It's Spring

Spring sprung, and continues to spring. I suppose I'm a bit late on making a post about spring. Nettles are already beginning to make their seeds. The alders all have their leaves, and hundreds, thousands, of other life-bearing events have taken place since we began our tilt towards the sun, and the earth here began to make her exhalation outward. I took this photo of a wild foxglove over two months ago, now. And of the oregon grape below it, a month and a half ago, when it was budding.

Farmer's market season has also begun, which means I have lots of new kinds of soap ready for use. More description is available in The Soap Shop tab above.

Citrus Rose

Basil Wintergreen

 Clary Sage Licorice

Lavender, Patchouli & Orange

Orange Spice Scrub

 Rosemary Eucalyptus

 Unscented

New soap flavor!

Ylang Ylang Bergamot

Check it out in 'The Soap Shop' tab above

Even newer look

You know when I said everything is constantly evolving around here? Well, overnight, I came up with what I think will be the final edition of soap labels for 2013. Here is what you really will be seeing in the mail, and hopefully on store shelves soon.

A New Year, A New Look

Happy 2013 everyone! I hope the new year is bringing you new openings, fresh beginnings, deeper insights and happy continuations.

I have been busy working on a new vertical label, and coming up with new essential oil blends for some new soaps. Everything is constantly evolving around here! Check out the few new ones in the 'Soap Shop' tab above, including 'Mountain Morning' which is one of my favorites, and has received some "Smells awesome!" and "Amazing smell," critiques so far, and is also super creamy and gentle, and will leave your skin clean and soft.

   new soaps available in the soap shop!

*located in the 'Soap Shop' tab above

Recipes & Formulas

A little peek into my soapmaking notebook, where I scribble down recipes and keep notes, working on getting the numbers balanced so the result is a gentle, long-lasting, cleansing bar of soap. Different oils have different properties, such as different kinds of fatty acids, which act differently and have different effects in the soap bar and on the skin. Lots of differences to learn about!

Fair Trade Shea Butter

I'm really excited to have just found this fair trade shea butter supplier out of a local company in Olympia, WA (though of course, the butter is from Africa). I am formulating a Lavender Shea soap(!) to include shea butter, so I started researching the ethics of shea butter, and came across their website. You may have already seen their products in your grocery store or co-op-- 'Everyday Shea' shampoo is one that's in my shower right now!

If you'd like to know more about shea butter, please check out their website, where I am hoping to make an order soon to include in my soap recipes.

Beautiful photos of shea butter block and shea butter-in-the-making courtesy
 http://www.agbangakarite.com