Wednesday, June 1, 2011

INSPIRATION! Or...think OUTSIDE the box, Becky!

I spoke with a dear soapin' "Sister" of mine today -one whose opinions I respect greatly, and I was positively inspired....

I was whining complaining speaking of my disillusionment with trying to keep up with a static "line" of soaps and constantly tweaking my website for SEO -activities that had been stealing ridiculous amounts of my time and taking the fun out of my soap making.

Stifling my creativity.
 
Making me hesitate. 

Rather than going with the flow of what wanted to be made I had been focused instead on what I should make. My wise friend advised me (very kindly and gently because that's how she is) to knock it off, already! (my words, not hers....but you get the idea) 

Sooooo ...I have decided to make some changes here at Heirloom Soapworks  ....specifically, I will be making only Limited Edition Natural Soaps.  I may do more of a particular soap, but then again maybe not -perhaps in a few months or maybe not for a year. 

Much of what I love about soaping is the ability to invent and create.  Making the same exact varieties day in and day out makes Becky a crabby dull girl!

The great news: There will always be fresh, new varieties to try! (But if you love something -please stock up while you can.)

After this wonderful convo with my friend, I was surfing the web, reading blogs, and I was again inspired.  This time by a soapmaker I don't know, Lori at A LIfe Deliberate Soap Co.  She spoke of "breaking the mold" so to speak & doing a funnel technique using natural colorants. Now why had I never thought of that?  For some reason, I had pigeonholed that technique as one that was only for bright, synthetic colors -crazy, huh?

Please click on the link above to see her incredibly lovely soap, and her informative video (she's added some pretty funny comments to the video -Oh how I love a soaper with a sense of humor!) 

Stay tuned -(I had hubby hold the funnel for me as I tried the technique earlier this evening) I'll post pics tomorrow of my our first attempt at the funnel technique.

Plus we'll be drawing a winner tomorrow for our 3-Soap Giveaway around noon tomorrow!

Happy Soaping All! :D

5 comments:

Jennifer Young said...

Hi Becky! So glad you are feeling inspired again! No good when things get monotonous... I have tried the funnel tecnique with alkanet and had a ball. That was a while ago. I will look for a photo for you.... http://jenorasoaps.blogspot.com/2010/05/natural-blue-purple-experiments-with.html
Can't wait to see yours!!! xo

Ambra said...

Good for you. I love the bespoke qualities that comes with using natural materials. It makes so much sense to just do what comes to you. i congratulate you on that. Have fun!

Two Blooms Design Studio said...

Becky,

Good for you for being inspired again. I've never made the exact same soap (okay my oatmeal and honey and Lemongrass is pretty consistent) because I'm creative as well. So I tell my customers always the same scent but a different design. That can have it's drawbacks for customers who prefer there soaps look a certain way but I like you would get bored.

I discovered A Life Deliberate awhile ago and love her blog but had forgotten to check it out so thanks for the reminder.

Anonymous said...

Aww thanks so much for the sweet shoutout! :) Here's to soaping for the fun and creativity! Can't wait to see what you come up with! :) Good luck! :)
(Lori A Life Deliberate Soap Co)

Amy Warden said...

Oh how freeing that would be!! I just contemplated doing the same thing and imagined the mob that would come after me. LOL! There are about 10 soaps that I keep in stock, and the rest are "limited edition", but you are making me consider letting a couple of them go - just for a season to see who would miss them. :)