Maker of the Month Archives

Sunday Soap Case: We All Wear Masks…

October 16, 2016 Leave a Comment

Masques & Masks – A Perfect Match!

Greetings, Sudsers! I hope your weekend has been productive. Mine has been decent – this was the final weekend before Tacoma’s Holiday Food and Gift Festival at the Tacoma Dome, so I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Except not really. I signed up for Victorian Country Christmas this weekend, so the light at the end of my tunnel is an oncoming train of more holiday show prep work. I don’t know why I do this to myself. This week on the Soap Case I will be introducing you to my October Maker of the Month, as well as providing a bit more information on a new Soap & Clay product!

RavenCraft – October Maker of the Month

We run into all types of people in life. Some we love, others we can do without. We have acquaintances, we have friends, BFFs, and even some frenemies. But every once in a while, you stumble upon people so incredible, so bright, so captivating that you pull them into your circle and never let them go. These people become your people; they change you at the cellular level. So it was with the RavenCraft Family.

I met Josh and Yvonne and their three awesome kids at The Fairyblossom Festival in Chehalis over the summer. And I immediately fell in love. The whole family is kind, optimistic, altruistic, intelligent, artistic with my kind of sense of humor. They’re delightful, and I enjoyed spending time with them at the event. We’ve since bumped into each other a few times since, and when I opened up Soap & Clay at Freighthouse Station, I knew that I needed them for my Maker of the Month table. Here’s why:

Amazing, right? They are so unbelievably talented, I can’t even. Their masques are all handcrafted, every piece is unique, and the entire family contributes to the design process. Family businesses are the best businesses, in my opinion. I’ll have more from RavenCraft over the next few weeks, but in the meantime be sure to check out their facebook page, give them a like, and come try on their wares at the shop!

Mask + Scrub Combo: Activated Charcoal Face Mask

I know, I know. I did an activated charcoal post last week. My very sensitive skin gets super wacky as the weather gets cooler, so I find myself turning to the healing products more often than usual. This mask is my favorite go-to these days, and because of my super sensitive skin I was super particular when I developed it. Here’s what makes it great:

Plate o’ Awesomeness

Activated charcoal purges toxins and clears skin
Bentonite clay reduces redness and detoxifies
Grapeseed oil delivers EFAs and hydrates tired skin
Evening Primrose softens skin and minimizes fine lines
Orange Valencia EO brightens skin
Noni Fruit Powder exfoliates and delivers antioxidants

This mask is a dry delivery system with a twist. I infuse the activated charcoal, clay, and exfoliant with high quality botanicals and essential oils, making sure that everything is uniformly mixed, before packaging. But Mrs. Soap & Clay, why do you do this? So glad you asked! While activated charcoal and bentonite clay are wonderful on their own, I was more interested in creating a skincare system comparable to a treatment at a spa. Purging pores isn’t enough; your skin needs EFAs, antioxidants, and hydration too. So with this system your pores are purged, your skin is hydrated, your debris is removed, and your face is polished and glowing. The exfoliation bit is because I really love dual purpose products; this mask pulls toxins from the skin, tightens, and then sloughs away the remaining unwanted gunk. Pretty sweet, eh?

Why the dry delivery system? Well, adding the hydrosol before packaging is problematic for a number of reasons. First, a main focus of my crazy soapy vision is delivering undiluted and pure skincare products. Water, well, waters down these beautiful botanicals, yielding a less effective product. Also, if I add water, I have to add a preservative. This is something I also avoid in my products as preservatives can cause a host of skin problems. Finally, a dry delivery system allows you, the end user, to customize the mask to fit your skin’s needs. If you’re super dry, for example, you could use a lightweight oil as your hydrosol. Skin lacking in luster? Try rosewater! Perhaps you need to feel the burn of a chemical peel-esque mask – apple cider vinegar would be your go-to. Dry delivery makes this mask extremely versatile.

So there you have it, Sudsers – the process behind creating the activated charcoal masks, the reasoning behind October’s Maker of the Month (reason: because RavenCraft is awesome), and now I must bid you adieu.

Just kidding. Coupon code for you to try your very own AC Mask+Scrub on me below.

Coupon code BLACKISTHENEWBLACK for a free AC Mask+Scrub. Offer expires October 23rd, 2016. Thanks!

Happy Sudsing!

Sunday Soap Case: Catch a Pokemon…in Your Tub.

September 25, 2016 Leave a Comment

Greetings and salutations, Sudsers! Hope your weekend was extra-special-awesome, because I have an extra-special-awesome blog post to get you ready for the week ahead.

I’d like to think that my writing skills have the ability to do that. If you disagree, click here.

Anyway, we’re kicking off the Soap Case with a final look at Karter Designs before she leaves the Maker of the Month table. It has been awesome getting to talk to customers about Katy and her business this month. She has a great product line and a refreshing approach to business development, so it’s going to be tough to see her go. After Katy, we’ll finish up with some totes adorb bath bombs that I’ve added to the line. Ready?

Karter Designs

Image courtesy of Karter Designs.

Katy Haymore, owner/creator/designer/financier/CEO of Karter Designs (she wears a lot of hats), is a PNW mom of two young boy-children. So she’s busy. And probably spends more time cleaning than she’d like. She shared a story with me recently about her boys that made me giggle, so I’m going to share it with you. Because giggling is fun. If you disagree, click this link.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS

“Have you ever just looked at your kid and wondered, “How? Just how in the hell did you get into a mess like that?” Well I say that to myself pretty much every day. I am a #boymom through and through, with two littles who always keep me on my toes! My big kid is 2 ½ and let me tell you, the “terrible two’s” are no joke! Although I’ve heard it gets nothing but worse from where were at (#fml). And my 8 month old? He is so wild he literally makes monkeys in the zoo look like relatives. All day long he’s up, he’s crawling into different rooms, he’s climbing, and he’s into something every time I turn around. How do they have all that energy!??

So yesterday my big kid asks for a snack and he chooses the little Nutella ready-to-go packs (whoever invented this is AMAZING, btw). Being an awesome mom that cares about balancing nutrition, I ask him to sit on the couch with his snack while I grab him a sippy cup of milk. When I return, he’s not there. Recap: I was gone maybe 10 seconds; just long enough to fill a sippy. I walk into his room, not there. I look in the bathroom, not there. I walk into my bedroom, and THERE. HE IS. Hands covered in Nutella. Face covered in Nutella. How is there this much Nutella in that little to-go pack??? And the piece de resistance? My pillow and comforter (my pillow, btw. Not dad’s), covered in Nutella. W.T.F.”

With rambunctious boys like that, I don’t know how she manages to crank out new designs at a record pace! But she does; she’s a machine. It has been such an honor to work with her this month and I look forward to more business adventures together in the very near future. And while she is leaving our maker table for now (sad face), her pieces are always available at her shop! Check it out!

If you decide to pick up a little something from Karter Designs, send me a screenshot of the confirmation and I will send YOU a coupon code for an additional 20% off of Soap & Clay’s site. Because double deals are cool. If you disagree, click here.

Poke-bombs FTW!

So I’m a little late to the party with this post. I actually started making these poke-bombs several months ago and have been selling them at booth events and at the shop in Freighthouse Station. I haven’t put them on the website, though, because I have had a hard time keeping them in stock. I know, I know – I suck. If you disagree, click the link.

There are hundreds of Pokemon; no two bombs are the same!

Anyway, Poke-bombs are pretty self explanatory. They’re bath bombs themed around six different Poke Balls from the Pokemon world. They are the same size as the old version of my Mondo Bath Bombs – smaller than the new and improved giant bath bombs but bigger than the kid’s bombs. Lots of fizzy bath time fun.

But wait, there’s more! Tucked inside each Poke-bomb is a collectible Pokemon character! Cool, yeah? I think I’ve finally finished the back orders for these bath bombs, but I still don’t have them on the site. Because I suck. See above. BUT…I have no problem giving them away as a thank you for putting up with my suckiness!

Enter POKEBOMBSFTW in the notes of your next order and I will send you a Poke-bomb on the house! Remember, put it in the order notes; this is not a coupon code. My super helpful web designer informed me that I can’t create a coupon code for something that doesn’t exist, so if I want to use codes I have to stop sucking and catch up with my site maintenance. Noted. I’ll work on it. Maybe.

Happy Sudsing!

Sunday Soap Case: Maker of the Month

September 4, 2016 2 Comments

Makers Gonna Make

It’s Sunday, and time for another edition of Sunday Soap Case. This week is a bit different, though. Let’s call it special. A super special spotlight. Involving Soap & Clay (obvs), news from Freighthouse Station (obvs), and a brand new program we’ve rolled out this month: Maker of the Month!

What is a maker?

Chances are, you’re a maker. If you’ve ever made a cake for a kidlet’s birthday instead of ordering from the grocery store, you’re a maker. Spent countless hours designing, measuring, and sewing a Halloween costume instead of heading down to the costume shop? Maker. Painted a sign, reupholstered a chair, refinished a dresser: maker. The maker spirit is alive in most all of us; the excitement and sense of accomplishment that comes from making something out of nothing is a better high than any drug in existence.

The Maker Movement

Some of us crazy people take it a step farther. We don’t want to make a sign; we want to make all the signs. We aren’t content with a batch of basic soap that will keep our family clean for a year; we want to try every soap technique and experiment with every possible oil combination. We aren’t satisfied with the perfectly designed quilt on our guest bed; we want to work with every damn piece of fabric that has ever been wrapped around a bolt. For some of us, making is not a hobby, it’s a full-on obsession.

So we start businesses. We’ve worked our booties off designing and formulating, building an inventory and setting up our shops because we believe that we have something special, unique, and useful that will provide value to others. We promote our business, harass our friends and family to do the same, stay active on our social media pages, spend countless hours continuing to develop our craft and research new and better ways to create our masterpieces. We eat, breathe, and dream our craft. We work hard.

The one thing I don’t see enough of in the maker world, however, is promoting, championing, and helping other makers. We’re so hyper focused on achieving our goals that we race right past another maker trying to achieve theirs. And as the absolute hardest thing to do when building a start-up is reach a larger audience, it’s just silly that we don’t focus more on cross promoting. So when I opened Soap & Clay’s storefront, I never saw it as just a place to showcase all my brightly colored wares. I wanted to be able to provide a space for the talented makers I’ve met along the way (of which I’ve met hundreds; I collect talented people much like other women collect shoes) to display their items, perhaps reaching a larger audience in the process.

Enter Maker of the Month

Sign: Mama’s Chalk Shop
Inventory: Karter Designs

I’ve set aside a space in my shop for this purpose. Each month, a new, talented, and all-around awesome maker will be showcased. My criteria for Maker of the Month are as follows:

-a kickass personality

-a unique and fresh perspective within their craft

-superior products, stellar customer service, and reasonable prices

-a focus on growing their business, a passion for their craft, and boatloads of positivity

So really, the makers showcased aren’t just any makers – they are extraordinary human beings with extraordinary talents!

Image courtesy of Karter Designs.

Karter Designs

maker of the month at soap & clay freighthouse

Image courtesy of Karter Designs.

Kicking off the Maker of the Month is Katy Haymore of Karter Designs. Katy is a hard working, fast moving, mover and maker mom of two boy-children. Her down to earth personality, love of her family, and smart ass sense of humor really comes through in her products. Which are great, by the way. Karter Designs specializes in painted wood signs and drinkware and has something for every occasion. Need something custom? She’s got you covered. How about something to commemorate your child’s birth story? She’s got that covered, too.

Image courtesy of Karter Designs.

Karter Designs can be found on Instagram and Facebook, as well as at her website. Go give her a like!

Seriously on the like thing, though. Normally I showcase a product in my line each Sunday and offer a coupon code for my faithful readers that manage to make it through to the end. I’m still doing a coupon code this week, but it’s not going to be for a specific item from my shop.

Coupon code LOVEMESOMEKD gets you $10 off your order this week, but here’s what you need to do to use the code.

Go to one (or all!) of Karter Designs’ pages. Like or follow (or both!). If you’re in the market for/fall in love with something, buy it! Interact with Karter Designs in some way and then come back here to get $10 off of your order. If you found your way to Soap Case today through Karter Designs, do the same for me. I appreciate likes too!

How will I know if you’ve done this? I won’t. This is the honor system, people – we’re all awesome grown-ups that care about our fellow human and find joy in helping others succeed. I trust you and stuff. That’s it from me this week – catch you on the…soapy side…?