Happy New Year!

Twenty ten! Yep, it's gonna be a good year I can feel it in my bones. I am so energized and ready to hit the workshop, but the end of year chaos left my workshop and office in disarray. So it's organizing and cleaning this weekend, only then can I begin creating my spring soap line. And I'm very excited to get started, but the dirty work first.

Just because I can't get out to the workshop doesn't mean that I've been idle! No sir. For the past week, I have been brainstorming every free moment I get, consulting old notes and jotting things down. I think I have a good workable list of possible new soaps ready to be tested.

Right now, I'm looking at six new soaps; 2 old favorites and 4 brand new blends. I'm leaning pretty heavy toward citrus this year...I'm bringing back an old favorite (I just got too many pleading requests to ignore it any longer), 'Ginger Lime'. No fancy name here, just good fresh ginger and snappy lime. It's a pretty soap too, half green, half peach color. All natural colorants, of course. It costs me a bit more to make, but I feel it's worth bringing back into my regular line.

Also, another soap returning is 'Lemon Bouquet': lavender and lemongrass. Sweet and fresh smelling in a mosaic of colors. No reason it dropped off my radar, except that it's a bit more labor intensive. That was probably it. I happen to love this particular blend, but my hand aches for days after I make it. Why? Because of all the hand cut pieces of colored soap (see photo). I have to chop up LOADS of it. It's worth it though, it's a lovely soap.

Now you'll have to wait for the other four. I have to keep some suspense going here! Plus these last four are truly brand new blends. Somewhere between paper and creation, some things might need to be tweeked before final release. I am a perfectionist and I have to hit a blend exactly how I "visualized" it, or it won't make the cut to final production.

Another change I'm planning is to up the amount of shea butter I include in my soap. I love shea butter...unrefined, raw, fragrant and good for you shea butter. I think we can all benefit from just a tad more shea in soap, so I'll hang the extra expense and go for it. After all, I use this soap too and want only to use the best.

What changes will you be making this month?

Holiday Break!

Our website is officially closed for the year. I want to thank all my faithful returning customers for their continued business this year, and to all the new customers that have found their way to our little soap business. Welcome and thank you too!

I am not done working, not by a long shot. My wholesale customers are still clamoring for more soap before "the day" arrives. The last of the web orders are going out tomorrow (Saturday). And a few miscellaneous orders are to be delivered next week about town. Busy, busy!

I can fit in that very last minute order up to the 24th if you live in Nevada County, just give me a call. After that tho, I will be incommunicado from December 25th through January 4th. Hey, even your humble soap maker needs a rest.

Anyway, thank you again for supporting our business with your purchases. I look forward to a busy 2010, I'm already planning my spring soap line, very exciting!

Merry Christmas from all of us at Frontier Angel Soap. May 2010 find you healthy, happy and prosperous.

Rained Out...

For the first time in *four* years vending at Cornish Christmas, we were rained out. Bummer. I hate missing a show. We actually did set up our booth. It was exciting getting the lighting plugged in and up while pools of water were collecting in the roof of our awning. I count it a blessing that no one got electrocuted. I put out my shelf displays and noticed that everything had a fine mist on it already. I looked up, my two faithful and non-complaining helpers were drenched, as was I, and I knew it was time to call the game on account of rain.

I hope no one was disappointed and looking for my soap. I'm hoping that next Friday, our last night vending, will be much more pleasant. If anyone needs soap before Christmas, please call 530-274-3711. I can get it to you if you are in or around town.

The photo posted is from Cornish Christmas 2007.

Signs of the Season

Winding down now to our last two shows of the year. December 11th and December 18th are the last two nights of Cornish Christmas. Join us in historic downtown Grass Valley for some holiday cheer the old fashioned way...roasted chestnuts, carolers and more.

A fine selection of local crafts are being sold, a few of my favorites; bags of handmade toffee, yummy baked goods, reindeers made from twigs, and faux fur head warmers with matching scarves. In the food department, it's hard to beat our neighbors to the left of our booth, they sell the most amazing tacos. Down on Main Street, look for the deep fried pretzels. Sinfully good, I ate two of them last Friday night.

So see, there is plenty of old time holiday fun to be found in the heart of the gold country.

I forgot to mention, we got our first nice snow of the season. You might catch a glimpse of the white stuff on the way up, but rest assured, the roads are clear and safe to travel.

Limited Edition Holiday Soap!

I have to confess up front, I originally had four limited edition soaps planned for the holidays, but it's been quite busy and I only got two done in time. That's ok, because I'll save the other two flavors for a treat sometime next year.

What I do have is two new holiday soaps to offer:
1) 'Magi', REAL frankincense and myrrh with a bit of "gold on top, and,
2) 'Darling Clementine', sweet clementine orange and clove, the orange color comes from organic carrot juice.

As a special treat, these two soaps have had their shea butter content boosted to approximately 20%! This is an awesome soap for cold weather. Pared with our whipped shea butter, you're sure to beat old man winter and keep your skin nicely conditioned.

Our last sale of the year is approaching...it starts the day after Thanksgiving (aka "Black Friday") and runs through "Cyber Monday". The dates are November 27th through November 30th. Don't miss out on a 10% discount AND free shipping for any order over $25.00. As a internet shopper myself, I adore sales that offer free shipping. So it's my treat to you.

Happy Holidays!!

First Annual Holiday Open House!

We held our open house this past Saturday, it was a total and complete success!! Thank you to Frontier Angel loyal customers, friends, and family, for your continued patronage. We are already talking about doing another show in the spring so stay tuned.

Busy in the Workshop!

It's that time of year, the last of my restocking before the holiday rush. I'm almost ready to reveal my newest holiday soap, but not quite yet (I'm still working on packaging).

In the meantime, feast your eyes on the newest batch of 'Queen Bee'. This soap is fairly new, I launched it this past summer. It's an essential oil blend of ylang-ylang, spearmint, orange and lavender, and a bit of local honey (that's the "bee" part).

I can't wait to cut into this one!