Life in Tee Harbor, Alaska

Making Soap

I haven't made alot of soap since the Christmas season...  I am back at it now and getting my stock up for the Spring craft shows.  It is hard when you are first starting out to know how much soap to make since you don't know how much you will be selling.  I spent time planning out what my ideal soap line would be and how many of each I want to have onhand.  I am aiming for at least 50 bars of 15 different kinds.  I have just 3 kinds left from the fall and not many bars total - which is good.  But I now am getting reorders and am not able to fill them!  So my aim is to be all stocked up and everything ready for sale by the end of February.  This includes the month they need to cure.  Wow, that gives me less 2 weeks to get it made. 

Two weeks ago I tried making a bigger batch - 5 times my normal one.  I had trouble getting it poured into the molds quick enough since I couldn't lift the pan well.  So I've changed my game plan.  I scaled the recipes in different sizes so I can choose how big of a batch I want to make.  I tried the one that fills 2 loafs and it worked good.  That will give me 32 bars for each batch and I can do 3 batches at a time to fill up all my molds.  This makes it more efficient in that I only have to setup and cleanup once.

Last night I made two goat's milk soaps: Oatmeal, Milk & Honey and Little House Lemon.  The lemon is a new recipe, so I anxious to see how it turns out!  The batch from a couple weeks ago was Lavender Dreams and I ended up with 3 loafs of that.  So I'm off to a good start.  Right now I am making a Pioneer Peppermint with Willamette Valley Peppermint essential oil which is new for me.  If I have enough time, I will be making a batch of dog soap too.  Need to figure out how to line or grease my PVC for those as they will be round soaps...  I'm thinking of using freezer paper like in my loaf molds.  I'll let you know what ends up working for that!

My Picture in Our Paper

A little free advertising for my soap business...  I'm the picture at the bottom.  How cool is that!!

Juneau Empire - Neighbors Page - Holiday Craft Fairs Galore

Juneau Public Market 2007

This was our first year displaying our soaps at the Public Market.  Our spot was at the Annex building, about a block from the main Centennial Hall.  It was open Friday noon to 8pm and Saturday 10am to 3pm - well almost 3pm, we actually had to be packed up and out by 3.  Rod was packing up as I was still selling soap.  The table arrangement could have been better too - there wasn't a good traffic flow.  Next year I will definitely apply for a space in Centennial Hall.  They are open Fri, Sat & Sun and I think more traffic goes thru there.  A table at the Annex was $100 and a cheap space in Centennial Hall is $198, but I think the longer hours and increased traffic would be worth it.

I had set a lofty goal of selling 200 bars.  I didn't quite reach it, but am happy with the 126 bars I did sell, plus 5 soap dishes and 2 gift baskets.  I was suprised that I did better on Friday than I did Saturday.  Best sellers were Alaskan Rainforest, Pioneer Peppermint, Oatmeal Milk & Honey, and Lavender Dreams.  Here is our table:

We have 2 more craft fairs before Christmas - all the soap is made and curing.  I will just have to wrap it.  I have taken next week off of work, so I'll have plenty of time!

Soap, Soap and more Soap!

I've been keeping quite busy with my soapmaking business - Homesteaders Cache.  I have done 3 shows this fall and am pretty happy with the sales so far.  I've had some repeat customers already which is fantastic and others who come back by my booth to tell me that they love my soap. 

I've read a couple ways to guage how your sales are going.  One is that you should aim to sell half of what you bring to a show.  The other is that your sales should be 10 times the entry fee.  I think both of these are reasonable goals.  You definitely want enough stock at all times that your table looks full and customers have a choice - so I rearrange my soaps often and restock during the slow times.  Creating activity by your table attracts customers too.  I make sure to greet everyone with a Hi or How are you today? which usually slows them down and they start smelling the soaps.  It has been pretty interesting discovering which scents are most popular.  There are some that I would say are love/hate scents - either they love it or they hate it.  One of these is patchouli - that earthy scent from the 60's, the other is lavender.  Some people ask for specific scents - almond, amber, mint, cinnamon, sage - which is great for ideas for new soaps.

This Friday and Saturday I have a space at the Public Market Annex.  The Public Market is a big shopping event and lots of people show up for it every year.  I'm usually a shopper, so this will be my first year as a vendor.  I hope I have enough stock - I just counted the up and I have 270 bars.  I will have some cute gift baskets with a soap, soap dish, body scrubber/poof in an enamelware bowl that says Soaps.  I'm going to set up my table in the living room tonight and get things arranged since my space is 8' x 5' ($100 fee).  I'll only have one table, but want to bring mine since it is rigged up to hang my Handmade Soaps sign from.  My table is only 6' long.  I think I can make everything fit on there nicely.  I'll post a picture later and you can tell me what you think.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

My Craft Business - New Soaps and Soap Dishes

Thank you for all the great compliments and suggestions you've given on my first craft fair!  It has been alot of fun starting up my soap business.  I think it is so cool to be able to use many of my talents and experience - creativity in making the products, website development, research, and accounting.  I would say the part I'm least comfortable with is the selling part, but hopefully I'll have lots of practice and get better as I go along.  My least favorite class in college was speech - in fact I only made it through the first day and then dropped it!  It has always been a dream of mine to be able to work from home, so maybe in time my little side business will develop into something that could bring in enough money to make that happen.  Until then, it's off to work I go  :o)

I've added a couple items to my website - 2 more soaps and a soap dish.  The new soaps are Lavender Dreams and Energizing Citrus.  The soap dishes are handmade by my brother in Oregon and he really did a great job.  Helps to have a carpenter in the family! 

First Craft Show....

I would consider my first craft show a success!  I sold 69 bars of soap and 12 soap dishes - 45% of my stock.  Pretty good for my first weekend!  Here is what my table looked like:

I was so nervous Saturday morning, but after the show started I was okay.  I met many other crafters which was neat.  They are all really nice and look out for each other.  Out of 17 other tables, 3 had soap.  Two of them were glycerin soaps, the other was cold processed like mine, but she doesn't do all natural.  The lady who does the cold processed owns a store in town and asked if I sell my soap wholesale.  She sells other peoples products in her store and has people ask for all natural soaps.  So we will see how that pans out - that would be cool! 

My best sellers were:
1.  Energizing Citrus - Sweet orange essential oil with poppy seeds
2.  (tied)  Oatmeal Milk & Honey - Ground oats, goat milk, and real honey
2.  (tied)  Lavender Dreams - Lavender buds, lavender, patchouli and rosemary essential oils
3.  Kitchen Soap - made with coffee to help remove garlic, onion, and fish smells from your hands

The other crafters said that there were fewer people than normal and especially on Sunday when the weather was crummy.  As we get closer to Christmas, I'm sure there will be more people out and about.  I have my next show in two weeks at the Nugget Mall, so it will be interesting to see if there is more traffic at that mall.  I'll be busy every night this week making more soap for the Public Market show after Thanksgiving.  Since the first show went well, I'm just going for it now  :o)

Getting Ready for Craft Show

Here I am with my setup that I will have at the craft show this weekend.  My friend came over and helped me get things figured out on how to display my soaps and soap dishes. 

Rod will help me figure out how to mount the sign to the table so it is secure.  The table covering will go down to the floor in the front and back and will be hemmed all the way around.  The soaps will fill the baskets - I still have 6 kinds to label.  The basket and canister on the crate in the middle is for a giveaway - people will fill out a slip of paper with their info so I can add them to my email list and they will have a chance to win the gift basket which I will fill with 2 soaps and a soap dish and wrap up nicely.  My friend helped me make a list of things that I need to accomplish this week:

 - Print up price sign - $5 per item, buy 4 and get 1 item free
 - Print up brochures and attach some sort of holder to the end of the crates for the brochures
 - Print business cards - will go in small basket in middle of table
 - Buy more excelsior to fill baskets
 - Make sign for giveaway and sign up slips
 - Sand and finish soap dishes
 - Get change and figure out a money container
 - Print stickers to put on bags - stuff bags with business card & brochure
 - Wrap some free samples (small soap) to give out to those who make a purchase - will give them a different soap than they purchase.

I will work on a few things per day until it is done.  Yesterday I printed the business cards, finished the soap dishes and bought the basket filler.  We will see what I can cross off the list tonight! 


Homesteaders Cache

First Soap Order on my Website!

I just posted last night that my website is ready to take orders - and when I checked it this morning I already had an order.  That is so cool!!  I sent her order off today.  If you haven't seen my new website - have a look:  Homesteaders Cache (www.homesteaderscache.com).  Let me know what you think!

My first craft show is next Saturday and Sunday at one of our local malls - Mendenhall Mall.  A friend from work is going to come over this weekend and help me set up and organize my table - that way I'll know if I'm missing anything and how things are going to look.  I bought some wood letters the other day at JoAnns to spell out Handmade Soap, so I think I'll paint those tonight and get to thinking how to hang them from the table.

I'll be making bread tonight and Potato Soup w/bacon for dinner - yum!  I'm going to use a bunch of the little potatoes from the garden.

Have a good night!

Natural Handmade Soaps...

...are now for sale!  My website is up and ready for you to check out.  Let me know what you think - Homesteaders Cache.  As of tonight, I have three soaps ready for sale.  More will be added as their curing time is completed.

Handmade soap is so wonderful!  I tried my first bar over a year ago now - it was a Rosemary Shampoo Bar from Crystal's Country Store.  Rod and I both loved it so much.  Since then, Crystal took the time to post on her website how to make soap.  I tried a batch and was hooked!  I have read lots of website and books, finding as much information as possible about the kind of soap I make - cold-processed soap made with natural oils and fats, colored only with natural colorants, scented with essential oils (our 100% natural soaps) or scented with fragrance oils (our 95% natural soaps).  I add all sorts of herbs, seeds, clays, teas, etc. to make each soap unique.  I've learned about how to write my own soap recipes and what properties each different oil contributes to the final soap product.  It's been alot of fun!  My first craft show is next weekend - Oct 20 & 21.  I am really excited and hope things go well.  I've been giving friends samples and getting positive feedback.

If you haven't tried handmade soap before, you should treat yourself.  Find a local source and support your local economy - or make it yourself!

New Business - Need Website Advice

I haven't made an entry in about forever!  Recently, I've been working on starting a new business - Homesteaders Cache - making natural, handmade soaps.  I'll be selling them at a few craft fairs this fall to see how things go and if there is a market for them here in town.  I also am starting a website so I can sell them from there as well.  I would love some recommendations or advice on which hosting service you would use - looking for something that has a shopping cart and that isn't too expensive.

Stay tuned for updates - I'll post pictures of my soaps and link to my site when it is up!

Quilting Projects

I've been sewing up a storm lately.  I really wanted to see how many projects I could complete and if it would be enough to have a table at the next craft fair which is coming up March 17 & 18.  I don't think I'll have enough by then, so I'll look into the next one... 

I finished the baby quilt I was working on and the mini one that matches.  I am happy with how it turned out.  It was machine pieced and machine quilted - in the ditch and a grid in the purple print area.  The backing is flannel.  I hand sewed the binding as I have no luck with the machine and actually prefer how it looks when it is done by hand.

Next, I pulled out an unfinished project I started 3 years ago.  I quilted it with a grid pattern and tried a free motion pattern in the border.  I wasn't happy with how the back of the stitches came out.  Upon some more reading, I think I was trying to move the fabric too fast.  So this one will be mine for the wall - looks really good in our living room anyway.

Next, I sewed up a table runner.  I used high quality fabrics from the quilting store for this one and had fun mixing patterns.  This one was also machine quilted - quilt in the ditch and then some grid quilting to enhance the shapes.  I just love the rich, buttery yellow in this one!

My latest project is a lap sized log cabin quilt.  I finished up sewing the blocks together today and sewed on the borders.  I need to decide what kind of material to use for the backing.  I'm thinking of using one of the calicos on the back, so that it will be reversible but it will add to the price.  Using muslin would be cheaper, but I'm not sure that is the "right" thing to use...  Here it is laid out on my bed - which is queen sized by the way.  I think this one would fit perfectly on a twin bed - with plenty of overhang.  Need to decide on the quilting design for this one - might try the freehand again.

I'm trying to learn about quality fabric - is anything that I can get at Joann's at a decent price considered quality?  All the fabric at the quilt store is $9 or $10/yd.  I want the use high quality fabrics in my projects, but maybe I can find a cheaper price somewhere...  I've decided to price my projects by the cost of the materials (retail) plus my labor.  I haven't decided on an hourly rate - I would like to make $10 per hour, but at this point I'm spending so much time on a project that they would be very expensive.  My tablerunner took me almost 10 hours to complete, plus materials of $22.  So at $10 per hour, the price would be $122.  Either I have to get quicker, or charge less per hour.  Lots of things to think about...

Awesome Birthday Present - Soap Molds

My brother is so talented!!  I sent him an idea of what I wanted for my birthday - a picture of a couple wooden soap molds that I saw on a website.  A couple days later a package arrived and when I opened it I was so excited!  He had made me both the 2 pound and the 5 pound sizes!  Wow!  They are so cool!  Can you tell I'm excited?    I can't wait to try them out....

Hoping to Sell at Craft Fair

It has been a long time since I've sold things at a craft fair - 10 years or more.  Well, I've been thinking alot about doing it again.  The other day I saw that the Nugget Mall will be having a craft fair on March 17 & 18.  So yesterday I decided that I would do some quilting and see how many items I can complete in the next couple weeks and if all goes well, I will sign up for a table.  I pieced together the top of a baby quilt (41" x 41") and need to add borders, back and quilt.  This morning I took the scraps and made a mini one (10" x 10") just like the bigger one - it also is just the pieced part right now - needs borders, backing and quilting.  But isn't it cute?

Do any of you sell quilts or crafts?  I'm looking for a little guidance on how to price items fairly...

Fabric Shopping

Sewing My First Skirt and Teaching a Kid to Sew

I was inspired last Friday to try making myself a skirt.  On my lunch hour, I went shopping at JoAnns for some appropriate fabric.  I fell in love with a black courderoy with a cool embroidered design at the bottom - pink/tan with sequins.  Very fancy!

I bought a pattern awhile back for skirts and used one that looked pretty simple.  It has a waistband piece and the skirt piece with elastic around the waist.  I was really excited to start when I got home on Friday.  I layed out the pattern on the fabric and got the pieces cut.  I got the waistband made with the pocket for the elastic.  I sewed the edges of the skirt at the sides and basted the top where there are gathers and it joins with the waistband.  It got late, so I finished it up on Saturday.  Sewed the skirt to the waistband, evening out the gathers as I went along.  Then I sewed the hem.  That wasn't too bad - all done!  It came out pretty stiff because of the fabric I choose, but hey it is only my first one!

I had also purchased some brown, soft microsuede at JoAnns (50% off like the courderoy!), so I wanted to try another skirt style.  I need something not so bulky around my waist, did some searching and found a simple gored skirt that sounded like what I needed.  Tonight I layed it out, cut the pieces, and sewed it up all in just a few hours.  It drapes much better than the other one does and I can't wait to wash it and wear it!  Here is the pattern that I used:  http://home.aol.com/lclacemker/goreskirt1.html

I also taught my niece Karissa to use my sewing machine this weekend (I have a Bernina Virtuosa 153). 

She has asked many times if I would teach her.  I saw on Crystal's website where she made a simple dress using a t-shirt (http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/tshirtdress.html).  This sounded like a fun project for us to try.  She picked out some fabric that she liked - navy blue, silky fabric with silver sparkly swirls.  I bought her a white shirt with silver sparklies to use instead of the t-shirt.  We practiced on scrap fabric - how to lift and lower the presser foot, how to use the peddal, what buttons do what.  She did so well!  Then I showed her how to change the stitch type.  Within an hour she was practicing all by herself!  I ended up doing most of the sewing on the dress because the fabric was so slippery, but she had fun anyway.  And she loves her dress!  She couldn't quit twirling around. 

I had a great time and it feels so good to be able to pass on the skills.  It made me think back to when I learned how to sew from our neighbor lady, June.  My mom also taught me on the machine, but June's machine had all the cool different stitches!

I Finished My Knit Hat - Picture

I took a little over 2 weeks to finish, working after work and on the weekend.  It turned out really good - and expanded my knitting abilities with all the cables!  What do you think?

I couldn't wait to get to the top to see how it got finished off.  I think the spiral look is so cool - can you see it?

It is so warm, and just in time since it has been quite cold the last couple weeks and we have snow on the ground now.  I can hardly believe I stuck it out, followed through and finished a project - yeah!!  So now I am deciding if I can keep my interest up long enough to work on a sweater - I just received a pattern book I ordered called Big Girl Knits.  I read it over last night and it has great tips on picking the right style for your body.  The hardest part will be picking which one to try!

Knitting & Crochet Projects

I'm working on this cable knit wool hat for myself.  This is my first try at the cable stitch and this hat has all sorts!  I've been working on it for a week now - it is slow going.  I'm just about half way done - then I will join the length into a tube and make the top.  My yarn is pretty fuzzy so the pattern isn't as defined as the hat in the instructions.

I'm the sort of person who loses interest quickly if I don't see significant progress.  So I decided to work on some Christmas presents for my nieces and nephew.  And why not try some scarves and hats!  So I picked up some yarn which was on sale at JoAnns and a big crochet hook and whipped out this scarf and hat for Jillian - all in a couple hours on Friday night!  Now that is progress - with the big, soft yarn and the big hook it went so fast!  I did the trim in Fun Fur - I think it turned out pretty cute!  And I actually might get them all done by Christmas - hopefully my hat will be done too...