Drowning in Paperwork...

As some of you will no doubt know, us soapers have mountains of paperwork to complete each time we think up a new handmade cosmetic recipie or indeed, just make a batch of bathing products. With the fast approaching shop opening I thought it would be a good idea to streamline my operations a bit. Which I have done! But the changeover is immense. Instead of a traditional Product Information File with a one line entry for each item I make, I'm making a seperate PIF for each recipe. It might sound a longer way round to do things (it certainly is to set up) but once in place it will save so much time. It's just getting it done... 6 down, 200+ to do. *sigh*

Amongst all of this I have products to make, not least my Bath Truffles. I never anticipated them being so popular but I'm pleased they are cos they are just so darned gorgeous :) Best seller of the lot? Flower Power Bath Truffle. Pretty and divinely scented! (pictured). Close second is the Pink Bling Bath Truffle which isn't surprising, it's a glitter-ball of loveliness! They are absolutely flying out of or wholesale site, www.wholesale.thesoapycauldron.co.uk

Right, enough wittering from me, the bicarb is calling me...
The Soapy Cauldronx

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Busy Bee...

Flower Power Bath Truffles

Busy Busy Busy as always! Kids, house, soap... Just taking a few moments to centre myself so I thought I'd write a new entry :)

Well, plans for the shop are moving on, the original one was one problem after another so I decided to bail before it got too far down the line. I've found a new one, smaller but of course, cheaper! If I have my way we'll be in a bigger place in a year! New staff too, so lots of training and new stuff for me to learn as well. Sometimes I think I need 1,000 arms like the great goddess Kali. Though maybe not as bloodthirsty.

The Wholesale site is going from strength to strength, and considering it's only been going 5 months it's showing great promise. I've recently uploaded the Bath Truffles and boy are they a hit! I'm trying to slot in some time to make new varieties, but as always, it's proving a challenge. www.wholesale.thesoapycauldron.co.uk

Well, that's my tea drank and toast eaten, back to it!

Have a great weekend everyone xx

Wholesale, Retail and Multi-tasking...

It's no big secret, I'm a WAHM! As I sit here writing this I have a baby on my lap determined to get the keyboard, my trusty bath bomb maker working away in the background (gods bless you Karen, you're a star!) and a to-do list that would make Anneka Rice weep. But it's all fun really and thats why I love my job!

Since we re-opened on new years day the orders have been rolling in steadily which is encouraging as I am now seriously looking in to opening up a shop. Yes, thats right, The Soapy Cauldron is hitting the high street sometime soon. How exciting! I shall omit the nerves and worry... Anyway, orders. Our wholesale site, www.wholesale.thesoapycauldron.co.uk is going great guns, and considering it's only been running since october (so Google, Yahoo etc are barely registering it) it's doing very well. With enquiries from all over europe this could see us really busy and further facilitate the opening of our shop! Happy days.

We've recently taken on Party Plan consultants in Morecambe, Inverness and Motherwell in addition to our Bristol and Sussex coast presence and I am about to reveal the new brochure for Spring/Summer 2010. I'm also busy expanding the range of soap cakes we offer, thy are so popular it seems silly not to, so look out for Bannoffee, raspberry cheesecake and pineapple upside down cake. Theres never a dull moment here...

Anyway, back to it. Have a great day everyone xx

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...