Our most valuable part of the business is our customers. Without you we would not be! And i love that we have an ongoing dialog, whether in person, online, or through our newsletters. You provide some of the most amazing answers to questions we raise. And sometimes you give us gifts of fabulous ideas that meet a need, answer a problem or provide some comic relief. Here are some of the amazing ideas and comments you told us about that has made an impact on us:
- Shaving soap – the first request for shave soap came from an older African American guy that spent a long time telling us about the difficulty he had with shaving. Store bought products were harsh, causing skin irritation, rashes and discomfort. He told us about a soap his dad used to buy that was wonderful. Turns out that bentonite clay was the answer – allowing for a slick surface for the razor to glide over, and drawing toxins from the skin. We have been making shave soap since 2011 and have a big following.
- I can help you improve lather of your shave soap – A chemist visited us at an art fair and told us about two simple ingredients that when added to the soap would make the lather stabilize and be thicker. He had purchased a bar of our shave soap and loved it but wanted the lather to be thicker and last longer. Steve reformulated the shave soap recipes with this suggestion and wow – we have been getting rave reviews.
- Local shops to carry our products – As a result of a recent email newsletter i asked you if you knew of any local shops you could recommend to me to position our products in. A sweet customer told us of a handcrafted shop in Strongsville’s South Park Mall known as Blended. We went through the jury process, and we now have a small display in that shop. Would have never known about it because i dont often shop the malls. That said, if you know of local shops that you think might be a good fit for our products we are always looking for suggestions. Send me an email.
- Soap made from persimmon extract – A fellow artist told us about the amazing qualities of persimmon in soap and suggested we make the soap for her. Persimmon removes that musty gusty smell we tend to develop as we age. But what to call it? That answer came from the son in law of an old friend. We were sitting on the porch of a bed and breakfast at Lakeside Chataqua and he had a ton of questions about our business. There was a lull, everyone quietly rocking on the Amish rockers when he blurted out “I know why you make soap – its cuz you stink!” The rest of the people on the porch howled… we looked at each other and realized he gave us the name for the soap. While its funny, people initially buy it with a joke in mind, then they come back and reorder because they love the soap.
- What do you have to help with Acne? When we worked with teens we heard that come up often. Steve and i spent lots of time researching soap and acne… and the ingredient that kept coming up was French Green Clay, or Sea Clay. When added to a soap formula it lathers well, but the clay absorbs excessive oil, and neutralizes the ph on skin. We made our first batch, and asked the teens to try it…. and they were finding it helped reduce the break outs. (Ofcourse i think it was also moms correcting bad eating habits too!!) French green clay facial bar is a best selling soap on our website.
- Can you make a shampoo bar? Our customers have been asking for shampoo for quite some time. And i have to be honest in telling you that we made an attempt years ago, thinking we had to create a bottled liquid shampoo. it was an epic fail. But after a lot of research, and testing Steve developed two variety of shampoo bars and we began using them. Rosemary Peppermint and Clary Sage Chamomile are both for normal hair. Feedback on the shampoo bars have been favorable.
- Have you thought about wrapping your soap with deli wrap paper? We originally were using rolls of wax paper to wrap our soap when a dear friend suggested the deli wraps. It worked. The wrap allows the scent of the soap through, while gently wrapping the soap keeps it sanitary and fresh.
I could keep on going with the suggestions and feedback we have received, but I want to keep this post brief. Thank you for your direction, ideas, suggestions and encouragement. We really appreciate you!!!!