Archive for January, 2009
Jan
A big thanks goes out to my top entrecard droppers for the last month! 
Entrecard is used to increase traffic to your blog. According to the site “Entrecard is a free blogging network that brings visitors to your blog. By joining our network, you can earn Entrecard credits which allow you to display an ad of your blog on other blog sites within our Network.”
I’ve been using it for several months now, and, well, so far so good. My increased surfing to drop cards has resulted in my finding some new regular blog reading stops as well as some new places for Project Wonderful ads. For more information about what it is and how to use it, visit this link
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Jan
Krystal, from Solsisters on etsy, contacted me and asked if I would like to trade. A pair of my orange marmalade hoops for my choice of items from her store. My response? Are you kidding? I LOVE your stuff. Her bags have a wonderful mix of color and then she adds this geometric quilting detail.
So, after perusing her shop, which has some really cool stuff btw, I saw some bags made from a fabulous blue fabric, and I also found a smaller shaped bag from her sent items that I loved. She was kind enough to make the two bags below for me.
And here are the handmade hoop earrings she traded for:
I’m thinking I received a Great trade!
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Jan
In a previous post, I provided a list of venues for artists, artisans and artisan crafters.
This week I’m profiling another of those sites. Artfire is relatively new to the online handmade selling venue catalog, but their growth has been phenomenal over the last few months. (See the graph from Quantcast below).
Alexa ranks them at 87,085 overall, but take note of the more recent traffic ranking numbers from the last week or so below.
I asked John Jacobs, the President of Artfire, to tell us a bit more about the venue.
What is the site name and where can artisan sellers find you?
ArtFire can be found at http://www.ArtFire.com
We maintain a social media presence and can be found on Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, and Myspace. We are also developing features to help our members manage their social footprint using these sites as well.
Tell us a little about your site’s history. What are its origins?
Our parent companies have an e-commerce background and we have been in the trenches and abused by huge online market places and venues for years as sellers and business owners. The ArtFire site was born out of a need to offer a better alternative for sellers of handmade to represent themselves in a fair and equitable manner. Many of us over the years have been challenged with the ever changing environment of the Internet frontier and have very little time after performing our core business functions, to build a web site, market and advertise our wares, and keep up with the changing social media landscape.
Up until this point sites like EBay were able to prey on small businesses and artisans and charge incredible fees for their venue and traffic. In fact some calculations put the actual server and bandwidth cost of a listing on eBay as low as just .02 cents and falling! So after years of abuse, and repression, we decided that we would not take it anymore. So we built a better community with a focus on supporting its members and a spirit of service. We think that the future of the internet is aggregation of micro segments and we want to help support this movement while nourishing a unique market segment that is close to our hearts, and that often lacks adequate respect; the artist community.
Tell us about the site’s staff.
I don’t code, and can barely even spell PHP ;o) , but I do know a couple guys that can! Here are the people we owe our success to: The Team: Kyle, Matt, and Aaron are some of the best programmers I have ever met. That is important, but you know what’s really impressive? Their attitude, drive, and dogged commitment to making the community better! These guys never stop, they never sleep, and they are always innovating and adapting!
I am not sure how we were lucky enough to find such a talented team, and this really rings true in the case of our lead site designer Jen. I am certain we would not be where we are today without her insight and holistic understanding of not just aesthetic design, but function and User Interface.
Those of you that track us on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/ArtFire have met Sara, one of our super fast, multi-tasking, gen-Y cyber editors who is an all around riot to have on our team, and Twitters circles around me! In fact she is ranked in the top 250 “Tweeters” on the internet! She also reminds us to have fun and laugh at ourselves, which is refreshing after a long 14 hour day!
And then, there’s Tony Ford. When Tony and I were in our Master’s Degree program together we always challenged each other to perform better and eventually found that when we tackled projects together we reached even further and could not be beaten. Tony Ford is perhaps one of the brightest marketing guru’s that the Internet has ever seen. During the development of ArtFire, we brought in consultants, SEO, SEM, development, and marketing companies. You know, we fired every one of them, and do everything our selves now. Tony is always right there on the front lines, not just pushing the proverbial ArtFire cart, but pulling it, and the rest us, up the hill along with it!
What is your plan for the site? What are your goals?
Our mission is to support artists and their businesses. We approach this goal in a little different manner however as compared to other sites. We don’t worry about what venue an artist sells their item on, we offer tools to increase success in general and even on sites that some may see as our competitor. Take for example the new Market Hub feature (see image below) that displays an artist’s full social footprint for a potential buyer to explore. This tool allows a buyer to fully understand, discover, sample the depth and efforts an artist employs to sell their wares.
Who is your target seller audience?
ArtFire supports handmade artists. We also have additional categories to list supplies, vintage, and media items. Our site is designed with small business in mind and aims to reduce the time spent by designers in establishing and growing their business on line.
Who is your target buyer audience? How will you drive buyers to your venue?
There are many affinity groups that purchase handmade, from the environmentally conscious to those who desire unique quality items crafted with meaning. We run an extensive traditional and online media and viral marketing campaign that adapts to successes in near real time; changes to suit the shifting market almost constantly; and employs emerging techniques and strategies that maximize reach. You will see us in national publications and hear us on small town radio stations around the US. But our marketing extends beyond traditional and even new media to viral, community driven promotion of the handmade ethic. We understand that a market place must bring buyers and invest substantial resources in growing a robust buyer base. We want to bring not just bulk traffic to the site, but qualified individuals that appreciate the values that make handmade items so unique.
Is this an international, domestic US, Far East or European focused site?
Our market is global, though most members are creating from the US. We always keep an eye out for better ways in which we can support international transactions, buyers, and members. We built the site with a currency converter on every page and offer extended support for non-US based members. As we grow we will remember that the US may have borders but artists and great art do not.
What differentiates this venue from other online selling venues?Why should artisan sellers consider utilizing this site as a resource instead of other, older sites or their own sites?
We coined a concept we call Community Directed Development (CDD) which puts the community in the driver’s seat of site direction and features. This requires us to move very quickly, put our leaders on the front line of service, and this allows us to adapt to the needs of our members in real time. For example on Christmas eve we decided to roll out Google Analytics and within 120 minutes of sitting down to discuss rolling out of GA, we were up and fully functional, site wide. This feature and many others are absolutely free to the community, including instant and automatic submission to Google Shopping (Google Base).
We encourage and offer tools to increase your social footprint, teach members to promote their business and their personal brand, and challenge sellers to manage as many channels as they comfortably or effectively can. You never know which channel will bring in the most buyers and we believe that members should embrace an ArtFire AND ETSY approach to selling handmade items, not an ArtFire OR ETSY position.
How have you structured your seller pricing?
After many years of paying insertion fees and final valuation fees, we chose a simple straight forward plan that puts the member (seller) first. List 10 items at a time, when several sell, put more up in their place, absolutely free. If you would like access to enhanced features, and want to list UNLIMITED ITEMS, it will only cost you $20.00 a month! We are currently offering the next several thousand members a $7.00/month upgraded “Verified” account, which will never increase in price, ever. (Note from the editor: Right now, as a reward to join and help work out all the bugs in the beta version of the site, you pay $7 a month. That’s it. No additional listing fees, no final value fees, no sales commissions. Ever. And it’s $7 per month. As long as you own your shop. And, if you refer 10 individuals to the site that open Verified accounts, your shop fees will be waived FOREVER. Very cool! More information here )
What else should we know?
We roll out new features constantly, adapt quickly, interact in our own forums, and I can be contacted directly on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/ArtFireJohn
Thank you John!
Author’s note: I posted when I opened my Artfire shop here. If this sounds like a venue you might want to utilize to sell your handmade items, click here to join.
Stay tuned over the next weeks as I will be profiling more artisan handmade selling venues with interviews from the site owners. You can find this site’s traffic rank according to Compete.com here
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Jan
It’s cold, dry and this January weather is making my skin suffer. It’s a perfect time to stock up on handmade soap, lotions, lip balm, etc.
Over the last several weeks, I’ve profiled several handmade bath and body studio owners from Artfire. And by the way, handmade bath and body items make wonderful Valentine’s gifts for your significant other.
Trish, from Carmel Soaps is profiled today.
ArtFire Shop Name: Carmel Soaps : Luxurious Handmade Soaps , Solid Shampoos and Bath and Body Products
Name: Trish
Location: Alix, Alberta, Canada
Where else Are you found:
carmelsoaps.etsy.com
www.carmelsoaps.com
My blog: carmelsoaps.blogspot.com
How did you start:
I always loved bath and body products even when I was a little girl. I thought the best present was yummy scented soap and tasty lip balms. About 7 years ago we moved away from the person we bought handmade soaps from. To make a long story short my mom convinced me to start making my own soap. I started researching on the internet and experimenting. Soap lead to lip balms and then to lotions and body butters, and now my solid shampoos and conditioners. I am sensitive to certain ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate (sls) and sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (slsa) (2 common surfactants in solid shampoos) so I worked on a recipe that didn’t use either and would still clean your hair while conditioning it at the same time, and was gentle enough to use on my children.
My absolute favourite scents at this particular moment (they do change constantly) are White Ginger and Amber (type) , Lavender (I’ll always love it), Chocolate, and Cedar and Saffron. Love, love these.
The things I love to make the most are still my soaps. I love to plan the colours and the look. Should I swirl or not? Should it be a layered soap? Chunk soap? Does the fragrance discolour the soap and how can I hide it or work with it? Some times I know instantly how to go about it. Other times it takes me a few weeks or even months. I’m a bit of a perfectionist.
An absolute must for me in the winter is my hemp body butter. My hands take a beating but this yummy stuff has really helped them. They no longer crack and bleed. I chose to scent this butter with only pure essential oils and I do have the option of leaving it unscented. My mom (the one who started me on my obsession) uses only this for her face and body. She’s always been one of my biggest supporters.
My inspirations are scent and colour. I can smell something and imagine it as a soap. I can see a colour and think “Wow! That’s gorgeous. I wonder what that smells like?” And then my mind starts and I can be lost in the design of another soap.
My biggest oops: I’ve botched a few batches in my time. I think the worst was last fall. I ruined 5 batches in a row. I tell you my confidence was pretty low. They were all bigger batches and kinds that I had made before. I hate to throw out misfits but these were not good at all. What a waste.
Why are handmade products better: I think they’re better because they come from someone’s heart. Personally I’ve put a lot of time and effort into my products. I’ve researched and have tested many things but I only sell a few of them. They have to meet my standards, which I admit, are very high. Handmade usually uses quality ingredients in small batches lovingly made. I would much rather spend my hard earned money supporting a person and not a big company.
My advise to someone who wants to sell handmade bath and body products is to spend time and money researching and testing before you start to sell. There is a lot of competition. Know your products inside and out and don’t undersell yourself. Believe in what you do and find your own style and techniques. Learn all you can about your craft and have fun. Sometimes selling can take a lot of the enjoyment out of you. You have to really want to do this. If you are in it for a quick buck you’d better try something else. It’s an expensive craft to get into. Lol
I’m a stay at home wife, and homeschooling mother of 8. My oldest is 20 and my youngest is 10 months. My free time is spent with my husband and children. I enjoy baking, knitting, crocheting, gardening, and reading. I enjoy busy. But I do like to sneak in some quiet moments soaking in a hot bath.
Thanks Trish! Stay tuned as I will be profiling more artisan handmade sellers from ArtFire, including some with giveaways from the studio owners.
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Jan
Teresa from Smoky Mountain Scents offered a bar of of Mayan Gold Soap to one lucky winner!
And the winner is: Douglas W from metropolitanmama! Congratulations! We will contact the winner today!
Stay tuned over the next weeks as I will be profiling more artisan sellers, including special deals and giveaways from the studio owners.
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Jan
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Posted by
Kristy | Category:
Teams
I’ve met many very very talented artists on etsy in the teams that I belong. I’ll be highlighting some of them in the coming weeks on my blog.
Today’s etsy artist profile belongs to Lynne of Fireball Beads on etsy, a talented fellow member of the Artisan Beaders Street Team on etsy.
Lynne is participating in a One World One Heart promotion where you can enter to win her 1000 Veils Heart. To enter her contest, and win the heart pictured below, click this link:
http://islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-am-joining-one-world-one-heart.html
Shop name: islandgirl.etsy.com
Name: D Lynne Bowland
Where else can we find you and your work?
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandgirl-le/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/islandgilr
Facebook: look for D Lynne Bowland
I sell at a number of galleries in Canada and Coastal Maine.
Blog: http://islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.com/ and
http://www.fireballbeeds.com/daily.html
Tutorials or informational articles that you have written:
I have a couple of tuts in Glassline magazine and one in the Flow none of those are on line… However I also have a couple on my website here….
http://www.fireballbeeds.com/tutorials.html
Location:
I live on a Canadian island on the Western end of the Bay of Fundy… just off the Coast of Maine. It’s 10 miles by 3 miles and has a free 20 minute government ferry that runs from6 am to 10:30 pm… so one cannot stay out late and party! or you turn into a pumpkin.
What are your jewelry beginnings? Where did you start and how did youprogress to work you are creating today?
I took my first Handformed Metals class in about ’92 or ’93. I also took a blacksmith class about the same time. I actually volunteered in a forge on one of those ‘old town streets’ in Saskatchewan for about 4 years on Sundays once a month. My first true silvesmithing class was in about 1997. When I moved to NB (2001)I switched from doing predominantly fusing to beads … I found in the gallery that I ran summers that jewellery was the easiest thing to sell so … I developed skills to make my beads into saleable jewellery.
What are your favorite materials?
My beads, silver wire & silver beads.. I like forging would like to get more forged silver in my finished pieces.
What inspires you?
I’m on a nature kick right now… seascapes and flowers… When I did stained glass I did a lot of birds.
How do you describe your design style?
My fusing was called funky, but I’m not sure if I can claim funky as an adjective for my beads and jewellery.
What artists have influenced you, and how?
I saw some of Heather Trimlet’s beads in a display case before I started making beads… I think it was her beads that really made me want to do flameworking/lampworking. I really started doing the glass beads before there was much instructional material available so I claim to be self taught… I made wonky off center beads for about 5 years before I even saw another glass bead made by a north American glass artist. Living in the middle of nowhere to get to a class is very expensive. If I want to handpick my own class the nearest supply store is probably about a 17 hour drive (actually Boston would be closer but I don’t know what’s available there!)
What was your biggest art/craft related mistake?
I can’t think of any one thing… I know I had quite a few large fused pieces break… not always because of something that I did wrong.. most jewellery if it’s fugly can be taken apart without major monitary loss.
What advice would you give to an artist just starting out? What do youwish someone would have told you when you first started selling online?
I’m still not convinced that selling on line is a good idea. I sell 98% more through galleries than I do on line and even with the commissions to galleries I think it’s better money for the time invested!
How do you spend time when you are NOT creating?
Trying to keep upto date on the computer.. I run a seasonal gallery 3 months every summer 7 days a week… I read and I knit.. I also still do leaded glass comissions.
Where have you been published or profiled?
I’ve done articles for the Flow and Glassline. I’ve been featured numerous times in the Craft Factor a SK craft council publication… not sure if I’ve been featured in any blogs or not. The local paper The Courier did an article on me the year I opened the gallery here. I designed and made the awards for the World Junior Vollyball Championship in 1999. (picture on one of the awards is one of the pictures) the images I’m using are all on flickr.
Thanks Lynne!
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Jan
In a previous post, I provided a list of venues for artists, artistans and artisan crafters. This week I’m profiling another of those sites on my blog.
I asked Janice & Danielle, Proprietors of HandmadeFuZion to tell us a bit more about the venue.
What is the site name and where can artisan sellers find you?
Handmade FuZion can be found at http://handmadefuzion.com
http://handmadefusion.com/network
http://handmadefuzion.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/handmadefuzion
http://shophf.com
Tell us a little about your site’s history. What are its origins?
Handmade FuZion was created and developed by women who just happen to be blessed by being sisters. We have no intention of being like any other online venue, nor do we wish to compete with any of them. We believe that there is an abundance of talent as well as those seeking the workmanship and personal connection you get when buying from a handmade specialist. With years of knowledge, experience and selling our items online, at craft shows and at B&M shops, we have come to understand the needs of the artisan and also what we like to see as consumers.
We started research and development in 2005 and then we launched the beta version wwcrafters.com. There was much to learn and many modifications were needed to step up to the selling venue level we are at now with Handmade FuZion. We launched the site September 15, 2008. We combined the Social Networking aspects of Handmade FuZion because we realized that many artisans love to showcase, promote and express their talents to family, friends and peers. There are thousands of blogs, photo sites and other social networks out there, but Handmade FuZion’s Network is unique because it is a network designed specifically for the opportunity to be a part of an artist centered network!
Tell us about the site’s staff.
Janice-Proprietor
Danielle-Proprietor
Debra-Attorney
Jose-Selling Venue Developer & Programmer
Phillip-Network Programmer
Bert-Graphic Designer and 5 volunteer jury teams.
What is your plan for the site? What are your goals?
We plan to keep the site juried and never allow resellers of mass produced items in. Our goals are to keep our site respectful to the handmade community, to continue to grow and expand and to provide our artisans with the best tools that will enhance their online experience for their overall success. Advertising is at the top of our priority list and will be more aggressively advertising now that the bugs have been worked out.
Who is your target seller audience?
Anyone who creates an item with their own two hands, has good photos and excellent customer service is welcome to submit an application.
Who is your target buyer audience? How will you drive buyers to your venue?
Buyers are anyone who appreciates a handmade item. There’s a special feeling that comes from knowing what you purchased came from the caring hands of another thoughtful and talented individual. We are finding more and more people are choosing to purchase a handmade item for themselves and as gifts for others. Our artisans are so creative that you will find accessories to woodworking pieces and everything in between. We have been advertising on Project Wonderful, Google, Yahoo, Zines, Newspapers and on Jan 9th our first talk radio commercial will air.
Is this an international, domestic US, Far East or European focused site?
We wish to reach out to people worldwide. This is why we have currency converters right on site to aid them in their listings and sales. Talent has no boundaries and neither does Handmade FuZion.
What differentiates this venue from other online selling venues? Why should artisan sellers consider utilizing this site as a resource instead of other, older sites or their own sites?
First of all, we are a juried site. This helps keep resellers out and also keeps a cap on how many vendors are accepted for each category. This makes listing more gratifying and selling a much more pleasant experience because there are not thousands of one particular type of item. We have several features for our sellers such as a Newsletter, Vouchers, Discount Mode, Vacation Mode and a Network with which they can provide their buyers a special touch. We also submit every listing to Google Base, have RSS feeds and have a “Handmade-to-Go”, seller stats and an exclusive artisan interview page we will be rolling out early 2009. Our listing fees are very affordable and we choose to always keep it this way as we are artisans ourselves and know that the cost of doing business can sometimes take a big bite out of one’s profit.
Buyers coming into to the site can enjoy a simple and clean interface. They can also enjoy marking items and stores as favorites to make shopping easier. We have a keyword notification feature that allows a buyer to put in specific keywords of items they are searching for and when that item is listed they are notified via email immediately!
What else should we know?
We will continue to expand and find cutting-edge features, tools and networks to bring to our venue. Just a few mentions of handmadefuzion.
http://glasstastreasures.blogspot.com/2008/11/whats-so-great-about-handmade-fuzion.html
http://www.killerstartups.com/Site-Reviews/handmadefusion-com-shop-for-handmade-items
Stay tuned over the next weeks as I will be profiling more artisan handmade selling venues with interviews from the site owners. You can find this site’s traffic rank according to Alexa here
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Jan
It’s cold, dry and this January weather is making my skin suffer. It’s a perfect time to stock up on handmade soap, lotions, lip balm, etc.
Over the next weeks, I am going to profile several handmade bath and body studio owners from Artfire. There will be giveaways too. And by the way, handmade bath and body items make wonderful Valentine’s gifts for your significant other.
Teresa, from Smoky Mountain Scents is profiled today. Teresa is giving away a bar of Mayan Gold Soap to one lucky winner! Teresa says ”Mayan Gold is a luxurious fragrance is a mix of rare woods, spices and amber. It is considered an oriental fragrance with a very unique note: chocolate! Mayan Gold had gold mica glitter added to give it an elegant golden color. Glycerin is a natural moisturizer of skin and also animal and environmentally friendly!” To win, all you need to do is leave a comment containing your email address, after this post. We will randomly choose a lucky winner on Friday, January 23rd and contact them via the email address provided in the comment post. Good luck!
ArtFire shop name: Smokey Mountain Scents
Location: Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
Where else can we find you and your work?
Twitter : SmokeyMtnScents
http://www.smokeymountainscents.blogspot.com
www.flickr.com/photos/smokeymountainscents
Where did you start and how did you learn to make the products you are creating today?
One day while digging through old family heirlooms, I found a family bible with an old tattered recipe for “Soap”. I was so intrigued by it that I started surfing the net and purchased tons of books on soap making and natural bath and body products and the rest, as they say, is history.
What are your favorite scents?
oh, that changes pretty much weekly- there are so many wonderful scents that is hard to choose, but right now I would have to say its Pineapple Orchid.
What are your favorite products to make?
Soap- I LOVE making soap-any soap-cp (cold-process), hp (hot process), m&p (melt & pour), salt bars, complexions bars, shampoo bars. … I love making soap.
What one product should EVERYONE have on hand during the cold, dry winter months?
I would have to say there are two you should always have on hand in the dry winter months, because they work together so much better. Salt or Sugar Scrubs to exfoliate the dry skin so its easier for your Homemade Lotion to absorb into the skin to add the moisture.
What inspires you?
Dessert
What was your biggest handmade oops?
I’ve had too many of them to count. Once while trying a hot process method of soaping in a crock-pot- I thought it would take a lot longer to start bubbling, so I went about doing my other chores. About an hour later I walk back into the kitchen to check on my soap to find that it had creep out of the crockpot all over my counters , down my cabinets and in to the floor. Needless to say, I had really a really clean kitchen after that.
Why are handmade bath and body products better? Better than commercial?
Because we only put natural ingredients in our products. We don’t remove the good stuff-case in point-glycerin – a natural by-product of soap that is removed from commerical “soap” to make other things. In homemade soap the glycerin stays in the soap to help moisturize the skin. We rely on certain oil compositions to improve lather instead of adding a chemical.
How do you spend time when you are NOT creating?
When I’m not creating I’m a homeschooling mom of 2. My hobbies are gardening and reading.
Do you have a newsletter for potential customers to join? Where can they sign up?
Yes, I just started it and would love to have people sign up. You can find it on my blog smokeymountainscents.blogspot.com
Thanks Teresa! Stay tuned over the next weeks as I will be profiling more artisan handmade bath and body sellers from ArtFire, including giveaways from the studio owners.
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Jan
Patty from Happy Goat Soap offered a gift pack of three bars of soap to one lucky reader!
And the winner is: AbbaDabbaBags from AbbaDabbaBags on Etsy! Congratulations! We will contact the winner today!
Stay tuned over the next weeks as I will be profiling more artisan handmade bath and body sellers, including giveaways from the studio owners.
Don’t miss a single post.
Want to get the latest Simply Shiny post by feed burner? Click here
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Jan
It’s cold, dry and this January weather is making my skin suffer. It’s a perfect time to stock up on handmade soap, lotions, lip balm, etc.
Over the next weeks, I am going to profile several handmade bath and body studio owners from Artfire. There will be giveaways too. And by the way, handmade bath and body items make wonderful Valentine’s gifts for your significant other.
Today’s profile belongs to Rebecca from Rebecca’s Soap Delicatessen. Rebecca is giving away three very different bars of her handmade soap:
Falling for You Soap for Extra Dry Skin,
Mango Raspberry Ice Goat Milk Soap, and
All Natural Lavender & Vanilla Soap.
Also to celebrate the grand opening of my new Art Fire Studio, receive a free bar of Almond & Oatmeal Soap with your purchase of three or more bars. Just enter GRANDOPENING in the notes to seller at checkout to receive your free bar. Limit one free soap per order.
How to enter the giveaway: Simply visit Rebecca’s Soap Delicatessen (http://soapdeli.artfire.com) and pick your favorite item. Then leave a comment following this post letting her know what your favorite item is.
Contest is open to the US and Canada, 18 and up. Limit one entry per household. Contest ends January 31st.
Shop name: Rebecca’s Soap Delicatessen - Quality, cold processed soaps that smell like delicious favorites from the kitchen! My yummy scented soaps contain skin loving ingredients like shea butter, rice bran, coconut, and olive oils, and create a wonderfully, rich lather you can even shave with!
Name: Rebecca D. Dillon
Location: Roanoke, VA
Where else can we find you and your work?
Roanoke City Market
Blog : http://www.soapdelinews.com
http://www.twitter.com/soapdeli
http://www.flickr.com/photos/soapdeli
http://soapdeli.etsy.com
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?id=508081018
What inspired you to begin creating bath and body products? What inspires you now?
I started making soaps originally because I was buying so many handmade soaps! Regular commercial soaps make me itch and tend to break my skin out. Most handmade soaps don’t.
Now I make my soaps to make my living. I was and am still very inspired by scents.
Where did you start and how did you learn to make the products you are creating today?
I started by doing a lot of research online and buying the book, The Soapmaker’s Companion. From there it was just trial and error and gaining experience until I came up with my own recipes that I really like. There’s a lot that goes into cold process soapmaking so it definitely didn’t happen overnight!
What are your favorite scents?
Fruit scents mostly as I’m allergic to most florals. I love pomegranate, mango raspberry ice, and lemon verbena.
What are your favorite products to make?
Soap, of course. But my favorite soaps to make are always the new ones I’ve never tried before.
What one product should EVERYONE have on hand during the cold, dry winter months?
My Unscented Goat Milk Soap for extra dry skin. It’s gentle enough for everyone, even babies and children and can be used everywhere! Hands, body, face and hair.
What was your biggest handmade oops?
The very first time I made soap I didn’t realize I was supposed to weigh my oils and lye, not do a liquid measurement. I also tried making soap by hand rather than using a stick blender. It was a complete disaster and never fully traced. I had to throw away the entire batch. It was a very expensive mistake as it was an olive oil only recipe.
As a result I created a basic soapmaking tutorial.
http://soapdelinews.com/2008/01/08/lets-make-soap.aspx
Why are handmade bath and body products better?
Most, not all, handmade products are made with natural ingredients which are gentler on your skin. Therefore you don’t see a lot of the problems you do with commercial bath and body lines that are often made using cheap detergents that can irritate and dry out skin.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out selling bath and body online?
Specifically for bath and body – do your research. Selling a product that a person is going to be putting on their body isn’t a game. If a soap is lye heavy or your lotion causes a severe reaction on someone you are liable. Pay for liability insurance. If you’re sued, you don’t want to lose your house. Also, many of the larger craft shows require between 1 and 2 million in liability insurance. Also, be sure to label according to FDA guidelines.
How do you spend time when you are NOT creating?
Lots of computer time.
Reading.
Watching tv.
Selling on the City Market.
Occasionally we go out fine dining or shopping.
Housework.
I don’t get out very often except when I’m selling on the market as I struggle with agoraphobia. You can read my story about that on my blog http://www.soapdelinews.com in the About the Author section. http://soapdelinews.com/2008/02/01/about-the-author.aspx
Where can we find out about your shop and blog updates?
You can read all my updates along with crafts, recipes, interviews, and contests on my blog. You can subscribe to my blog and you’ll receive posts in your email without having to remember to visit the site.
What else should we know about you and your business?
Not every soap is the right soap for every person. When shopping for my soaps, be sure to shop by category to suit your skin type. For normal to dry > Fragrant/Unscented (Oily-Normal), Goat Milk (Normal-Dry), For Extra Dry Skin (Dry-Extra Dry).
Additionally I sell at the Roanoke City Market in Roanoke, VA year round. I list dates I’m going to be on the market on my blog.
Thanks Rebecca! Stay tuned over the next weeks as I will be profiling more artisan handmade bath and body sellers from ArtFire, including giveaways from the studio owners.
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