Lavola

If you are into discovering new music, you should check out Lavola, this super new, "unknown" band down here in West Palm Beach. My husband wrote an article for The New Times, but it was accidentally cut, so he self published it on his blog.

Go read it and get a free download of one of their songs. You might really like it.

I really do. And I feel so privileged because:

a) I know one of the guys (the one in the middle ) - Brian. So sweet!

and

b) I am going out tonight to see them live at their 2nd show ever :)

I Am Famous In Sweden ;)

Get through the first 90 seconds, it's worth it.

http://en.tackfilm.se/?id=1267022148510RA39

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Soap Porn + Shooting

felted soaps by fiat luxe

3 beautiful different soap offerings at ragle + davis soapworks

pecan roast


peach tea


acorns and black oak

three vegan soaps by long winter farm



Lavender soap by The Soap Dish (Australia)
their own website

I would just like to suggest reading a blog post at poppytalk called Stylin'101: How to create amazing product photos. I glaze over beautiful soaps because the photos are bad, gloomy, dark or just not lit well. I know I'm missing out but I skim the internet for hours.... I can't look at every soap photo. They have to leap out at me. Natural light and detail grab my attention. I know everyone has a window, you don't need a studio to have great pictures! Look at this lavender soap. It is probably right near a kitchen window. Look at the tile behind it. But it caught my eye, because natural light brings out the natural colors and shades beautifully....etc. Also, don't get scared to get close. You don't have to get as close as long winter farm's photos, but how nice is it to see the soap up close and not a whole lot of background?

I'm just trying to give some tips because if your soaps are beautiful but people are not featuring them in blog posts, think about your photos. Are they calming to look at? Could you imagine it on a magazine cover? Try natural light with a bare background... look at the focus. Be picky.

Hope you liked the porn on this fine Sunday.

xo

Unplanned Faces

These are a stack of Apple Crisp soaps I made in December. Mmm, they smelled so good. The day I cut the loaf, I noticed swirly faces in my bars. An angelic face on one side and on the other side of the bar... well... it looked like a devilish face, almost maniacal in nature. I'd say, it was a physical Yin Yang bar. I had two of these bars. Actually I had two bars with the angelic faces. I just sold the one with the angelic face. I still have the one with both the angel and the maniac.

my maniac, see it?

do you see her?

Have you found images in your soap? If so, what were they?

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Life Line

I want to share this with you. This is an excerpt from the Product Body blog:

".....I have been so supported by all of you and I want to thank you for the undying support and comfort you have given me through this time. I believe it has a lot to do with my sunny outlook on closing the shop. I initially thought closing it indicated my failure, a total catastrophe. I don't see it like that at all now. I see it as my stepping stone; As my way to move forward because I couldn't focus or work hard enough to get enough done, so I was just treading water. Now I feel like I can make product - produce, produce, produce -- - if I need to... and right now, my wholesale customers, including the new ones, are needing the product they have asked for, so I better get moving and mix up the goods!

Thank you and hugs to you.

:)

xo Joanna"

I was sitting and talking to my mother the other night and had a realization that you all are really a large part of my support network. I have my family and a couple of very close friends, but every time I get online, I feel support. My mother chimed in and said, "and admiration!" But that's not what fills me. You coming here and reading, commenting and being part of my little community and sharing your lives with me... well, that is huge for me. That has touched me.

I have had a medically bumpy year and chronic pain is an isolating experience if you haven't experienced it long term. The outpouring of love and concern made me feel so alive and loved. I can not tell you the amount of warmth I felt from you. It was surprising and wonderful. I think this blog was some type of a life line for me. It gave me the pleasure of looking for gorgeous soap and gave me the distraction of having a mission to bring it to you.

I just can't believe it took me this long to realize it.

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Dawanda Soap Porn From Around The World

I went to Dawanda to search for soaps this morning instead of Etsy! And I found some new artists. I've included their country under their soaps so you can see the diversity here. Come take a look...

A Slice Of Summer - Handmade Soap Amyris/litsea by MiichikoKobayashi

"Dark, balmy and sensual amyris (a scent that's often compared to sandalwood) is contrasted with fresh and uplifting litsea - the oil of a citrus fruit which smells like lemons, only more so."

Germany

Lemon-Orange soap by Alentejoazul

Portugal

Lily Of The Valley by HappySourPussy

Austria

'Sleepy Wallow' Cocoa and Marshmallow by happysigh

UK

Caffe Latte Soap by Saponissimo

Made with creamy coconut milk, nourishing avocado oil and 25% shea butter.

Italy

So so pretty.... :) Thank you soap makers!

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Open Sky Announcement

I was invited to be a shopkeeper at The Open Sky Project, which is an online marketplace made up of shopkeepers ("experts in a field") who provide suggested products that he or she recommends. The suggested products have added personal written reviews by the shopkeeper or videos or whatever the shopkeeper wants to add. I haven't added videos yet, but I can't wait to! Each of us shopkeepers choose our own things we like or want to recommend and then anyone who knows me or trusts me might feel compelled to purchase from the shop because I give them a personal account of my experience! It's a pretty cool concept.

Open Sky was founded and is being run by John Caplan, former owner of Ford models, entrepreneur extraordinaire.

I am trying to get Indigo Bee soaps to be suppliers and have their soaps and stuff available for purchase there which would be pretty huge considering Open Sky is being browsed by over 159,000 shoppers so far. I'm also trying to get a large selection of soy wax candles and other handmade items to appear in The Soap Bar shop.

I understand you may find this to be weird and maybe it is, but we all have to make a little money here and there and Product Body is one way I make some and The Open Sky may turn out to be another, who knows? Yes, I make a commission on anything that sells through my shop. I would love it if you would go over there and take a look. Sometimes, like I think right now, they are offering free shipping on orders of $25 or more.

Like I said, I'll be adding a A TON more stuff, but for now, I'm just making my announcement for the opening.

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Some Soaps Of Mine

Ginger Milk Tea soap

scent:: Hot tea, infused with nutmeg, cloves and

vanilla topped with frothy sweet ginger milk

(very lightly scented!)

Mar Bar (sans anise)

UNSCENTED

Coconut Vanilla Bourbon

(will be posting this on Etsy)

Coconut Cream and Lemongrass Soap

Lychee Wave

scent:: tart red lychee berries marinated in juices of pink

grapefruit & lemon and then topped with a dollop of sweet sorbet

So these are the soaps I happen to have that are cured. I have a TON that need to be made and some that are curing that are not photographed. I haven't posted my soaps in a long time, so I thought I'd pimp my "wares" a bit. I have been so behind! Jeeez.

Check y'all later!

Etsy Elitist? No, It's Just Easy

I'm guessing you've probably noticed that most of my soap porn finds come from Etsy. I know, so convenient isn't it? It's no coincidence though. I go to other marketplaces, but I find that Etsy has the most comprehensive search engine, at least since the last time I looked.

These were the ones I knew about other than Etsy:

ArtFire

1000markets

But now I find out there are so many more. I'm only going to name 4 of them and I'm not going to link to them because I am lazy today:

• poppy talk
• paper n stitch
• shop handmade
• DaWanda

They are all cute and I plan to use every one of them now, but I had to explain my "overuse" of Etsy. ArtFire didn't provide me with much as far as searches when I wanted specific soaps. It doesn't really work for my last posting because as you can see, both searches came up with come nice choices of soaps, but typically, Etsy brings up a better array.

I'll show you the nice pictures anyway...

I typed "snow soap" into the search field on ArtFire and this was the batch that came up:


Then Etsy's search:




This really is to explain where my head has been at as far as searching for the interesting soaps, the porn, the soap LOVE, but I will go farther and wider and stop taking the easy way out all the time. Time constraints may have me going to Etsy on occasion, so it may have to be Etsy or no post on certain days. I know you will understand. ;)

Yay handmade and independent, I say, no matter where you sell. And whatever you do, keep me updated. You know I love hearing from you all! :D

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Saturday Soap Porn

Oh my gosh, as I was looking for soap porn I found this cute little baby that I couldn't resist sharing with you. Look at that adorable freaking HAT on that adorable little munchkin! Oooo!

The LUKE Crochet Pom Pom Hat by Knot Just Bows

I just can't even stand how much I want to just put my face up to that baby's face and rub cheek to cheek and smell the baby smell. Oh how I miss that baby smell and softness. (Don't even suggest I might be ready to start again, because I am NOT. Never happening. Not even possible anymore, so don't mention it.) I just love babies.

OK, on to the PORN, baby!

Winter is here to stay for a bit according to the silly groundhog on TV and the weather channels reporting 10 and 20 inches of snow up north are just making it hard for you to think of much else. There are so many wonderful things about Winter, and these soaps are heavenly looking, aren't they? Winterized and beautified. If nothing else, let these soaps cheer you up on this Winter's day. As for me, I live in Florida for now, and I will live vicariously through you and pretend my toes are cold and achey and my lips are chapped. ;) Don't hate me cuz I'm warm...

Winter Mint Soap by Elegant Rose Boutique
"My kids tell me it smells like mint gum! Yum! The following essential oils
were used: peppermint, birch and vanilla"

Snowdrift - limited edition peppermint soap by Alchemic Muse

"Adorned with a frosty swirl of earth oxides and enhanced with
copious amounts of butters to soften dry winter skin"

Snow Garden Soap Vegan Friendly by pink parchment soaps
"This fragrance reminds me of a winter garden.... Reminiscent of clean, fresh cotton.
With a touch of heliotrop, juniper berry, vetiver and sandalwood"



Fresh Snow by Funk U Bath and Body
"It smells incredibly airy and perfectly fresh, like a gentle breeze on a cool winter morning"



Snow Cap Sweet Marjoram with poppy seeds by SALATHOUGE
"Scent: Delicate sweet marjoram scent for sensitive skin"



Winter Berry soap by Madeline Bea Soap
"a combination of raspberry and orange with a hint of musk"

I DO love you guys, you know! I just tease...
xo Jo