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.

Soap Making Class by Celebrating Handmade

"Do you know that dishwashing water from your house contributes to ocean pollution?
If everyone of us takes a little more care, we can keep our oceans clean and blue. So lets start by
making your own household soap!

You and your whole family will appreciate the switch to these natural soaps!
You'll be so amazed by how well your handmade products clean and how great they smell that
you'll never use synthetic commercial cleaning products again.

Participants will learn to make their own soap mould and about 800g of soap, which they
can take home to cut afterwards. "

Soap made during class can be used for washing hands,mopping the floor, washing shirts, undergarments ,dishes.

Class Title : Handmade Household Soap

Taught by : Patty

Date : 12 March 2011 (SATURDAY)

Time : 3pm - 6pm

Class Language : English & Mandarin

Class Fee : RM80 per person OR RM150 per pair (inclusive of materials)

Class Deposit : RM30 (this fee is non refundable in the case of absentee)

Maximum Participants Capacity : 4 - 12 person

REGISTRATION DATELINE ON 5 MARCH 2011! CLICK HERE

Bring along 1 empty milk cartons (1000ml size) to store your soap!

TO REGISTER, EMAIL CELEBRATING HANDMADE AT lvbeii1604@gmail.com

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!!

IM SO EXCITED..... Ive got a new workshop!

Yes, really, I have been waiting so long for this moment.  I am incredibly lucky, my fab boyfriend, who has always been supportive of Naturally Made Soaps from the very beginning, could see how difficult it was getting for me to run the business from my garden workshop.  So he has given me his precious garage!, can you believe it?  You know about men and their sheds, well this garage has been his sanctuary/shed/workshop for as long as he has lived in his house (over 15 years).

 

The Europa just after it passed its flying tests - it took Rik almost 5 years to build

It used to be his escape from noisy, loud kids when I moved in 6 years ago with my two, where he tinkered with engine things and where, most importantly, he built the Europa.  So to give it up for soap is amazing and I feel truly lucky and grateful.

Its still got a way to go, I still have to get Rik to move quite a lot of stuff out, we have swapped workshops, so he now has to squeeze into my old one.  I need to put up more shelves and I need more curing racks but its already so much better and easier to work in.

Above is a close up of my new work bench which is over 3m long.  I am putting shelves up above eventually to house all my utensils, cutters and pots & pans.  To the left is my cooking and preparation area with a new double gas burner and microwave, to the right is my packing area which still needs sorting out.

This is the view from the other angle, left is my prep bench and to the end (by the door) is my packing area.  The door is set into new insulated walls and opens out onto the end of the garage which enables me to load up my car for markets in double time.

Market storage right down at the end by the new door, tables, boxes of wrapped soaps, shelves, signs and by display trugs hanging from the roof.  Then the raw materials storage area and lastly my curing racks which I hope to double soon.

It still seems very strange to come into this room, turn on the lights and get working.  This room was always the aircraft hanger and mans territory, now it smells really lovely as soon as you walk in and is a pleasure to work in.  No more tripping over clutter (well still a bit but that will go soon), no more knocking things over, piling stuff up and generally feeling very cramped.  I now have enough space to think about all sorts of other things such as courses, wholesale and best of all - experimenting with new soap ideas

BRING IT ON!

Let me know what you think, if you have any pictures of your workshop or ideas on how I could make mine better let me know, I could start a new photo library on this blog for all to see!

CUPCAKES AND VALENTINE SOAPS NOW ON THE WEBSITE

IM SO EXCITED ABOUT MY NEW SOAPS!

Its sad, Im like a little kid today, finally got my new categories up on the website and I am really happy with the way they look, the photography is not the best because I did the pictures not Nigel.  I was so keen to get the Valentine soaps up quickly that I just went ahead.  Ive got a photo shoot coming up soon so I hope to have more professional pictures then.  I also have a lot more cupcakes to show you all.  My favourites are the wedding ones and the chocolate orange - mmmmm  so yummy they are going to be hard to resist biting into.  What do you all think?  have you got any good ideas for cupcake varieties? if so let me know.

SHEA BUTTER - A MAGIC SOAP INGREDIENT
10 REASONS WHY I LOVE IT SO MUCH

1. Shea Butter, also known as karite butter, is a cream-colored fatty substance made from the nuts of karite nut trees (also called Mangifolia trees) that grow in the savannah regions of West and Central Africa.

2. Shea tress are not cultivated, they only grow in the wild.

3. The shea tree produces its first fruit (which resemble large plums) when it is about 20 years old and reaches its full production when the tree is about 45 years old. It produces nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity.

4. The natural fat extracted from the seed of the shea tree by crushing and boiling.

5. In most parts of West Africa, destruction of the shea tree is prohibited because this little nut provides a valuable source of food, medicine, and income for the population.

6. An acclaimed natural butter, Shea butter is widely used in high-end cosmetics and beauty products as a moisturizer and emollient.

7. Shea butter is sometimes referred to as “women’s gold” in Africa, because so many women are employed in the production of shea butter.

8. Shea butter is a particularly effective moisturizer because contains so many fatty acids, which are needed to retain skin moisture and elasticity.

9. Shea butter’s soft, butter-like texture melts readily into the skin without an oily residue.

10. Shea butter is also used in cooking and can be used as a substitute for cocoa butter.

Almost every one of my soap recipes uses Shea butter, I love it.
Let me know what your favourite Shea recipe is.

Phew, been so busy tonight just wrapped masses of bars of Christmas soap. I am wondering it it is really worth it, time wise, to wrap each one with a hand tied bow, it looks lovely but takes an age. I did Exmouth Farmers Market last Wednesday (my best ever) and the Christmas Spice Cake simply flew off the stall, I sold almost every bar I took, and that was a whole batch!! Im going to be very busy making enough for the markets Ive got coming up - see my News section on the website - www.naturallymadesoaps.co.uk. Ohhh err I just hope I have enough!! Got to do a huge make this weekend.

My wonderful boyfriend Rik has made me a fantastic mold, its twice the size I have previously been using (made by me). This one is made from really strong ply double skin for extra strength and insulation. It takes a huge batch of soap, enough for 48 bars, and has very clever clips on each of one of the long sides making is so easy to get the teflon lined soap bar out. Its so brilliant that I have ordered two more. that will increase my capacity by 3 times. I have a lot of making to do.

the above pictures are back to front! First one shows the soap out and liner pulled off, second one is the side of my new mould clipped off and liner slid out, and the last one shows my new mold with English Rose in. Ready for taking out and cutting. I am soooo pleased with them!

thanks Rik XXX ;-) XXX