Meeting of the Minds

It's almost Friday! I'm really looking forward to attending the Central Soapers Workshop that's happening here this weekend. This is the second year of the workshop, organized and presented by the fabulous Kenna of Modern Soapmaking. I've mentioned Kenna in my blog before...she's a superstar soaper and runs a local full time soap business - a true entrepreneur in our field! I feel so fortunate that this conference is based right here in Kansas City and I'm able to attend. I met a ton of awesome people last year, and this year should be even bigger. Free swag bags and generous prize drawings for all participants, soap labs and business presentations are all part of the weekend.

Maybe - just maybe - some of you could make the trip to good old KC and attend next year's workshop with us...so think about it! I should be able to get some photos to post next week to help tempt you into coming! Plus, you know we've got good BBQ - that should be enough to lure you guys here, right?! :)

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It's the little things in life....

Today was full of exciting firsts. My farmers market plans that I had my heart set on fell through a couple of weeks ago. Don't you think that when you call for vendor information they should provide accurate information? So I'd been considering another venue, however I was concerned about getting a TID for another state - Kansas City sits on the state line of Kansas and Missouri. I live in KS and the venue is, of course, in MO. Anyway, I was able to get my new licensing taken care of with ease today. This is the first time I've encountered such nice people who were happy to help in a government office setting- no offense, but you know how it can be. I was pleasantly surprised. I'm hoping my vendor application goes through by weeks end and I will feel much better when it's settled. Now, this evening - I intended to work on soap packaging. That didn't happen but Hubby and I ended up organizing my storage and curing space, so it's w...

Lots of experiments

Today I got the chance to indulge in soaping for most of the day. I did four batches today, using a technique I've never tried before, courtesy of a great Youtube tutorial from SophiasNaturals . She demonstrates an interesting form of thermal transfer that I haven't seen, immediately mixing the lye water into the hard oils until melted. The liquid oils are added after. I used this method for all my soaping today and it seemed to work well. I didn't need to use the stick blender very much at all, which helped me tremendously as I often tend to overmix. I wanted to attempt the "Holly Swirl", which is basically an in the pot swirl done twice. Sorta.. I had a lot of half bottles of fragrances, so I did some custom scent blending, too. It was a day of experimenting. Top: Small batch trying Sweet Cakes "Aria" . I used a some ruby mica for a cute little swirl. It smells so good right now. Middle: This wa...

Balancing the Possibilities

Many soapers like myself aren't living the dream of operating a full time soap business. We have other types of work and careers that must remain top priority to pay the bills and keep our families going. Those of us who are taking a shot at soaping as a side business have to squeeze out the extra time for it in rather creative ways. We can't be profitable if we aren't working at it several hours a week. I'd venture to say many of us are in that same boat. I've done alot of thinking this weekend about moving forward in a new marketplace this season, and had another wonderful opportunity offered out of the blue. Lots of exciting things are happening, but this also brings with it a degree of fear and anxiety for me. I have a wonderfully supportive husband, but why do I immediately worry about failing? I swear I have a dozen batches of soap curing right now and lots more already packaged and waiting, but still I fear I "won't have enough"! When I...

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