Portland Museum of Art Project

I am working on a very exciting project!

Portland Museum of Fine Arts, here in Portland Maine, contacted me recently and asked if I would collaborate with them to create soaps to compliment their upcoming exhibit featuring Winslow Homer and his art. They wanted to focus on his piece, Weatherbeaten (shown below) as well as others.

In 2012, Portland Museum of Art is celebrating a year of Winslow Homer. 

Visit their website to learn more - http://portlandmuseumofart.org/about/homerstudio/

"See works by Winslow Homer that were painted at his studio on Prouts Neck and have never been exhibited together in Maine and won't be seen again together for generations".

Museum visitors will be able to purchaser bars of soap with unique names that "match" the exhibit, swirls of colors, and with earthy and ocean fragrances. 

They have chosen certain fragrances, ordered batches of soap and are making a special soap label.  In addition, they created a special Winslow Homer / Portland Museum of Art soap stamp!  I just received it yesterday and tried it out. 

I think it looks fantastic!  (I have test stamped on a sample piece of soap)

Here is a bit about Winslow Homer:

From Wikipedia:  (Link to the entire Wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winslow_Homer )

"Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art.

Largely self-taught, Homer began his career working as a commercial illustrator.[1] He subsequently took up oil painting and produced major studio works characterized by the weight and density he exploited from the medium. He also worked extensively in watercolor, creating a fluid and prolific oeuvre, primarily chronicling his working vacations

In 1883, Homer moved to Prouts Neck, Maine (in Scarborough) and lived at his family's estate in the remodeled carriage house just seventy-five feet from the ocean..."

I am thrilled to be working with the Portland Museum of Art!  What a unique and fun project!  Stay tuned for updates.

LOVE this old 1922 advertisement for Palmolive soap! 

I use my soap every day to take off my  makeup.  It's great for face & body, men & women, young & old. 

Maine Maple Sunday!

Maine Maple is this Sunday, March 25, 2012.

Visit many of the maple syrup producers around the beautiful state of Maine and learn how maple syrup is made, taste some wonderful maple products and visit the farms.

From the official Maple Producer Association website:  http://www.mainemapleproducers.com/ 

"Maine Maple Sunday is bigger than ever.

The number of sugar houses participating in Maine Maple Sunday is growing again this year. Our 2012, Maple Sunday Map went live during the third week of February. This year there will be even more sugar houses than before. We will also be adding to our map this year, a print version. This will enable you to print off information about sugar houses and take this with you on Maple Sunday".

 

So there you have it...get out there this Sunday and visit our local Maple Syrup farms!  Their site is loaded with great Maple recipes and the history of Maple syrup farming. Enjoy!

Vacation! 

The website is still open for orders.  And orders will all be processed in the order that they are received after some rest and relaxation.

Special Order

Special order Sea Urchins.  They were actually a light blue color, but the sunlight made everything soo bright and white!

Do you like the little brown box package?  Tied with a brown ribbon with blue polka dots and a "Just For You" gift tag, they are soo very cute!  These packages are made from recycled materials too!

35 of them boxed up and headed out the door. 

Drop The Labels...

From a new (new to me) blog, my sister introduced me to: http://bravegirlsclub.com/ ,  my sweet little sister sent me this the other day...I hope that it helps you too!

Shampoo Bars

My Shampoo Bars will make an appearance in the Spring Close Buy Catalog!  Offering Unscented, Lavender & Peppermint-Rosemary, these bars are a popular among travelers because they are basically a bar that can do it all!  Shampoo, shave and clean.  No worrying about leaky bottles in your bag or suitcase! 

Our same 100% vegetable oil soap recipe with the addition of Avocado Oil (luxurious and rich in proteins) and Castor Oil (helps make extra big, thick bubbles and lather). As with our other bars, our shampoo bars contain no animal fats, no synthetic oils, no detergents, and no chemical preservatives.

Great for travel, this solid bar means you will never have a leaking shampoo bottle in your bag again

Easy to use: Simply wet hair, then turn the bar over in your wet hands a few times to make a lather and apply. Wash hair and rinse. That's it!

For extra soft hair, after shampooing try rinsing with a "vinegar rinse". Just mix a couple tablespoons of vinegar to a cup of warm water. No need to rinse out the "vinegar rinse"--any vinegar smell will dissipate in a few minutes.

As with my other soap bars, keep bars dry and out of a puddle of water to prolong the life of the soaps. Bars are approx. 4 oz.

 

*On the shelf curing! Shampoo Bars  in Unscented and Peppermint/Rosemary will be ready at the beginning of March

Laundry Detergent

I have been contacted by a company here in Maine that grows their own Lavender and also produces Lavender Oils.  They would like me to make my Laundry Detergent using their Lavender Oils and it will be for sale in their and their shop in Camden, Maine and farm stand in Appleton.  What a fun opportunity! 

And I am loving this new picture of my Laundry detergent! 

Close Buy Catalog - SPRING!

Close Buy Catalog (which I have been part of for their past 2 out of 2 catalogs) is launching a NEW Spring Catalog!  And I am happy to announce that I will be part of it!  And offfering my Shampoo Soap Bars as well as Laundry Detergent.   The Spring catalog is new this year and there will be a few new ideas and changes to the catalog.  Including, shipping directly to the customer.  Keeping this in mind, my products had to be lighter and not breakable.  For the catalog I have offered and smaller size Laundry Detergent (8 ounce size) and my Shampoo Bars will not require any "fancy" packaging.  So no boxes with ribbon and gift tags that could get smooshed and just add to the general bulk.

Here is what the Close Buy Catalog  has to say: 

"Great new things are coming to Close Buy this Spring!

CLOSE BUY SPRING 2012 FUNDRAISER FOR SCHOOLS AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS!

On April 2 CB will launch our pilot spring fundraiser.

All products will be available online and ship directly to your families. Our new distribution method allows us to invite small groups (teams, clubs, classes), as well as non-profit organizations and camps".

And now, I am off to make some soap!

Shop A Farmers Market, On-line!

Find a handful of my Soap Bars, my Body Butter and Tub Tea on an online Farmer Market here in Maine!

Cape Farms' Market, a four seasons of Maine market run by Jordan's Farm in Cape Elizabeth.

The concept is very cool.  Items go "live" every other Thursday and customers (previously registered) can shop the available items on the website and place an order.  Then the items are gathered and packaged up for pick up at the farm.  Offering dairy (cheese, yogurt, eggs and more), baked goods, veggies, fruits, soaps, baking mixes, hot cereal and other grains, maple syrup and honey, pet treats and soo much more!

Check it out here:

http://capemarket.internet-farmer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=211_212&products_id=842

This was my first week on the site and I was very surprised at the amount of items ordered, what fun!!

Happy & Healthy in Business and Life

You may or may not know who Serena from The Farm Chicks is.  She is a wonderful blogger and super creative person that has written cookbooks, is a contributing editor for Country living Magazine, founded The Farm Chicks Show (antiques and such) and lives way over on the opposite coast from me in Washington.  I follow her blog (and follow her on Face Book) and enjoy her craft projects, recipes, decorating style and tips and more.  But most of all, I eat up the business advice she offers.  Recently she had a blog post that really struck a note with me.  Titled, "On Being Healthy In Business and Life" it outlines this basic: don't compromise yourself and surround yourself with people that will hold you up not break you down. Do business with people that you respect and treat you well.  I have been personally struggling with some nay-sayers and running into a bit of resistance and some obstacles lately and this just made me feel soo much better!  I asked her if I could re post her blog post here on blog to share with you.  And she wrote back and said yes (she wrote to me!!!).

Here she is, and isn't she great!?

Find a link to her article within her blog here:  http://thefarmchicks.typepad.com/farmchicks/2012/02/on-being-healthy-in-business-and-life.html

"Oh Being Healthy In Business and Life

Today I wanted to talk about business as a creative person and being happy in what you do. There's so much out there in the way of magazines, blogs, websites, etc. And you know, it's easy to sort of feel like what you're doing just doesn't measure up.

I'm here to tell you that's not a good way to think. And it's not healthy for you.

I'd like to tell you my opinion: Visit sites that inspire you, make you laugh, or leave you feeling good.

Stop visiting sites that make you feel bad. Maybe they have a lofty tone or an air of superiority. Or maybe they're negative. And here's why I say stop. Would you be friends with someone who makes you feel that way? I wouldn't. Because we all just want to be happy, right?

Surround yourself with good. Do good. Be good to yourself, so that you can be even better to those you love. And then, they'll be better, and better to their friends too.

And the same holds true in business. Do business with people you respect. That treat you well. That appreciate your business, however small it may be. I love that I know my printer and his family, that my postman knows my name, and that my internet team is full of positive, good people.

And with others in your field, surround yourself with the ones who have ethics. Who build others up. When you're good, you attract good, and the negative weeds itself out. You'll find that it is possible to love what you do. And you know what? Pretty soon, your field will be free of all the bad seeds and will do nothing but flourish.

Happy = Healthy. I'm living proof".

As a quick update about some of "my team"...

Here in my small town of Freeport, MAINE my soap label printer does know my name.  And when I go in to pick up labels, they take the time to ask me how I am and what is new with my business and to tell me that they think they are printing more and more labels for me.  And when I order supplies from my raw ingredient supplier, Craig asks me "how is the soap business"?  He tells me that he really likes my soap and he needs to get down to the Farmers Market again to sniff some more soaps.  And Janet from the post office always is happy to see me and says "see you later, Shannon".  These are just 3 of the people on my "team" that I am happy to work with.   

New Soaps

3 New Soaps for you!

I have itching to make this one for a while...Buttermilk Baby.  Unscented and made with real Buttermilk this soap is super creamy and gentle.  I added a few Calendula petals to the soap itself and sprinkled more on top.

"Squeeze of Lime"...sweet and tangy with a great Lime fragrance. I swirled the soap with a pretty yellow/green, this soap tropical and delicious!

And "Day At The Beach".  Reminds me of the suntan lotion and hot sand fragrance of a super summers day at the beach.  I added a swirl of clay for a bit of color contrast, a healthy dose of real Sea Salt and a sprinkling of fine ground Apricot kernel on top that looks like sand.

Find these soaps at the market with me in about 4 weeks or so!