Catchup and news!

Well! It's been absolutely ages since I last posted so, here is the news...

Its been almost 3 years since we opened the shop in Hove, and it has been an amazing period of tranformation for us. We are now running workshops and kids birthday parties, the wholesale site has kicked off massively. We've just taken delivery of 1.3 tonnes of dry ingredients for bath bombs which is an astonishing amount.

Probably the biggest change for us is that we are moving to larger premises at the end of April. We will be moving in to Bizspace in Hove which is ideal for our needs. The lady that runs it is an absolute sweetheart which is also a bonus! Best bit? More workshops, more birthdays, more new products!

Massive massive news for the cosmetics industry is that there is now, as of yesterday, a complete and total ban on Animal Testing within the EU. At last!! Its only taken 20 years... So what does it mean? Well, it means that any NEW product that has been tested on animals, or any ingredient or combination of ingredients that has been tested on animals since the 11th March 2013 is banned within the EU. They wont even be allowed to advertise it. Lets not forget that there will always be a heritage of animal testing within the cosmetics industry, and even the most innocent of products and ingredients will probably have been tested in the distant past, but the important thing is that it has stopped. Of course, one hopes that the rest of the world will follow suit, but only time will tell. So hooray to all of the people that campaigned, fought and begged for this to happen, and we pay tribute to all the poor animals that suffered and died so that we could look a little less rough and smell a little sweeter. Seems so pointless in comparison :(

More news soon, and pictures of the new home of The Cauldron xx
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What happened...?

...it's suddenly gone manic here. I've snatched 5 minutes to blog and then it's nose back to the cauldron. Not selling much soap but bath bombs? O.M.Gosh. My supplier must equally be scratching their heads about the amount of Bicarb and Citric Acid I've purchased over the last fortnight too! If anyone came over that didn't know what I did, all they would see is white powder everywhere he he heee...

So what are the big sellers? Laa-di-Lavendaaar is a good'un as always, consistently brilliant! Not surprised really, there's something about unadulterated Lavender that is addictive. Love is in the air- Patchouli and Rose- is also going well mostly because it's so pretty I'd guess, either that or we are in the midst of a silent patchouli revival. Either way I'm happy. Oh, and Big Softie (formerly Honey and Oatmeal) is enjoying a spell of poularity too. Happy days.

Well I guess I should get back to it, only another 250 bath bombs to make and I can go to bed. Who said working for yourself gives you greater freedom?

Bath Salts? You're Not Convinced?

We make Dead Sea Bath Salts here and The Soapy Cauldron and we sell them by the bucketload, quite literally sometimes. But people are often seen peering suspiciously at the jars as if to say 'But it's just Salt'. Well, yes, but it's not just any old salt- it's salt from the Dead Sea in Israel and that makes it very special indeed.

Dead Sea Salt is packed with minerals such as Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Bromine and Zinc to name a few- and these have benefits for your skin. People with psoriasis and excema swear by them, in fact my better half uses them and says much the same- he has psoriasis on his elbows. In fact, University of Kiel's Department of Dermatology in Germany found that Dead Sea Salt even improved the skins barrier functions. That's how good it is.

So we take the raw Salt and we colour it, fragrance it and, if the recipe requires, add botanicals to it. We also add a magickal ingredient- Epsom Salt. This stuff is great! It softens your skin, lends a velvety feel to the water (honestly, you have to try it to believe it) and soothes beautifully. Salt has been used for millenia as an additive to water to make it more gorgeous, and for purely cosmetic reasons- add enough and it takes longer for your skin to go wrinky!

So the moral of this blog? Try some and you won't be disappointed...

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Body Scrubs in winter...?

Yep, especially in winter! We sell them by the bucketload here. Our scrubs are the brilliant Salt and Oil kind, designed to not only scrub and polish your skin so it feels invigorated and tingly, but also to leave you perfectly moisturised all over. We're not kidding, we've been told that our body scrubs are better than many of the well-known luxury brands out there...

I first made a body scrub almost 4 years ago. The recipe hasn't changed much since then except to offer an alternative oil to those that needed it- so we do scrubs with Grapeseed oil and (pomace) Olive Oil in place of our favourite Sweet Almond Oil. Just ask :)

The range of fragrances is staggering. Literally anything you want, I can make! I got asked to make Cherry and Ylang Ylang a few Christmasses ago and I was sceptical that it would work but by Jove, we're still selling the fragrance blend today. So yes, it did work!

I'm working on a new, top-secret addition to the Body Scrub range, and as soom as I've perfected it I'll let you all in on it. But suffice to say, it's flippin' good...

Getting busy now!

Wow, what a start to the week we've had! More parties booked and a request for bath melts. Hmm, I still haven't got the hang of those yet, I shall have to find time to hone my technique. Or even find one...

I made LOADS of Shower Soap yesterday, I've stacked it all up and it looks so pretty I shall have to take a picture. The blue of the Wicked Wakeup next to the pink of Hippy Rose and white Paradise by the Shower Screen... luscious! I sense a new category picture coming up.

The other thing I'm toying with are Bath Teas. I have all the ingredients here, I just have to gt round to making them. Plus I have a postal run to do at some point.

I'm sure I left a baby round here somewhere...

I love my job... but...

Okay, here's the deal. I love what I do. I love the fact that not only do I make wicked (IMO) soaps and stuff but that I get paid to do it and that people come back for more. I love the fact that the stuff I make has enabled other people to profit, be it wholesale or consultancy/party plan. And I LOVE the fact that soap paid my council tax this year. Nothin' but love.

But.

Why do people assume that because you work from home you are available for them at their every whim? For example- I have in excess of 160 bath bombs to make today. In fact I've made over 100 already (go me), but already the requests are rolling in! ARGHH! People, I love that you want me to help you but I'm one person. I haven't yet figured out the whole cloning thing (must watch Duplicity again) so if I say I'm working then I really really am.

Anyway! I'm making up a huge box of samples for a customer that wants to stock our stuff to the exclusion of all others- how very exciting! Now all I need is a decent camera to take pictures with. The last one died an untimely death, something about bath bomb mix in the zoom lens... I dunno... Not me guv 0:)