Christmas Craft Fair

I have been getting ready for the Wilmore Old Fashion Christmas craft fair for quite some time. I had stocked my shelves, labeled my Prairie Kari products, hauled tables, shelves and assorted display items from the barn at our farm, and was finally ready Saturday. Bob and I arrived at the seminary gym about 7:30 am and began setting up while small snowflakes swirled in the air.

A couple of friends and I shared a two booth space and it was amazing how quickly our booth came together. I think it was the best attended fair yet and my profits rose about 35% over last year! And let me tell you--that is a LOT of soap.

I think the most rewarding thing for me is when people come back to buy more soap and tell me great stories of how their acne, psoriasis, eczema, etc. was helped by using my soap. One lady's young son is allergic to coconut oil [which is in about every type of soap]. She was thrilled to see my natural detergent did not contain any coconut oil and to be able to buy some non-coconut oil soap.

Other people were so excited to see Goat Milk soap with no scent--because they are sensitive to any scents.

One lady had to buy several bars if soap for her dad in Indiana because he got some last year [I remembered him] and told her to be sure to buy him some this year.






All and all a satisfying experience and I reduced my inventory considerably.


Take care,
Jill
[Photos, top to bottom: soap in my shelves in my office; tubs packed up and ready to go; front leg of table with felted soap and lip balm; full booth; back table; lip balm; my friend Jenny's note card section of our booth.]

Soap therapy...

I love to make soap. I don't know what it is, but chemistry was not fun until I started making good old fashioned lye soap. I have developed many recipes, but basically I take granulated lye--the type that unclogs your sink--and dissolve it in water.

Then I combine it, when everything is the correct temperature, with liquid fats, butters and oils. And this is the part I love. When the lye water and oils have a chemical reaction called saponification, they are no longer two things, but now it is soap. I always feel a rush when this happens, when I see the reaction take place. Then I have to work fast to add any enriching butters and essential oils.

I pour it into molds and then the next day, unmold my soap. It has to cure for 2-3 weeks. Here you see Coconut Lime and Comforting Comfrey. My soap cures in plastic trays in my walk in closet and it makes my bedroom smell fabulous.



After curing, I wrap it and it is ready to use. The problem is, I never do anything in a small way. So, in no time we were over run with soap. I mean, at 18 bars to a batch, and I usually make two batches at a time, well you can see how quickly we were over-run. We like to be clean, but no family can use the amount the soap I was turning out. That is why I had to start selling it.

I love to develop new recipes and especially like making goat milk and coconut milk soap. They are harder to make, but give me more satisfaction.

If you are interested in making soap, I highly recommend you check out Millers Soap . She has lots of great information, better than I could find when I searched a whole host of books. Her recipes are easy to follow. And, of course, if you have questions about making soap, feel free to ask me. I am always glad to help.
Take care,
Jill