My Week (a bit late!)

Sorry, I know I said I was going to be better but things just keep cropping up like they always do. It looks like we have decided to try selling our house again so we are madly trying to clean, sort out rooms and de-clutter.  As part of that Rik is having to move his office out of the conservatory, hes moving up to my office (a small 4th bedroom) and I am moving mine out to my workshop!  its been quite mad as you can imagine and we have only just started.

Beautiful Freya - RIP - Aug 2011

Very sadly this week my Mums beautiful German Shepherd Freya had to be put to sleep.  Her hips had got to the point where she just could not walk anymore.  She was a wonderful dog, bouncy, always up for a walk and swimming and was brilliant with kids.  Mum rescued her years ago so she was a lucky dog, getting a really loving, active home.  We will all miss her especially my poor Mum.

 

Happier things now - and as you all know, Lola is guaranteed to make me feel happy.  I discovered this photo while downloading a load of holiday photos onto my computer.  I forgot I had taken this, its on the ferry to Spain, back in June when Rik and I were privileged to be able to take Lola to Portugal on our own for a week.  Her parents were at Glastonbury and I jumped at the chance of taking her.  she was fantastic, 20 months old and slept through every night, ate everything put in front of her, generally smiled and laughed a lot and was the best of fun.  Grandchildren are so great.

AND LASTLY..... I have been working very hard on launching my new soap making classes.  its been great fun but lots of work.  My first class is scheduled for October 8th, just in time to make your own lovely soapy Christmas presents.  It will take place at Faringdon, a beautiful venue in East Devon, from 10am and will cover the basics of Cold Process soap making.  If you come along you will learn to make and take home 2lbs of soap with you, the soap will be fragranced and coloured to your liking and in your own molds that you can re-use again and again at home.  Packs of ingredients to carry on making will be available as well as comprehensive handouts to remind you what you have learnt.  If you are interested in getting priority booking forms please email me at soapchick@naturallymadesoaps.co.uk the course has not yet been publicised so get in quickly, I would love to see you there.  There will be a maximum of 8 people on each course.

All the best, sorry no soap photos this time, my camera has bust and I need a new one.  I have just turned out a lovely new Sandalwood and Rum Cream soap, its looking lovely.  I will take some photos soon.  One for the men this Christmas.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR UK AND EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTION

I am so excited to be able to pass on this great news!  It seems everything has been happening all at once for me.  I know that is often the case but it has left me a little bit breathless and a little bit scared too, if I'm being honest.

Naturally Made Soaps is branching out.....  I already distribute soaps to outlets in France, Germany and Spain and that is going nicely, all the people receiving my soaps in these countries say that they are being received very, very well and, now that I have my fab new workshop set up (see this post), I am ready to take it one step further.

I have been asked many times if I offer opportunities for distribution of my soaps and I have always hesitated, my workshop was too small, I didn't have the curing space and I just felt unsure if I was ready.  

My Wedding work has been going well, I have been lucky enough to receive some great orders from brides wanting my soaps as favors both cupcakes and Soap Bar Minis, the website is ticking along nicely also I have had such fun with Farmers Markets and other direct selling opportunities.  I now feel ready........

Launching the new NMS Portugal range is the beginning of the European expansion.  If you have not had a look yet, click the link and let me know what you think.  I still plan to make my soaps by hand from start to finish and on a small scale to ensure a high quality and a consistently beautiful finish.  Although my products are my own and I am not currently making soaps for anyone else I am very happy to talk to distributors who might be interested in Naturally Made Soaps coming up with custom blends and soaps that suit their own country and culture - just like  NMS Portugal There would be a minimum order quantity for this service though.

I think its probably good to give yourself butterfly's once in a while and push the boundaries - what do you think?  It is all part of my marketing strategy for this year so I'm not doing anything I had not planned for in advance - still, makes the old ticker beat a bit!!

FINALLY - MNS Portugal is born!

After hours and hours of work I have finally got my 5 new soaps up on line.  They have a category all to themselves because I think they are rather special.  NMS PORTUGAL is the link to the results of a lot of hard work.  As you all know, I love Portugal, its a real inspiration to me and has been, in my soap making, ever since I started, thanks to my good friend and fellow soap maker Shelly.  I have been bleating on about producing a range of soaps that reflect my love for the place and using as many ingredients I can source there as possible.  So, here they are - I hope you like them.

SALGADO AZUL (Salty Blue Spa Bar) The perfect soap for washing away malaise & irritability, especially when its cold and grey outside.  If you are a SADS sufferer, as Im sure I am!, this will really help.  Use this fantastic sea salt spa bar, emerge from your shower or bath a little lighter and feeling clean, clear, fresh and renewed.  This is the first soap I created in the range and is already a top seller for Naturally Made Soaps.

AZEITE PURO (Pure Olive Oil Castile) is fast becoming my absolute favorite soap EVER!  I love it.  Its just so creamy, bubbly, silky and smooth, I have never used soap like it.  Often olive oil soaps can feel a bit slimy on the skin and, although they are lovely and moisturising, people can find this a bit off putting.  My version of Castile soap is very different, this is almost the bubbliest soap I have ever made and yet it still leaves you feeling you have showered with a pot of moisturising lotion not soap.  Total luxury and I haven't even mentioned the scent, its Geranium with a touch of Bergamot - really soothing and peaceful, suitable for both men and women.

FLORESTA VERDE (Green Forest) A little bit woodsy, a little bit herbal, a little bit floral and a little bit piney - all these fragrances in one.  Honestly, this soap is so fresh, It's designed to make you think of a walk in a cool, green forest, on a hot summer day when the sun beats down and melts the pine sap and heats the forest floor.  At the same time you will also think of taking a plunge into a cooling forest pool - check it out!

 

CITRINO (Sunny Citrus) Dreamy Tangerine, Sweet Orange Oil and sparkling, juicy Grapefruit, one of my most captivating scents ever.  Wherever you go in Northern Portugal, unless its deep in the frosty valleys, citrus fruit trees are everywhere and there is no better time to see them than in the winter, dripping with ripe, juicy oranges and lemons, yet at the same time covered in the sweetly scented, waxy, white blossoms that will make the fruit for the next year - Magical.  Get your own hug from the sun!

MEL CREMOSO (Honey & Cream) So sweet, so full of honey, sugar and cream, a pudding lovers dream.  That's where the inspiration came for this soap.  The Portuguese just love puddings, the creamier the better, preferably full of honey and eggs too.  The warm, creamy vanilla and honey scent of this soap will, I hope, make you feel warm and cozy and the geometric shaped sides will give you the feeling that you are showering with your own slice of honeycombe.  This soap is topped with glittering sugar crystals and gold for that extra special Bollywood feel!


So now that you have been introduced to all 5 I hope that you will click on the links and find out more about each one.  I have also included a paragraph or two and some personal photos that show why I have been so inspired by this wonderful country, its natural and geographical bounty, food and countryside.  Each soap comes from two very special places - Portugal and my heart.


I really would love to know what you think about this collection, it means so much to me, I really hope you can see and feel that too XX

Very sneak preview of my new Portugal range

Yup, last two soaps came out of the molds today and I am very happy, they are great, really worth all the effort thinking about them, how I wanted them to look and how the hell I was going to achieve this - not easy!

The range is my attempt to recreate the Portugal feeling and why I love the place so much, I am also hoping it will help with my new wholesale in Europe venture.

Our house from the big rock

This is the inspiration in colours for FLORESTA VERDE (Green Forest)

FLORESTA VERDE - Top before cutting into bars

Then the second one that was unveiled today is my attempt to pay homage to the Portuguese love of everything sweet, puddings, cream, honey and sugar.  I think I am calling this one MEL CREMOSO (Honey & Cream).  Its sweet and honey scented and (I think) very pretty.

MEL CREMOSO

Anyway, more photos and proper explanations to follow, I just wanted to share these with you today.  Do let me know what you think of them.

Bye bye Tea party soaps and HELLO Cream Teas!!

I'm both excited and sad today.  I have been working like a trojan to get my new soaps put together and I'm really annoyed with myself that I did not take step-by-step photos, I think they would have been fun, oh well, next time.  I was sad as I had to say goodbye to my "Mad Hatter Tea Party" cupcakes.  Its funny how I get attached to my soaps, but I really do!  I am just hoping that their new owner and bride-to-be is as happy as I am.  Her wedding in at the end of July and I wish her all the best for a beautiful and sunny day.  Here they are for one last time nestled in their new special cupcake boxes, don't they look snug?  I'm so glad that the corners of the tablecloths just fit above the holes for the cupcake bases - pure luck! (by the way, they are all CP soap apart from the jam)

So now to the exciting bit.  My lovely daughter Aimee had the idea.  "Mum why don't you make some cream tea cupcakes?"  To which I replied "Great idea!!" (because I stupidly think I can make anything in CP soap and I love a challenge)
We live in beautiful, sunny Devon, England and a tradition both here and in Cornwall is to have a cream tea.  For those of you who don't know what that is I will explain.  You order a cream tea, and it has to be at a proper old farmhouse with a lovely garden full of roses, and out comes a tray groaning with china teapot, milk jug, cups and saucers and a serving dish full of handmade, just out of the oven that morning, plain scones.  (am I making you hungry yet?) - also on the tray is a dish piled high with homemade jam, full of fruit and smelling delicious and then the main event - Rich, golden and scrummy clotted cream.  If you don't know this wonderful stuff you have never really lived.... its gloriously stiff, never really runny, with a crust that breaks as soon as you put your spoon into it - my sister, who now lives in California - can eat it straight off the spoon!!  This is what a table usually looks like.....

So today I put them altogether.  For those soap makers among you, I had already made the fruit using rebatch CP soap scented with berries FO and had made a basic goats milk and olive oil soap with added honey and poured this into my molds the day before.  I cut the "scones", sponged the freshly baked look using natural oxide pigments, made up my special whipped clotted cream CP soap and put them all together.  I am so pleased with the results!

STRAWBERRY JAM AND CLOTTED CREAM

BLACKBERRY JELLYLICIOUS

So, the end of a very busy but productive day and that has to be good.  Now I want to go and look up lots of other countries national, favourite sweet/pastry dishes and see if I can make them in soap.......  Oh my, I think I'm on a roll........  ideas please?

More New Cupcakes on the curing rack

The curing rack is groaning under the weight of soaps waiting for that special moment when they are ready for sale.  A lot of prodding, poking and close inspection goes on before that, the soaps are stacked on their ends with a small amount of space between them to allow the air to pass round every surface aiding the drying/curing process.  As its still cold and damp here in Devon the rack is up in Ryans room and it makes the house smell so good!
 

Those of you with eagle eyes may be able to tell what my rack was in its former life......... 
An old GPO, or post office for those of you a lot younger than me, set of sorting shelves!  It works a treat, I line the shelved with greaseproof paper and stack, the whole thing is made up of strong steel mesh covered in black plastic so the ventilation is fantastic and soaps cure nice and evenly.  Each shelf even has its own plastic label for me to add dates etc with a white board marker.  Ive just to find more though - these ones are full!

New cupcakes include my sweet butterfly cakes, sample mini lovespell cakes and some really gorgeous pink roses on white and white roses on pink (see the trays below the racks).  I cant wait to get them out on the stall.  They will be ready soon, watch this space.  Ive also got a lovely new gardening soap bar with Portuguese coffee, I used to make this a lot last year and a whole load of people have asked for it back so Ive made more!