Soap Makers Help!

[chiknwhisperer]

Quote:
I'll definitly take your advice on the table cloth. I'll go next week and see if I can find some material like the one I've been using and make a table cloth out of that. I really hope I get in. My MIL sent the article home with my DH but the newspaper that it was in only comes out once a week. But when I went online they have in-door and out-door spaces. And the fair grounds are not little. They are even having a pumpkin chuck!

 

[Morgaine]

I'm checking out some party rental places and I am going to see if they will sell some of their used table skirtings or if htey have any new ones for sale. I have to have a Christmas theme for one show, but if I going to buy the stuff I want to make sure that I can use for other stuff too so soild colors only for me.

have you been trying to get any whole sale accounts? I know you don't make as much per bar as when you sell at the market, but you get paid right away and you don't ahve to take the time to be at the market all day. You soap in the boxes are really nice looking, I bet you could easily get into some stores. I have a 20 bar minimum so at $3 a bar that's $60. you get a lot of no's it seems like when you are going around asking, but I have always gotten at least one store to say yes they will them. Take samples and if they seem interested give a sample and a biz card.

I just placed a big order for stuff. I got these eo's
lavender 2#
anise 4 oz
lemongrass 1 #
peppermint 1#
1 # patchouli (ouch, this stuff better sell!)
Eucalyptus 1#
Cassia 4 oz
and I also got some shampoo and conditioner bases and bottles. I'm doing these for the girls in the family.

Next week I'll place the fall scent order and then I should be set for supplies for a while. Atleast untill October when I start to do Christmas Soaps.

 

[LA~Poulet]

I found sodium carbonate, & borax, & ordered felsnaptha from SoapsGoneBuy, but now I want it to smell good. My favorite "clean" scent is the combination of White tea & Ginger (was a discontinued scent at B&BW and I've recreated it before at BathJunkie).

Can anyone give me advice on buying essential oils? I would like to get decent quality but don't know where to begin to look for a good price on a decent oil. I'd appreciate suggestions, thank you in advance!

 

[chiknwhisperer]

I'm completly out of those boxes unfortunatly. I really like them though. Some of the soaps are better in the shrink wrap because of size and what not but the boxes make everything look a lot nicer I think. I need to re order soon. DH wants me to ask the day spas and stuff around here. I told him I don't want to until I know I can soap on a regular basis. Right now it is real irregular because of money flow. Any other ideas of what kind of businesses I can try? We have a vitamin store but nothing really natural besides that. I'm not sure where to try.

 

[chiknwhisperer]

Pic heavy!!

The top pics are the patchouly I did yesterday and the other pics are the lime soaps that I am felting for tomorrow. A couple before and after pics lol.

 

[Rockpile99]

Great Pics CW. Love the colors on your patchouli.

Does the felting help the soap last longer? That may be an answer for Amateuss instead of wrapping in a wash cloth or soap dish.

 

[chiknwhisperer]

DH works at a steel mill and showers there. He has had the same bar of soap for months now. With a family using it I don't think it would last that long. My kids squished the crap out of the one they got a hold of. I think it does well though as long as it dries out. Maybe it does last a little longer since it suds up so quick they might not use so much at once

 

[Morgaine]

LA~Poulet, a lot of the places on the reference thread sell eo and they are all good companies. I really like Essential Oil University. They have great prices and great oils. Only down side is a lot of them come in one pound or larger sizes. I have also used: Brambleberry, Wholesale Supplies Plus, Camden Grey and Scent Works. All were nice. The main thing you want to watch out for is that what you are getting is pure, un diluted essential oils. after that I look at price.


Corrie, great looking soap! That purple is so soft and delicate looking, lovely. Your felted ones are nice too, the teal is pretty contrast with the white.

As for the whole sale accounts, I pretty much asked every store in down town Brenham and a bunch in Tomball as well. Ask any spa or hair salon you see, any gift shops, Pretty much any where you can go and talk to the person who actually owns the store. I haven't gone to any kind of big chain store, even though Dh is really pushing me to try to get into Whole Foods. I tell him that is way out of my league right now. But maybe someday

I know you have little ones and it's hard to get out with them, so you could also try calling or e-mailing the stores and talk to the owner/manager. Offer to send pictures of all your soaps, naked and packaged and send them a small sample to try. That way you are doing what you can from home and if they are still interested and want to meet, you know your chances of getting the account are greater because they liked what they saw and tried.

Also, call any bed and breakfast in the area. See if they are interested in having handmade soap for their B&B. I really stress that I am local and that they are helping to support local business.

I spent about 4 hours one time calling local B&B and seeing if they were interested. You don't have to do it all at one time of course, break it up as your day allows. I got one account from that, and so far she has ordered a little over $250. Worth it to me.

I haven't had any luck at all with on line sales. Zip, nada. So I can't give you any advice there. But if you have any other questions just let me know here or in a pm.

 

[chiknwhisperer]

The online sales are a bit of a bust here as well. Compared to how long I have been on Etsy I haven't hardly sold a thing. I think as soon as money is coming a little more steady then right now I will start contacting businesses. I have had a few people ask about how long it would take to get different scented soaps and when I tell them the curing time they are put off by it. A couple said that makes sense to them but the rest think it should be ready right then and there even after I explain the process. Oh and guess what!? I talked to a customer yesterday and she is in a group of other mothers that home school their kids. She wanted to know if I would consider teaching a class to their children about making soap at their church! She wanted to know how much it would cost to have me come out there and do that. I told her I have never even thought about teaching a group of anyone about it. She gave me her name and number and asked me to think it over and get a hold of her about it. I don't know what to do. I'm not good a teaching unless it is a bunch of five year olds but even they don't listen half the time.

 

[Morgaine]

Hey, at least you had some sells on line, I got nothing. But I think you had your soaps pictured much better than I did mine. I don't think it was my packaging, I usually get compliments on that. But oh well, the market is so saturated on etsy and artfire, one would really ahve to be working hard to get their name out there.

Another thing you might want to keep a look out for is caft fairs at schools. I haven't done one yet, but the lady next to me at the watermelon festival was telling me about them and she was saying the booth fees were really cheap, like $10-20 and that teachers were always her best customers. And since you are local, it is easy for them to reoder so make sure to have contact info.

Hmm, I don't know about the demo thing. How old are these kids? I just worry about kids and lye. If they are high school age, maybe. THen you could atleast turn it into a chemistry talk. Are you comfortable doing that? I would go with your gut on that one.

I'm soaping rosemary and mint today. I ran out of that over the weekend. And I could just kick myself for not checking all my eo's before I ordered. I only have enough Rosemary for 1 more batch after these three I'm doing. I'll have to get it at Scent Works when I order from them again.

Corrie, i wanted to ask you, how much oz ppo did you use when you made the hunters soap? I ordered some anise too since hunting season is coming up and I'm thinking of doing a swirl soap in camo colors. wdyt?