Bittersweet and the little soap company

Busy but not

We have the usual fall projects running alongside soap manufacturing and shop visits. The bright colorful mums and the tweed jackets, buckeyes from the tree down the street. You know they fall this time of year and are surrounded by a thorny shell and if you pop open the shell it reveals a shiny buckeye. The tree has been there for years, and I stumbled upon it many years ago. I always walk down the street and gather a few buckeyes. 

I finally finished adding the new scents to our Scent Your Own. It was a process to start over by adding new bottles, labels, and scents, but when I was done it was rewarding. 

We were open one-day last week and closed for the weekend during the fall festival. During that one day, we almost sold out of Pumpkin Spice soap!  I started a little earlier this year with manufacturing. It always gets so busy, that I feel like if I get a jump it's a good thing. Not to mention deadlines for both books, and if that wasn't enough on my plate I began clearing out and cleansing our garden shed. Having just wrapped all that around my mind, I also realize that saying you are busy can be overrated. I prefer to be busy, but I'm also fond of downtime. We go back to the balance conversation. I've started to look at busyness from a different perspective, and a much healthier viewpoint.  

In between soap making, cleaning, clearing, and styling our home for fall, I also got wrapped up in making some new recipes. This one tasted amazing!

We're celebrating a birthday on Sunday and I'm making someone's favorite chocolate cake!

This!

Don't wait until the holidays, make it now!

Your favorite face creams are back in stock!

This will be a busy week at the shop. There's that word again! The calendar is turning over to October on Saturday. I can hardly believe it, but it's here! It sure feels good to be clearing out things at home and preparing my winter nest. 

Jill 

 

 

The north wind blows

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

Henry David Thoreau

What a difference a day can make! Our weather has gone from summer to fall overnight! I'm not too sad about the change. Last night we made a big pot of chili and put fresh batteries in our lanterns. Fall is officially here! Happy Fall!

We're continuing with a whirlwind of a week? No pun intended. We have more candles in three fall-into-winter scents that will blow your socks off! I just released Pumpkin Spice Soap on our website, and I've tossed in another new soap this week, Rowan Wind. I love that name. One of my favorite parts of soap making is naming the soap. Who knew? I'm not even sure how I came up with the name, but typically the moment it rolls off my tongue I'll know if I like it. 

I've also included a limited collection of Pumpkin Spice Room Spray to join the also limited soap bounty. 

Our favorite household cleaner has been put to good use as we give our store a good fall cleaning. So often customers ask what the scent is in our shop, most often it's cinnamon and clove cleaner. It's a good thing. 

Sari & Soap = joyful gift giving. We love the concept and the packaging!

We're gearing up for an extra busy holiday season. Many days are spent laying out design ideas and packaging and we're excited to be finalizing the last-minute details as we prepare to place it on the storeroom shelf. 

I don't know if you can see it very well, but the dress that's in the second mood board box is the cutest dress ever! I didn't order very many in, so once it's gone, gone. 

I also started harvesting my flowers. The dried petals will be used as seeds next season. There's something soul-satisfying to planting seeds that you've recycled from seasons past. Zinnia and Purple Hyacinth all fall in the grow me, plant me category.

A friend invited me to her home to help plan her garden. I'm going to surprise her with a notebook and journal of the plants and seeds that I'm sharing with her. That way she'll have a jump start in identifying her flowers. Fun! 

A friend took the pumpkin picture a few years ago. I love that little poem. 

Our shop will be closed both Friday and Saturday during the Liberty Fall Festival. We take advantage of the festival in a way that most don't. Parking is a challenge during the festival, and our customers usually keep a low profile during the festival. Bittersweet will be jumping up on our manufacturing on Friday and Saturday getting a healthy start on our holiday season.

Happy Fall!

Jill  

 

 

 

Second home

We get asked all of the time what the scent is in our shop. A lot of times it's a combination of soaps and blends that we create, but most often it's our Cleanse Cleaner. The rich tincture is formulated with clove and cinnamon. Since my shop is in an old home I have to be cautious with cleaners and such. We have the coolest tile and wood floors and I would never want to damage them. This essential oil cleanser not only smells amazing, but it makes my tile shine and my wood floors glow! It's pretty pungent, but in a good way and I love using the essential oil cleaner both at home and at the shop. It's a good thing! The only problem is that I have a hard time keeping up with supply and demand. 

I mentioned River Rain in my last post. It's wrapped and ready, and will not be here for very long. 

Our Fragrance Bar is slowly but surely getting filled. I believe that there are twenty empty spots left. I'm getting there! I'm happily getting there because the new scents smell amazing! We had a customer drop by yesterday and mixed several bottles of moisturizer and body spray using all of the new fragrances. She was impressed with the new assortment to choose from. In fact, as soon as I get through typing I'm going to blend more because it's a popular department in our store. With good reason. 

The serums and facial oils, soaps, etc. that we make and offer at our store are comprised of the best of the best. Much research goes into designing and creating a Bittersweet Skincare product. Sometimes we take months formulating a product before we get it just right. It's important that the product stands out from any past product that you've ever used and immediate results are kind of our jam.  

I've waited and waited with bated breath to announce the release of PS, and I can wait no more. The inquiries and emails have filled my inbox with questions about when the popular soap will be stocked. I'm happy to let you know that next Thursday is the golden day!

I'm also making a soap called Pumpkin Crunch that will be available as it gets closer to Thanksgiving. A prelude to our collection of Holiday Soaps. By the way, I've already started manufacturing. Remember how our soap requires a four-to-six week curing time?

This is a busy time of the year. Each year our summer turns into Christmas! The summers past were always busy, but as Bittersweet grows and gathers new customers, we operate on a level of Christmas year-round. It's a good thing. Thank you. 

Jill 

 

River Rain

Many years ago probably twenty or so I made a soap called Rain. It was one of the first soaps that I made and everyone loved the scent. I'm not sure why we pulled it from our soap menu, I'm guessing to make room for many new soaps. I'd like to think of our latest soap offering as Rain's little brother, River Rain. The scent is similar to the one that we had back when but more refined and balanced. In other words, It's an amazing soap scent! As you know new soaps arrive each week at our shop, but they don't last long before being replaced with a new one. River Rain will briefly be available before many have come into the shop and stocked up on this special fall-scented soap. I've also added the scent in our Scent Station so that you can design a body essential with the amazing fragrance. I'm continuing to add many new scents to our collection of fragrances and they're getting fine-tuned with our unique selection of fall/winter blends. All of which will eventually be made into soap!

The jeans and the duffle bag, the booties, and the adorable fall-into-winter jackets are here! Just like our soap each piece that we present has been hand-picked with fastidious thoughts and we typically don't re-order items once they're gone. We're not a clothing store, but rather an apothecary so the denim and jackets that we carry must meet the seal of approval and the quality must compare to the products that we make. It's a good thing!

Those new duffle bags fit that bill! High-quality fabrics and craftsmanship are phenomenal! 

I was blown away by the popularity of our recent release of candles! Totally blown away. We have more candles coming in our signature scents because we sold out within two days. There's something special about lighting an aromatic candle during the Ber months. Not only does the essence fill your home it enhances one's mood too. The Bittersweet blended candle scent has been the most popular, but honestly, they're all three great!

I was feeling silly on Saturday. Hey, that would be a great title to a book, Silly on Saturday. I often have an urge to kick my feet in the air! Maybe to tell me that I can still do it, or possibly simply because kicking your feet up in the air it promotes a sense of freedom and happiness. Try it sometime and you'll understand what I'm saying. 

As I mentioned, the new fall and winter scents are being added to our Scent Your Own Department, and we're loving every single one that we're bringing to the scent table. 

I just made a Vetiver soap that just might go down as being one of my favorite scents next to Patchouli. Just like Rain Soap, Vetiver once appeared on our soap menu. It's a little different than the Vetiver of the past but in a really good way. 

Lastly. 

I never want to not share my secret to happiness and well-being. Not all believe as I do, and that's okay. If you're interested in learning about what I believe in that's okay too. xo

My Beautiful Faith. Taken from page 93.

Unedited.

May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love, and may you be able to feed and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it our fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.

Those are powerful words that really make you stop and think!

As your faith continues to grow through the power of the Lord your journey will fill your soul with a peace that compares to no other. The joy that you carry inside is from the Holy Spirit, and you will experience the love that he has for you. His love is above all others, and you will become to understand it as you dig deeper into the readings of the bible.

 

Jill 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Essence of Fall

What is the essence of fall? When I think of autumn aura I can't help but conjure up magical blends like vetiver, vanilla, and spices from the Orient. My mind travels back to hundreds of years ago when herbs and spices were considered to be rare and precious. Modern-day, and I still can't help but ponder those same thoughts. In our fast-paced world, it's sometimes a challenge to continue to have these thoughts, but I do. Those thoughts also carry with them the reason that I love what I do. Feeling blessed. 

Bittersweet is hosting a fall open house at our shop for the next three days. I can't help but feel that we've left no stone unturned as we usher in this glorious season!

Taste & Eat might just be published by Christmas! This cookbook is a labor of love. Memories of home-cooked meals and small-town America center around this book. If you really want to share some fall love make Mrs. Ruddy's Pumpkin Bread!

Our signature Pumpkin Spice Soap is arriving towards the end of this month, and our Scent Your Own Department is not only getting a makeover, but we're adding yummy fall essences to our collection. 

What's fall without candles? We're offering a limited edition as we often do and just through the BER months. We have three different blends, and I'm not sure which one is my favorite. Probably all of them! Scented candles are kind of like perfume. It depends on what kind of mood you're in when you choose a scent. 

Sari bags are kind of our thing. We love bundling a bar of soap inside!

I'm looking forward to a productive and exciting week at our modern apothecary. 

Jill 

 

 

Ber

Oh, the blessing of being a soap maker for over twenty-five years often accompanies appreciative thoughts. The process of making soap is not easy, but it's one of the most rewarding things that I've ever done. Isn't that how it sometimes goes? When we face our challenges we find that the prize way exceeds the struggles. To think that these thoughts wouldn't exist had I not been in business for so long boggles my mind.  I've learned an incredible number of things and most are engraved and embedded with strong work ethics and perseverance. A lot of times when we face challenges we tend to want to escape by walking the other way. I have found the outcome and freedom that comes from heading things straight on requires mental strength, but the reward is huge. I'm forever grateful for the grace that God has given me over the years. The lessons I've learned and the value it holds. Priceless. 

When I took the picture of the stacked soap it all came back to me. The entire process from beginning to end is a labor of love. 

You must know that once September arrives it's the beginning of Fall. At least in my world. The retail and soap manufacturing world is quite different than most. The Ber months are here! 

The shop is filled with fall essence and the mood is autumn!

We are in the process of updating our Scent Your Own Department by starting fresh with new bottles, labels, and seasonal fragrances. I believe that there are thirty-one empty spots to fill. That translated into thirty-one more additions to our menu. We offer eighty! My goal at the modern apothecary is to take the intimidation process out of blending scents. We're getting there. 

We're also making upgrades on some of our soap packagings. Our long-time facial bar, Oats & Goats is on our makeover list along with a few other soaps. 

Our new fall jackets have arrived! 

The seasons come and they go, and Bittersweet seasons seem to pass with a blink of an eye. I'm not sure why but they do. Holiday manufacturing kicks in full speed ahead next week, and I'm putting the finishing touches on fall manufacturing as we head into winter. The four to six-week curing period on all of our soap has always pushed us to be a couple of weeks ahead. 

The shop has been hustling! It makes me happy to see people come in and design a new scent and stock up on soaps. I always feel like that little bar of soap can change the world. It did mine!

If you haven't been in for a while we're decked out with fall. We look forward to seeing your smiling face and sharing our take on fall!

Jill