Soapourri Natural Bath and Body, LLC

Soapourri January Newsletter

Soapourri Newsletter January 2009 Valentine's Day is coming up, and we have gifts for the special people in your life ranging from $3.95 to $36.00.  All are non-caloric, oh-so-practical, and last much longer than flowers!  And for those of you that want to give a hint to your significant other - you can either use the "forward email" link at the bottom to forward this newsletter (and give a specific hint), or you can use the "tell a friend" feature on each item.  Ladies, they will be the first to tell you that they appreciate the input! Valentine's Day Gift "The Sweetest Thing" A collection of "sweet treats", four pastel 2.25 oz. hearts with candy heart messages comes nestled in a darling frosted Chinese takeout box with pink and red hearts.   What Have We Been Up To? (Besides No Good, Of Course!) We recently hosted the Irish Fireside.com lads on their trip west.  We made soap together and got some great ideas for new products.  You can read about all our exploits at my blog. And here is what's coming up next: Bath Salts in new Big Tubes Super natural soaps with dried fruits/veggies Soap to Go New Easter Baskets - see preview here Soap to Go Volunteers, anyone? At our last show a woman approached us with a request - Soap to Go.  She travels to school kitchens and washes her hands frequently with the harsh soap there, and was experiencing dry hands.  She was looking for some good soap to carry with her.  Well, this was all we needed to hear, as we struggle with the same issue when we leave the house as well.  We're so used to our soap that it really bothers us when we use "ECS" - Evil Corporate Soap. If you work at a place that uses ECS and you'd like to be a tester for our Soap to Go, reply to this newsletter with your mailing address and we'll pick a few of you to be our guinea pigs! New Spa Duckies Now on Sale These duckies are ready to get their spa on!  Each ducky is sold "swimming" in ocean-scented blue glycerin soap. Thank you for your business in the past - we are looking forward to the future and a great 2009!   Sincerely, Cindy Helgason Owner/Soapcrafter Soapourri Natural Bath & Body

Skeeter Beater Testimonial/Product for Pug

I just had to post this lovely testimonial that I got today from a very loyal customer:

"My granddaughter, Lilly age 4, and I are both quite sensitive to mosquito bites. To add to our misery, I have sensitive skin and Lilly inherited that and adds to it severe eczema. (Which has been under control with the use of Soapourri soaps and Lilly's personal favorite - the Butter Bar!) For the summer of 2008 I decided to try Skeeter Beater. The first time we used it, the air was just filled with mosquitoes and Lilly was determined to go for a tricycle ride. I applied Skeeter Beater and we headed outside. In less than half a block I noticed there was a large dark cloud of mosquitoes following Lilly as she pedaled away. Not one would even attempt to land on her! I had never before seen anything like this!

We returned home without a bite on us!

Another bonus - Dear Hubby asked if I was wearing a new perfume that day. The citrus scent is quite delightful!

BTW - a new use for my butter bar is on Suzy the Pug and newest member of our family. This winter, I apply it to her pads to help fight the dryness caused the cold, melting salts and chemicals outside. Suzy goes nuts when she sees me get my butter bar out. (Much like Lilly's reaction , but at least Lilly, now age 4, agrees not to try to eat it!)"

Pam in Johnston, IA

Wouldn't you like to see Suzy go nuts over a butter bar?  I would!

Me Like Cookie!

That was my best Cookie Monster imitation - what do you think?  I recently got a dozen
chocolate  chip cookies from Baby Boomers Cafe.  I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  These, after all, were the cookies that Barack Obama took a shine to when his Iowa campaign headquarters was next door to Baby Boomers Cafe.  It is just a tiny place, but I understand that they are now shipping 4,000 cookies a week all over the world.  And they furnished 5,500 cookies for the inauguration.  As a small business owner, I love these kinds of stories.  What luck for them to be in the right place at the right time, with a great product.

Anyway, I tried them.  And they are ALL THAT.  Wow.

Great Craic with Irish Fireside's Corey and Liam

This weekend I had the pleasure to host Corey and Liam of Irish Fireside at my house.  They were at the beginning of their Irish-American Road Trip from Milwaukee to L.A.  We had previously "met" online when they included my soaps in their Christmas Gift Guide.  They had a really hellish trip from Sumner, Iowa to Des Moines - should have been just a couple hours, but the roads were icy - here is their description of their day. I have to say that their visit was the highlight of my week!  We drank tea and other beverages, ate pizza, made oatmeal soap together, and just generally talked about business and Ireland.  Liam has a jewelry making business -  he uses shards of china - and I was able to see lots of it and get all of the scoop.  They also gave me some suggestions for new Irish-related soaps - look for them in the future!  I'll also be making some soaps for his Irish bed and breakfast, Knockahopple Cottage. 

Here's a cute pic of Miss Ginger guarding over us while we ate pizza. 

I'm so happy about making these new friends, and I anxiously wait for updates as they travel to the West Coast - you can follow their trip blog here.

Sedaris/Burroughs - a weird juxtaposition

If you know me very well, you know that I am a voracious reader and always have been.  Reading gives me so much pleasure, it has really been a constant in my life.  Going to the library for me is like going to a candy store.  I'm still amazed that I get to read all these books for free.  I always come out piled to the gills - then I leave some in the car so my husband doesn't see them all!  We even have a designated "library book table" in the family room.

Anyway, I have noticed that I often seem to check out David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs at the same time.  Maybe they're on the same schedule as far as book releases?  For a while I've gotten them kind of mixed up in my head, so I had to think about their similarities.

1. They both write about their childhood quite a bit.  Sedaris, kind of whacky, Burroughs pretty horrific.
2. They are both recovering alcoholics and/or drug addicts.
3. They are both gay, in very long-term and committed relationships.
4. They both have siblings that also write - Amy Sedaris and John Elder Robison (Burroughs changed his name)

So those are their similarities - but here is the big difference - Sedaris is really laugh out loud funny and Burroughs is sad and dark.  Their books that I have just finished reading are A Wolf at the Table, a memoir of my father, Augusten Burroughs, and When you are engulfed in flames, David Sedaris.

Augusten Burroughs had a movie made from his book Running with Scissors- maybe you've seen it?  Now when I read about his father, I "see" Alec Baldwin in my head.  He plays morose very well.

I recommend both of them but if you want to bust a gut laughing, read Sedaris.

Game Wave

A few weeks ago, I bought a new game console called Game Wave by Zapit, through my involvement in BzzAgent.  It's a group gaming system for up to 6 players, where you can all play at once against each other.  I got 6 games.  The one we seem to use most often is a trivia game, much like Trivial Pursuit.  This is a really great system.  The thing I like about it is this - it's fun and our family spends time together doing it.  So much of the time we're all in different parts of the house.  We get a big kick out of naming ourselves too - when you start a game, you have to type in your name, but in our house, we come up with all kinds of weird monikers.  And that's part of the fun.  Unfortunately, my husband seems to be the "big cheese" for all games, which is disappointing.  I'd like to kick his butt more regularly!  I highly recommend this entertainment system!  I can get you a coupon for a special deal at their web site so you can get the same deal I got - only $50 for the console plus 6 remote controls and 6 games.

Cute new Easter Baskets

I've been doing a bunny basket for years (right pic) with a super cute basket - the picture doesn't do it justice.  Unfortunately, I'm close to running out and I can't get any more.  So, after much searching, I bought the ones in the pic on the left.  Are those just the cutest things you've ever seen in your life, or what??  I just want to eat them!

Love the new Clint Eastwood movie, Gran Torino

Our whole family went to see Gran Torino Saturday night.  We loved it.  I marvel at how Clint Eastwood makes a person who is pretty much a miserable old a**hole seem likable.  We actually laughed at his horrible comments.  I don't remember doing that so much with Archie Bunker. 

Of course, if you know me, you know that I once was about an inch from Clint Eastwood.  Since it was one of the most exciting moments of my life, I do like to tell people about it.  I was at the grocery store on a Monday night at 10:00.  (My kids were young, life was crazier then).  I reached for some milk, noticed an arm reaching for the milk jug right next to mine, then followed the arm up to the face.  When I realized who the arm belonged to, I felt like a stuffed animal with all the stuffing ripped out.  I had to go lean on my cart, weakly.  Whoa.  Even though he was an old man with an ugly track suit on, THAT MAN HAD CHARISMA!  Oh, baby, yes he did!  And by the way, just to date myself, he was in town making The Bridges of Madison County.

Anyway, he said that this would be the last movie he acted in.  And boy, was it a doozie.  I hope he gets a nomination for it.  You rock, Clint - starring, producing, and directing!

Number One, Baby, Number One!

Right now, this minute - 8:34 p.m. central time, January 8, 2009 - if you go to Google and type in "glycerine soaps" - SOAPOURRI COMES UP NUMBER ONE!  I think this is cause for celebration, don't you???

Whew (wiping brow), so much excitement for one night.

Looking for Testers

A customer approached me at the Winter Farmer's Market in December and asked if I had some portable soap.  This is something I've played around with before, but never actually produced for the web site.  She explained that her job required her to visit different schools' cafeterias every day, and the soap there was very harsh on her skin.  And of course, she had to wash her hands frequently. 

I can relate to this - at the last job that I had before I started Soapourri, my hands had never been in worse shape because of the soap that they provided in their bathrooms.  I remember leaving the bathroom feeling like my hands were claws and rushing for the lotion that I kept at my desk.    Since I work at home now, I don't have this problem as often, but I do dread using public bathroom soap because I know what will happen.

So I decided to use our new butter bar rollup containers to test out some "soap-to-go".  And I need a couple more testers.  Here are the qualifications - you must work outside the home at a place that has soap that leaves you running for your lotion.  Easy, huh?  You can take this soap to work and keep it in your desk or purse for use in the bathroom. 

If you'd like to be a tester, please email me at cindy@soapourri.com.  Thanks!