Good news!

Due to finding a new supplier, buying in larger quantities, and general streamlining and budget magic, we were actually able to LOWER our shipping prices. Shipping is now only two bucks in the US and $2.25 to Canada, and only .75 per additional item. Awesome.


We're also having a sale on a few items for the holiday weekend! This is the last day of the sale, but Mexican Hot Chocolate and Twilight On The Pacific Coast are currently 30% off, and so is our Victorian Sampler set, which now includes FOUR scents instead of three. The discount expires soon, but the extra bar is a permanent change. :D


Enjoy!

YAAAAAAY.

Yay! My supplies are FINALLY on their way. :D :D :D!


Turns out that besides having them on backorder, my supplier was also in the process of being transfered to a new owner, which explains why there was no one around to answer my phone calls or emails. But, it's all sorted out now, everything's hunky-dory, and in a few weeks, i get to restock the shop! THANK GOD.


This did teach me a lesson, though: Always have a backup plan. I have another supplier now who's ready and eager to step in should there be another backorder flub-up, and they carry everything i'll need for soy milk soap. Yes, vegan bars soon!


Right now, though, i've got to find my Supah Sekrit Recipe Book. It got tossed somewhere safe during the flood, and while i have most of the recipes memorized by now, there's still a few things in it i need to refer to. Tearing apart the studio commences this weekend.

I think i've got to give up on my supplier for now.


I placed an order on May 6th [!], was advised of a back order a week later... and here we are on July 12th with no order, low stock, and most importantly - no communication. I've just sent my third email in two weeks trying to find out what's happening, and if no response, i'll be forced to do a chargeback through my credit card company. They have customer service chat, but no one ever seems to be on, and i've left a couple of voicemails to no avail.


All that being said, i think i've finally found another supplier whose items are up to snuff (one of the reasons i was clinging to this company is that they're one of the very few who meet standard without charging higher-than-retail prices) for almost exactly the same price point. Worst and worse and i have to get a refund, we should be back to up to speed again in no time. :D


And we still have plenty of stock in the teardrop samplers with the exception of Blackcurrant Tea and Tea in the Herb Garden teardrops, so all should be well there for a while yet.

!!! We're featured!

Tea in the Herb Garden will be on Etsy's mailing list this Thursday!


Hi there,
I just wanted to let you know that we are featuring this item in Thursday's Etsy Finds, Etsy's daily shopping email. The Finds email currently goes to over 10,500 subscribers (you subscribe to them at http://mailinglist.etsy.com )
Congrats!


Whee!

*groan*

As it turns out, my supplies are on backorder and won't arrive for another three to four weeks. I really love my supplier, but i have to find a local one as backup for situations like this. Would be nice to save shipping once in a while, too. (which is always the killer when you're ordering by the gallon and 50-pound block. o___O)


Well, at least i have plenty of stock that will be finishing their cure times in that window, so the shop will stay piled nice and high. Staggered batches for the win!


It does give me a bit of time to finally look good and hard at where exactly i want to advertise with Project Wonderful. Webcomics or blogs? Mainstream-type, or stick with freaks like us? I'm a bit constrained, as i only have a 125 x 125 banner made up, but there have to be a few nice, friendly sites with a steady flow to call home.


One day, i'll actually be advertising in the newspaper, or - eep - have a catalog. Now there's a terrifying thought. XD

We're back!

Yeah, so after the internet outage, the power outage, the phone outage, the toilet in the basement blowing up [?!], and about a million other things, i'm finally back online. Thank goodness - it's safer in here. Yeesh.


That being said, I've spent the last week stocking up big-time for the Victorian sampler sets, and since I was at it, made a fresh batch of just about everything else. XD


Used up all my supplies, too! Now i've got to wait for a new shipment (should be here this week) before i can plunge into new scents for the spring and summer. Actually, one of them is curing already. Moo-hoo-ha-hah.

The Terrible Thing about the Love of Soap

When i started this little shop, i thought to myself, "This'll be great! I'll use only my own products, and not only be able to evaluate them over the long term, but save a little money, too! :D!"


Great idea, right? Only i've hardly been able to yet. Why? I just went around the house and gathered up all my bath products. I still have fourteen - count 'em, 14 - bars from other artisans. Most of them are so well-cured (read:ancient of days) that once i do start on them, they'll last a couple of months.


[facepalm.] Guess the husband's going to have to continue to be my guinea pig for a while yet.

Don't think small; think selective.

Just got a big box of new oils today; now i'm positively dizzy from all the sniffing and testing. Oi.


One thing i've been thinking about lately with the shop direction is how much happier it would make me to have a small, tightly-edited group of scents and items rather than a sprawling list that tries to cover everyone's tastes. I think i've managed that now, and will keep it, rather than succumbing to the temptation to make a batch of absolutely everything that's on hand. If i can't rhapsodize on it, i don't want it in the window.


This does slow down the process. For the next soap, i want something woody and masculine; there are dozens of pre-made scents out there that would doubtless fit the bill, but instead, i've been plugging away at my own blend for about a month now. Hopefully, one of these oils will provide the Elusive Final Ingredient; i'll be damned if i sink to adding patchouli to the mix.