Quote of the Day

"What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul."
-Yiddish Proverb

What's On Tap for Fall? Help Me Create "The Perfect Fall Blend" and Win a Free Bar of "Our" Creation

Pale Ale- "Barley and Hops"

Plans are underway for a few special soaps for Autumn-one of which will include an intoxicating bubbly brew of beer and a specially fitting essential oil blend. Help me create the "Perfect Fall Blend" and win a free bar of "our" collaborative efforts.

Here is the theme-
Autumn-the season for tailgating, football games,the glowing orange orb of the Harvest Moon, bon fires that light up the West Texas sky, and the crackle of fallen leaves.

The soap will consist of a beer base- Beer provides a warm nutty canvas for spicy notes of cinnamon and clove, or perhaps a bit of lavender and anise... just like the ever popular bubbly beverage can be infused with the subtle taste of wood,spices,fruit, and grains;beer soap can be infused with subtle nuances of scent. Help me select a special blend of "nuance" for a limited edition Autumnal Beer soap and win a free bar. Make a suggestion based on these choices of essential oils.What essential oil blend speaks Fall to you?

Sweet Orange 
Lemon
Cedarwood
Lavender
Pink Grapefruit
Anise
Clove Leaf
Rosemary
Vanilla
Bergamot
Blood Orange
Fir Needle
Spearmint
Peppermint
Litsea
Cinnamon
Lemongrass
Ginger
Mandarin
Lime

Suggestions will be taken until July 30.  I will make a choice based on-

1) How closely the blend fits the theme
2) How nicely the essential oils will play together
3) How complimentary the blend is to beer

*Sadly this contest is applicable for US and Canadian residents only.(A big apology to my international friends.)

Easy Peasy Basil Tomato Pizza-It's What's for Dinner

 

I had some homegrown basil and was looking for a way to use it-ahhhh pizza is a great idea. We started out with a store bought crust (but of course you could make your own)with which we drizzled some EVOO on; followed by pizza sauce (again store bought)followed by a bit of an Italian cheese blend, thinly sliced Roma tomatoes, fresh sweet basil, finely chopped garlic and a bit of sea salt. The resulting delicious masterpiece is my new favorite pizza. I am just not into the Pepperoni, Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, hamburger-pile all the meat you can find type of pizza. I love this because it's so easy and fairly nutritionally sound- give it a try!

Steps to Take if Supplies Arrive Damaged (and a Vent)

So, what do you do if a driver (affiliated with a well known shipping co.)leaves this on your porch-doesn't ring the doorbell, and runs to his truck?

1) Take photos immediately before you move the damaged, contaminated,oozing, grimy product.
2) E-mail supplier with photos attached
3) Call supplier who then advises you to file a claim with (well known shipping co.)
4) File a claim immediately with (well known shipping co.) They will ask a plethora of questions and then you are required to keep the dilapidated, oozing, sad, useless,dirty, filthy, grimy bucket of stuff  for 5 days in case the (well known shipping co.) wants to investigate. Shipping co. then notifies supplier who then makes the decision whether or not to send said supply again. Ugh! (rant over)

Business Tip Tuesday-Seven Tips to Make Your Customers Love You

These days when every customer counts, what are some steps you can take to keep your customers in your corner ? Over the next 7 weeks I will post 7 ways to make your customers love you. Tip #5 Never Assume

Never assume. You may think you know what your customers want. A high percentage of new businesses fail because they try to create demand where there isn’t any. Test out your market and start small, build your product around the wants, needs and desires of your target market. A great way to test your market is to introduce your product to friends, while also working shows and markets to see how your product sells. Is there a good amount of repeat business, are you receiving wholesale inquiries? Listen closely to what customers tell you about your products, is there something you need to improve on, are they requesting a larger variety? Not only will you be able to get a better handle on your customers needs by listening to their input,but you will also be able to exceed their expectations creating a win/win situation for both customers and your business.

Quote of the Day

"Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life."
Wayne Dyer

Beautiful Thing Friday

Check out this gorgeous Dahlia from Foxland Growers-Shallowater,Texas

It's a Most Excellent Day!

Squeeeeee! Tierra Verde Handmade Soaps is featured on Modish- one of my all time favorite blogs! Thank you so much-it really is an honor!

Solid Shampoo-The Saga Continues

As many of you know, I have been using solid shampoo since April. Though it took me a bit to find the right combination of oils and super fat I have to say that my hair has finally settled in nicely to the very latest formula. My hair is very thick and tends to be very heavy-I have to say that with the new regimen my hair seems to have much more volume, and just seems clean and happy in general. Yay!

I would also like to add that my 19 year old son recently acquired one of my shampoo rounds to try and his hair has never looked better - a noticeable difference. He was over the other day and I could instantly see that it was far less oily and in fact shiny. He told me he was rather impressed, and was totally sold on solid shampoo. So there you have it.

A Virtual Fieldtrip to Wildseed Farms-Fredericksburg, Texas

Yellow Cosmos

Indigenous Prickly Pear-a huge and beautiful mass

Prickly pear lend themselves nicely to a piece of prickly pear sculpture

 A peck of peppers - aren't they pretty?

 More peppers-in vibrant red

Water lily at the water feature section of Wildseed Farms

 A  rock planter filled with a complementary chartreuse planting.

 Spectacularly colorful field of Zinnias

 Dark Pink Cosmos
 

To compliment my love of soap I have an interest in plants(mostly herbs) as well. So, when we decided to take a quickie trip to Fredericksburg, Texas I had to fit in a visit to Wildseed Farms. Wildseed Farms is the largest working wildseed farm in the U.S. The farm has over 200 acres of cultivated acreage at it's Hill Country Headquarters. Along with breathtaking fields of wild flowers Wild Seed Farms boasts several other attractions that make it a great place to spend an afternoon. The Market Center houses all kinds of gifts and edible goodies and it's a beautiful building featuring construction of limestone and Eastern cedar. The meadows are fields of wildflowers perfect for photo ops(so don't forget your camera)and the butterfly garden is a habitat that attracts,protects and nourishes butterflies throughout their growth cycle.The pottery and plant nursery boasts a variety of whimsical pottery, sculptures, wind chimes and all things that add color and interest to your garden-and finally when you've seen it all(and you're hot a sticky.) Don't forget to take a load off at the "Brewbonnet Biergarten" where you can find a bite to eat and a cold beer. Sounds like a great afternoon huh?

Beautiful Thing Friday

 Prickly Pear Sculpture-Wildseed Farms

If you are like me and plants cow in fear(due to my less than "green thumb")-this is the plant for you. They also had a gorgeous barrel cactus sculpture-be prepared to spend a few 100 dollars though!

Tweaking and a Reminder

Lavender Shaving Round - 3.75 oz

I decided to tweak my round packaging just a bit. I really love the pleating and texture more in the front, so the back is now the front-love it!

Lavender Rustica 4.5 oz

Romantically rustic; encrusted with lavender buds (with a few sprinkled throughout) this soap is for the person who is romantic at heart. Immerse yourself in the calming, soothing warmth of lavender and vanilla while restoring soulful balance to the end of a long day.

Limited edition - Lavender Rustica is listed over at the Tierra Verde Handmade Soaps website  and will be ready to go tomorrow June 24. It has darkened a bit (as of course a soap with vanilla does) and it smells just beautiful.

Business Tip Tuesday -Seven Tips to Make Your Customers Love You

These days when every customer counts, what are some steps you can take to keep your customers in your corner ? Over the next 7 weeks I will post 7 ways to make your customers love you. Tip # 4 Stay In Touch/Relationship Building

Stay In Touch/Relationship Building – While the frequency may vary, every customer should receive an “off line” touch at least once per quarter. Stay in touch with e-mails and newsletters even more often. Over time, as you relate to your customers you will develop a relationship, especially if your “touches” are informational or educational and are designed to reach out to them in a more personal way. You might share a recipe, or information on an upcoming local event – something that will be of interest to your customer that is not a product pushing correspondence. Relationship building is not always about selling your product, but is about relating to the customer in a more personable way.

A Very Kind Review over at Jenora Soaps

Back in May, my soaping buddy Jen of the ever hopping Jenora Soaps blog and creator of Naturalmente Meditterraneo soaps purchased some Tierra Verde Handmade Soaps to give them a try. I am happy to report that they were well received - whew! You can read her kind and gracious review here. Thank you so much Jen, and I am so glad to know you were happy with them. xoxo Michele

Here are the soaps she tried out>>>

 Orange Honey Drizzle with Oats

Creamy Coconut with Lime and Clove

Warm Cedar Shave Round

A Trip Down Under

In simple layman's terms, the Natural Bridge Cavern was created by an underground river moving slowly throughout the cracks and pores eroding away the limestone. Rainwater seeping through the limestone dissolved the limestone over time creating passages and rooms.

The Discovery Tour that we took takes you 18 stories down inside the earth where the temperature is a constant 70 degrees with humidity of 99%.Ugh! Believe me when I tell you-it is not the 18 stories down into the caverns that is the problem ,but the 18 stories back up and out. Whew! This ol' gal is out of shape.

Natural Bridge Caverns is an awe inspiring natural geological formation and something I will always remember.

Natural Bridge - the span was left suspended when a sink hole collapsed below it.

Entrance to Natural Bridge Caverns

Broomstick stalagmites are tall and spindly

Beautiful stalagmites

A large column;columns are formed when a stalactite and a stalagmite meet.

The Living Fern- the only living plant in the cave. The spores were believed to have been brought in on an explorers clothing where they were deposited then germinated next to a light.

Do you see the old man?

My daughter thought this formation looked like a brain.

King's Throne

Look carefully and you can see a fried egg in the formations in this room.

Beautiful Thing Friday

Zinnias at Wildseed Farms

Flitting amongst these Zinnias were the biggest bumble bees I have every seen. Boy! They had a lot of work to do - bussssy, bussssy little bees. :))

A Sneak Peek

Details coming soon...
How many of you Texans out there recognize this "Natural Bridge?"

Going Out On a Limb-A Tale of Getting Ready for Market

Today, I am so happy to give you a very special guest post from my friend Tara of On a Branch. Tara sells hand knitted items from her Etsy shop On a Branch and recently made the bold decision to work her first craft fair/markets where she sells her handmade soap. A few months back, I read a post on her blog about gathering the courage to work her first craft show/market and I have been following along ever since. In today's post she shares with us one of the first steps she took in getting her product ready for market. I think you will find her writing style like sitting down to a cup of coffee with your bff.


When Michele asked me to write a guest post for her blog from the viewpoint of a newbie to the craft show/fair circuit, I was delighted and more than a little surprised.  And when I say newbie, trust me.  I am a newbie.  My first craft show was in April.  I have done two since then and I am gearing up for my fourth show on June 18th.  I feel a little more comfortable, a little more confident with each show I do.  Although I do have to admit to having some severe nerves about my upcoming show.  Oh well, this too will pass.  I guess.  I hope.

It has taken me awhile to write this post because there is just so much I could write.  So many steps and obstacles.  So many decisions.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the first step of this whole new journey in selling my handmade soaps, aside from the actual soapmaking, was deciding how I was going to present my soap to potential customers.   I admired other soapmakers' packaging but I didn't want to do what someone had already done.  I had definite criteria that the packaging had to meet.  First and foremost was that the package had to represent me and who I am.  Secondly, it had to be simple yet attractive.  And finally, it had to be inexpensive and something I could do myself.  You see, I am frugal.  Okay, I admit it.  I am cheap.  So taking all those things into consideration, it took me at least a month to decide upon how I would package my soaps.

And here it is.

I am a book lover and have been since I was a little girl.  I have surrounded myself with books and am currently passing that love on to my sons.  It seemed almost natural to incorporate books into my packaging somehow.  I found this old book around that I was not going to read but I loved the look of the old pages -- thick, yellowed with age and soft.  A band of paper wrapped around the soap met all the criteria.  It most definitely was me.  It was simple but pleasing to the eye.  It was inexpensive, actually free this time but I will be able to find other old books for very little money at used bookstores in the future.  I cut out the tags by hand with the name of the soap on the facing side and a list of ingredients printed on the back side.  I am also a knitter so the yarn was something I always have on hand too.  The only real expense of my packaging is the stamp I use.  I have an artist friend who makes hand carved stamps and I asked her if she could make a stamp for me.  She did and I love it.  The bird provides that little splash of colour .     

With packaging that I felt truly represented me, I was ready to set up shop, so to speak.  And the journey begins.

Phew! Labels Are Finally Done

 Tierra Verde Handmade Soaps - Hand Balm

It was a bit of an ordeal (one set of labels we ordered were lost by Fed Ex),but labels are finally done for new hand balms. So, now the plan is to get  them listed this evening. Hand Balms are made with fabulously moisturizing and nutritive ingredients to take care of hands in urgent need of moisture and repair. These balms are also great for your lips, elbows, feet and cuticles. Hand Balms will come in four great scents; Honey, Lemon Honey, Lavender Honey and Orange Honey.

Business Tip Tuesday - Seven Tips to Make Your Customers Love You

These days when every customer counts, what are some steps you can take to keep your customers in your corner ? Over the next 7 weeks I will post 7 ways to make your customers love you. Tip No. 3

Repeat business or behavior can be bribed. Loyalty has to be earned.
Janet Robinson

You don't earn loyalty in a day. You earn loyalty day- by-day. 
Jeffrey Gitomer

Don’t forget the loyal customers.

While new customers are critical to the growth of a business, you must not forget about the importance of keeping long standing customers. Nothing is worse than for the loyal customer to see products or services they bought at full price discounted to entice new customers. This can be turned around by offering exclusive loyalty programs or specials geared specifically to your best loyal customers. While statistics show loyal customers only make up 20% of a typical customer base their purchases make up 50% of sales. So in terms of growing a business, you can see how important it is to treat your loyal customers like royalty.