Thursday, July 19, 2012

Seaweed/Seawater soap

I was sitting on the beach and I saw some beautiful green seaweed. I thought it might be fun to try to make soap with it, and while I was at it, use seawater to do it.

Seawater, filtered twice, boiled and then frozen.  Seaweed, washed twice and dried in the oven

Crushing the seaweed into powder

The lye mixed with the seawater

Pouring the lye-seawater into the melted oils

Mixing

Adding the powdered seaweed

In the mold...

...cut and on the curing rack!

The soap is still green in color and has a slight scent of seaweed.  What do you think of it?  I'm looking forward to trying it out!

Yours in Gratitude,
Angela

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Scrubz (or Indies Rock!)



Scrubz


I officially met Roberta Perry of Scrubz a year ago, but we have both been members of the Indie Business Community for a while.  Her store is about a mile away from my house in Bethpage, NY. Scrubz specializes in sugar scrubs, and also carries body butters, oils and other products, in 26 fragrances.  They do children's birthday parties, Ladies Night parties and are also Very generous in giving back to the community. Over the past year I would stop in, say hello and sometimes ask for Roberta's advice.  Even though she was busy, Roberta always had a smile and some kind words for me.  She introduced me to her partner and sister Michelle, and I quickly had another friend.

Roberta with her great smile!

A few weeks ago, Roberta said she was thinking of carrying handcrafted soaps in her store and could I stop by with a few? I dropped off one of each and she and Michelle decided to carry Goat Milk, Honey-Oatmeal, Lavender-Lemongrass from my Classic Line and and Piper from my Laney Line soaps. They are beautifully displayed in a basket and I'm So excited to tell people they can now pick my soaps up at Scrubz!



Alegna Soap at Scrubz!


I'm grateful to Roberta and Michelle for so many things. Carrying my soap in Scrubz is the icing on the cake. Roberta and Michelle were willing to answer my numerous questions about running a business. You name it, I asked it and they freely answered.  They were very open about mistakes they made and things they did to help them become as successful as they are now. For someone like me, who has no business experience, their guidance is a blessing. I value their opinions and treasure the friendship I have with them, as I treasure the friendship I have with all my Indie friends. Indies do Rock!

Thank you Roberta and Michelle!

Yours in Gratitude,
Angela





Monday, July 2, 2012

July Customer of the Month

Meet Michele, Alegna Soap's July Customer of the Month.  I met Michele at the Farmingdale College Health and Wellness Fair.



Tell me about yourself- My name is Michele and I am a Social Worker. I live with my boyfriend (of almost 10 years) and pug, Simon. I try to live in the moment and be appreciative of every day I have! I like to find humor in everything and not take things too seriously.

How long have you been using handcrafted soaps? About 7 months

Why do you use them? I started to educate myself about using more natural products- rather than using processed products that use toxic chemicals that are basically poison for the body. Our skin is our largest organ, and it’s important to take care of it! I made the decision to only use organic, basic ingredients to nourish my skin and have seen such a difference! It is glowing, full of moisture, soft and (very important) smells good too!

Which is your favorite Alegna Soap? I really like all of them! Right now I use the Lavender Lemongrass brown sugar scrub every other day to exfoliate and am using the Goat’s milk soap daily.

What do you like to do in your free time? Spending time with my guys, gardening, hiking, bike riding, making crafts, drinking wine, watching terrible horror b-movies, spending time with good company, and more recently- Zumba.

Coffee or tea? How do you drink it? Milk, sugar? Definitely coffee! I like it with a little bit of flavored creamer (Coffee Mate Natural Bliss or International Delight-always vanilla)

What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? Try out for the next American Ninja Warrior.

Which would be easier for you to give up? Chocolate or white flour? White flour - I don’t even know the last time I had it in the house!

What is your favorite season? I really have an appreciation for all seasons - I like them all for different reasons!

Do you have a pet? What is it and what did you name it? I know I didn’t bring him up yet ;) My pug, Simon. Sometimes I think he has more of a social life than me! I am a part of a pug group, and we get together each month and let our pugs run around. He also goes to Blydenburgh dog park quite a bit!

What was the last book you read? The Story if Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon. It was both tragic and uplifting!

Who/what inspires you? Nature.

Thanks for sharing with me Michele!


If you would like to be considered for the next Customer of the Month, please send me an email at angela@alegnasoap.com


Yours in Gratitude,
Angela