Dogs that wear Christmas Sweaters

Yes yes yes, I know its Wednesday and I’m a few day’s late in writing this. As you can imagine this is the time of year for candles so I’ve been feverishly pouring trying to keep up! The past two Sunday’s @Market have been exceptional as well as the steady stream of web orders. At the moment I’m enjoying a nice break sitting downstairs in front of the blazing fire place with the dogs and playing on Facebook.

If you haven’t had a chance to smell my Christmas Tree & Spiced Cranberry candles, you should really have a smell. The Christmas Tree candle was a new addition last year and has a nice blend of evergreen, cedar and notes of earth; it’s like walking through a forest! It took me several years to find a Christmas Tree scent that didn’t smell like pine sol. The Spiced Cranberry is new this year (it replaced a non-spiced version of cranberry) and that one is also incredibly festive with its tart notes of cranberries and warm spice.

I was pleasantly surprised when both of those fragrances sold out within half an hour last Sunday at Market! So I’ll be busy making more of those tonight. I’ll also be pouring the last of the Egg Nog candles for the season (about 25) so I’ll be sad when those are gone as they smell so yummy.

This coming weekend I’ll be at the Napa Expo for the “Santa’s helper craft faire” with my good friend Deb. I’m very excited because we’ll be right next to each other so we’ll be able to keep each other company during the lulls and help keep an eye on each other’s booths for restroom breaks and food runs. I’ve never participated at this event before so it will be interesting to see how it pans out, hopefully it will be full of customers shopping for our quality handmade gifts! This however means that I will not be at the Walnut Creek Farmers Market on Sunday, I’ll miss you!

Well it’s 8:00pm and I’ve been goofing off on this computer for way too long. There is just something so mesmerizing and comforting about sitting by a fire and being hypnotized by it’s dancing flames. And a warm smile crosses my face when Johann, in his Christmas sweater stands up on the hearth to enjoy the warmth of the fire.

Buddha's Hand

Wow it's "Cyber Monday" already and it seems like just yesterday I was worried how I will keep the candles from melting during the warm summer months. I know I should be feverishly clicking Christmas gifts into my shopping cart, but even shopping from the comfort of my home seems daunting! I'm sure the nasty bug I woke up with this morning is affecting my concentration a bit, in fact it took me half an hour to write this paragraph.

I've been glued to the couch all day and have just finished a bowl of udon noodles and that cheered me up. Yesterday (Sunday) was a great day at the Walnut Creek Farmers Market! While the morning started out unusually quiet, by late morning things were really hopping. It was such a relief to have a good market as the last two months have been rather discouraging to say the least.

What made things even better was that I got to be next to my buddy Carla and I even had an extra 6' of space on each side of my booth. I took advantage of this and set up my booth in such a way that customers could shop the perimeter of my booth rather then coming inside the canopy making it less cramp. This type of set up works very well as customers can move freely and people are not bumping into each other. A lot of people are very shy too so they don't want to come into the booth as they feel they are invading your space.

Things seemed to taper off after noon so I took a quick jaunt through the market to pick up some provisions. Tamales, bread, honey and I got this rather interesting citrus fruit called Buddha's Hand. It's a variety of the lemon and is traditionally used by the Chinese & Japanese for perfuming rooms or clothing. Here in the west it's used primarily in cooking; the fruit has very little "meat" and the rind is not as bitter as other lemons.

I was planning to do some holiday baking this week with this very fragrant and flavorful fruit, it's also good to note it's great used in savory dishes too such as fish. I'll have to wait till this cold breaks as I do not want to be preparing holiday treats while sick. So for now I'll remain on the couch with my favorite blanket, a cup of hot tea, two snoring dogs and the laptop all while looking up interesting recipes worthy of my precious Buddha's Hand.

Light up the Egg Nog!

Wow it’s Monday already and I’m pooped from a very long weekend. While I missed seeing my dear friends and customers Sunday at the Walnut Creek Farmers Market, I did get to reconnect with family and fellow vendors at the Mountain Mandarin Festival in Auburn. The event run’s three days, Friday, Saturday & Sunday so it makes for a long weekend!

My plan was to drive up Thursday afternoon, Get my booth set up and head over to the in-laws. Naturally there was a wrench thrown in my plans that kept me from keeping my schedule. Our clothes washer stopped working so I had to wait till the service guy got to our house and fixed the machine and I really needed to do my laundry! Then my super fantastic label printer decided to have a meltdown and it took me two hours to get that sorted out.

I didn’t get on the road until 9:oo PM Thursday and it’s about a two and a half hour drive, the nice thing though is there was no traffic to fight my way through. Always got to focus on the positive things right?

Friday, opening day at the Mandarin Festival was quiet as usual as most people are still at work so it’s mostly just the retired folks taking advantage of the smaller crowds and us vendors visiting with each other and shopping/trading for goods at each other’s booths! That’s fun; I scored a few more holiday gifts for family and friends!

This year I was in a different building then I normally am and it’s all the way at the other end of the fairgrounds. So I was worried that I my regular customers whom come to see me would think I wasn't there this year. I was very relieved Saturday when I had four customers find me in my new location and tell me how glad they were to see me! There are these two wonderful customers who come to see me every year and they just crack me up. They had their Absolute Mandarin drinks in hand and they loaded up on their favorite candles! They told me how they set aside some “candle money” each year to make their purchase at my booth!

The other fun thing about the new location of my booth is that I had some really cool neighbors; they were lots of fun and made the weakened fly by. It’s even nicer when you really connect with people and have made a friendship that will last! One of the challenging things about doing these events is county fire officials will not allow you to have open flames in your booth. And they are especially strict on this if you’re indoors. Typically the fire marshal makes their rounds before the show opens and reminds me not to light candles (yes, yes I know I won’t Mr./Miss fire marshal). I found out that due to budget cuts the fire marshal would not be there to impose these regulations. So I light up the Egg Nog candle and that really helped sales!

Christmas Lights, Holiday Cards and Mandarins, Oh My!

I had such a great weekend! Friday I started to think about the coming holidays and started installing the Christmas lights on the house (I won’t turn them on until after Thanksgiving). Things always get crazy after Thanksgiving and I end up not even putting up the tree! I also got to hang out with my best friend Kathy at her place in Benicia, we even went to get mani-pedi’s so my fingers and toes are happy! I had also ordered holiday cards with the photo of the Egg Nog candle on the front, they turned out pretty good. I’m determined to be on top of it this year, last year Christmas just fell the wayside as I was overwhelmed with the shop, production, market and the special events I partake in.

Tuesday of last week was such an interesting day for me; I was interviewed by a local columnist for the Contra Costa Times. About three years ago my good friend Deb from Lively Linens & Lavender gave her one of my candles as a gift; well she became one of my biggest fans and has dropped my name in the paper a few times already. This however was the first time an article would touch on my personal life and what inspires me. The article ran in this past Sunday’s Times (11/15) am just so flattered, by the end of Sunday my face hurt from smiling so much!
Here’s the link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_13782762?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

Last week was also filled with some great wholesale orders that totaled 128 candles that kept me pretty busy. One of the orders was from a posh day Spa in Des Moines East Village. The down side about wholesale orders is that you do the same amount of work for half the pay, however having your product out there and gaining more exposure is well worth the effort. I really need to find a rep to land me new wholesale accounts as I’m not a very good salesman.

This weekend is going to be a lot of fun; it’s the Mountain Mandarin Festival in Auburn. It’s nice because my in-laws live near there and they have become like second parents to me. It’s always so comforting to be at their home and to visit over a nice glass of Pinot, and I sleep like a baby too. I have a lot of vender friends up there so it will be nice to see them as we only see each other once a year. The Mandarin Festival is a fantastic event and it was even covered in the fall 2007 issue of Sunset Magazine. There is a lot of crafts, nifty gadgets, and cooking demo’s with recipe ideas and more fresh mandarin’s then you can shake a stick at.

If you lack any plans this weekend you should check it out, it’s such a lovely drive up there. The event runs three days, Friday 12-5, Saturday 9-5 & Sunday 9-4. The event is located at the Gold Country Fair Grounds at 1273 High Street, Auburn CA 95604. Here’s the web site: http://www.mountainmandarinfestival.com/

Well I must get back to work, I have to finish my chores around the house, finish installing the Christmas lights and install a new toilet as our old one cracked when I tightened the screws down a little too tight… OOPS!

Thanks for reading,

Shawn M. Cox

Wiggle Butt

Today was a pretty kick-butt Monday! I got to meet up with my coffee buddy and we nattered away about our weekends over mocha's and sweet treats.

Although Market was pretty slow for me on Sunday, I made the best of it and traded with some of my fellow vender's for olive oil, bread, cookies & honey.

I spent much of the afternoon cleaning and organizing my workshop as it got very messy after the weekend and needed much attention. I'm happy with it for now, and soon I'll add some paint to the walls and some proper curtains to the windows to make it cozier.

My two four-legged-friends (Johann the Weimaraner & Ludwig the Yellow Lab) kept me company while I worked: Johann "Bubbles" spent most of his time sniffing around looking for escaped kibble near their food bin, and Ludwig "Wiggle Butt" eagerly offered me his baseball hoping for a game of catch.

Mondays are also fun because a lot of my supplies start arriving via FedEx, UPS & USPS. I've become so familiar with the sounds of their trucks that I know who's hear without even having to look out the window. Our UPS driver leaves Milk Bone's for the buddies, so they know the sound of her truck well and get especially excited!

Tomorrow's going to be a great day: I've already unpacked and inspected all of the deliveries so I can begin the holiday candles. I'll also be interviewed by a local reporter for the Contra Costa Times who wants to come by and see where the magic happens and write a little article about me! How exciting is that?

Bewitched, bothered and bewildered

I’m sitting in my office going through emails, the hills are green and the view of Mt. Diablo is spectacular this morning. Bunnies are hopping in the field and a light breeze is delicately strumming the wind chimes. A piping hot cup of Earl Grey Tea warms my hands and Ella Fitzgerald crooning “Bewitched, bothered and bewildered” in the background!

Monday’s are often a challenge for me much like everyone else out there. I’m a little foggy and my back is angry from schlepping 75lb totes full of candles over the weekend at events. My inbox is usually full of emails from friends, customers and notifications of orders must be shipped out TODAY so it gets to so and so for their wedding/birthday/housewarming/graduation/other special event.

The only thing missing this Monday morning is my usual coffee date with my dear friend Carla from Delta Moon Soapworks. In my rather unique work situation she is what best could be described as a “Co-Worker”. We both share many of the same challenges in our business and craft but also are great sounding boards for ideas and sharing interesting fragrances with each other.

November is now here and it’s time to start pouring the Holiday fragrances. The always popular Egg Nog, Christmas Tree and Holiday Wreath will soon fill my house as boiling hot pitchers of molten wax wait to be poured into their glass jars.