We're almost a week into September. I love the Fall. It's my favorite time of year. Kids are back in school, the weather gets cooler, Nature gets all dressed up in her finery and puts on a spectacular show, Football is back, and last but not least, it's craft fair season! I love the run-up to the holidays. There's something magical about the next several months that make me feel all cozy. Maybe it's the colder weather, or the return of delicious comfort food, or the music that comes with the holiday season. Whatever it is, the last quarter of the year is my favorite.
This year, I've been making soap like a mad woman, preparing for the rush of shows this Fall. This is the busy time of year for us crafters. This is when our products sell the best, and we are walking the line between having too much inventory or not having enough. I'm especially excited about this year.
I am investing in scaling my production to be able to make more soap at one time. I bought a new mold called a slab mold, which holds quite a bit more soap batter than my normal loaf mold. My loaf mold is 25 inches long, and I usually get 24 bars out of it since I cut off the ends. It holds approximately 9 pounds of soap batter. My new slab mold holds about 25 pounds of soap batter, which makes almost 3 times the amount of soap as my loaf mold.
After the soap is set, I take the slab and slice it into loaves with my slab cutter.
This gives me five loaves that are 14 inches long.
And then I just cut the loaves like normal to get 65 bars of soap, after I cut the ends off.
This first batch was my Oatmeal, Milk and Honey. I've made three total batches in the slab mold, and I'm getting the hang of it!
One thing I have realized as I work on scaling my production, is that not only did I need the larger mold to make more soap, I also needed larger bowls for mixing and coloring. I needed significantly more fragrance oil and colorants. I realized that while my existing supply of fragrance oil might get me two or even three more batches in my loaf mold, it might only get me one batch in the slab mold. So that means I have to invest in ordering larger quantities of fragrance oils, colorants, additives (like the goat milk, clay, etc), as well as the equipment to mix everything. I'm currently mixing in a 5-gallon bucket, using 3.5 gallon buckets as my mixing bowls for different colors. It's awkward and bulky. And I'm probably going to need to invest in a commercial grade immersion blender next to be able to reach down far enough in the 5-gallon bucket.
So scaling up is an investment. A big investment. But it's worth it to be able to make bigger batches so I can be making soap less often. It frees me up to do other important work for the business.
In other news, my Fall products are available on the website and in person at local events. I have three really great Fall fragrances: Pumpkin Pie Spice, Spiced Apple Cider, and Autumn Leaves. I also have beautiful bas relief soaps that have a fall blend of fragrances.
In addition, two Fall-themed lip balms are now available: Caramel Apple and Pumpkin Pie Spice. And we have brought back our popular Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookie lotion. It was incredibly popular at my last event! (Notice anything new about my labels? I invested in a color printer, so now my labels are a little more interesting!)
And an exciting new perk! If you got my email blast earlier this week, you'll know that I have started a Rewards Program! I wanted to give back to all the customers who regularly support my business, and give you a little perk for referring my products to a friend. Now, for every dollar you spend, you get rewards points which can be redeemed for discounts on future orders. In addition, if you refer a friend and they place an order, you will both get a $10 discount on your orders! Just click on the little purple Rewards icon on the webpage to get all the information!
If you haven't noticed lately, I have also added the option to leave reviews on products. Your reviews will help others who might be on the fence about purchasing a certain product. It will help me reach out to other shops and boutiques to see if they might be interested in carrying my products in their stores. And it provides valuable feedback for me, in knowing what people like, and if there are any changes I can make to make my products even better. Please leave reviews! I love reading them!
I hope that with the changing of the seasons, you will find as much joy in the next few months as I do. I so appreciate the people who support my small business. Here's to a fantastic Craft Fair season!! Hope to see you at one of my Upcoming Events!