Do you have a Pinterest account and love soap? Then this will be the perfect opportunity to connect with other soapers in a new and fun way (and me too!). We’re looking for a group of committed, crafty soapers to join our soon-to-debut group board on Pinterest.
Archives for August 2012
Sculpting Challenge Inspiration Mashup
Interview with Evelyn of EvieSoap
I recently bought some amazing soap from EvieSoap’s shop on Etsy. I had a hard time choosing which bar to buy, but ultimately went with Balance, a mixture of Ocean Rain, Vetiver and Bergamot that is wonderfully calming yet fresh. Upon receiving my order, I was delighted to see a few extras tucked in! Lindsay, a mix of Sweet Meyer Lemon and Lemongrass, is earthy and sweet, and Urban Antidote is a refreshing and invigorating blend of Lavender, Rosemary and Peppermint. With such a talent for creating unique and colorful fragrance/essential oil blends and such nice extra touches with my order (including a hand written thank you note), I had to get to know the artisan behind EvieSoap!
Fall/Winter 2012 S.O.A.P. Team!
Announcing the S.O.A.P. Team for Fall/Winter 2012! In no particular order…
Barbara of Willow Tree Soap Co.: Website, Facebook
Meghan of Dreaming Tree Soapworks: Website, Blog
Angie of Angie’s Suds and Such: Etsy, Facebook
Laura of Glad Heart Soaps: Blog, Facebook
Milly of Second Spring Soaps: Etsy, Facebook
Treat Me Bath and Body: Website, Blog
Alicia of Clean by Ali: Website, Blog
Cecilia of Mathair Earth: Etsy, Facebook
S.O.A.P. Team members: Please email soap(at)brambleberry(dot)com with your contact info and shipping address. We’ll be packing up the sample fragrance oils and sending them out on Wednesday, so the sooner the better!
What a great response we had to this call for applicants. It was fun reading about all of your favorite Bramble Berry products. Honorable mention to @SmallWaldo who named our customer service as their favorite product we carry. Awwwww … You guys really made it a tough choice this go around (as usual). Thank you to all those who tweeted, pinned, blogged and posted on Facebook. Keep an eye out for our next announcement, maybe you’ll be the next S.O.A.P. Team member!
Check out these fragrance oils that previous S.O.A.P. teams have helped to bring on board: Floral Edition, Summer 2011, Fall 2011, Summer 2012.
What fragrances do you want to see on the next testing panel? Taking all suggestions now (!)
Make it Quality (Sugar)
Before I get into the details and photos from our fun, sunny weekend, a big shout out to my friend (and Bramble Berry customer) Jennifer Togher for her amazing accomplishments and recognition from Nike. Jennifer introduced herself to me at a Soap Guild Convention seven years ago. She had quite a short ‘n’ sassy hair cut. But, it wasn’t for fashion. In 2004, Jennifer was diagnosed with leukemia. In 2006, she finished her first marathon.
After receiving her diagnosis, Jennifer vowed that her illness would not define her. She started her journey with daily walks to her mailbox. She worked up to walking a block, then a mile, then another mile. The next year, she crossed the finish line at the Nike Women’s Marathon, bolstered by the strength of 20,000 other runners. Jennifer is training to run four half marathons this year. She keeps running to prove that greatness defies the odds. Go Jennifer! We are all so proud of you (!!!).
After seeing that ad and having a proud-happy teary-eyed moment (Go Jennifer!), we left Jamisen at home with awesome sister-in-law Cheriss to have another happy teary moment.
Long time readers will remember Kyle, my little friend that died of cancer three years ago. His Mom, Christin, got remarried this weekend. We were delighted to be a part of a beautiful ceremony and witness the commitment this fantastic couple has for each other and their blended family. The entire setting was so amazing (lights, paper lanterns, fresh flowers everywhere, white tables and many cute touches) that when I showed up to the lawn wedding, I said, “This looks just like a Pinterest wedding!” [Read more…]
Joy
Color is joy. – Ernst Haas
Ice cream is joy. -Baby Jamisen
3 Scrub Recipes on Soap Queen TV
We filmed this Soap Queen TV episode earlier in the summer with Erin Pikor of Naiad Soap Arts. We had so much fun on the set (she’s such a hoot to work with)! We couldn’t fit in all of the hilarious out-takes, but don’t worry, we squeezed a couple in.
In this episode, Erin and I demonstrate how to make (and use) not just one, but 3 scrub recipes! The first is Erin’s Salt Glow Scrub with sea salt and nourishing oils. Next, Erin shows how to make her Gentle Facial Scrub with Lavender and Green Zeolite Clay. And finally, I show my favorite sugar lip scrub with luxurious Shea Butter and the super yummy Buttercreme Flavor.
What’s New: Summer Soaping Supplies
How to Roll Melt & Pour Soap
In this Soap Queen Short I show the basics of soap sculpting. This quick little video was inspired by the soap sculpting challenge. I wanted to show how easy it is to manipulate and roll Melt & Pour soap when you know the trick!
It’s easy to roll up Melt & Pour soap when you add a little glycerin. For ideas on how to use sculpted soap check out this video where I embed a soap roll in soap and this video where I make soapy pinwheels and fortune cookie shaped soap.
How to Roll Melt & Pour Soap from Soap Queen on Vimeo.
To make the soap in this video you will need:
- 8 oz White M&P Soap Base
- 1 Teaspoon Tangerine Wow! Colorant
- 2/3 oz Liquid Glycerin
- 1/8 oz Yuzu Fragrance Oil
- Shiny Square Tray Mold* NOTE: The Shiny Square Tray Mold has been discontinued. The kit now contains the Silicone Liner for 9 Bar Mold.
Buy everything you need with the click of a button!
Are You the Next S.O.A.P. Panel Member?
We’re looking for the latest and greatest fragrances to add to the Bramble Berry lineup…and we need your help! For the next week, we’re on the hunt for 8 soap mavens to help us decide what fragrances to add for Fall/Winter 2012. Check out the mash up blog post from the last soap panel so you can see how much fun testing can be!
What’s the S.O.A.P. panel, you ask? Soap Opinion (Awesome) Panel members will receive one ounce fragrance samples of our top 10 choices of fragrances that were designed especially for us. We’ve already tested all of the S.O.A.P. panel fragrances and they’ve gone through our own internal Brambleberrian panel so you’re getting the best of the best (!). Give the cutting-edge fragrances a sniff AND test them in any product you like (really, anything!). Then fill out a survey to help distinguish the top choices. We want your honest opinion and thorough notes on testing!
How to apply: Tweet, Facebook, Pin or Blog about your favorite Bramble Berry product (including links) and why you should be selected for the S.O.A.P. team. We’ll announce the finalists on Monday, August 13th so get your tweets, posts and blogs done by next week (you’ll have all weekend to work on it)! Note: Your Tweets should have @brambleberry someplace in the body of the Tweet (but make sure they don’t just get directed directly to @brambleberry or else no one else can see them)! Be sure to link your blog post below in the comments so we can read about it and tag your post on Facebook or Pinterest if you’re doing things that route.
The Fine Print: We will be sending the fragrances out by the end of next week and we would like the surveys complete by September 7, which gives you about 3 weeks to test the fragrances. Please keep these dates in mind before you enter. We are looking for an accountable and enthusiastic panel, so be sure that this works out with your schedule! Because these fragrances can’t ship internationally, we are not able accept international entries.
#Soap Sculpting Winners
I’m excited to announce the winners of the #Soap Sculpting Challenge. Team Bramble Berry had an absolute blast checking out all the amazing sculpty soaps that were submitted. Each one was unique and special; at times we couldn’t even believe the photos were soap! Check out these fabulous sculpty soaps:
Lauren from Sunbasilgarden – ‘Caramel Apple (see the tutorial for this realistic caramel apple soap here)
Jill from Calise Soapworks & Such: ‘Giant Rainbow Lolly Soaps’
Leeana from LoveLeeSoaps: – ‘Sushi Soaps’
Laura from Silly Sudz Soap: ‘Chocolate Chip Waffle Cone Soap’
Many thanks to everyone who particpated in the #Soap Sculpting Challenge (as well as the #Layers, #Embedding and #Swirling Challenges). We had fun oohing and aahing over the incredible soaps we’ve seen this summer. Keep your eyes peeled for later this fall when we will host our first ever Cold Process Challenge series.
Happy Soaping!
Joy is contagious
“Joy is contagious. Commit to being a carrier!”
-Kevin Harney [Read more…]
Palm Free Vertical Twist Tutorial
Have you ever had one of those moments where you felt like testing your (soaping) boundaries to see how far you could take something but feared you would ruin an entire batch of soap? We’ve done a vertical twist project before, and it turned out awesome. But I wondered, what if we just kept on twisting the divider…? Ahem. It was new levels of soap happiness. If you’re a tactile learner and you’d like to see/hold/touch/smell this soap and experience it in person, we’ve put it in our etsy shop here so you can learn to make this palm-free soap.
Business Blog Mashup – Managing Your Business
Welcome to our third business post mashup, a resource list from this blog for managing your business! These posts are compiled of my own musings, experiences, and also a few special guest posts. There’s a lot of info here, so I’ve broken it down into three parts: Customer Service, Leadership and Team Building, and general Business Management.
Customer Service
Running with Great Customer Service
The Importance of Keeping A Customer (Guest Blog)
Being Defensive May Lose You Money
Calling Angry Customers Takes Guts