My Maine Today...

Pictures left to right ~ Bleeding Hearts just love Maine weather, especially in May. Usually cool and rainy, they thrive up here. Wolfe Neck Farms offers camping, hiking, educational classes and grass fed beef. Birch Bark, what nice texture! Pretty flowers lead the way to the shore of Freeport.

Went for a nice walk today with The Captain. We usually head out for a hike on local Bradbury Mountain, or a nice walk in the woods and shore at Wolfe Neck Farms a few times a week. So lucky that these beautiful places are so close to us...

Casco Bay Soap On Facebook

Casco Bay Soap Co. now has a Face Book page. Join if you would like, become a fan and get updates often.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Freeport-MAINE/Casco-Bay-Soap-Co/111673231116?ref=nf

Lilac Soap Available

Lilac soap is now available at market. Northeast gardeners know this beautiful flower as a sure sign that summer is well on it's way.

My Lilac soap is lightly scented and smells remarkably like the flowers you can find in New England in shades of purple and white.

A limited edition soap, pick up a bar or two soon, it won't last long.

My Market Set Up

Sorry I haven't written much, between the markets opening (up to 3 a week now) my day job and getting the house/garden/boat/yard ready for summer, I have been a bit busy.

Here is my set up at market. You can see that I have used my space to the maximum, I set up 2 tables on either side of the tent with projects. I have a "check out" table at the head of the tent. You can see my new banner, which I just love, over the "check out" table. I also use my chalk board sign when possible (I don't want to block my neighbors table/booth) to attract attention.

It is going well! I am very happy to see returning customers and old friends at the market and to meet new folks coming out for the first time.

Opening Day In Freeport On Friday...

It will be opening day in Freeport on Friday. I do hope you all can make it. This is sure to be one of the most exciting markets. We have the added benefit of tourist with to the great local support at this market.

I am labeling more soaps today and will have plenty of the old favorites as well as a special seasonal soap, Lilac! The Lilacs are just blooming here in the Northeast and it are just beautiful.

Freeport Farmers Market, 2-6, Main St. @ the Town Hall Offices. Hope to see you there!

Mechanic Scrub

Captain came in the other day from working on one of his little projects and was covered to the elbows in automobile grease. I promptly gave him a bar of my Mechanics Scrub. he rubbed it directly on the grease and the combo. of my soap recipe and the addition of lots of fine ground pumice got that grease off lickity split. He was super impressed and very happy to not have to use the commercial chemical soap to remove grease.

Gardeners Scrub

I have a fantastic soap for the gardeners out there. It's that time of year where you start putting your hands in the dirt and planting those seedlings. My Gardeners Scrub is my 100% vegetable soap recipe, with a bright fresh Lemon Verbena fragrance. Olive Oils and Shea Butter will help nourish dry, overworked hands. White cornmeal and poppy seeds add extra scrubbing power to help with the dirt and grit.

Find my Gardeners Scrub at the Farmers Market and here, on my website:

http://cascobaysoap.com/gardenersscrub.html

Goat Milk Soap

(No, this isn't me, sigh. Maybe someday I will have my own goats though)!

I make a Goat Milk soap that is simply a variation of my 100% vegetable oil soap recipe. I add Goat Milk to my secret recipe and leave the soap unscented. you can smell the creaminess from the Goat Milk and the richness of the oils.

Goat Milk is all the rage right now. Popular as cheese, yogurt, and appearing in many bath & body products. Goat Milk is rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals. Milk of all kinds has been known to rejuvenate and moisturize the skin.

Find my goat Milk soap at the market in my specialty soap section. Also find it here on my website:

http://cascobaysoap.com/goat-milk--unscented.html

Rhubarb Is Ready In My Garden!

My husband (remember we are going to call him Captain) loves rhubarb. We had 2 large plants growing in our side yard. Last week I looked and they were very small, I thought I had a few weeks left of waiting. But just yesterday Captain said that the Rhubarb is getting big! Wow, what a couple of days of off and on rain and sun can do for a plant. It has sprung up enough that I am going to pick some and make a special surprise desert for Captain tonight.

I choose Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp thanks to Emeril on Food network.com. I am planning on cutting the recipe in half because it is just the two of us and i have these cute little pie tins I want to use. I plan on making 4 little strawberry Rhubarb Crisps. I even have real whipped cream in the fridge I can whip up with a bit of sugar and vanilla. The Captain is going to be very surprised, and happy.

I love cooking or baking with what is in season, and even more so with what is growing my own backyard. I plan on purchasing some Fiddleheads from the Farmers market tomorrow, to add to dinner tomorrow tonight. I encourage you to grow your own food or visit your local Farmers market and enjoy what is local to you.

Here is the recipe if you would like to try it yourself:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/rhubarb-strawberry-crisp-recipe/index.html

Saturdays Market...

Here is a picture of the Saturday market in Cumberland. No customers yet, this picture was taken as vendors were setting up. I was on the end, so I am standing outside my tent and shooting down the market. I'll tell you a secret. I like to be on the end. Three reasons: I can greet the customers as they enter the market, keep track of the amount of customers that are coming to market (I keep a tally) and customers can catch me coming and going (2 chances for them to stop in and see what I have to offer). There was another vendor that showed up next to the tent of the left, he got lost coming to market and was a bit late. The market also turns the corner at the end, to the left. It was a great opening day for us in Cumberland.

The weather was beautiful and the customers came out to welcome us. We had about 15 vendors participate, that is not even half of the group. Many are farmers and are waiting for their veggies to come in, others have children in school and just can not commit to the market this time of year (family is very important to us all) and others had plans for the Mothers Day weekend. But 15 vendors, as you can see, creates a great market and it is only going to get bigger and better.

I sold lots of soap and many customers were really excited to learn more about all the new specialty soaps I had created over the winter. I enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air, chatting with my fellow vendors and dreaming up even more soap ideas.

Thanks everyone for your support, it is great seeing you at the market!

The 3/50 Project

This is the 3/50 project. It is all about keeping your money local, supporting your local businesses and independent business owners. That includes your local Farmer and Farmers Markets.

If you would take a minute to think of 3 of your favorite local business and how much you would miss them if they were gone. Take some time out of your day to visit them, say hello and buy a little something.

If just half of the employed US population spent just $50.00 per month at a local, independently owned store, approximate $42,629,000.00 in funds would trade hands in our very own local economy.

You can make a difference.

The 3/50 Project link:
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=84822800946&h=rWL_e&u=fohmM&ref=nf

Great Opening Day

I had a great opening day in Falmouth on Wednesday. Two of my friends stopped by, I chatted with my fellow vendors and brought in some new customers. Of course, I forgot to bring about 5 things, but that is to be expected on opening day. I will be sure to pack up those items for the Saturday market in Cumberland.

My specialty soaps were a hit. Everyone loved to smell the "Hop To It" soap and asked me all sort of questions about how I made soap with BEER. Mechanics scrub was popular too. I had a great conversation with a super nice couple about the advantages of homemade soap. They each bought a bar for themselves. The old favorites such as Lavender, was again the most popular. And my friend Deede was sure to buy a new fragrance she hadn't tried before, she's so adventurous.

Looking forward to Saturday in Cumberland. I will try to take some photos and post them for you to view. Thanks everyone for your support.

Getting Ready For Market

Lots to do. Getting ready for the first market of the season. After all the preparation this winter, I still have a lot to do. While I do have over 1,000 bars of soap in stock, I still need to label many, many of them. But this is an ongoing project, it is something that I am always doing throughout the season.

I spent some time today going through my market essentials. I will need to fit all this stuff in my car. The tent, two 5 gallon buckets with cement in them to hold down the tent in the wind, rope, 3 tables, 3 tablecloths and overlays for the 3 tables, a chair to sit in, display buckets and baskets for the soap, fragrance signs for the soaps, price signs for the soap, information signs for the soap, props such as old fashion wooden boxes, seashells, some pretty sea grass in a vase, my apron and of course the cash box filled with plenty of change. and the biggest item I need to bring, SOAP! I also try to bring a bag of emergency type tools and things such as tape and a hammer - just in case. I find a spot somewhere in the car to tuck in a bag of "things to do". An easy knitting project, magazines, notepaper, in case I have some down time. I am also a low pressure salesperson. I like the customers to shop and look at the soaps without the pressure of me staring at them or asking them questions. I generally sit in my chair with my knitting and if someone has a question they ask me. I am paying attention to them, just not right up at the table in their space.

I will fit all this in my car, right? Yes. I have fit it all before, the only difference is this year I am bringing even more soap, and I think that it will all fit. I'll let you know how it goes.


Falmouth on Wednesday, 12-4. Hope to see you there!

Freeport Farmers Market

Last year I participated in a pilot Farmers Market in on Main St. in the village of downtown Freeport. Here is the write up from one of the shoppers. She is Monica from The White Cedar Inn, from just down the other end of Main St.

http://whitecedarinn.blogspot.com/2008/08/freeport-farmers-market-opens.html

Thanks for the great write up Monica! With such a successful market and customers turnout last year, the market is back. We all are looking forward to a great 2009 season.

Freeport Farmers Market opening day: Friday May 22.