I run a small
handmade soap business. Once a year, Alabama soapmakers convene for education, shopping, gabbing, and eating too much. This is known as the "big meeting". There are regional lunch meetings throughout the year, as well as a large social gathering in January. It's a friendly bunch. We started out many years ago as a group of strangers on the internet, and have now become so much more than just colleagues.
We are fragrance junkies.
There's always lots of stuff to spend money on.
We teach each other how to make things.
Vendors provide samples, catalogs, and door prizes.
The unofficial uniform includes overalls, pearls, and a tiara...
Not your run of the mill overalls.
The pearls and tiara are optional for men. We have had a few male members in the past, but somehow we've managed to run them all off.
15 comments:
It looks like it was a fine way to spend a few days. I could almost smell some of the fragrances wafting through the photographs.
Cowardly men! If you're man enough to be in the perfumed world of soaps then you shuold at least have the intestinal fortitude to wear pearls and a tiara.
Soap slivers! How cool!
Those fabrics look so beautiful! :)
RD, it was so much fun! I always love visiting with the soapy gals.
Rainypete, right! They were probably afraid that we were gonna ask them.
Jenn, actually those are colorants. These were minerals and micas I believe.
Karen would you believe that's all on one outfit?! Very fancy overalls... If I could have fit into them I think I'd have bought them.
Does all of this mean your prices are going to go up?
I should not have skipped dinner. I want to eat many of the things in those photos, especially that powder, which looks like it might be tasty mixed with milk., and that cloth. yum…
Pablo it isn't this that will cause the price increase, but the price of olive oil (up 46%) and shipping (not sure of the % but it's always creeping higher). Fragrance prices are also up. Citrus oils took a beating from the Florida hurricanes last year, and in some cases are not even available right now.
I've had the same price on soap since 1997 but may have to go up at the end of this year or at the beginning of next year. I don't want to!
Charles, I don't think any of this would taste as good as it looks! Or maybe you do need your mouth washed out with soap? I have had kids try to take a bite out of soap at our shows before though... the raspberry fish I understand, but the magnolia?! Strange kid.
I love those colors on the overalls.
I made some soap once. Nothing like yours, though.
You make me want to make soap again - the fragrances, the textures, etc. The gathering sounds like so much fun.
Gatherings are fun! Of course, you did not say what your haul was :-) (You never leave a gathering empty-handed).
Well besides all the samples, our doorprizes were fantastic. I won a set of LabColors (yippee), a small bicycle-pump mold, 4 ounces of FO, and a couple of coupons (Buy $30 get $10 off, etc). Truthfully I think the latter could have been provided to each attendee, but with all that loot I really am in no place to complain. :)
The LabColors are probably the most expensive thing I've ever won. I did get a 50# pail of coconut oil once, which was also very nice!
your soaps are very nice looking. ongrats on all the press you've gotten! Come visit me at The Soap Bar!
thesoapbar.blogspot.com
-Joanna
I want to eat many of the things in those photos, especially that powder, which looks like it might be tasty mixed with milk., and that cloth. yum…
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