The most recent sideline has been my dog getting sick. It was a whirlwind week with her declining health that lead to emergency surgery, and now a fantastic recovery. I’m not sure that I actually slept more than a few hours at a time last week. It wore me down and I didn’t have it in me to work on work.

I jumped back into it today and got a huge batch of kelp and aloe made so it can sit and cure for a month. I also played around with the all-natural goat milk base and tried out some peppermint-rosemary-basil bars with green oxide marbling. I’m also playing around with a recipe for whipped shea butter and need to get some into the hands of my testers!

Exciting things are happening in the wholesale realm! I’ve got my foot and all of my other 2000 body parts in the door of a fantastic little spa that I will expand upon more later!

It’s time for another weekend getaway… I miss Portland and my P-family! Once I get back, it will be nose to the grindstone yet again!

So it goes, life sometimes gets in the way. I’ve been trying to fit the soaping in when I have a moment… except it seems like I’ve just been working on the site in all my free time.

Since my last update, my baby sister has gone and got herself hitched to a nice boy in flip-flops. She talked me into doing the favors for the reception, so I used it as a really good opportunity to practice doing a larger project.

Wedding favors

A lot of my soap stock went to that, so I am ready to get more made and curing. I just listed a fresh batch of goat milk and clay, peppermint luffa, and oatmeal and aloe as well as the new double chocolate, and pirate scrub soaps this evening. Thanks to my growing base of loyal followers, I am almost sold out of several of them in just a few hours. Thanks ladies, you are the best! I can’t wait to make more soap and get it out to the rest of the world!

Thanks to some not-so-gentle urging I will be trying out a bergamot soap next… and you know, I’ve got a couple more things up my sleeve.

Well, we’ve been back from the coast trip for over a week, and I still haven’t gotten the new tarts on the site!  I’ve been trying to deal with a shopping cart malfunction.  Well, I don’t think the cart is malfunctioning really, I just jumped the gun and updated WP, but I don’t think my cart was ready for it.  Too much geek work for me, I would rather play with soap.

The soaps have been a huge success and taking up a lot of my time. After setting aside an extra or two of the bars that I personally cannot live without (GM & Clay, Peppermint Luffa) I’m nearly sold out of all of the first batches!  I can’t keep my oils and butters stocked around here, I’m forever waiting for an order or something or other to arrive.

The next batch that is almost ready is a lovely bright and colorful hibiscus, lemon, and sweet orange. I tested it out today and the lather was so fluffy and thick, I think it’s going to be a fun bar o’ soap. Also coming soon… a chocolate lover’s dream, a bar with tons of unrefined cocoa butter and real cocoa powder to give it a chocolatey swirl. YUM.  We’ll just pretend that every mad scientist batch of soap is coming out perfectly without any issues like gooey congealed half-soap that bleeds blueberry juice out of unauthorized crevices.  IDKWYATA.

I delivered my first soaps to Ash Way Pet today! If you are in the neighborhood, stop on by and check them out! I was working really hard on a graphic for the dog shampoo bars, but couldn’t achieve what I was envisioning, so I have enlisted the help of a stellar graphic artist, and I can’t wait to see what comes of that.

In case you were ever wondering where my company name came from….

"Oh, are we taking photos?"

I get a lot of help with every aspect of the business, especially product photos.

It’s been a busy week with out of town visitors and a fun time with Mike D and Thee Loyal Bastards last weekend.  I also got turned on to Fernando Viciconte who I am enjoying listening to, especially in these wee hours late into the night in my little laboratory.  Long week, but now it is time to pack up the wagon and dump a whole lot of money into the hands of the oil tycoons.  We are headed to the Oregon Coast to enjoy sand, (hopefully) sun, surf and 30-something of my favorite people for a 4 day gathering.

This is from the same spot last September:

Beautiful!  We will drag ourselves home on Monday, and I will pick up where I left off on Tuesday.  Next week I will be changing the site over to the new massage tarts - now just a little bit smaller, in a “single serving” candy wrapper, and selling for almost half the price.  I will also offer 2 tarts in a tin, which is awesome and reusable.  I’m packing around bars and bars of soap with me so they will all get a good testing this weekend.  I have a couple of recipes that I already think are going to become regular sellers, and yet I’ve still only scratched the surface of the soap world!

Have a great weekend!

~ Crystal

Good news for you lavender lovers out there. I have blended this happy essential oil in to the most perfect little tube of lip balm! Mmmmm…. Lavender Lips…..

I have also reformulated the lip balm tubes just a bit. I added in a touch of beeswax to firm it up a little. The previous recipe was excellent for Winter, but now that it’s warmed up I needed to protect against your balms turning into goo in your pocket! The tins will remain beeswax free, so those are still a vegan recipe. I am going to test out some candelilla wax to possibly replace the beeswax, or to at least offer a separate vegan option.

The rest of the luscious lip loving labor of love recipe is the same… mango butter, shea butter, jojoba… seriously, if you haven’t tried it, you need to!  Not only will you be thanking me, but everyone that pays a visit to your lips will notice the difference!

I made some small batches of massage tarts and some lotion bars today testing out different molding and packaging techniques…. as always, look forward to some changes in the product line!  I’ve got so many different things going on today, I don’t know which direction to go!  BACK TO WORK!

Well the year is motoring right along! The last couple of weeks have been buuuusy! We took a trip over to Eastern Washington for my sister’s bachelorette weekend getaway. The weather was gorgeous and perfect after not seeing much of the sun on our side of the state lately. We rented a great big house with a great big view and a lovely salt water swimming pool. It was a great way to kick off what seems like a very late summer!

The next intro to Summer was the day after Solstice when we made it down to the Fremont Street Fair to catch the Solstice Parade. They were celebrating the 20th anniversary of the parade and it was bigger than I’ve ever seen. This parade is unique in that anyone can participate, although signs or anything written is not allowed. You are also not allowed motorized vehicles, so any of the bigger float displays must be human powered. The parade is kicked off every year by the bicyclists (and rollerbladers and wagon riders) in various stages of dress and (mostly) undress, body paint and costume. It is always a great party day for the whole family!

This is where I would post pictures of the parade, but most of the pictures I’ve edited so far are pretty much full frontal nudity shots… so….

Now I am back to work with my nose hard at the grindstone. I’ve been updating the site and getting ready to jump into production mode for the next couple of weeks until we shuffle off on our next adventure… 5 beautiful (fingers crossed) days on the Oregon coast with a large group of friends from all over North America. I can’t wait!

~ Crystal

]]> http://waxcatcandles.com/2008/06/24/solstice/feed/ http://waxcatcandles.com/2008/06/11/the-new-soapery/ http://waxcatcandles.com/2008/06/11/the-new-soapery/#comments Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:00:47 +0000 crystal http://waxcatcandles.com/?p=53 Well the weather has been UGH and we’re still waiting for summer to show up.  I’m still waiting for a brighter day to get some product photos done.  In the meantime, I’ve been busily plugging away at making my space more organized and efficient.  Thanks to a lovely donation from the Simpson clan I have been able to take the space to the next level…

That is about a quarter of the way through the project of moving all of my storage shelves, moving all of the family room type furniture out of the area, and rearranging all of my tables to take full use of the space.  I have a lot more to do - although it may have been done if I had been able to move the couch by myself!  I will hopefully be able to post pics of the finished room next week!

The other exciting thing is that I decided to make a “doggy bar” of soap to use on the often stinkalicious Atlas.  I was so excited about them that I took some samples up to our pal Eddie at Ash Way Pet and he was so excited, and has asked for some product to sell in his shop!  I’m still in the testing recipes phase, but I have ideas for several different bars for your pooch, and maybe even one for the brave bathing kitties as well.

I just poured a batch this morning that I’m very excited about so I cheated and peeked at it just now to pop a photo.  It is basil and rosemary EOs, with a swirl design done with parsley powder - my first attempt at color.  I’m sure that it will turn some hideous color brown when it’s done, but right now, so pretty!

I used two different recipes that I put together from scratch with different oils and butters I had collected.  The first batch - the only intended batch - I scented with eucalyptus EO.  It was so easy and breezy that I used a cardboard box as a makeshift mold and tried an even bigger batch, and scented with lemongrass EO.  YUM.  I just unmolded and cut them into bars and put them out to dry where they are waiting far more patiently than I am for them to cure for… 6 weeks?! This hobby will test my patience, for sure.

I am also very excited about the new lotion bars.  I have formulated a blend that is quick absorbing, and not as “greasy” as the massage tart/bar blend.  I will continue to carry both formulations in different bar sizes.  I am loving the new round mold for the lotion bars, but I may make some with the nubby massage mold also.  I am packaging the big round bars in tins - so cute!  I’m waiting to see if these big gray clouds can squeeze a little more sunshine out of themselves so I can get some product photos done today!

Crystal

Over the past year the cost of my supplies have sky rocketed. The cost of the wax and shipping has nearly doubled in just 2 years. It’s been steadily going up up up until just recently. I would like to believe that the price decreases that are happening will become a trend, but suspect it is only a momentary reprieve as a couple of the soy wax companies reorganize and restructure. I have also been wondering if the growing interest in biofuels will effect the soy market… I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I wonder if the cost of nasty paraffin candles are going up right now with the price of gas?

Anyway, on a good note again, I have been testing out different suppliers, and have found some really good deals lately, especially in larger quantities of essential oils. I’ve been able to crunch the numbers to see where I can bring down the costs of my products, and I can now offer the essential oil blends at the same price as the regular scents. If you are a regular user of the traditional fragrances and have not tried any of the essentials yet, now is a good time to do it!