Thanks Portland!

House in Laurelhurst, Portland.

Hubby and I decided to take a mini vacation and tie it into my soap buying binge. Since the Canadian government changed policies during the summer, we could each bring back $800 worth of goods after 48 hours away. Bonus! We decided to go to Portland because it's scenic and there's no sales tax.

I got to plan the trip, which is not my forte because I can't visualize to save my life, but I looked up some places I wanted to go and mapped it out on Google map. The weather cooperated as much as it could, considering this is the rainy west coast. It stopped long enough for us to be able to walk around without having to carry umbrellas.

I had marked some distilleries I wanted to try, and we ended up at Bull Run Distilling and Clear Creek Distillery. It's not that I'm a lush (too much) but Oregon is known for microwbreweries and distilleries. (Portland's actually probably more well known for its strip clubs, but that's another story).

Bull Run Distilling, obviously.

It was a nice surprise to find Bull Run makes really tasty vodka and even more amazing gin.

Tasting at Bull Run

Americans are great with customer service and making sure their clients are happy. Unlike many of the wineries here, the distilleries gave us taste tests and generous samples to boot. I'm already planning my next trip back there so I can buy more alcohol. It's called supporting small business right? ;)

Bottle from first batch of gin to come out of Bull Run. Ever

Liqueurs from Clear Creek. I can't wait to try these over some vanilla ice cream.

Our car in Chinatown

On the way back, I stopped in at Otion to pick up my order that I had placed, as well as pick up a few more things, because really, who can stop in and not be tempted. The gals there are great, so helpful, even helping take the two 50 lb boxes of soap out to the car.

Now that we're home, it's back to working on getting ready for Christmas fairs.

Next week, results from the new molds I purchased.

Christmas ideas

I was going to use this post to talk about service, or lack thereof I've received of late, but

1. I've done a post on that already and who needs that sort of repetition
2. I was PMSing and that's never a good time to be thinking of blogging ideas.

So, sometimes procrastination is a good thing, at least in this case. 

Here are some packages I've made up in preparation for the Christmas craft fair I'm participating in this year, Crafty Affaire, on December 1 and 2.

Guest soaps scented in pineapple cilantro and baby rose.

This is scented like chocolate, so I call this my hot chocolate with marshmallow soap

Add a donut

Or a cookie

Or would you like a gingerbread man cookie with that hot chocolate instead?

Facing Fears

I'm a chicken born in the year of the monkey. So I guess that means I can scamper away pretty quick when I'm scared. Being human I try and just avoid situations that could frighten me - scary movies and crowded spaces for instance.

Last weekend, hubby and I went for a walk. We were down by Science World so I thought I'd stop in and see what they have in their gift shop to see if I had a chance with my soaps. I think I do since they carry dinosaur related stuff, so my dino soaps would be a nice complement I think. I got the business card of the manager of the gift shop so I can contact her later. Hubby chided me for not talking to the assistant manager who was there that day, but I didn't feel psychologically ready. Like I said, I'm not a brave soul.

On our way back from downtown, we stopped into a shop called ella and elliot. They carry the most beautiful things for babies and this time I screwed up my courage and asked about getting my soaps into their store. The young lady there was very nice and gave me their card and told me their criteria is to have very pure products. My soaps fit that bill, just in a more fun presentation.

I need to get my new website up and running before I approach these places officially, but this experience has given me the push I needed to approach more companies about carrying my soaps.

On a different note, Little Dreambug have their alphabet soaps and I can't wait to see Leanne's write up about them.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

In which case, this week's blog post is worth, well a final exam essay, I'd say.

These are soap ideas that I'm working on; they are prototypes, so please be kind with your comments. :)

Pink in love

Cellini red love

Maple leaf

Mooncake lotus

Tree frogs

So what do you think? Are they worth continuing? I didn't scent any of them this time because they were just trial runs, so the next step is to decide what scents match each of these soaps