Peace, Love & Soap LLC!

Many changes have taken place lately concerning Peace, Love & Soap. We are an official LLC! We also made our debut this Saturday at two stores in Greenville. You can purchase our soap at Reedy River General Store (formerly Pott's Natural Foods Store) and Brew & Ewe! It is so amazing how this has gone from an interest to a full blown business. There are many more opportunities in the works that hopefully will be in place in a couple of weeks. I have to give props to a really good friend of our family, Nancy. She organized all of my legal stuff for my LLC right down to the stamp. She is a wonderful lady and I owe her big time for taking the time to help me. This new endeavor has come so easy, so far, that it doesn't really even feel like work. I hope that it will stay stress free and fun. My husband has been so supportive of me. He believes in me and the potential of my business, which gives me the peace to keep marching. Most of all, he never complains about me spending any little bit of extra money on oils. He is a wonderful man. I love you, Mike! I had my ten year reunion this Saturday and it was great seeing all of my friends from back in the day. It's funny how you see yourself change, but don't expect anybody else to. I had a really nice time with everybody. I was glad to see that everyone is doing well. Go UCHS!

New Pictures

I finally had some time today to snap some shots of some of my new soaps. The flavors are berry, vanilla sandlewood, apple, mint chocolate, pumpkin spice, & Holly Mint (not in order). I also put one of my lip balms up. I am going to make more colors. As of now, my flavors are vanilla & watermelon. I opened my grapefruit today and it is a beautiful pink. My marbling effect didn't quite come out as expected, but I'm open! It smells wonderful so that makes up for it. Hope you like my latest pictures!

Lather Up!

I placed my first order for bulk ingredients the other day! I feel so official. Today I completed an order for one of the stores that will be carrying my soap. My bags are ready, just waiting for my labels, which are getting printed. I made a grapefruit batch today that I can't wait to unveil. I marbled it so that should be interesting to see how it turns out- pink & white. I love how the marbled bars look, still trying to get the hang of it. I've ruined about six shirts from not wearing my apron. The funny thing is that I have about four hanging in the garage. They are just way too cute to get anything on and mess up! Oh well, guess I'll wear old t-shirts from now on. My inventory is building steadily. I'm still trying to wittle my scents down to about six with a couple holiday specials. I made a Holly Mint bar the other day that I just have to sniff every time I walk by. It puts me in the mood for Christmas. Speaking of, I'm totally loving this weather. My windows are open, music is on, kids are playing nicely (for the moment!)- Life is good!

Organicfest!

We had such a good time at Organicfest, last Saturday! The kids dressed up like garden creatures and marched (& strolled) in the parade. We got lots of yummy & healthy samples. The music was great and the products were so nice, I wanted to buy one of everything. I got a lot of shopping done, while in Asheville. They have great stores where I can by lots of soap ingredients in bulk. I love going there. The drive is beautiful and there is a cool vibe to that city. The kids and I had a wonderful day together.

Life is not a solo!

Life is not a solo. My mom has been telling me that for years, to the point of annoiance, actually. But as I get older, I realize that it's true. My business grows everyday from people that are helping me market my soap. My cousin has been selling away, while at her job- talk about multitasking. A good friend of ours has taken the time to show my products and now Peace, Love & Soap is going to be in a store in downtown Greenville! Not to mention she watches my kids for me if my husband and I go out! I am so excited. Another store in Greenville will be carrying my soap in slabs. That way you cut off as much as you want at a time. That is appropriate for this place because it's got that general store feel to it. Wow, I couldn't have done this myself. I am thankful for all of my support and help. I got to make lip balms for the ladie's golf tournament where my husband works. They went out today so I hope everyone liked them. I am trying to get eight basic flavors of soap down, that way I can get those eight bars down to a science. I've been experimenting with different aromas. I'll be sure to blog what I come up with. Thanks, guys for all of the love, support and sales! I'm happy!

Peace, Love & Hard Work!

Things seem to becoming together quite nicely. I've been hard at work coming up with new recipes for the fall & winter seasons. I made a pumpkin pie soap, night before last, that smells good enough to eat! The kids and I are going to Organicfest in Asheville tomorrow. I am so excited, I've been saving up to get lots of great ingredients. Not to mention, Asheville has better natural food stores than Greenville. I still consider that to be local since it's only an hour away. I altered my muslin bags to have a drawstring. This is better because the soap is more accessible for viewing and sniffing. My marketing team has been hard at work and sales are going up, up, up! The hardest thing right now is the balance of taking care of my kids and my eagerness to improve my business. The kids come first! If I ever start to forget this, they quickly bring me back down to earth. Thanks guys, I love you so much! Cameron (31/2) pitches in by turning my bags right side out for me, as I sew. He is very helpful and interested in my soap. He knows many of the essential oils and anxiously tells me his thoughts on each one. Slowly, but surely we're getting there.

My New Packaging

I have had a couple of people approach me about stocking my soap in there store! This is very exciting to me, but I still need to perfect my packaging. I've tried a couple of different ideas. The boxes are cute, but most of my bars are too big to fit. I like the bags, but you can't see the soap. Oh the stresses of marketing! I may never find the perfect answer!