Bittersweet and the little soap company

The Scents of the season

 

If you travel back in time you'll see how we were excited about this new scent. I was so in love with it that it seemed proper to design an entire body line using the lovely fragrance. I'm fastidious when it comes to scent. After all, I've been a soap maker for twenty-five years! In fact, my nose is so snobby that you could line up one hundred different scents in front of my nose and she would shy away from all except maybe one. That's a good thing. It's like a superpower. 

I've completed the fall/winter soap menu. This means these are the new soaps that will be approaching the next few months ahead. I've also added a dozen or so more to the menu since I published the menu. Just when I think that it can't possibly get any better, it always does. The new soaps and fragrances have already been utilized in our Scent Your Own Station, and we've completed most of our manufacturing from the list. Good feeling!

We've stocked some flairs, but I would say that this flair is a more modern version of its sister. I'm always amazed how one little detail in a garment can have such an impact. For example, this flair has a wide hem. The wide hem sets the jean apart from most flairs. I believe it gives it a sense of style and savviness. Don't you?

We received our shipment of dried stems. We've always been partial to real flowers at Bittersweet. We love dried arrangements. If you add a couple of stems of dried fall leaves or tall cat tails to this bundle you're going to love the look!

In my last post, I received several comments regarding the busy topic. It's comforting to know that some of you feel the same as I do about being busy. 

The scents of the season are beginning to trickle in. 

Enjoy.

Jill 

 

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  

 

 

 

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 

 

 

mood light

 

Today I was thinking about the change in seasons and how the seasonal changes could be a metaphor for life. We experience a steady flow of change on a constant level each day, but fail to recognize it sometimes unless the changes are big ones. 

That orange dress is the cutest and you'll be the bell of the ball this fall!

Fall mood continues as we introduce a new buttery soft lip balm, Maple Syrup. I think you'll like it!

Apples... It wouldn't be fall without apples. We incorporate those thoughts into our soap manufacturing. A new Honey Apple Soap is coming!

We've stocked up on our scent your own accessories. A local magazine featured Bittersweet this week, and the article was one of the best to date. You can catch it here. 

Thank you Northland Lifestyle Magazine and special thanks to Nyonu Branch-Watkins for the wonderful writing. 

I couldn't resist wrapping the garland of fall leaves around the mannequin! She is promoting a fall mood. 

Have you ever used a dry brush? They're kind of nifty.

Our fall open house runs through Saturday, and the mood light is gleaming fall at both our store and home. 

By the way, my fascination for faux pumpkins continues to grow. 

Keep Smiling.

Jill xo

 

 

flavorful fall

I started fall decorating at home. A few sprigs of autumn and some rattan pumpkins. Who knew that they made rattan pumpkins? I love them! I also ordered dried canteen gourds to use both at home and the shop in displays. Years ago Bittersweet used to order a surplus of canteen gourds. I had a small saw and would cut off the tops to make a lid. Then I'd put scented sea salt inside. It was kind of cool. I can't take the credit for the idea. It came from my creative mom. She always had the neatest ideas, and shared the love of her daughters business before she passed. I miss her soft spoken voice and her advise. She was smart!

I've been putting together a few fall gift boxes. The boxes are handy to fill with Bittersweets especially if you're wanting a gift. 

The dining room table that has been in my family for three generations. It was amazing how new shiny black chairs revived the oval oak piece. I love blending old with new. I visited our local hobby shop and picked up the dried arrangement. Adding the dried bundle to existing jars and vases is an easy way to bring fall into your home. Not only is it an inexpensive option, they may be stored for safe keeping once the season changes and you can use it again. 

A few months ago I discovered wood flowers! I'm intrigued by these unusual tree flowers. I picked up this book too.  I must warn you, if you don't have plants in your home and you order this book, you will! Did I ever tell you how right after high school and in my first apartment I had eighty-six houseplants that happily made my apartment their home? Yes, I know that I have told you before. Reading that book reminded me of my first apartment! It's funny I don't recall the time that it would have taken to water eighty-six plants, but I'm certain that it took some time. Back then I felt that I had all the time in the world! Still do, but the time is spent with my hands in action. 

When I envisioned the new Safari Bain Collection those boots were a part of my vision. As was the long linen shorts and the white cotton top.  

The last hanging on to summer posy of paper flowers is amazing! They are available at our store. 

Bittersweets fall/winter soap manufacturing has more than started. In fact I've been working on if to a month or so. That translates into the studio being filled to the brim with fall bars of goodness! I've even began making our holiday soaps. This also means that within the next few weeks both the studio and shop will be overflowed with a bounty of bricks! Which then means, those bounty of bricks will need to be labeled and wrapped. The luxurious soaps will start hitting the shelves mid September. It's hard to believe that is just around the corner!

Meanwhile the store is filled with Patchouli, Sandalwood, Charcoal, and other varieties of popular scents that are here, and then gone before you can say, Jiminy Cricket! 

The new Safari Bain Soap is in cure mode, but it will be included in our fall soap menu. 

The buttery soft belt bag is a great alternative to a bag. It fits snugly on the hip and if the perfect size for carrying phone, credit cards, keys, and lip stick. I don't travel without my lipstick! 

I ordered some pretty fall papers for our wrappings and can't wait to start packaging all of the new autumn soaps. 

Keep Smiling.

Jill xo

 

 

prelude

The days are becoming crisper! 

Fall and winter spices fill the air, along with the savory wave of pumpkin bread baking in the oven.  

We've been digging through our Christmas stash and pulling out some of our favorite shop displays. 

We grab our inspiration from nature. We make pinecone garland and fill our stockings with everlasting bouquets. The scent of cedar fills the shop and blends nicely with the spicy soaps. 

Fall quickly turns into the gift-giving season at Bittersweet. 

Since we have a four to six week lead time on all of our soaps, Christmas always starts early! I love Christmas! If given the opportunity to extend the holiday season, I'm in!

We're getting ready to put our holiday wrapping order in. Then we'll be wrapping The Twelve Days of Christmas! 

We're introducing a prelude to the Twelve Days and will crown the series with a grand finali soap!

I'm often intrigued about how ideas turn into the actual hold in your hand, smell good, gifts. The process behind it all is mindblowing! It really is. 

This soap maker stands tall and feels blessed each day. It's an honor to share my ideas and creations!

Our series of the Twelve Days of Christmas Soap always shines brightly at our store.   

It's a labor of love to make this special soap! From the first moment, I choose the fragrance, and pour the liquid soap into molds, until the day it's cured and ready to be packaged, one thing is as solid as our soap, and that's the passion wrapped into each bar!

Cinnamon Sticks, Essential Oil Candles, Wool Mittens, and Tapestry Scarves. We're in love with those scarves!

We're anticipating a joyous season!

Keep the faith. 

Jill 

   

fall foraging

We are fond of gathering natural elements and incorporating them into our fall displays. Pine cones, dried orange peel, and cinnamon sticks are a few of our favorite fall, winter accessories! Our fall lines also carry the natural theme. Star Anise, Cinnamon, Clove, Sweet Orange, Nutmeg, and Vanilla begin filling the shop with their warm aroma. 

We created a post on Insta with instructions on how to bake pumpkins to forage the fresh pumpkin meat. If you've never baked with fresh pumpkin in your recipes you are for sure missing out on an amazing fall treasure. 

Baking pumpkins are typically much smaller than carving pumpkins. A few weeks ago I picked up several with plans to cut off the top and bake. Then you can scoop out the meat and either add to a recipe or place in a storage container for future baking of all sorts of pumpkin delights!

There's really no standard way to do this, and frankly, you can develop your own method after you're familiar with the process. 

I bake my baking pumpkins at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. I cut off the tops. Be careful when you're doing this because the skin is hard and thick to get your sharp knife in and out. Kind of like carving a pumpkin. Same process. 

After I've removed the pumpkin from the oven I allow it to cool and then start scooping! It's easier to get the seeds out after you bake the pumpkin. At least that's my opinion, but you could scoop out the seeds before you bake it, if you so desire. 

Now let's talk about dried flower foraging...

Once the first frost rolls around I head to the hills and forest to gather dried flowers. It's nothing short of a miracle how nature provides her natural preservation of plants. Wildflowers that once carried allergy pollens like ragweed during this time are now free of pollens and allergens. So it's a great time to gather their blossoms and build an amazing bouquet. You can even add bittersweet if you have a secret hiding spot where you find it. Bittersweet is tricky to find, but if you drive along a country road long enough you'll spot some. It's usually along the right of ways. I've written numerous posts about finding bittersweet and if you're interested in reading more about the orange plant you can simply type the words Bittersweet in the search box on the far right sidebar. 

We're getting ready to order dried winter flowers and we'll happily blend them with our forest gatherings. 

Each season we offer a variety of everlasting winter blooms. This season I'm leaning towards anything green! Eucalyptus, Cedar, Boxwood, Juniper, and Magnolia Leaves top the list. We'll be mixing the green with neutral tones along with a mix of pine cones and cinnamon sticks. 

We've discovered an amazing paper supplier and we're anxious to release our Twelve Days of Christmas Soap on November 8! The signature soaps will be packaged in this glorious paper! 

Oh yes! It's back!

Lennis is making Cedar Tables! He'll brush on several coats of varnish. We were inspired by the ones in our cabin at Big Cedar. 

This soap maker is fastidious when it comes to scent! Low and behold this flavor captured by interest and smells amazing. I describe the scent as pipe tobacco, but when I mention this to customers they sometimes disagree. Just goes to show you how each of us smells things differently. 

This seasoned soap maker nose has smelled thousands of scents over the past twenty-two years!

Keep the faith. 

Jill 

homebody

The New Year has put forth a slower stride and mellow moods. Look at little Miss Elle all wrapped up in freshly extracted warm blankets from the clothes dryer! It has been satisfying to be a homebody the past few weeks. 

I'm also pondering new projects and production is ahead of schedule. Which translates to happy face...

I'm introducing a New Tinted Lip Balm and A Spot-On Moisturizer when we re-open and celebrate our Winter Grand Arrival on Saturday. The weatherman is calling for snow on Saturday. One of my favorite things in the world is to be at my shop when it's snowing. Since expanding the shop I'm offering a new Paperie section and there's a loot of interesting tags and paperie, packaging, etc.

I've also been noodling around with ideas of a cocoa butter bath melt. We have a surplus of cocoa butter! It's considered an old school ingredient, but frankly, it's hard to beat moisturizer! I love the buttery chocolate aroma! When you add essential oils to the butter it takes on a most delightful fragrance. Most delightful!

We have our little essential oils and diffuser department brimming with peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, and other Bittersweet Blends. When I was helping to lay the new shop flooring the diffuser was snorting out cinnamon, clove, lemon, eucalyptus, and rosemary. We call the yummy compound, Cleanse.

Our Once A Year Soap Sale begins on Snowy Saturday and in addition, we've slashed prices on a large array of clothing, booties, and scarves. If you're new to Bittersweet and have never experienced our Soap Sale, you're in for a winter surprise! I'm clearing out to make room for spring! It's a retail thing, preparing for a season months before it appears!

I've put an order in for some of these and we'll share our favorite Homemade Hot Cocoa recipe with you on Saturday if you brave the snowy tundra. Drive safely and I can't wait to be back at the apothecary shop!

Keep the faith.

Jill  

 

 

fall goodness

I'm longing to hold onto this velvet season. However, shop life is always ahead of its time, and the seasons come and they go, almost as quickly as they appear. 

The shop has a short tour of fall duty, and then it moves speedily into the holiday season. 

I'm already planning holiday shop designs and gift packaging. 

This year, my twenty-first year, I'm getting a huge jump in manufacturing. I'd love to have soap manufacturing completed by early December this year. It's looking good, and we're right on schedule to date. 

We're introducing new products to our Bittersweet collections.  

Aromatherapy Diffusers, and our very own line of Essential oils. Both new items will help introduce shoppers to the wonderful world of aromatherapy. I can't think of a better time to spread some lavender holiday cheer! I've been blending Rosemary and Eucalyptus at the shop trying to ward off all the illness that's floating around.  I'm still working on price points and the aesthetics but It's coming along and we should be up and running within a couple of weeks. 

We just received the first round of Fashion Show pictures. 

You can view the shots on our Facebook Page. 

This Holiday season our inspiration comes from nature. 

Pine cones and live Christmas trees are in our holiday future. 

Keep the faith. 

Jill