Shea Butter is In!

Looking for shea butter to incorporate into your products. Unrefined shea butter is a natural product with no additives or fragrances. It's natural aroma is slightly smoky & nutty. Fresh shea butter, soft and creamy shea butter from Ghana. Great for skin and hair. Shea Butter comes from the Shea Tree.

$1.50 per ounce
Email me if interested. I melted some into some black soap. Doesn't get much better.
Maria

Time To Relax

Who doesn't like to relax especially on the weekends? Relaxation scent is great in liquid soap and hand/body lotion. Ahhhh!

Doggone it's Coming Up this Saturday!

Doggone Fun on the Run - Sept. 27

Check in is at 10:00 am. Doggone Fun on the Run, a two-mile walk/run for individuals and their dogs, will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 at Otsiningo Park, Binghamton. This event will benefit the Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) program at the Southern Tier AIDS Program. PAWS helps people living with HIV/AIDS to maintain the health and well being of their pet companions. All participants who donate $25 or more will receive lunch courtesy of Outback Steakhouse. To register: Mary Kaminsky, 798-1706. I'll have my booth set up there (hope the weather cooperates) selling lots of healthy Pet Soap. Hope to see you!

Good Soapmaking Weather

We are beginning to have a beautiful Fall here in Upstate New York. The trees are beginning to turn their fall foliage colors. The cool dry air is especially kind to curing soap. In the mood to create, I made a few of these batches lately:

Mocha Java Latte with ground coffee beans

Raspberry with ground apricot kernal seed

Luxury Bar with cocoa and shea butters

Lavender n Clary Sage

Lemongrass

Laundry Bar with Relaxation scent

Oatmeal Milk n Honey (of course) (soap cake in photo)

Still looking for a new Holiday scent. Last year it was Sugared Walnuts. It was fabulous! Any suggestions?

Ria

Getting to Know the HSMG

You all know how excited I am about the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild. Here is a piece put together by Indie Business Network about us that explains why. Please contact me if you are interested in a membership. It is $65/year and so worth it.

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Getting to Know You: 10 Interesting Things About the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild:



Keep on soapin'!!

Maria

About the HSMG 2009 Annual Conference

September 11, 2008
From The Conference Committee Chairman
I would like to personally invite you to attend the largest soap conference in North America! It will be May 12-14, 2009 at The Miramonte Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, California. With almost 300 handcrafted soapmakers expected to attend this will be an event not to miss!
Erin BrockovichThere will be exciting and informative speakers covering a wide variety of business and soapmaking topics, all intended to help you improve your business and your products. The keynote address, generously sponsored by Essential Wholesale, will be from well-known speaker, environmentalist and award-winner, Erin Brockovich, who will share her personal story and the life lessons she has learned.
Further speakers and topics will be:
Donna Maria Coles Johnson - Become Your Own Media Outlet
Jamila White, The eCommerce Diva - Blog Your Way to More Web Sales
Linda Stevens - Profit Margin Killers and Setting Up Shop
Kelly Bloom - Trademarking and Stars & Stripes Forever, CP Soap Design
Kevin Dunn - Temperature in Soapmaking
David Steinberg - Preservatives & Preserving Cosmetics
Susan Ryhanen - Booth Design for Maximum Profits
Lori Nova - Color With Confidence - Taking the Mystery Out of Coloring Soap
and more to come!
There will also be several special events you won't want to miss.
Essential Wholesale will be sponsoring a Renaissance themed cocktail party and dinner, with entertainment by comedians John Reep and Wendy Liebman.
Snowdrift Farm will host a special break with a frozen yogurt bar to keep you cool while you network.
The lowest rates for registration is available expires on October 31st. Don't wait, sign up now! This is a good investment in your business. As one conference attendee said, "Attending the HSMG Conference is the best thing you can do for your business. The sharing of ideas, information and techniques is priceless!"
Come network with other soapmakers, see what the exhibitors have to offer, get a spa treatment at The Well Spa and learn, learn, learn!
A special "thank you" to our conference sponsors:
Diamond
Essential Wholesale
Platinum
Columbus Foods / Soaper's Choice
The Lebermuth Company
Silver
Snowdrift Farm
Mold Market
From Nature With Love
Texas Beauty Labs
If you have any questions about the conference, please feel free to email me.
See you in sunny California!

Leigh O'Donnell,Conference Committee ChairmanConference@SoapGuild.org

Fall Soap

I wouldn't be a soap addict if I didn't at least have a special seasonal favorite. The nighttime crisp air and ripe apples enticed me to make a batch of Golden Delicious as I call it. It is Apple Jack scent. What do you think? Well, I can tell you the house smells great!!

FDA Globalization Act of 2008

The FDA's Globalization Act of 2008 goal is to increase the safety of food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics manufactured or imported for sale. It was written to address the many health issues that have challenged the food and drug industries over the last several years.

Chances are it will protect the public when all is said and done. A challenge however is to accomplish this without affecting our small soap and cosmetics businesses.

One of the most effective ways to cause legislative change is through grass-roots movements within the industry.

It's not hard - but it does take action. The Handcrafted Soapmaker's Guild President has put together a link to get the full picture of what is going on. It also makes it easy to contact your Representative through a prepared letter from the link below. I have emailed my State Congressman and asked for him to contact me for further discussion. Please check it out and take action.

http://www.soapguild.org/industry/FDA2008.php

Maria