5.7 million in campaign contributions over the last ten years and $138 million in lobbying expenditures. Its federal corporate income tax liabilities for 2009? Absolutely nothing. Not only did it pay nothing, but it also received a tax rebate the same year of $156 million.

CHEVRON: Chevron spent $4.4 million in campaign contributions and $91 million in lobbying expenditures over the last decade. It received a tax refund of $19 million in 2009 while making $10 billion in profits and $324 million in government contracts in 2008.

CONOCOPHILLIPS: The Texas-based gasoline giant spent $2.5 million in campaign contributions and $63 million in lobbying expenditures over the last decade. It received “$451 million through the oil and gas manufacturing deduction,” a special tax break, between 2007 and 2009, despite $16 billion in profits over the same period of time."

The list is much longer, and scarier. Of course it includes all the major banks, Boeing, GE, FedEx etc.

I'm waiting for my puny little refund over here. Which is a relief that I even got one, but that I desperately need right about this time of year. All the taxes and show fees for the year are due in the spring, even if they don't happen until November. Yet there hasn't been but one real show so far in 2011, and spring shows are notoriously small sales anyway. It's a hat trick game of cash when you do this kind of work. The big fall/winter show funds only last so long . . .

April Showers

It's been 41 days (and counting) since we've had a sunny day here in Seattle. Every day seems like the same groundhog day of chilly, showers, gray. Spring is stalled. The daylight hours are longer, and little bits of things are beginning to grow and flower. But I'm so darn impatient for some real sunshine and temperatures closer to 60 than 40.

Next week is the Mount Vernon street fair, which means the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival should be well under way. But with the weather we've had, the tulips are not blooming yet. And it looks like more cool, showery weather for another week. One hour of sunbreak and me and the cats get delirious. Clearly we are Vitamin D-deprived.

I've tried to jump start the garden. I've got sugar snap peas in, a new horseradish plant, more rhubarb, some red onions and a couple of strawberries. But they are also in a holding pattern of inactivity, like the rest of us. Straining to reach the few little rays of sun that peek out for a minute here and there, before the clouds race in and we go back to shivering and huddling.

New Show for April

I'm adding a new show to my schedule for April - Country at Heart in the Berry Barn near Mt Vernon.

Here are the details . . .

Show: Country at Heart
Dates: April 1 - 24, closed Mondays
Hours: 10am - 5pm
Location: The Berry Barn, 14285 La Conner Whitney Rd, Mt Vernon

It's a smaller, boutique craft show, meaning that I am not working my own booth up there. I will have a display with all my spring products there - and some cute little gift sets for Easter and spring in tin watering cans and colorful organza bags. This is the 8th year for this show, and Charlene and her Mom have so graciously invited me to participate.

This is Tulip Festival month, and there are all kinds of display gardens, shops, and special events going on all month. It's a great time to head up and see what's new.

And just a reminder, I'll be at the Mt Vernon street fair, manning my own little tent on the weekend of Apr 15-17. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather will hold out.

Best of the Northwest news

Just a quick update - the Best of the Northwest show was a huge success this past weekend. Everyone had such a good show, and the customers showed up in droves, even though it was a rainy, grey weekend.

We even got a write up in the Seattle Times on Monday. And I was quoted too! The lovely reporter (Melissa Allison) stopped by my booth on Sunday, and was delighted to find a few things for gifts that needed. We chatted a bit about the show and she mentioned that the story would run the next day. It's focus seems to be more about the economy and money - what people spend, how much artists make, etc. That's not what I discussed with her though, so I had hoped to read a little more about the show.

The bad economy is old news and I think people are really tired of hearing about it, frankly. In fact, I think that's partly why spring shows are up. We're just so darn tired of all the bad news and bad weather that we want to get out and treat ourselves with something fun to do or something fun to buy for ourselves. Just to get out of the rut and get on with spring, move forward.

Anyway, what I had hoped to see in the story was all my raving about how great the quality of the show is too. It's so much improved from the last few years. Lots of new artists, cool new stuff, really interesting people from all over - especially the Portland area. It's refreshing to see a whole space filled with art that is truly inspirational - made with passion, rather than made simply to sell, which so many of the shows have now. It's not "commercial" art in the technical sense, but just art made to be sold as quickly and cheaply as possible, rather than for the pure enjoyment and effort.

So the jurying this year was great - even with the new Zapplication system. And the advertising and hard work of everyone to get the word out was phenomenal. I just think this is such a wonderful group of people - artists and staff - that's it's a great thing to see it work out successfully, even in the usually doldroms springtime.

March Shows

The shows are starting up again for spring. I've got a small craft show this week, and the larger Best of the Northwest next week. It's a good time to shop for small gifts with Easter coming up, Mother's Day on the horizon too.


Vasa Park Spring Gift Show
March 17 - 19, Thurs and Fri 10am - 7pm, Sat 10am-5pm
Vasa Park Ballroom, 3560 W Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE
Bellevue

This show is free admission, free parking and has all kinds of spring crafts, home decor plus antiques and collectibles too. It's a boutique style show, with a single cashier at the door.


Best of the Northwest
March 26 -27, Sat and Sun 10am-6pm
Hangar 30, Warren G Magnuson Park
Seattle

This one has free parking, but admission to get in ($5 online, $7 at door). It's 110 regional artists in every medium, displaying their work in their own booths. Tons of artist demonstrations, food booths, entertainment - the works. Click the link for ticket info, artist info, directions on how to get there (Sand Point). My booth location is the very last row against the farthest wall from the front entrance.

Oh, I also have a handful of free passes to this show too, so if you know that you are planning on coming, give me a holler. I've sent out a few this week, but got a little bunch left for whoever needs one.

Taking the calls

The downside to having your own business? It's all the phone calls. All day long. From other businesses that want to do business with your business.

Local schools that want you to sponsor the girl's volleyball team. Or buy t-shirts for them. Or tote bags.
Life insurance companies. Phone and internet companies. Packaging reps. Suppliers of all kinds from everywhere on earth.
Banks, credit card reps, merchant service reps.
Label printers. Office equipment. Manufacturing equipment.
A few random folks who want jobs.
People with web sites, or people that want to "optimize" your web site.
Groups that want free samples. Groups that want auction donation items.
Charities galore with special needs or matching funds opportunities.

I'm sure there's more. That was just the past week or two.

How did I get on this big list of "call me" so we can do business?

Before, when I didn't have caller ID, I thought that just getting that little service would make my life so much easier. Heaven.

But I was so wrong. Whenever any of the above call in, the little ID tells me it's "unkown" or "cell phone San Jose" or something equally useless. There is no way to know if it is a customer or a bothersome telemarketer. During business hours (and even after) I still answer every call. And it's a real time-waster.

I've never liked the phone much. Maybe it's a throw-back to when I had to start my working life as a receptionist and secretary. But today I am very much hating it.

Oh, as I was typing this, I got another one. Some guy from "Hollywood Precious Metals" wants me to convert some of my hard-earned savings into buying a solid piece of metal something as a better retirement option. Is he kidding? I'm not sure what is more ridiculous - that I would buy metal junk instead of keep my cash, or that I would even have any kind of savings, heh.

Hibernation

It's been very quiet the last couple of weeks. I think everyone is hibernating until winter is over. The cold and the grey continue, even though the first little pops of crocus are blooming. Myself, I'm not motivated to do anything more than sleep, read and snuggle by the fire. It's really nice to have even a couple of weeks with so few deadlines that I can spend most of my time doing my own little projects and activities.

Martha Beck's blog just had a really nice discussion about how important it is to have down-time and a significant amount of just plain sleep in order to keep the creative juices flowing. So that's what I'm doing. Thank God for her - now I don't have to feel any guilt about slacking off :)

But now that we're into March, action is afoot. There are a couple of shows happening later this month (Vasa and Best of the Northwest). Plus I'm working out details on adding one in Mount Vernon in April during the Tulip Festival. I'll post details here on all of that next week.

Also, I wanted to mention that the Helping Hands soap is finally back in stock. It takes a long time to make and cure all five scents of soap needed for those. January was a flurry of just getting all the bars back in stock after the frenzied holiday season, plus make sure all the spring soaps were ready for the early February spring newsletter. Now, a few weeks later, I've got all the mini bars ready to go, and I'm hoping that I can keep them fully stocked up for the whole year.

The little packages of small soaps are such a nice gift item - perfect for adult Easter baskets, hostess gifts, or any other spring special event coming up.

West Seattle Art Walk

I'll be participating in the West Seattle Art Walk this evening. That link brings you to their website which lists all the venues and artists participating this month. The artist list rotates each month, so it's a fun way to see new artists.

I'll be at The Kenney, a retirement community, at 7125 Fauntleroy Way SW, near the Fauntlerory/Lincoln Park area. It runs from 6pm-9pm in the main lobby, open to everyone. There will be another jewelry artist there, a painting exhibit of one of the residents, and a live band too.

I'll have the spring products and a bunch of Valentine cards, ribbons and packaging to make up little sweetheart gift sets. Sounds like a fun evening!

Spring Newsletter 2011

I know it doesn't feel like spring is on its way this week. But it's time for the spring newsletter anyway. Maybe it will chase away a little of the winter blahs that we're feeling. Here in Seattle, even though we aren't struggling with all the massive snow and storms that most of the country is facing, I think we all have a little winter fatigue and can't wait for a little warmer, sunnier, happier weather. So here's the latest news - all of it on the website right now:


SPRING 2011

Oh how we wait anxiously and impatiently for Spring to arrive! I imagine Winter as a stark canvas with only dark structural lines for the horizon, tree limbs and jagged rocks. As Spring slowly tiptoes in, each sun break is a paintbrush stroke of color. First a few small sprouts and a sprinkling of pink buds, then a couple of bold swatches of green grass, building into more swirls and dots of blooms and blossoms, until all of a sudden the canvas is lushly alive and brilliantly colored, so much beauty to behold.

As I stare out the window to the mud pit that was once the back yard, I can see the first tiny signs that Spring is sneaking in. There are fuzzy little tips on the magnolia and the tiniest of green tips poking out of the dirt. Proud stalks of hellebore flowers are rising out of the cold ground. And after months of darkness and grey skies, there are warm peek-a-boo sun spots on the back window sill for a cat to curl up in and dream of summer.


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 light, green, fresh or flowery. 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 two years ago, it’s a repeat again this year due to all the fan requests. Potent and absolutely true to its name, it’s a gorgeous lilac fragrance. Sophisticated, elegant, lushly floral in a creamy white bar.

Spring Rain – Spring rains are lighter and fresher than Fall or Winter rains. They dance in the new green leaves and splash around the blooming flowers. This fragrance is lightly floral but not too sweet with a bit of jasmine and gardenia added to a bright, clean, rain scent. Pretty pink petal-colored, it’s perfectly lovely.

Orange Ginger Mint – For those who like a little scrub with their rub-a-dub-dub, I’ve cooked up a poppy seed scrubber soap for spring. It’s happy and energizing, with a blend of sweet orange, a pinch of ginger, and three types of mint. A soft cantaloupe melon color, the poppy seeds give it a light textured feel for gentle exfoliation and a wake-up massage. (100% natural).

Sunshine Citrus - This is a soft lemon scent, with a squeeze of grapefruit and mandarin orange to boost the citrus. It’s light and clean with a subtle fruitiness, perfect for brightening the Winter drearies. (100% natural)


LILAC GARDEN AROMATIC SPRAY

New and improved! The Lilac Garden scent that I’ve had for years has always been so good, such a true duplication of actual lilac blooms. I could not have believed that a better one existed. But last fall I came across a new lilac fragrance that absolutely knocks your socks off. There is some indescribable, magical something in this new fragrance – you feel as if you have your nose buried deep in a just-blossomed bouquet of lilacs. Unfortunately, it didn’t hold up in the soap-making process. In the spray, however, it’s just heavenly gorgeous. Spritz this stuff around the house and there is no question that spring has arrived . . . with bells on! (4 oz bottle, $ 6.00 each)


VALENTINE’S DAY GUILT-FREE TREATS

There’s plenty of time to order gifts 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.


SPRING SHOWS

It’s still a tad early to announce a big show schedule for spring. Deadlines are still in the works with notifications and contracts to be determined later this month. But here are the few that are on the calendar right now. Please check the website (under “Show Schedule”) for the latest information.

March 17 – 19
Vasa Park Spring Craft Show, Vasa Park, Bellevue
Thurs-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm

March 26 – 28
Best of the Northwest, Hangar 30, Magnuson Park, Seattle
Saturday and Sunday 10am-6pm

April 15 – 17
27th Annual Tulip Festival Street Fair, downtown Mt Vernon
Friday and Sat 10-6, Sunday 10-5

May 4 – 6
Mother’s Day Gift Sale, Group Health Central shop space
108 - 15th Ave E, Capitol Hill, Seattle
Wed-Fri 9am-4pm

May 4 - 7
Hilltop Craft, Antique & Garden Show
NW Arts Center, 9825 NE 24th St
Bellevue (Clyde Hill)
Wed - Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-5pm

May 21 – 22
University District Street Fair
Sat 10-7, Sun 10-6

Sweat the Small Stuff

Details. That's what I'm trying to control this week. Getting all the little stuff right. I'm up to my eyeballs in getting the spring newsletter and accompanying email newsletter, blog post and all the website updates all done at the same time. It's due out tomorrow.

My camera broke yesterday. Well, that's not exactly true. It's never worked right since I bought it last October. It's intermittant though. It seems to work just fine whenever I'm on vacation or taking pictures of fun stuff. It always goes haywire whenever I'm taking product photos and trying to do something important under deadline. Yesterday the sun here was so bright and gorgeous that I wanted to re-do all kinds of photos, plus the new spring stuff. I got about 4 photos in, and then nothing would upload. All the files are corrupted and cannot be edited, exported or viewed. So much frustration. I thought my head would explode. I lost hours of time and still don't have even the few photos I really, really needed. I'm going to borrow a camera today and try to do the last couple under dark, cloudy skies. Who knows when we'll get great light again. And the camera is on it's way to the fixer-folks. Which I have every confidence that they won't find anything wrong with. It just hates to do close-ups of soap. Which is weird because it takes beautiful close-ups of cocktails, beautiful dinner plates and my toes in flip-flops on the sand. Who knows.

This is such a great quote: "Getting noticed in a meaningful way is less about the grand gesture and more about the small, thoughtful things we do every day. There's often a pay-it-forward beauty to going that extra inch . . .Too often in our elbows-out world, it's assumed that being considerate and being competitive are mutually exclusive. The opposite is true."

- Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval in The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All The Difference (Broadway)

Back in the studio

Here's where I spent the last week. Hawaii. Non-stop sun so bright it makes your eyes hurt. But in a good way.

The blues are so blue. And the greens are so green over there. So different from our palette of grey on grey over here.

I'm still feeling the ocean waves. And I'm totally not 100% hyped to be back at my desk working. But there is a pile of orders. A long list of emails to get to. A mountain of mail. And a to-do list a mile long.

So I'm taking it one step at a time and just moving forwards. Hopefully a little momentum will build. I've got a lot to make happen this week.

Studio Closed

Just a quick pop-in to say that the studio is closed, pretty much starting right now. I'm taking a week off for vacation. I just really need a little bit of space to regroup and relax before I get this whole year geared up.

I've put a notice on the website too. But any orders or inquiries will be on hold until Monday, Jan 28. I'll get back to work next week.

Until then,

Sale update

Yesterday was the announcement of the Winter Clearance Sale, and I got a flurry of orders all day so things are going fast.

The Ponderosa Pine and Spiced Mocha soaps are now sold out. There are just a few of the Cinnamon Cedar and Winter Mint soaps left too - maybe 4 or 5 of them. And not a whole lot more of the other 3 soaps either (Apple, Nutmeg, Berry).

If you were going to think about it for a few days or maybe have more time over the weekend, don't delay too long or the opportunity will gone.

And in other news, I can't wait for Sunday. Another miracle Seahawks game. The Golden Globes. And all day snacking on the couch in front the teevs. Wheeee!

P.S. Oh yeah, I can't leave the blog alone. The poppies were way too much distraction and intense color. I had to mess around with the design again. Sorry to give you all whiplash. It's going to stay this way for at least a couple of months. I think. But then the snowy tree photo will be so over. And I'll have to give it another facelift. Just saying.

Winter Clearance Sale

If you're on the email list, you will be receiving a notice today that I've just begun a Winter Clearance Sale. After all the clearing out and counting here, I've got a few bars left of almost all of the fall and winter seasonal soaps. So I've put them up on the Clearance Sale page on the website today.

Usually priced at $4.25 per bar, they are now $2.50 - a great big deal! And the perfect time to stock up on whatever you tried and and loved the last couple of months before they are gone.

Shop now because they will go fast.

It's a day for warm socks

And hot beverages. Blustery and wet here. Which is just a slight improvement over the frigid and dry we've had the last week or so. I think I hate the cold more because the darn heat is on all. the. time. And it does bad things to my stupid hair. Makes it all flat and wimpy and split end-y.

I have spent all week on numbers. And if you know me at all, you know that I HATE "the maths". Year-end inventory. Catching up on the last two months of bookkeeping. And then year-end statements and bottom lines and expenses and reports and what-not. All the numbers by month and then summaries of the year. Oof. My head hurts. And my bottom line is flat, or my bottom is flat, or something, from sitting here in front of the computer too long. The actual money bottom line is sort of flat too. Last year wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, since the last couple of months were up a bit. But it's darn near the same as last year. Which wasn't at all good.

What to do next. That's the question. I've been pondering that, and still trying to figure it out. This brand spanking new year has got to improve somehow. Just saying that makes me tired. I already want to take a nap.

But I'm working on files today. Organizing the whole file system, clearing out 2010, making new files for 2011, starting all new spreadsheets and books. That kind of thing. I should have a secretary for that kind of thing. Come to think of it, I need an accountant too. And maybe a worker bee to do some of the other stuff that I don't like doing either. And seriously, the maid needs to show up any time now and start cleaning this place. There are huge cat hair dust bunnies all over since they seem to have permanently set up camp in front of my little heater.

The "to do" list is long this week. Both work and personal. It feels like a grind. I'm so glad it's Friday, even though it looks like I have to work over the weekend too. Ah well, back to the file drawer. Happy Friday all.

Back to work

Awwww, the holidays are truly over. It's Monday and it's back to work. Really back to work. Not half days or short weeks, but full on working again.

Today is office clean-up and inventory. The painful day where I have to clean up every corner of the studio and count every single piece of inventory and supplies for the once-a-year inventory. As a business, it's required by the IRS. Love those guys. It all has to be counted and then valued, meaning not only do I need to know how many of everything there is. I need to have a list of what each item is valued at (wholesale) or what the price was when I bought it. So that I come up with a full spreadsheet of exactly how many dollars and cents worth of stuff I have in here at this very moment. It is one of my least favorite tasks of all time.

But the good news is that when I get this part done, I'll be putting up all the leftover holiday items on the clearance page at a fabulous sale price. I'll post it here when that's ready, and I'll also send out an announcement to the email subscriber list. Which reminds me, I'm planning on doing a lot more special deals and sales on the email list this year. Really. Lots. It's so much easier to contact you all by email than waiting for the seasonal snail mail letter. And the blog is a little hit and miss - you never know who might be checking in this week or not. So if you want to get on the email list, sign up HERE and go down to "Email" or "Give me Both" in the drop down box.

Oh, you might have noticed that I changed the blog style too. I'm not fully convinced this is the one - but it's the one for now. I really needed some bright color and happy flowers to start off the new year. Let me know if you love it or hate it. I was playing around yesterday with other designs too and there are so many different ways to go I got a little overwhelmed. The poppies are happy and I just let it go at that for now. Too much?

1.1.11

Happy New Year!!!

1.1.11. All those ones. So pretty. And it seems fitting and optimistic for new beginnings and a fresh start.

I'm looking forward to a brand new year and doing a bit of starting over. Honestly 2010 wasn't all that great, and I'm glad it's over. Not that it didn't have its moments. But there was an awful lot of bad news, bad weather and rough spots. I like to think that this new year will bring with it a breath of fresh air and moving forward.

Best wishes to all of you too, for a brighter year ahead.