Sunday, April 6, 2014

Potted Lemon Curd, best left small, and a many pointed compass.

Potted Lemon Curd
Rice Bran oil, Shea Butter, Coconut oil, Avocado oil, Organic Cocoa Butter, Castor Oil
 Essential oil blend of Lemon, Litsea, Benzoin, & Vanilla oleoresin.
A small 7 bar batch because small is beautiful!

So the past month or so I have been feeling this overwhelming push to make some sort of progress in my life; almost a jump off the cliff and ride the waves sort of feeling. The result of this is that I have doing a lot of introspection and exploration lately. Primarily I have been trying to figure out the direction and role that Bubble & Flame will take and play in my life.

I called several commercial realty agencies in surrounding communities, and went to see a retail space in a local tourist region and started gathering information that I would need should I venture that path. While I adore the idea and have the support, I have decided that this is not the best time for me. I also scheduled a part time job interview. So, there you have it...lots of exploration.

In fact all this reaching out and exploring has left me feeling more inclined to scale back and refocus. I am still exploring directions and decisions but so far I keep coming back to the adage "small is beautiful."

Soap, for me, is an expressive outlet. It is a source of relaxation and fun. I don't have the desire to mass produce huge volumes of repetitive product for sale in vast stores across the world.

My desire lies in utilizing my creativity to the fullest while using exceptional ingredients to produce a product that nerdy, enchanted, dreamy, hermit-like folks (like me) can appreciate. Inspired, small batch, small scale, and an ever-changing variety. I am not at a point in my life where I wish to be pinned down to a production schedule contingent on the demands of retailers.

That said, I am scaling back.

To my current wholesalers:
-I will no longer be offering custom blending or custom private label packaging.
-All orders will be made off of my website based on current inventory utilizing wholesale passwords.
-Bars for private labeling can be purchased at the same price as wholesale and packaging will not be provided by me. All orders will have the label requirements (per law) provided via email and the retailer will be responsible to place them on their own labels. You want the advertising, you do the dirty work (and yes, packaging is definitely the dirty work).

To my current customers:
Nothing really changes!
I will continue to bring you the same high quality product you enjoy.
I may be scaling back on fairs and shows, so if you need soap catch me when you can and there is always the website or my Etsy Shop which now host bulk deals.

On Etsy there is a preset section, you purchase and then message me your selection.
On the website there is a page with active discount codes for multiple soap bar purchasing. Save your money and stock up!

I frankly need more play in my life. So batches will probably be smaller, more inspired, and I am going to have more fun.

This past year has been spent working a part time day job, raising a wonderful 7 year old, being a terrible housefrau and family member, and cranking out soap in an attempt to keep a steady pace of healthy business growth.

What I am hoping is that this (mostly internal) refocusing will allow my business to grow at a pace that will feel balanced, allow me to feel less pressured and more inspired, and to more fully enjoy what I am doing rather than constantly pushing B&F from a business perspective.

All that said - I totally love my supporters and want to thank you by offering you 10% off any order placed in April 2014. Use coupon code SPRINGSPRUNG on Etsy or on my website for the discount.

Peace!
Sarah