The Benefits of Networking

Last Friday, I received a surprise order from a gift shop/gallery which is opening at the end of this week. Typically, it comes at a time when I have not been making much soap and, although I have enough stock to fulfil this order, I will have to get my act together and get out the cauldron. Sometimes, it is just this kind of thing which makes my mojo come out of hiding and I can get my act together.

The order came as a result of my contacting a local shop, which opened last year, to see if they wanted to stock any soap. At the time, she was not in a position to take on any more products, but obviously kept my details and kindly passed them on.

It is a reminder that when you attend a craft fair, or approach a shop, you may not reap immediate rewards. Even if you do not get anywhere at the time, it does not mean that something will not come of it at some point, and usually when you least expect it.

New Look

I am in the process of having a new logo designed. Actually, it will be my first logo and I am very excited at the prospect. The problem for the poor designer, is translating what I want (or rather translating my ramblings, because I don't actually know what I want). I am sure that by the end of a process, I will have driven her completely mad.

One of the problems I have at the moment, is a completely incoherent look across my products. The packaging is fine, but then I go and play with picture elements and all my product labels look different. This is not the way to go, and seeing the products standing together on a shelf all looking different looks messy, and I am hoping that once the logo is completed, I can co-ordinate the look of the labels and the website.

Watch this space!

Ageing Disgracefully Part 2

The cream I made the other week is a bit like milk and was not what I would call a success. So tonight, using exactly the same recipe I made another. I followed some excellent instructions on a forum I am a member of and the results are fabulous, although I say so myself.

This cream is light, and absorbs beautifully and my skin feels wonderfully soft. This is definately a success although depending on how it sets up, it may need a tweak in terms of how thick it becomes. My godmother is visiting for the weekend, so I will take some to her and to my Mum so they can guinea pig it for me.

Ageing Disgracefully

Ever have one of those days when you look in the mirror and wonder when all the wrinkles appeared and how they got so deep without you noticing? Well, that happened a short while ago so I thought that I would do something about it.

I am the first to admit to being sceptical when it comes to claims made about the properties of various ingredients, but I thought that I would give them a go. After some research, I chose a variety of oils and other goodies to have a play with.

Yesterday, I made an eye gel which I put Argan oil, and Cucumber oil in and another to which I also added a botanical fusion which may have anti-ageing properties. Today, I made a face cream (which turned out to be a lotion) which has Argan oil, Ginseng extract and Lupine Peptides.

Argan Oil promotes skin regeneration, Siberian Ginseng is said to have skin tightening properties but it is Lupine Peptides which are particularly interesting. They were used in a well-know anti-ageing product which had people queueing around the block.

I love playing with new ingredients, and formulating new products. I would have liked the lotion to be a cream, so once I know how it sets up, I may have to tweak it a little. The best bit of all this of course it trying out the products. If the claims about these ingredients are correct in a month or two I will look ten years younger and I will report back.

More no go than mojo

My soaping mojo seems to have packed its bags and wandered off for a holiday. It could just be the time of year, I never have much enthusiasm for anything in the winter except staying in front of the fire, but this year it seems to be worse than normal. At least the days are lengthening and I feel much less of a vampire than I did a month ago. There is nothing quite so depressing as going to work and coming home in the dark.

I have a list of new products I want to have a go at, and my notebooks are full of carefully researched ingredients to use in them and that is about as far as I seem to get. I just do not seem to be able to get going.

So, if anyone out there happens to find my mojo in a corner somewhere, please send it back.

New Year

Happy New Year!

It is that time of year when people make resolutions and then break them half way through January. I decided long ago not to bother with them, and then they can't be broken. I suppose that the usual ones are in the get fit, stop smoking and lose weight category. Well, I don't do getting fit, have never smoked and as for trying to lose weight, I have given up on that. That is not to say that if I do drop a few pounds, I am not happy about it and wail and gnash teeth if I put some on (which I have done in the last week).

It is a dull, grey day although pretty mild. I was out early with a dog this morning, and ended up slipping into a deep puddle. I spent most of the walk with a decided soggy bum, so crawled back into pyjamas when I got in. We are out to lunch later to "celebrate" my birthday. I think as you get older and stop counting, you are all celebrated out, although I don't mind getting a few presents of course, and it is nice to have someone cook and wash up for you.

I am starting the new year with a newly decorated lounge. Well almost. There are a couple of bits which need finishing off and then it is done, but I have a nasty feeling there may not be enough paint. It is very different to the way it was, and I am very happy with it. I have installed a fish tank into what, according to the principles of Feng Shui, is my wealth area so it will be interesting to see if it works. I need all the help I can get with my finances, and it is keeping the cats amused. They are frequently to be seen with their noses pressed against the glass and the fish don't seem to mind the attention.

So, with 2011 over, and 2012 here what is in store? If you listen to the prophets of doom the economy is heading downhill again. This will make life much harder for those of us with small businesses. Trying to persuade people to part with their hard earned cash is difficult when times are good, when times are bad it is so much harder. Building a business in lean times is certainly a challenge, but it is a challenge which has to be met head on. Sitting and expecting customers to come to you, just does not work. So in the next few weeks, I will be sitting down and trying to come up with a plan to move the business forward.

Just in Case

Christmas is here and happily I have finished work until 2012.

This year, my family are celebrating tomorrow instead of Sunday, for reasons I shall not bore you with, and a sigh of relief was heaved this evening when I arrived home from work to find the present for nephew number one on the door mat. I was beginning to panic, and was not looking forward to having to explain to him why he had nothing from me to open.

My ever so small heap of presents is now wrapped and ready to take tomorrow. There does seem like a paucity of gifts this year, but I suppose it is the thought that counts.

In the last couple of days two gifts have arrived for me. One from a friend, and one a Secret Santa gift from someone on a forum I am a member of. Half the fun of that is trying, and failing, to work out who has sent it, and even if you think you have worked out where it is from, there are often some sneaky shenanigans which means that you are completely wrong. The two gifts are sitting on a side table and I am just about resisting opening them, and so far the cats are keeping they paws off.

What, you may ask, am I doing for the next week? Well, I will be relaxing a bit (ok, a lot); checking stocks so I can work out what I need to buy for soaping; adding silk to my shampoo recipe to see what difference it makes and catching up on my reading.

I am currently engrossed in a book about the search for the Northwest Passage. The courage of the men who risked frostbite, scurvy, starvation and death to search for this most prized route despite not even being sure of its existence, is truely sobering.

And so, as we hurtle towards the end of another year, just in case I have lost the will to live by then, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas, a Peaceful New Year and a prosperous 2012.