Bittersweet and the little soap company

être prêt

 
Fresh batches of bâtons finally on the shop shelves! The soap filled sacs make a wonderful gift. If you're thinking of ordering for the holidays I'm going to spruce them up a bit and stick a sprig of  fresh white pine in each one.

I'm attempting to get a handle on soap wrapping, but falling short of the process lately. Today I vow to wrap soap allllll day! I have done that many times, but prefer to mix it up those duties making other things in between. 

Holiday postcards arrived yesterday and I worked late night addressing them. A trip to the P.O. to pick up postcard stamps and ship orders on today's to-do list.

Yesterday I made a fresh supply of headache sticks. I know we would all prefer the holidays to be stress free and relaxing, but knowing that's not the case sometimes. Ta-da, peppermint headache stick to the rescue!

 
Actually, if you're suffering from a stress or tension headache the stick will have little effect. On the other hand, if you're experiencing a migraine or sinus headache the peppermint helps open the constricted blood vessels that produce such pain. I also believe if you're having a holiday stress headache allowing yourself some quiet aromatherapy time helps to appoint a new mood.  

Ingredients: Olive oil, grape-seed oil, bee's wax, peppermint. For those of you that have sent me e-mails requesting the ingredients used to make the sticks.

 
Our soap sacs are another popular holiday idee. They hold several bars of soap and may be used again and again. Our traditon of green packaging lives on during the Christmas season!

Hope you're enjoying a caring and sharing day!

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one) 

Sundries & Haberdasher

 
I just launched a new Etsy shop! The over abundance of merchandise pieces, props and packaging items have began taking over the studio and shop.

You may remember I started out with the notion of selling the sundries and such on our sister blog Calico Petals. Since examining the time involved to list the items on the blog, I soon realized I did not have that time to perform the task. In lieu of that notion, I have decided Etsy is a wonderful alternative and the least time investment. Plus, they really do have a cool way to sell your stuff!   

Sundries & Haberdasher will offer a variety of unique goods, packaging, merchandise pieces, sundries and haberdasher items. I have a wonderful collection of vintage linens to include.

I'll be listing new items as time allows.

If there is anything you've seen on the web site or blog that you're interested in, please forward me an e-mail and I'll add it.  

Fourteen years of shop ownership has left me with tons of odds and ends.

Order packing day and in need of making a fresh lot of things before the mad holiday rush.

Requesting folks get their holiday orders in early, so to make sure we don't run out of things.

The Myrrh and Frankincense savon will only last a couple of days, I can safely predict that!

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)

 

be happy ~ eat cake!

 
We had a late night birthday celebration for Patrick's birthday last evening. If ever there was a chocolate cake recipe that tops "the cake" it's this one.   It's the recipe I always turn to for chocolate cake. The coffee adds a rich mellow flavor. I also use dark chocolate for the icing. 

 
The journey continues creating handmade 2011 holiday gifts.

You know how I feel about brown paper wrappings!

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)

 

 

 

 

state of being...

 
The studio is in a mellow interim state. Boxes sitting, opened but not put away, holiday soaps sitting, waiting to be wrapped. It's the in-between stage.

By the way... After posting that the patchouli soap was available I forgot to say that it had not been listed on the web site yet. It is listed now! Sorry for the confusion Patchouli fans. 

Experienced some server issues yesterday, but have since figured out the problem and it has been resolved and we're up and running!

 Happy Day! Today is Patrick's birthday! For you new readers out there, Patrick is my son. He turns 19 today. Last night I began pondering more happy thoughts about the day this kid was born.

A personal story...

Water breaks, contractions a minute a part, but felt like a little pinch, no biggy. Called the Dr. she says, oh this is your first time, it's probably going to be awhile. I say, I'm not too sure about that, I feel like it's coming fast. She responds, you can come to the hospital if you like. I answer, yes, I believe that is a good idea!

Arrive at the hospital and park the car in the parking garage. Walk up 4 flights of stairs! Arrive into admitting and tell the front desk lady. I'm here to have my baby. I suspect she thought I was scheduled for a cesarean. Then I tell her, yes, my water has broke and my contractions are a minute apart. Oh my she says, shouldn't you be upstairs? I answer, I guess, should I?

She insists I sit in a wheel chair and takes me through the elevator to the 4th floor. The nurse examines me and says, you are at 4 centimeters. That's good I say. I tell her I'd like to take a shower and brush my teeth before giving birth. She says okay.

After the shower, the nurse comes in the room and says you should lay in the bed. No sooner than I lay down and everyone leaves the room I have a strange urge to push! I thought, should I call the nurse back in the room? I do and she comes in and I tell her, I feel like I need to push! She examines me and says, well, no wonder, you are ready to have this baby! Oh good, I say.

She looks at my white lace gown my aunt Viv had given me as as gift. You can't wear that gown, you'll ruin it. Oh yes, I will just pull it up, I say.

Dr. arrives and I overhear her talking with the nurse. Should we give her an iv? No I don't think we have time?

After a couple of pushes Patrick is born!

Don't be mad at me!

I had a more than natural childbirth at the hospital!

After giving birth, the nurse says, wow, you are going to sprint out of here aren't you?

Actually, I was eye balling the small bag of peanut m'm's I'd brought when I first arrived. That childbirth sure does make you hungry!

Patrick has been a joy to raise over the years. 

He's excelled in many things and continues to push himself to be the best he can be.

Now he's going to college, working a full time job and a part time job!

He's apartment searching too! News of that later....

Patrick has requested a special dinner for tonight. Brisket, scalloped potatoes, green rice and M'J's homemade rolls. Oh and chocolate cake!

Taking the day off to prepare all that!

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs to Patrick) 

 

Bittersweet HOLIDAY goings on...

 
Now that Autumn is officially here I've deemed it appropriate to discuss Christmas! Not that I haven't already been floating those idees around on our blog. Ha!

The holiday soaps have been listed on the web site, but are invisible until October 16! I'll be clicking the magic button to make them appear on that date! 

 
Don't forget dears...We run out of these soaps long before Christmas! Hint, hint!

I'll be adding patchouli soap back on the web site too. Patchouli is my favorite soap in the whole wide world! We have a fresh number of bars cured and ready to be listed. They just aren't wrapped! 

 Although we increase our production in leu of the holidays, it's difficult to predict the numbers needed to fulfil the busy retail period.  

In addition to the holiday soaps we will happily have soap sacs and bath salts flavored in scents of the season. I'm also considering a new room fragrance of myrrh and frankincense.

The bath salts come in a unique aluminum cap jar similar to the one below. Although I believe the packaging will fit in with a holiday theme of some sort.

 
One more important note. At Bittersweet soap shoppe you can pick up more than one gift for a friend for under $25! We even have gift certificates available on our web site.

We consider our prices to be hard to beat when searching for a unique handmade gift.

What we need is lots of soap!

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)  

lessons I've learned

 
Bittersweet hosts two open houses throughout the year.

We celebrate the arrival of spring with our May Day event and our favorite celebration, the entrance into fall accompanied by the introduction of our signature soaps of the season.

This autumn I'm especially excited to introduce the new holiday savon, Myrrh & Frankincense. When I use the term "introduce" when referring to a new soap that translates to picking up the silky bar and holding it to your nose, sniff, sniff. That's the proper introduction.

 
A formulation is neeed when creating new Bittersweets. I've used the same one for many years.

Each and every product that's made pushes through the same process.

First, you must decide on what the new product is.

Thoughts on packaging begin to emerge and you carefully choose swatches of this and that as well as label designs. Those prototypes are utilized into the new product.

Once the prototype is finalized we need pictures! I'm not a professional photographer, so sometimes it takes several shots before obtaining a good picture. Usually I shoot outdoors. If it's sunny I tilt our outdoor umbrella to block the sun before shooting. I use a tripod, and set the timer to 8 seconds. Turn the flash off.

Once a suitable product picture is shot it's time to market the item and list it on the web site.

I take advantage of the many complimentary applications when promoting. Let me say, marketing takes a lot of time, but is well worth it. I believe you should market that puppy in every direction! Since you probably don't have the capital to create a television commercial like most manufacturing companies do, the next best thing is to make use of the free applications available through the internet.

Whether that be FB, Etsy, Twitter, Pinter-est, or any of the other hundreds of on-line resources available.

Reality check... You snooze, you loose if you're not expanding your horizons with the technology. There are some tricks to selling, but we will touch on that later.

When my company was first developed over 14 years ago the internet was just beginning to evolve. My marketing consisted of word of mouth, sales representatives, shows, magazine advertising, and occasional television appearances, the free ones! I did not have a publicist, but you may consider hiring one if you're just starting out. They're not as costly as you may think. They can help your new business get a good start on marketing. Radio adds are also a productive way to market. Again, not as much as you may think on cost.

Now is a good time to take advantage of those marketing tools with the economy turtling along.

I carry my business cards with me at all times! If I'm standing in line at a store and conversing with a person standing in line, I ask them if it would be all right to give them my card. I don't ever recall someone saying no, and if they did, who cares? What I mean to say... What have you got to lose?

This past summer when trying on blouses at a departments store a lady walked by and told me I smelled good! I handed her my card and now she's a frequent Bittersweet shopper!

Nowadays owning a small business has more challenges and hurdles and it seems new ones are being created each day!

You must  have a plan! Even after you construct a plan A, plan B shouldn't be too far behind.

Owning your own business is suppose to be fun!

It's also a lot of work!

I refer to it as "fun work."

Times they are a changing for small business. Don't allow the changing times to change your integrity or interfere with your passion.

 Run your business the way you raised your kids! Honesty, discipline, respect and trust all important qualities to incorporate into your business.

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)

 

 

In keeping

In keeping with the holiday soap line the prototypes are making their debut on the Bittersweet runway.

 
The new myrhh & frankincense adorned in its classic black & white attire.

 
Velvet Spice in its coffee burlap wrappings has an old-fashioned general store appearance. Inside those wrappings, scrumptious smelling sweet orange, cloves and cinnamon savon!

 
Cranberry spice decked out in crimson and berry.

The three holiday soaps were designed to look especially good sticking out of Christmas stockings!

Now we need to get to wrapping! We're under a deadline!

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)

Fall design colors

It's happening once again! The season is approaching ever so fast just like it does every year this time. I am in awe over how fast the days and weeks fly by! October is just around the fall corner. The first official day of autumn is Friday!

I absolutely love the new fall colors the designers are incorporating into their new lines. Have you seen them? Allow me to share some with you.

 
Especially fond of the nougat, cedar, and coffee. Always a fan of those hues. We're using those colors in our holiday wraps this season in addition to black.

Cedar color  love...

 
I do believe the quarry mixed with nougat would be lovely for the holidays. Envisioning a table set with quarry toned dinnerware a white tablecloth, coffee colored  cloth  napkins and goblets. Beautiful silver adorns the setting and natural bouquets of cedar mixed with dark brown pine cones. Gifts wrapped in quarry tied with coffee colored ribbons. Stunning!

Yesterday I made some new holiday soap sacs. Inspired by the vintage postcard design of the little girl and incorporating her image into Bittersweet designs this season.

 
The linen soap sacs are made from vintage tablecloths. They house 3 - 4 bars of holiday soaps. The sacs will be available on our web site October 16! They cost $7 each. With the natural soaps inside they make a beautiful gift.

Ugh, issues with spell check once again! Please excuse me if there are spelling errors. Most of you are aware, not my strong point!

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)

 

Vintage thoughts

 
I dug out my favorite old jean jacket the other day from the closet and placed her on the wicker dress form that sits in the studio.

Do you recall me saying how my grandma Lola used to call jackets, wraps? The very first time I heard her tell me, don't forget your wrap, it's chilly out. I did a double take. After thinking about the word, I thought, that is exactly what a coat or jacket is. Why don't we call them that anymore? Another vintage word! 

That jacket now considered vintage, was purchased in 1985. Believe it or not it was difficult back then to find a girls Levis jean jacket so I ordered it from J.C. Pennys boys department.

So funny how an article of clothing brings back memories. When it was purchased I was single and working as a bank manager. I wore it to the bank almost every day! Present day, and I still wear the jacket. even though it's tattered. Somehow it's managed to be worn in all the right places!  Isn't it funny how certain articles of clothing like this jacket evoke happy, feel good thoughts! 

I've used the old jacket for dispays at shows before and every single time ladies as me if it is for sale. I recall a lady getting upset when I told her the jacket was NOT FOR SALE! She stamped off with a boorish face, muttering why do you have it on display if it's not for sale. 

Needless to say, I can see why she was so upset. She was in desperate need of some happy feel good thoughts!

  1985 Levis jean jacket memories, priceless!

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)   

 

BITTERSWEET STUDIO

The vision continues throughout the studio. Burlap and calico soap sacs are cut and ready to be pieced, and the steady flow of new Bittersweet treats are beginning to fill the apothecary shelves.

 
The laundry powder has been spruced up with new labels in addition to a handy travel size of the essential oil washing soap. They are finally listed in the shop.
Waiting on a shipment of shea butter to arrive so that I can whip up a new skin moisturizer. Remember the marula?

Oh and an update on the tree house porch. Can you see the expansion?

 
An extended seating area has been added in addition to the covered porch. Stairs will be built going down from the new add on.

Lennis and I went to the home project store yesterday. This galvanized farm light  is on my list of new fixtures for the porch. I also had fun looking at bathroom sinks, faucets, tile, nickel hardware and a whole slew of other things. Lennis had to drag me out of there! I made the comment. This place is almost as fun to browse as a dress shop! In fact, I'd say it is!

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one