Here's a sneak peek of a new soap that I made for a special project, it's called "Lemon Bouquet"... a lovely blend of lavender and lemon/lemongrass, with soy milk added. The photo shows this soap somewhere in the middle of it's long process to completion. It's one of my more intense soaps as I have to hand cut all the flowers. Ouch! My hand gets really sore, but the final look of the soap is worth the effort.

"Lemon Bouquet" is going to be sliced into 700 small pieces and handed out to the attendees of "Paint the Town Pink", a Women’s Expo benefiting breast cancer research. I've met some really brave women at this event, I'm inspired to help and honored to be included as a vendor.

My seasonal pumpkin soap is done and curing, it should make it's debut on my website and at the market next week. This soap contains pumpkin puree and spicy essential oils: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and clove. I'm only making one large batch of this, so when it's gone, that's all there is!

Endings and beginnings....

Well, my big market is over for the season. The downtown Mill Street market was a blast, as usual. Ray and Cherri did an awesome job organizing it, thank you!

We have one last summer market, it's every Saturday morning in Nevada City from 8:00 a.m. to noon. I adore this market...there's something about being outside early, coffee and breakfast burritos in the air, the colorful array of produce; fruit, veggies and flowers, and the sounds of local artists serenading us. And probably the most friendly group of vendors that I've ever met.

The Sac Bee recently published a blurb on this market, here's what they have to say, I tend to disagree...this market is definitely worth the drive. It's an upscale, hip, country farmers market at it's best. Our family favorites are; organic wholegrain bread, heirloom tomatos, cucumbers, and the last of the gala apples. This market runs though October...hope to see you there!

Thanks to everyone who entered our anniversary drawing. We picked five names, they are:

• Sue of Westminister, CA
• Karen of Grass Valley, CA
• Shannon of Reno, NV
• Linda of Freeport, FL
• John of San Francisco, CA

You lucky people will be receiving your Frontier Angel Soap in the mail very soon, so keep an eye on your mailbox.

Busy, busy in the workshop. I've decided to bring back my Ginger-Lime soap (made and curing), and Country Meadow (making that today). Pumpkin is on the list next...I discovered that my container of clove bud essential oil is dangerously low, so I'm waiting on a delivery...patience...

Frontier Angel is Celebrating 5 Years in Business!!

Frontier Angel Soap is celebrating 5 years in business! And we are celebrating the ENTIRE month of August, because we just love parties!

This is what we've got going on right now:

• 5% of all retail sales goes to the Nevada County Food bank (this is one of our favorite charities)

• Enter the drawing now (online or at the market)...because 5 lucky winners will win *free* Frontier Angel Soap

• Come see us Thursday night, August 28th at the Mill Street market in Grass Valley and receive a free slice of our anniversary "cake" (pictured here). It's over 16 pounds of soap, made from the same ingredients we use in our bar soap.
  

• A small give away for our first 50 customers

See the theme here? Five...it's all about celebrating our first five years. I think that's a pretty big accomplishment, but we couldn't have done it without our wonderful customers. So thank you for supporting our small local business! I hope you come by for your free "cake" slice, because we made the cake for YOU!

* our drawing is now closed, thank you for entering! *

There are only 3 more weeks left before the market is over...so come celebrate with us!

New Soap

I've added some new soap to the Frontier Angel soap line...here's what is new and available now on our website:

Dreamtime: lavender, clary sage and vanilla

Gold Rush: almond and "gold" (in the goat milk line)

Cool Silk Shaving Soap: camphor, cinnamon, clove and eucalyptus, with an Irish moss infusion, clay and silk fibers.

The market has kept me pretty busy stocking my standards, as soon as I get some free time, even more new soap will be added to our line. It's time consuming coming up with new essential oil blends. I go through many, many small test batches before I decide a soap smells good enough for production. But I was able to identify a few nice blends. After the blends are finalized, I dream up the look of the soap (colors, texture, design). And of course, then the soap gets a name. So that's my creative process in a nutshell.

Stay tuned for information on our 5th birthday bash! Frontier Angel has officially completed 5 years in business. We have some special things planned, I just need to iron out the details. But I'd like to make it fun and different. I'll blog about it later...

Today is the day I go to pick up more fresh goat milk...a pleasant drive to the farm is just what I need after a busy evening at the market.

Time Flys....

Where has the time gone? It's June already and a bit of time has passed since my last posting. Well, that's good news. I've been very busy in the shop and out making deliveries, which means business is booming!

Our summer farmers' market has begun...it's every Thursday evening from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., downtown Grass Valley on Mill Street. Our booth is right in front of the Old Town Cafe.

I love this market...the beauty and history of the location, the interesting and unique people we meet, and the food! My favorites are the bread from the Flour Garden, ice cream from Lazy Dog, and OG salads from BriarPatch. Yum! Grass Valley has some awesome local merchants...it's so easy (and pleasurable) to shop local.

Regarding soap...I have new soap to offer and five more coming. Here's the line up of new things...

In the goat milk line:
- Red Dirt Road: Lavender, Spearmint, Orange, Petitgrain & Patchouli
- Yuba Wild: Eucalyptus, Fir Needle & Lavender

In my core line (yet to be named soap):
- Geranium & Cinnamon
- Lavender, Clary Sage & Vanilla
- Tea Tree & Lemongrass
- Lemon, Sweet Basil, Bergamot & Rosemary
- Almond

And then there's Persian Lime, which made it's market debut last week. I happen to adore this soap and I'm always very pleased when a new soap is met with enthusiasm from my wonderful customers.

See you at the market!

Seeking inspiration...

I recently took a Friday off. I figured that being a soap artisan, I'm allowed the occasional day off, time to clear my mind and look for inspiration.

This photo is most of my soap family arranged next to the south fork of the Yuba river. Locals can probably spot where on the river this picture was taken.

It's a breathtakingly beautiful spot...and yep, I got inspired. First new soap from my workshop will be a Yuba inspired soap. I'm thinking green/blue and white all mixed into a sometimes serene, sometimes frenzied mix. Scent wise, I'm testing blends with eucalyptus.

Oh, not sure if any of you have noticed, but my bars are larger now and I give them a beveled edge. They almost look like gems to me.

History Fanatic

Besides making soap, I am a huge history buff. I'm currently interested in the 1850's gold rush era. I'm reading a really great book called "They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush". It's basically about adventuring men, women, and children that braved the hazards of traveling westward, all with the hope/expectation of finding GOLD! Many diary excerpts throughout the book make it really personal.

I was amazed by the story of one family who took a route, a supposed "short cut", that lead them through Death Valley. One diary spoke of the mother in a family who made the trek through the desert carrying one son on her back, a second son was carried in her arms and lead a third son by the hand. The book includes a family portrait after their journey was over. They had all made it through...not the typical scenario.

I'm currently putting together a little presentation for my docent training class on this history of Grass Valley with an emphasis on the gold rush. If you've never been to Grass Valley, then you're missing out. I've been to just about every gold rush era town in the mother lode and Grass Valley is a true gem in comparison to many.

A nicely preserved and restored historic downtown (where you can buy my soap, by the way!), surrounded by beautiful trees, gently rolling hills and beautifully restored historic homes, and amazingly unmarred by urban sprawl. The museums and state parks in Grass Valley give a very complete view of life here during the 1800's. If you're an outdoors type, there is an amazing array of nature to explore. You can still get the traditional "home town" feel here. Can you tell I love it here?!

Anyway, this is my long round about way of explaining the picture I've posted today. It's Grass Valley circa 1860, on Mill Street looking toward Main Street. This is where my summer farmers market is held. This picture doesn't look much different from what it is today...the streets are no longer planked of course, but paved. And the sidewalks look different, better now actually.

Come visit us this summer!