I Have a Request

[kazmi]

If my EO's were organic I would just ship you some to help you out. I'm not ready to start selling my soaps yet so I can't even help you there either. I'm so sorry, I wish I could help!

 

[thinkativeone]

Thank you, Ruthie! That makes me feel a lot better knowing this is not just me, seriously! Kazmi, That is so kind of you, I appreciate the thought very much! You guys are seriously awesome, so glad I found this forum. I would like to sell eventually but I'm not ready to do it either. I mean I can offer what I have if someone like this that I know personally is interested, but not get everything all perfected yet for sure. I just sent her the free baby bars for fun and to get feedback on my soap, I never went into it expecting her to want to buy. At least the castile really helped her baby's skin - she sent me before/after pics and it's all healed up now. :-D Things like that is why I soap! Thanks again for the supportive, helpful words.

 

[lizflowers42]

She hasn't been on the forum for a while, but AlchemyandAshes does essential oil soaps and sells them-she has an online store here: http://alchemyandashes-com.webs.com/

 

[thinkativeone]

Thank you. I'll definitely pass it on to her. She may be okay with fragrance oil scented soap too. I just know for sure that she wanted one bar to be tea tree EO mixed with something else for her hubby.

 

[bodhi]

Im fresh out of everything she wants except the coffee, but i have all the supplies and more, and would be happy to whip up some soaps. I only use organic and EO's. feel free to pm me.

 

[Lotus]

Hey! This is a place based in my city. They are definitely pricy, but they do have some things that you can't find anywhere else (at least I haven't).

Here's the link to their Organic Essential Oil section.

http://www.essentialoil.com/collections/certified-organic-essential-oils

I had a list of all of their oils from when I went into their shop years ago. I just found it today, when my daughter was reading my soap book, and the papers fell out of it. : )

 

[thinkativeone]

Bodhi, I PMed you. If you give me your contact info I will give it to her and refer you. I already let her know you can make the coffee soap. She seemed happy.

Lotus, you are a peach. Jedward's Organic Orange EO is $15.50 for 16 oz (Mexico grown) - but they're ALL the way over in MA, so shipping any amount worthwhile is outrageous. This place has 16 oz. for $22.88 (USA grown)! I'm only 5 minutes away from Portland, being in Vancouver (Hazel Dell area). Looks like they don't have the right coconut oil but it appears they may even give Mountain Rose Herbs a run for their money when comparing EO prices, and be more local to me, to boot. I might just lose myself in there.

 

[Ruthie]

I had a friend text me last night asking if I would consider making a spearmint/eucalyptus blend or a vanilla/honey/coconut. Fortunately I had just sent off an order and was able to tell her no more til next month. But an idea just occurred to me. Why not let her buy the scents she wants and tell your friend you will make the soap with them for a nominal fee?

 

[Lotus]

Thinkative, I'm sure you mentioned it somewhere, but I didn't realize you lived so close!! This place is in Sellwood, so it will still be a bit of a drive. That little pocket of the city tends to not be too close to anything.

As far as I know, walking into the place isn't really as "shop-browsy" as one would hope. I think they're more "warehousy," but I would definitely call before I make the trip. The one time I stopped in there, they said they had a distilling class going on, and weren't available to sell me anything (my very first failed attempt at buying Palm oil).

So, yeah. : ) My pleasure!!

 

[thinkativeone]

I had a friend text me last night asking if I would consider making a spearmint/eucalyptus blend or a vanilla/honey/coconut. Fortunately I had just sent off an order and was able to tell her no more til next month. But an idea just occurred to me. Why not let her buy the scents she wants and tell your friend you will make the soap with them for a nominal fee?

I thought about this, and that's what she originally wanted to do. However, she wanted to pick the EOs up in-store and it's virtually impossible to find certified organic EOs that way. And the places I can order from online and have her pay me later for it, only make it cheaper if you buy in larger increments. I *could* let her pay for the smallest increment, but that would still be $18 for just 4 oz. of tea tree, $7.00 for 4 oz. of orange, and that's not even getting to some other EO to add to the tea tree. :-? After she paid for all that I don't even know how much I'd be able to charge for a nominal fee for the soap. The smallest increment of cocoa butter is 8.8 lbs and after EOs that was the next most expensive for me.

Lotus, looks like Sellwood-Portland is only 20 minutes from us, so not too bad. My in-laws are an hour from us and DH goes over there every couple weeks or so, so we don't mind a drive now and then. I like the warehouse look, but thanks for the tip about calling ahead!

 

[Ruthie]

I thought about this, and that's what she originally wanted to do. However, she wanted to pick the EOs up in-store and it's virtually impossible to find certified organic EOs that way. And the places I can order from online and have her pay me later for it, only make it cheaper if you buy in larger increments. I *could* let her pay for the smallest increment, but that would still be $18 for just 4 oz. of tea tree, $7.00 for 4 oz. of orange, and that's not even getting to some other EO to add to the tea tree. :-? After she paid for all that I don't even know how much I'd be able to charge for a nominal fee for the soap. The smallest increment of cocoa butter is 8.8 lbs and after EOs that was the next most expensive for me.

I hope I'm not being too brash in saying this, but IMO you are overthinking this! Let her get the ones she wants, and if she wants to pay the price for them, let her. Or if you want to have her pay the increment, figure the price of the oils you use and add some to that for your trouble. That's my 2c with may not be worth that much!

 

[Lotus]

Ruthie, that's what I was thinking. Obviously, she's willing to pay what it's worth, and it would appear she recognizes the extra costs that organic oils cost? Worth looking into, definitely. And more fun for you, you get to make more soap!!

 

[thinkativeone]

I hope I'm not being too brash in saying this, but IMO you are overthinking this! Let her get the ones she wants, and if she wants to pay the price for them, let her. Or if you want to have her pay the increment, figure the price of the oils you use and add some to that for your trouble. That's my 2c with may not be worth that much!

Not sure where you guys got the idea that she's willing to pay that. She's in the same boat as I am and had NO idea how much organic cost. When I told her, she was shocked.

Also, she's not exclusively organic like I am. So if she wants less expensive, it seemed to me not overthinking to realize someone else could meet her needs better than I. I just did the math, and the math was simple. I'd love to make more soap but she doesn't care about organic like I do, she'd be fine with regular. I'm the one that's all hardcore about not purchasing the other stuff personally.

 

[Lotus]

Oh! Well, I have no interest in organic, so I would be her gal. If you plan on selling in the future, being exclusively organic is just gonna be spendy. If she's willing to pay for non organic essential oils, I'm more than happy to make her an otherwise Castile batch of soap (keeping in mind a pretty long curing period).

 

[thinkativeone]

Oh! Well, I have no interest in organic, so I would be her gal. If you plan on selling in the future, being exclusively organic is just gonna be spendy.

I am aware of that. :wink: Organic is 100% worth it to me on so many levels, even if it means waiting. Many times I've found conventional to even cost more, like in the case of olive oil, whereas I get organic from Costco. But with other items it can be more expensive. If/when I sell it would be on a small scale (especially at first) and not for a long time. I'm still new to this and want to develop my own tried-and-true blends that I love. If I sold otherwise it'd just be to family or friends and as I had funds to do so. But lately I've just been giving a few bars away here and there.

She likes the pure castile for her baby (and they liked it for themselves as well) but I questioned her and got the picture they wanted something with a bit more hardness for themselves. That's where coconut oil (but not too much, as she says she gets dry hands) and cocoa butter came in for me. But if she's okay with using palm (I'm not) you could go for it that way as well I suppose. PM me your info and I'll forward it to her on facebook.

 

[Ruthie]

Not sure where you guys got the idea that she's willing to pay that. She's in the same boat as I am and had NO idea how much organic cost. When I told her, she was shocked.

Also, she's not exclusively organic like I am. So if she wants less expensive, it seemed to me not overthinking to realize someone else could meet her needs better than I. I just did the math, and the math was simple. I'd love to make more soap but she doesn't care about organic like I do, she'd be fine with regular. I'm the one that's all hardcore about not purchasing the other stuff personally.

Actually, I thought she might not be willing to pay that, once she found out how much it cost. And though there s nothing wrong with having someone else make soap for her- in fact it is a good idea- I think if you do get into selling your soaps, you will run into this same senario over and over again. So it does not hurt right now to consider all options and decide where you will let those situations take you. That is all I meant.

If you are that hardcore about organics, I am all for it. It is certainly the best way to go. (Even if I have gotten away from it personally....)

 

[thinkativeone]

I think if you do get into selling your soaps, you will run into this same senario over and over again. So it does not hurt right now to consider all options and decide where you will let those situations take you. That is all I meant.

If you are that hardcore about organics, I am all for it. It is certainly the best way to go. (Even if I have gotten away from it personally....)

I see what you mean. Before I develop any sort of selling plan I just want to create some recipes my husband and I like, and maybe sell some of those when I'm ready (I'd have to have a huge stock). Any kind of actual business I could develop would be really and truly years away as we have other exciting things to save for, like land. I'm also toying with the idea of making my own organic soaping EOs from herbs I will grow someday. But I shouldn't get ahead of myself, either. I realize people will have a lot of impossible requests. I guess I figured this would go smoother but in the end she didn't really know, like you said, what all went into the supplies. The amount of product needed for conventional would shock her too, I think. I was interested in fruity/sweet blends myself till I learned it's just not going to happen without Melt and Pour. And maybe someday I *might* try making my own bases, but I wouldn't count on it. I like the simplicity and beauty of cold process a lot.

 

[Ruthie]

Your plans and dreams remind me of those of the lady I get my goat's milk from. She is working toward organic, though at present one neighbor is hampering the process. But she is working toward it none the less, including buying more land on the other side of the "problem" neighbor. She has been taking care of her family for some time and is now growing her little business past that. I hope all works out for you. It is exciting to watch her progress.

 

[thinkativeone]

I like just hearing about what she's doing. Good for her, getting more land away from them! I think, for us, it should eventually work out. We're in our early-mid twenties so we have some time. I used to let having to live in an apartment bum me out (it still does from time to time) but throwing myself into filling every available space I have on our balcony with containers for container gardening has helped with that. Learning to sew, make soap, etc. An experienced soaper I know makes organic "goatmeal" (hahaha!) soap, and she doesn't use powdered milk either! I'd be tickled pink to have sheep and goats, too. There's this local farmer we go to with the cutest tiny goat named, "Nibbles" that kept trying to eat my skirt, hah! I love to knit and one of my goals is to learn to spin the natural fibers. I gotta say though, that taking the step to learn (I mean I'm always learning new things hah) soapmaking has already paid off versus placing soap orders through B&B Organic when they have sales. Makes inexpensive and well-appreciated gifts, too. And it's a valuable skill, I think. I should probably have been born in a different time.