Shameless…soap opera

One not so special September day in 2007 I had wandered into a little boutique in Antioch’s old town district; loving the character of old town  architecture and always up to explore unique little shops I found a few little treasures to buy.  One being a soap made by a local soap maker; and being a bit of a soap fanatic couldn’t wait to dirty myself up so that I would have an excuse to use it. Well I was so impressed with the soap that I decided to write the maker a little email telling them how much I enjoyed their product and appreciated the craftsmanship involved. Well needless to say be quickly became good friends and I was so happy to have someone to mentor me while I turned my candle hobby into a small business of my own. 

And now for some shameless nepotistic promoting. 

The soap I was talking about was Ginger Lime, a wonderfully refreshing soap perfect for warm summer days. But not even that lovely concoction is what I really wanted to talk to you about; my ultimate favorite is the Black Tea & Rose soap. 

Now hold on a minute,

I know what you’re thinking and a lot of people tend to shy away from anything with “rose” on the label, but this ain’t your grandma’s perfumy rose shaped, decorative soap in the guest bathroom; not by a long shot! This wonderfully fragrant soap is fresh, clean and sophisticated and even the guys will like it! And if you're like me and suffer dry itchy skin in the winter, this unassuming moisturizing worrier's got your back; literally! So try this, buy the soap and remove the label and stealthily put it in the shower and see what happens, I’m willing to bet you that whoever happens to suds up in that shower will use it; and happily so. For me, I think it’s the black tea that really gives it this old-world-sophisticated aroma; and when you add that oh so subtle watery-rose scent, and the steam of your shower becomes a scaffolding for the aroma to envelope you;  its soap opera that will keep you coming back for more performances!

Click HERE to visit Delta Moon Soapworks Today!

So dirty; so good...

Not too long ago I received a costly chunk of Tuberose wax, this wax is a byproduct that occurs during the process of extracting the essential oil from the waxy flower. The wax has a beautiful goldenrod coloring that looks as if were a giant piece of bee pollen and is intensely fragrant. This bold earthy aroma reminds me of damp earth, smoky wood, stargazer, jasmine and vetiver; a combination that might only be fully appreciated by true down and dirty aromaphiles. By blending this dense wax with other natural vegetable waxes I plan to us it for a special edition Tuberose candle that will be available in the Whitehall Essentials line. Stay tuned for more!

It is said that King Solomon...

declared opoponax to be the noblest of fragrant resins. About three weeks ago I ordered Opoponax essential oil from a terrific supplier located in the Pacific Northwest. Opoponax, also known as Sweet Myrrh is a gum-resin that comes from a small plant that grows in various countries’ that surround the Mediterranean & Black Seas as well as the Indian Ocean and has been used for its fragrant and healing qualities for thousands of years. Early on it was mostly used as incense; however it has become a staple used in fine perfumes over the past hundred or so years and more recently it is even found its way into high-end candles. The particular sample I received is from Kenya and has a very earthy-sweet slightly medicinal smell which I could best describe as a combination of an anasic lavender, isopropyl alcohol and balsam. In its pure form, it may seem harsh and unpleasant to some so it is almost always blended when used for personal and home fragrance. I have chosen to mix it with a bourbon vanilla and bergamot and the ending aroma is a both regal and exotic. Now that I’ve given the blend of oils a week to marinade  in my test tube, I will blend a larger portion and use it in a candle; which if successful will join the Whitehall Essentials Line.

Whitehall Essentials

Well January is here again and that means its time for me to start thinking about what new things I’ll be doing for the year. While I had a great holiday season as far as sales went; things were slower than usual this last year, partly because I missed 3 important events and moved 2.5 hours east making my trips to the WC Market rather limited. So frustratingly this means a number of my “branding improvement projects” will continue to sit on the back burner, so no custom canvas totes or gift wrap stickers this year and the launch of my new line “Monarch” will continue to sit on the back burner.

But do not despair, I will be introducing (finally) No.21 Lemon-Verbena and No. 23 Lavender-Verbena to the Signature Collection which I’m quite sure will be very popular with you fine folks.

Also I launched, albeit rather late in the year; the new Whitehall Essentials line last December for all the diehard purists out there. Just like my Signature Collection, these candles will also be made with pure organic soy wax and cotton wicks but scented with fine Essential Oils only. I wanted to use a type of “brown Kraft” box that is made from 100% recycled paper and has lovely horizontal lines embossed onto the box. And wanting to keep with the more natural “organic” look, I sketched out a design onto paper, sent it to my graphic designer and asked her to make up an image that could be made into a rubber stamp. After a few revisions to the artwork, I sent the design to Berkeley Rubber Stamp Co for them to create the rubber stamp; and wouldn’t you know it turned out better than I could have expected! I just love raw look of the stamp impression on the box and it also helps to emphasize that it’s a product lovely made by hand, one at a time. At the moment I have French Lavender and Lemongrass-Sage available in the Essentials line with more exotic fragrances on the way.