Rinse Bath & Body

product highlight – Tea Tree Bliss

2011-08-19T10:38:00.002-04:00

aka Tea Tree Roll-On

The background…
To tell you the truth, the Tea Tree Bliss was a personal blend (I was being selfish for a moment) that saved me from itching more often than not. It all started many years ago when I some how came in contact with a batch of Poison Ivy. Now the most interesting part of this is that I was nowhere near a plant but rather in the middle of a parking lot during a farmers’ market. I figure I rubbed up against someone or something that had previously been a little too close to the infamous “leaf of three.” Well, my arm itched & swelled then it blistered. After a couple of days of tolerating all of the above while trying to do everything to keep my hands off of it I had a light bulb moment. I went into the workshop & mixed a little bit of this with a few drops of that & WALA, I was cured. No really, it only took 1 application & about 15 minutes for the irritation to go away & only overnight until my skin was pretty much back to normal. For the next couple of years I kept this potion for personal use. I wasn’t hoarding, I just didn’t know there was that much of a need for it. Finally I realized that there was, so we bottled it & now are letting lots of others enjoy the “magic” of my potion.

Why we love it…

Of course, because it helps to relieve & even clear up minor skin irritations like poison ivy (my itchy arm loves it a lot)
Bug Bites!!! I must be really sweet because the just eat me up. I no longer worry about it because my Tea Tree Roll-On will do the trick for the itch.
Blemishes beware! Have one or feel one coming? Just a dab will do you & it.
It’s 100% natural, Vegan Friendly & Gluten Free
It is a blend of 2 of our favorite things: Squalane Oil (see previous blog post here) & Tea Tree Essential Oil (which is know for it’s antiseptic & healing properties)

Don't just take our word for it...

"I love it, I use it for zits, bug bites, burns, itchy spots. I swear by it." Cynthia S.
"I just started using it last month. I use it on my toes to keep them hydrated after the pool, on bug bites, blemishes and itchy/bumpy skin. LOVE the product. I even took it on vacation!" Sally W.
"love it!!!!! used it religiously on a nice large sidewalk scrap on my face after an unfortunate trip at my daughter's preschool. the scrap healed beautifully and the oil kept it from scabbing, cracking and bleeding. i don't even have the slightest scar. it was my gift to my friends this past year for christmas and they all love it too. i also use it on my daughter where ever her skin needs some love. thank you!!!!!" Kerry H.
" LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! so convenient - I carry it with me always!" Liza B.

product highlight – Peppofoot Stick

2011-08-11T09:58:00.002-04:00

It may have a strange name, but boy is it good stuff.

The background…
Feet. We’ve all got ‘em. Some are pretty, some are ugly & well, some are really stinky. There is nothing better for the toes than a little bit of pampering. I couldn’t always make it for a pedi so I had to figure out something. Enter trying all sorts of products. I kinda felt like Goldilocks (to tell you the truth I feel like her most of the time when we’re talking about products) this product was to greasy feeling, that product sunk in too fast & the other one did absolutely nothing. I had to come up with something. My criteria were simple. It had to be easy to use & it had to work. So after a few, lets say tries, the Peppofoot Stick was born. A great & rich blend of Shea Butter, Avocado Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil along with Peppermint Essential Oil (for that minty freshness) & Tea Tree Essential Oil (for the antiseptic properties.) Throw in a dash of Menthol (for the perfect toe tingling’ness) & I found perfection.

Why we love it so much…

It works!!! Yes, even after just 1 use you can tell a difference.
It’s easy to use. Either at night while you’re lounging around or in the morning (just make sure you’re not going to fall out of your shoes) just a quick swipe of the stick & you’re toes are golden.
You don’t have to touch your feet or the product. Personal pet peeve was putting on a thick cream to my feet, then I had it all over my hands, but how do you get it off since it’s all over your feet.
Cotton socks are optional. I like them to keep my feet warm & so I don’t get carpet fuzz on them when I walk around. But I can’t sleep in socks, so off they go when I crawl into bed.
It’s 100% natural & Gluten Free
It’s TSA friendly
It’s a perfect gift… just about everyone has feet (especially for those folks who are on them all the time.)

Don’t just take our word for it…

“Peppofoot Stick rocks! I am on my feet all day long, and this blend really does soothe my tired feet. It's also in stick form, which means I can easily carry it with me on airplanes. Love and highly recommend this product!” Cindy H.
“I bought one for my mom for Christmas and by the time we were done opening presents everyone in my family had used it, and loved it! Perfect for tired, worn feet. Best of all, that night we could all still feel the healing effects of the product.” Allison B.
“This is my absolute favorite product for my feet! I use it every night, and my feet have never been so soft. It feels great, and definitely works. After a long day of walking in flip flops or heels, it instantly soothes and softens my feet. I am definitely hooked, and never want to go without it!” Renee N.
“I like this product because I can give my feet the extra moisture they need without getting my hands greasy. It glides onto my feet and soaks in almost instantly so I don't even have to put socks on like you do with other goopy foot creams. The peppermint gives just the right amount of tingle, too.” Sally W.

Bird Sanctuary…

2011-07-28T10:55:00.005-04:00

No, it’s just my house & I love it. It’s just another day of National Geographic at our humble abode. Lots of animals including squirrels (and you know me and my Bob,) deer, lizards, birds… Yes there are a lot of birds and after this spring there are even more flying around thanks to what we have lovingly dubbed the maternity ward.

Here we have an overflowing nest of baby Titmouse birds (strange name I know) that was strategically placed in the trussing of our back deck. I had been asking Damyn to get a picture of the baby birds for a week or so & I finally convinced him to do it. Needless to say about .01 seconds after this picture was taken 5 little birds took their 1st flight scaring Damyn half to death and really irritating the momma bird that was perched on a nearby branch. I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants!

Next up was a nest of Cardinals in our blueberry bush. Luckily they left the nest before the berries ripened & we were disturbing them too much. These guys were only a few days old, still bald & not opening their eyes.

And last but not least, the Blue Birds. And yes, that is my mailbox! So the door to the mailbox doesn’t shut and momma Blue Bird was busy stuffing all sorts of pine straw in the mailbox for her nest. We pulled the nest out to the front of the mailbox to catch this picture. I felt so bad for momma bird though. Every time we got to a certain point in our driveway she would fly out AND whenever we got to a certain point in the road to turn into the driveway, out she would come. We did come to a great agreement with our very understanding mail-lady. She hung our mail in a bag on our flag until the maternity ward that was our mailbox was vacant.

Needless to say, a mailbox that closes & birdhouses are on our to-do lists before next spring.

Our first Spring in Monroe, GA

2011-07-21T10:36:00.002-04:00

If you’ve followed Rinse or this blog at all over the last year you know that we moved last July from Woodstock, GA to Monroe, GA (about 75 miles) from suburbia to rural’ia. Now I’m a city girl, always have been & always will have a good piece of it in me, but there’s nothing like a country spring.

At the top are the little yellow wildflowers (alright, they’re probably weeds but wildflowers just sound so much better) that covered our front yard (also big enough that it is lovingly known as the pasture & hence not mowed quite as much as a yard would be.)
Then from left to right are:

Blooming grapevines (that produced grapes so sour last season that we didn’t do anything but look at how cool they looked)
Fig leaves budding & little baby figs (what we didn’t know was that this first batch of itty bitty figs would quickly die off. We felt like horrible fig parents, but then a month or so later more baby figs than ever showed up… success!)
Raspberry blooms

We were very blessed that all of the above were here when we moved in & that we’ve been able to keep everything alive & thriving. I’m learning to be a country girl quickly while weeding, watering & nurturing all of these little baby fruits to maturity… all for us to eat them! Figgy Pudding anyone???

product highlight – Nectar Soap

2011-07-14T09:45:00.004-04:00

The background…

Honey is so great for the skin, and the smell… well to us it can be intoxicating. We worked & worked with our fragrance folks to come up with the perfect scent (yes, unfortunately I’m not able to whip up the unbelievable Nectar scent naturally, but when you’ve gotta have it, you’ve gotta have it.) Then I worked & worked with my beekeeper to get the perfect look to the bar (which I was told I wouldn’t be able to put honeycomb in the soap… well I showed him!) After months of figuring out just how to get the honeycomb to sit perfectly on top (to some this may sound like an easy achievement but between the fragility of the honeycomb & the heat in the soapmaking process, it’s easier said than done.) May I present to you the Nectar Soap.

Our usual suspects in the soap ingredient category all make their appearances including Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Olive Oil… but what’s a bit more special in the one (and what makes this soap a tad more moisturizing than the others) is that we drizzle honey from our local beekeeper into the bar & gently lay his honeycomb on top. We are so proud that this soap looks exactly how it smells… like honey’y goodness. We especially love the texture (if that even makes sense.)

Why we love it…

You mean besides the texture…
The honey in the bar helps to moisturize even the driest skin
We incorporate honeycomb into each bar as decoration or a little added exfoliation
The scent is sweet & clean & well honey

Don’t just take our word on it…

“[The Nectar Soap] was love at first sniff! I LOVE the smell of honey, and this soap was pure ambrosia. To make matters even better (because I would have loved it for the smell alone) the soap is very moisturizing, which has been a savior to my winter-chapped skin. Even though I wanted to keep both bars I bought for myself, I decided to share the other with my boyfriend's mom so someone else could experience the pure shower bliss. She said she's also loving the soap.” Ebonique W.
"I bought your Dead Sea Mud Soap, Nectar and Ginger Soap in March at Epcot. I am very sad I didn't buy more but I will be placing an order soon. Thanks for the great products!!!!!" Holland C.
“This is a wonderful smelling, long lasting soap. I will definitely buy another when this one is finished. The smell lingers and makes my bathroom smell great. It smells heavenly!” Marla A.

Strawberries Ripe for the Picking

2011-07-11T10:14:00.017-04:00

As much as I wanted to keep up with blogging in “real time” we’re just going to have to settle for a slight delayed reaction/recap of our Spring.

About 6 weeks ago the red goodness of strawberries were in full swing. We’re lucky enough to have Washington Farms (in Loganville, GA) just right up the road from us & they have acres upon acres of the sweet berry goodness. We just had to get us some and here’s how it went…

Here’s what we accomplished. These 2 buckets turned into 12 jars of homemade jam & lots of frozen little treats for smoothies & snacking.

My favorite pictures are those that contain little red berry stained fingers.

product highlight – Body Bliss

2011-07-06T08:59:00.006-04:00

The background…
Let’s face it, sometimes you just need a little. That’s how I always felt about lotions. My skin is usually pretty well moisturized in the summer time, but after being in the pool or shaving my legs for the umptenth time I can get just a touch dry. What’s a girl to do? Well I did what any product loving/making girl would do. I mixed a little bit of this with a little bit of that & discovered a fantastic product that is more than just a moisturizing oil it is Body Bliss. I love a two-fer but a four-fer… come on, it doesn’t get much better than that!

Body Bliss Oil is a blend of Apricot Kernel Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Squalane Oil (which if you don’t know why we love Squalane oil click here) & Vitamin E. We chose these ingredients not just because we really love them (which we do) but because all of the oils in the Body Bliss are light on the skin & soak in super fast, but their presence can be felt on the skin for a good long time. They moisturize, nourish & even help to heal & they will never leave you oil or greasy… just soft, lightly scented & moisturized.

So why do we love it…

Like I said before, it’s a four-fer, so first… it’s a great light all over moisturizer
It’s an amazing massage oil (it sinks in so you don’t feel greasy after a relaxing rub-down
It’s a great bath oil
Mix-it with our Sugar & Honey & you’ve got yourself a custom blended sugar scrub

And then for the rest of the reasons...

You can put the Body Bliss into a spray bottle and squirt it on for a light application
Keep it in the shower & apply it when you turn the water off, a great way to moisturize & dry off your skin
The scents stay with you in a yummy & not over-powering sort of way like Ginger Lemongrass, Almond & Honey or Tea Tree Mint
They are 99-100% natural (99% for those that have synthetic fragrance in, just cuz we can’t live without a scent or two)
You can mix the Body Bliss with our Body Spread to create the level of moisturizer that you need (I tend to need a touch more than Body Bliss in the fall, but straight Body Spread is sometimes too much, so whip a little bit of both in my hand and I’ve got the perfect combo)
You can layer the Body Bliss under the Body Spread for a great moisturizing and treating 1-2 punch

Don’t just take our word for it…

“This product gives just the right amount of moisture and soaks into the skin right away. I use it on my elbows, knees and feet at night and during the day I rub just a little on my arms for the wonderful fragrance!” Sally W.
“I'm already addicted to Pure Bliss for my face, and I think now I'm hooked on Body Bliss too. Use it right out of the shower and just a little will cover lots of skin. Bliss makes my dry skin stop itching and FEEL healthier immediately. And the delicious Nectar scent has me constantly sniffing my own arms. I probably look a bit silly, but I smell and feel great.” Rebecca A.
“…your Tea Tree Mint Body Bliss oil [I] love it. It is great for a relaxing massage and as you recommended, I mixed some of the oil and a little water in a spray bottle and have been misting after I shower and it feels great! The mint has a nice fresh smell and keeps my skin well hydrated here in The Windy City.” Robert S.

iSpy Rinse: Brooklyn Renegade

2011-06-07T09:22:00.009-04:00

The collection of the Renegade Craft shows are some of my favorites both to peddle some soap & to spend some $$$. The collection of artists is always impressive & we are so happy to say that Rinse is once again one of them.

We’ll be making the trek to Brooklyn (via a week long family roadtrip/vaca) for the 7th annual Brooklyn Renegade Craft Show.

When: June 11 & 12, 2011
Where: McCarron Park, Brooklyn, NY
Times: 11:00 – 7:00

I Love my DODO!!!

2011-05-30T08:54:00.000-04:00

I got my iPad (first generation) a couple of months ago... and surprise surprise, I love it! I don't know what I would do without it. Actually I would just have to put up with my soon to be bombed laptop more.

Even though I love my iPad, I needed something to keep it undercover for many reasons. 1. The 5 year old that lives with me. 2. There's a reason none of our products are packaged in glass... I'm a klutz. 3. I hate being "that girl walking around with her iPad."

Enter the DODOCase (with an awesome name too.) It turned my iPad into a book. Being a texture girl, it feels great & is super easy to carry. It turns my iPad into a subtle accessory. And well, I just love it!

Top 5: Chickens cont. – The Flock

2011-05-24T09:08:00.000-04:00

So many chickens, so many different colors of eggs, so little space in the coop. With the additions that we made to the coop plans, we should be able to comfortably house 5 chickens (my plan was to start out with 3 but I wanted to make sure they had plenty of space.)

I found a woman literally a mile up the road that has a backyard flock and she was selling baby chicks so I loaded up the family to pick out some chickens.

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We got three little peeps (Ameraucana, Buff Orpington & a Black Australorp.) If you look and count closely, you’ll see that there are four little peeps in some of the pictures. That’s because 2 days after picking up our three, I was instructed by my dear husband that we should check to see if the Silkies had hatched. They did, and we loaded up again to pick up our fourth chick. Here is the family portrait.

Mud & Crud – Now these kids could have used some soap

2011-05-20T13:20:00.000-04:00

I warned you a while back that my dear hubby has a camera & shoots some pretty cool (at times slightly irrelevant) things. And you can bet money if there is a light pole around it’ll be in one of his pictures.

He’s been exploring the world of action photography a little these days, but not your typical baseball or football types of sports. Keeping in-line with what we do and where we came from, he chose to practice on what else other than mud. Yes, mud.

Our church’s youth group had a fantastically fun & very muddy event this past week named Mud & Crud (very fitting) in Loganville. Since the event is a little hard to explain I’ll let the action pictures do the talking.

The mud courtesy of the Walton County Fire Department:

Just making sure it’s deep enough:

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The rest of the good clean fun (tug o’ war, shaving cream, flour…)

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The Walton County Fire Department cleaning up their mess:

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Hmmm… maybe we should look at sponsoring this event next year.

product highlight – Casteel Soap

2011-05-18T10:43:00.000-04:00

Just as simple & natural as you can get.

The Background…
Usually called Castile Soap (we took the liberty of changing the spelling a bit to name this soap after friends) this soap is made from 100% Olive Oil and dates back to the Castile area of Spain during the 1500-1600’s. Because we are so hard-core here at Rinse, we hold tried and true to the fact that a Castile Soap should be 100% Olive Oil (not even scent is added.) Other folks out there will call their soaps Castile as long as there is some Olive Oil present. If that were the case for us, all of our soaps would be considered Castile.

Our Casteel Soap is super-gentle & is great for all sorts of skin. Although we usually like a lot of lather, a true Castile Soap has more of a slippery lather than a bubbly one. Nothing fancy, just a very effective 100% Olive Soap.

Why do we love it…

It’s 100% natural.
It’s the most gentle soap we make.
It’s great for new skin (babies) & even super-sensitive skin.
It’s great for those who have an aversion to scent (it’s just the natural smell of 100% natural soap.)
It’s great for tricky skin issues like eczema.

Don’t just take our word for it…

“This product is the only thing I will use on my son's skin. He has had chronic eczema for several years and this is the first product that doesn't make his skin worse. It truly is unscented and completely gentle.” Sally W.

Top 5: Chickens cont. - Coops

2011-05-13T08:45:00.000-04:00

It all comes down to packaging, and when it comes to packaging your backyard flocks there are a ton of options to choose from.

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A lot of searching came up with even more options. The world of Chicken Coops in Google Imges is a vast one. Luckily I found a couple of sites with lots of coop candy like: Digginfood and Mother Nature Network.

We settled, and by settling I mean that my husband talked me into a smaller “trial” coop for our first go around, with using plans from The Garden Coop to start with. Of course I wanted to go with the Garden Coop (on left), but I compromised with the slightly smaller and portable Garden Ark (on right.)

After several trips to our local Home Depot (which by the way we are now known as the young couple building the chicken coop by more than 1 employee), a lot of patience on my husband’s behalf and some slight alterations to the plans (we added a barn roof, loft & exterior nesting boxes) we have a coop. We still have to figure out the paint scheme (which is going to be bright, something I wouldn’t paint our house) & trim out the rest of it, but we have time. The flock isn’t due into the coop for a few more weeks.

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Boot Scootin'

2011-05-11T08:44:00.021-04:00

Stompers by Occasionally Made

It sure didn't take me very long - less than a year living in somewhat rural Georgia I already have chickens & cowboy boots. I had to have something to slip into in order to go out into the yard on dewy mornings. I found the perfect boots (which also fulfill my need for rain boots) at Boss Brothers in Loganville, GA (our feed store - outside of the grocery store, my most frequented shopping spot.)

My sights are set on my next purchase for dewy days...

Skimmers by Occasionally Made

Handmade Soap Etiquette

2011-05-04T17:38:00.000-04:00

Who knew that there was such a thing as etiquette for your handmade soap… but leave it to us to figure it out!

Soap Etiquette is very simple & very important to the life our your bar. Just by taking a few simple steps will make the life of your soap much longer.

Cut your handmade soap in half. It will make the total bar last longer.

Store your other half in a place that it can breath.

Don’t let your handmade soap sit in a puddle.

Look for a soap dish with ridges and/or holes that allow water to run away from the bar.

Don’t let your handmade soap have water constantly running over it (of course while you’re using it water is a-ok, just not when you’re not.)
Make sure your handmade soap can breathe when it is not in use.

Don’t store your soap in plastic bags or containers.

All in all the rule of thumb is… The Longer a Handmade Soap Dries the Longer it will Last.
If good Soap Etiquette is used, a handmade soap can easily outlast a commercial bar.

Introducing a Top 5: Chickens

2011-05-03T08:19:00.000-04:00

As if you didn’t see this one coming! I have to blame it on our neighbors and they’re free-to-range in our yard chickens to put me over the edge. They are so much fun to watch, and I really don’t mind them as an alarm clock. From research (I told you I like to do my research) I have found that they can make good pets, can help with pest control & can even make you breakfast (that one I didn’t have to look-up.)

For me it all started last September with this posting on the Design*Sponge Blog. And even more so this picture… Yes, it is an adorable coop with an even more amazing roof made of succulents (spoiler alert… they may or may not be in an upcoming top 5.) Leave it to me for my obsession of chickens to begin with their packaging (a little known fact is that more than a couple of our products have been created to fill awesome containers that I have found.)

What I didn’t realize is that there are a whole lot of people like me being intrigued by chickens these days, and they’re not all chicken farmers. Backyard flocks are more popular than ever. And of course, there are a ton of websites out there. I’ve used Backyard Chickens to help with flock selection & coop designs (which you’ll see more of… I promise.)

iSpy Rinse: Inman Park Festival, Atlanta

2011-04-28T09:03:00.007-04:00

It has been like forever since we have done a true street festival. Ok, really it’s been about 18 months, but going from doing them almost every week to 18 months, that’s a big jump. And I’m soooo excited because the Inman Park Festival is on of my favorites. The kettle korn is delicious (I admit, I am an addict,) the exhibitors are fantastic, the parade is hilarious & the attendees are so much fun!

We are sad that we missed the festival last year (with 77 days at the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival we just weren’t able to squeeze in Inman,) but we’re back and more excited than ever.

If you’re lucky enough to be in the Atlanta area for the weekend, definitely stop by the festival and see what all the fuss is about. If you’re looking for Rinse, it’ll be like a scavenger hunt. We asked very politely to be placed in our old location, but we won’t know where we ended up until we get there.

Dates: April 30 & May 1, 2011
Street Market hours: 11:00 – 6:00

product highlight – Speppermint Shave Soap

2011-04-26T11:01:00.003-04:00

Only the best shave you’ll ever have.

The Background…

The Speppermint Shave Soap started as a Christmas Gift for all of the men in my life (husband, father, brother, uncle…) I formulated it as an all-in-one product (especially since I know how the men in my life are) a face wash, shaving soap & even an all over body soap. I procured the cutest shaving mugs to pour the soap in and provided them all with shaving brushes too. Well, the soap was a hit, the mugs & brushes, not so much. Since then we lost the mugs, but kept the soap.

Speppermint Shave Soap is a blend of Spearmint & Peppermint Essential Oils. Both are stimulating for the skin (and the hair follicles) & are great invigorating scents (a good wake-up call in the morning.) We blend them together with Bentonite Clay which does the magic for the razor. The clay provides and amazing slip to the blade which helps create the smoothest shave ever. Bentonite Clay also has some fantastic properties for the skin. It is not an irritant & it helps to pull toxins from the skin – great for just about all skin types.

Why we love it…

It’s 100% natural.
Don’t just think it’s for a facial shave. Ladies, it’s an amazing leg shave too.
No more fussing with cans of shaving cream.
It’s multi-functional: shaving, facial bar, body bar.
It’s travel friendly.
It lasts a good long time (if good soap etiquette is used.)
It’s a great gift for the guy who has everything.

Don’t just take our word for it…

“This is the only thing I will ever shave with! I've tried the other more expensive things and nothing is as good as this. Haven't had razor burn since I started using this!!” Jennifer D.

“Do you think it will be friendly?”

2011-04-24T07:55:00.000-04:00

While clearing out an old pile of firewood in our backyard we discovered “this cute little fella.” Luckily it was catch and release rather than catch and keep as a pet.

"Maybe they will come visit."

2011-04-17T07:49:00.001-04:00

Yes, that is a trail of corn leading to the “Jackpot of Corn” at our front door.
The chickens caught on after a little while, so they did not end up at the door. The Jackpot is no longer there so who knows what was brave enough to be at the door. I think I’m ok not finding out.

Not exactly what I expected to show up

2011-04-09T10:53:00.000-04:00

When we installed the bird feeder this isn't the kind of bird we thought we would get.

He belongs next door but he free ranges to our house. And yes, he cocka-doodle-dos for us to get up every morning. And just in case we don't hear him from his starting point he struts around the house to make sure all angles are covered.

This just may have been the start to one of my Top 5's.

Disney Flower & Garden Festival - 2011

2011-04-04T09:33:00.002-04:00

I’m a girl who loves a good theme. There’s just about nothing better than theme’ing for the Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot. We’re back and we’re blooming with all sorts of great flower & garden’y type of things including new Pucker Sticks (Pink Grapefruit, Fig, Hibiscus & Lavender,) Soaps (Cherry Blossom, Jasmine, Orange Blossom & Euca-Mint Loofah,) Skin Sticks & Sprays. Here’s a peak of what is in-store at the festival.

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Not only do we get to think out of the box for developing products, but also to develop our displays. We couldn’t get enough of the bright colors, flower pots & bushel baskets.

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My Top Five...

2011-04-02T10:33:00.003-04:00

I tend to have interests that go in waves and those waves are usually pretty big and pretty intense. I dive in head first and whatever has peaked my interest can't run or hide. I will research, purchase, gather, research some more and try and try again until I either perfect it, get over it or get distracted from it. I should have a bumper sticker that states "Shiny things distract me."

A lot of things have been on my top 5 interests. Soap... Yep, it was there and we all pretty much know what happened with that. And that one has kept the top 5 list pretty short, if not even nonexistent for a while. But it's back and it's better than ever.

I'll introduce you to the list as it grows, and I'll even warn you that it may or may not contain 5 at any given moment. But until then, here are some items that have made the list in the past and what has happened to them.

Screen Printing - oh I could print t-shirts, stationery, soap labels... I bought the kit. Let's just say I still have the kit and, well, I still have the kit.

Knitting - you may know this is what got me into soap. I taught myself to knit, but could only knit rectangles. One only needs so many scarves so I had to switch my hobby focus (enter soap.). Ironically enough I'm back to knitting and I'm still not good at it. But I got a new coat and I need a new scarf.

Sewing - I got the machine, a bunch of patterns and even the fabric. I'm all setup ready to sew my first stitches. Here I go, there a little crooked but they'll work. Enter Damyn. Here, let me show you. I haven't touched the sewing machine since. D is the sewer in this family.

product highlight – Tres Clay Facial Bar

2011-03-30T09:57:00.002-04:00

A 100% natural cleanser for oily, slightly oily or blemish prone skin.

The Background…
The Tres Clay Facial Bar was formulated for my husband who has oil skin, larger pores & was prone to breakouts. He also liked to use a facial scrub, so we blended this bar as a two-fer.

We first started out with Cedarwood Essential Oil which is a natural astringent (and a nice woodsy, earthy scent.) We blended in Rice Flour for a light exfoliation and three clays (hence the name) French Green, Moroccan Red & Kaolin for their pulling, drawing & calming properties. This combo along with Rice Barn Oil & Avocado Oil (both great for providing facial skin just what it needs) makes for a perfect bar that is cleansing, removes excess oils but does not strip the skin of its oils (if you do that the skin can have a tendency to produce more oil to make up for what’s been taken.)

Why we love it…

It’s 100% natural.
It helps to clear up troubled skin.
It can take off make-up.
It’s gentle enough that you can use it multiple times per day.
With the help of the bar many people have made it through non-puberty acne funks.
A light exfoliation helps to remove dead skin cells which can cause acne.

Don’t just take our word for it…

“Love using this to wash my face before bed, My face feels so fresh and clean.” Jennifer D.
“I love my Tres Clay Facial Bar. It is awesome! I have oily, problem skin and it has helped so much." Jacqueline S.
“I love your Tres Clay Facial Bar and Pure Bliss. This product combination has totally changed my skin for the better. As an African American woman who has acne prone skin, I have tried everything to heal my skin. This product has worked so great that my mom, cousins and most of my friends use it now. I even posted your products on naturallycurly.com forum to rave about the benefits of the products. So please keep up the great work and you have a customer for life." Christy L.

product highlight – Oatbrasion Facial Mask

2011-03-23T10:38:00.004-04:00

Your skin’s condition changes with constantly (at the very least usually with the seasons.) We thing your facial exfoliator shouldn’t have to.

The background…

Oatbrasion Facial Mask is a DIY micro-dermabrasion mask that you mix with your own liquid depending on your skin type. Water is just fine, but if you’re dry you can mix it with anything moisturizing like: milk, cream, plain yogurt, EVOO, honey… If you’re oily mix in a little witch hazel, tomato juice or any acidic fruit. Make a paste and in a circular motion and the finely ground pumice will exfoliate your face. Let the mask set on the skin for a few minutes. This allows the powdered honey (in the mask) to lightly moisturize and the colloidal oatmeal to calm everything down.

Why we love it…

You can use it year round by changing what you mix in it. You can even make 2 masks and treat your face specifically for what it needs where it needs it.
The oatmeal calms your skin down so you won’t be red and irritated afterward.
The softness of the skin once you’re finished is totally touchable.

Don’t just take our word for it…

“I love this product! I mix it with greek yogurt, and it is a decadent and effective mask. I notice the difference in my skin when I don't use it.” Julie D.
“This is a great exfoliator for the face. I love that I can mix my own scrub depending on what my needs are. Great for me since I have combination skin. A little goes a long way, too, so it is very economical.” Sally W.
“I use green tea when I do this mask, and love the way my skin feels after. Who needs a spa when you have wonderful product like Rinse.” Jennifer D.

product highlight – Dead Sea Mud & Salt Body Polish

2011-03-17T13:10:00.025-04:00

Our version of a salt scrub… but solid.

First, the background…
Body Scrubs are just about the most instant-gratification body treatment you can do. My only problem with them is having to stick your hand through a vat of oil to get to the exfoliator at the bottom. So we solved that problem by making our scrubs solid. A rich Shea Butter base suspends the salts so with each dollop you get everything you need to make your skin shine.

Our Dead Sea Mud & Salt Polish is blended with Organic Dead Sea Salts which make for a very scrubby experience along with Spearmint & Lavender Essential Oils which will turn your bathroom into a spa. Also, since the salts are organic they have a bit of Dead Sea Mud clinging to them which means there is also a dose of the fantastic minerals from the Dead Sea that skin loves in every jar.

To use take a small dollop in your hands & work it around for a couple of seconds. The heat from your body will melt the Shea Butter & will release the Apricot Kernel & Grapeseed Oils. Scrub as usual then wash away. We like to use the polish BEFORE we get into the shower. This allows time for your freshly exfoliated skin to be moisturized. Also, if you shave in the shower, you will have the smoothest shave ever if you shave after you exfoliate.

So why do we love it…

Like we said, it’s solid. That means no messy mixing & you will be able to use every bit of product in the jar (no half oil filled jars left).
It’s 100% natural.
It’s super moisturizing, but it doesn’t leave you feeling oily or greasy.
It is our most exfoliating scrub.
After you’ve used it, you are so unbelievably soft… and it lasts… for days!
It’s great for all over (except for the face, a little too scrubby.)
A little bit goes a long way.
Have we mentioned the smell. It makes your bathroom smell like a spa.

Don’t just take our word for it…

“My feet get very dry and this scrub is the first one I have found that actually helps. The salt polishes away any rough patches and then the oils keep my feet moisturized for well over 24 hours after using the scrub. The smell is awesome and my feet feel refreshed immediately.” Sally W.

product highlight – Body Conditioning Bar

2011-03-13T12:45:00.002-04:00

You condition your hair… why not condition your body.

First, the background…
The Body Conditioning Bar is everything that a lotion has in it except for the water. You use it in the shower & when you introduce water to it (whether it is from the shower or the water remaining on your skin,) instead of a bubbling lather you get a nice light creamy lotion. It is a skin softening blend of Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter & Apricot Kernel Oil.

So why do we love it…

It leaves you skin silky soft & lightly moisturized right out of the shower.
It’s solid… which means it’s travel friendly.
You don’t need to rinse it off, you can just step right out of the shower, rub it the rest of the away in, pat yourself dry & you’re done… unless of course you would like to use it as a base coat for your moisturizer.
You can shave with it if you like – and it is marvelous! (in that case you would certainly want to rinse it off.)
It smells like light sweetness.

Don’t just take our word for it…

“I would buy this product just to smell it! The smell is fabulous, like a sugar cookie on Christmas Eve. In addition to smelling great, it makes my skin feel smooth and holds the scent just enough. I have been using the bar for right at a year and have managed to avoid dry, flaky skin during the winter and tired, leathery looking skin this summer. If I forget to use it one day I actually make a frowny-face. For me, it works best to use it while I am still in the shower on wet skin, but with the shower turned off. I rub it in and then towel off as usual. Perfection!” Sally W.

product highlight – Peppermint Pucker Stick

2011-02-16T08:59:00.002-05:00

It’s fantastic… and we’re not just saying that because we make it.

First, the background…
The Peppermint Pucker Stick is blended with some of the most amazing healing, nourishing & protecting properties including Squalane Oil (previously blogged about here), Cocoa Butter & Apricot Kernel Oil. It took us over 1 1/2 years to formulate the perfect lip balm.

So why do we love it…

It has our favorite ingredient… Squalane Oil.
It’s not waxy or heavy but it’s not sloppy either. It’s got a great slip & wears for a good long time so you don’t have to keep reapplying.
It helps to heal dry, cracked & burning lips. It also helps to protect your lips from getting all of the above.
It’s 100% natural.

Don’t just take our word for it, here are some words from other folks who love it:

“I love this lip balm, it is the only lip balm I use. I always have one in my purse! Leaves lips feeling moisturized all day long. The peppermint scent also gives your lips a mini wake up!” Jessica U.
“Best lip balm I've ever used!! And now the only one” Jennifer D.
“Since using this peppermint pucker stick, I haven't had any cold sores, and my lips always feel moisturized (never dry). It's a wonderful product.” Bonnie B.

spa highlight - Ciao Bella Day Spa, Littleton, CO

2011-02-08T09:12:00.017-05:00

If you’re looking for a little bit of Rinse (or some fantastic pampering) in Littleton, Colorado look no further than Ciao Bella Day Spa. Here you’ll find some fantastic custom formulated Nectar Rinse products, but look closely because they are dressed a little bit differently. Ciao Bella loved the products so much that they are calling them their own.

Not only do they have great taste in products but a lot of folks are saying some fantastic things about them.

Voted TOP SPA in the Front Range by Denver Life magazine -Feb 2010
The Denver Post says Ciao Bella Day Spa is “a welcoming retreat..” -July 2010
3rd Place in 2010 Denver’s A*list BEST SPA Category – Sept 2010

Ciao Bella offers an amazing menu of services on a daily basis, but they are sure to get you in the spirit (whatever that may be) with one of their Seasonal Specials.

Just enough so you know it's there... not so much that it burns.

2011-02-06T10:42:00.000-05:00

You may question the title a bit, but I promise it will all make sense (well as much sense as it can make) & probably make you smile by the time I’m done.

The back story…
The Rinse to-do list always runs long and it never all gets done. A couple of years ago Damyn stepped in to help me cross some to-do’s (the every day kind of ones and those special project kind of ones) off of the Rinse list.

One of the on-going projects that he took on was updating our website. Well, by updating I mean adding products to the site. I’ll be the first to admit, I may not always have the time to write the descriptions for the products, so he does his best to fill in the blanks.

Back to the present…
I finally got to reworking the content on the website. Believe it or not, we didn’t build www.rinsesoap.com for first time purchases. It was launched for those loyal customers who had met me & tried the products & couldn’t wait to get more.

But really now, how impractical is that to have a website that is not even intended for a first time purchase. Hence, the reworking the website on the to-do list. I just wanted to beef up the descriptions, benefits & ingredient listings of the products.

So tonight I was perking up the Pucker Stick listings. We went from our four traditional flavors to 11 flavors (not including the Pixie Pack) in less than 11 months.

It appears that Damyn copied & pasted the descriptions from one Pucker Stick to the next and of course changing all the pertinent information from stick to stick. Right… Well he started by copying the description of the Peppermint Pucker Stick (which we all know has just enough Peppermint Essential Oil in it so you know it’s there… not so much that it burns.) Do you see where I’m going with this?!?! The problem is that he took out the fact that there was Peppermint Essential Oil in the descriptions (that’s because there is no Peppermint in the Mango Pucker Stick and so forth and so on.) But what he didn’t remove was the rest of the description “Just enough so you know it's there... not so much that it burns…”

I was a bit upset at first. I mean I don’t want anyone thinking our Pucker Sticks will set their lips on fire. Then I couldn’t help but laugh a little that we have been so busy that I never even caught that we were threatening lip fires for months on-line… and no one ever said a word.

I learned a lot from “just enough so you know it's there... not so much that it burns…” and will be combing through the website sooner than later putting out any other “lip fires” I may find.

product highlight – Lavender Skin Stick

2011-02-02T20:50:00.004-05:00

It’s like a lip balm, but for your body.

First the background…
The Lavender Skin Stick is a rich & nourishing blend of Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Apricot Kernel Oil, Avocado Oil & Refined Almond Oil. These oils are known for their skin softening, healing & protecting properties. All of that goodness is lightly blended with Lavender Essential Oil.

So why do we love it…

It’s a portable. Need we say more… yes we do. You can keep it in your pocket, purse or backpack. You don’t have to worry about lotion opening up & making a huge mess.
It’s TSA friendly. Yes folks, it can fly outside of your re-sealable quart sized bag.
It’s been known to help folks with all of their tender spots; even eczema & psoriasis. Even men have ranted & raved about it’s effectiveness.
Got kids with dry skin??? This is the answer. They can apply and treat their dryness keeping away the itches, soothing the skin & helping it heal. The best part, they can’t use too much & it’s not a messy application. Send it to school in a backpack or pencil case.
It’s 100% natural.
Even thought it’s Lavender, it’s not a stinky Lavender. We understand that just because something is a good thing doesn’t mean that more of it is an even better thing.
We have stay-at-home moms help us in the production & labeling of our sticks.

product highlight – Pumpkin Patch Soap

2010-10-18T09:36:00.000-04:00

There is nothing that I love more than the changing from Winter to Spring and from Summer to Autumn. The smells change, the colors change, the weather changes and best of all, my wardrobe changes!

Nothing brings me to fall more than our Pumpkin Patch Soap. When we start whipping up all things pumpkin (including the Soy Candles) in the workshop I know I’m about to see the trees as beautiful as ever.

Complete with Powdered Pumpkin sprinkled on top this spicy soap looks and smells just like fall. A perfect bar for body, hands & a great fall mood.

And a little bit of little known history… This was the FIRST scent of soap I ever made (which is really interesting considering I made my first batch of soap on a beautiful spring day.) So to this day I get the same exact scent each fall to start the season right.

Don’t just take our word for it…

We had a few guests fighting over the last bar of Pumpkin Patch Soap when we ran out of the soap at the sneak preview of the scent at Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival.

product highlight – Pure Bliss

2010-10-12T10:05:00.001-04:00

Have you ever seen the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding? You know the dad that uses Windex on everything? If you have you’ll know you’ll understand it when I say I use Pure Bliss like he used Windex… on everything!

First, the background…
Pure Bliss is 100% Squalane Oil, derived from the olive. The compound of Squalane is the same as a lipid that is already found in the skin. It helps promote cell regeneration, cell elasticity and helps to fight fine lines and wrinkles. When applied to the skin, it permeates at the rate of 2 mm/second without leaving an oily or greasy feeling behind.

So why do we love it…

I use it every day as my facial moisturizer and every night as my eye treatment (even under make-up.) I also use it on anything that needs a little extra TLC like scratches, scuffs, scrapes…
It’s been known to help soothe eczema & psoriasis spots as well as other sensitive skin spots.
It’s 100% natural and has no smell or taste.

Don’t just take our word for it, here are some words from other folks who love it:

"I have a friend, another Sharon, who had marks left on her skin after almost six months in the hospital. It plagued her for several weeks before Heather stopped by and gave her some "Pure Bliss" to put on it. Now, just three days later, it has completely gone away." Sharon S.
“The skin on my face has never looked as good as it has since I started using Pure Bliss. A little drop at night after I wash my face and my skin is soft and clear. I was having major issues with patchy dryness before I found this product - - not anymore!” Laura D.
“This product was definitely given the right name! I have very dry feet that tend to peel (very painful) but when I use Pure Bliss on my feet and toes they heal by the next morning. This product soaks right in, which I love! I also use it on my hands when they are very dry from over-washing or winter weather.” Sally W.

product highlight – Dead Sea Mud Bar

2010-09-28T20:58:00.002-04:00

Every now and again we’re going to feature one of our favorite Rinse products & share with the world why we love it so very much.

First up is our #1 selling soap: Dead Sea Mud Bar

What makes this soap so grand you ask??? Why it’s in the name of course!

We import Dead Sea Mud from Israel for this soap. Mud is shipped in buckets to our workshop. Unfortunately we never seem to get the same delivery person so we always have to explain why in the world we’re getting mud.

Dead Sea Mud is jam packed with minerals and vitamins (bromide, potassium, magnesium, calcium chloride, just to name a few) that our skin love. The mud has been known to have therapeutic and healing properties, all the while cleansing and purifying the skin. Skin issues such as eczema & psoriasis have been known to find great relief from the minerals that are present in the mud. The mud actually helps the nutrients that it contains to penetrate into the damaged skin surface.

So why do we love it???

I personally use it as my facial soap everyday. I would say I have combo skin (really combo skin that is.) I have a dry spot here and an oily spot there and maybe normal over yonder. I feel my skin is evened out, not to oily and not dry… just right as Goldilocks would say. It is also great for removing make-up (even liquid eyeliner.) And I’m not alone. We have lots of clients who swear by it for their facial ritual.
It helps relieve some of the issues associated with eczema & psoriasis, or at least that’s what we’ve been told by our customers who won’t use anything else on their tricky skin issues. We figure it’s because of the Dead Sea Mud along with the nutrient rich Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Olive Oil… that helps to soothe the skin without leaving it dry, tight & alligator’y.
It’s 100% natural and has an amazing spa smell. Blended with Spearmint & Lavender Essential Oil it just screams pampering.

Don’t just take our word for it, here are some words from other folks who love it:

“I purchased Dead Sea Soap for my dry itchy skin and love it...it is really working!" Michelle K.
“I absolutely LOVE the Dead Sea Mud Soap. Not only does it smell great and can be used all over my body, but the skin on my face has cleared up overnight. You products are really great." Rebeka R.
“This is a great soap! After using it, my skin feels soft, clean, and refreshed. I have used it both on my face and body. The scent is fresh, and clean, but not overpowering. Renee N.

not necessarily relevant, but great images non the less

2010-09-24T09:37:00.001-04:00

Last year, after my first stint at Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival, I splurged and bought my aspiring photographer husband a camera. I figured he would look a little more aspiring if he wasn’t using a disposable camera (really I’m not that bad – it wasn’t a disposable, but it might as well had been for him.) After much research and lots of note taking I got him a Nikon D90 for an early Christmas present.

Ok, truth be told, the camera wasn’t just for him (although I still let him think that it was.) Rinse is getting some great use out of it as seen here:

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And my scrapbooking (ok, the scrapbook I aspire to create someday when I have enough time to create it) has gotten some great shots too.

Haha! My master-plan has worked [she says as she taps her finger tips together while smiling.] However there is a by-product that has come with this camera. Random shots that Damyn thinks are interesting that don’t contain anyone we know, or soap. What is he thinking?!?! And I have to admit, I even like some of them. As in these taken on our recent trip to the beach:

So occasionally, you’ll see some randomness in images pop up here. Now you can’t say I didn’t warn you!

Jekyll Books

2010-09-20T10:25:00.001-04:00

Not only did we have a great beach visit to Jekyll Island, I got to pop into one of the stores that carries Rinse. It was right before closing time so I didn’t get to peruse as much as I would have liked, especially since I know I could’ve spent hours in the store.

The place just oozed of beachy relaxation and I sooo wanted to buy a great book to get lost into. And I certainly would have if we weren’t making the trip back to reality.

So next time you’re on Jekyll Island, take a gander at Jekyll Books. You’ll spy your favorite bath & body products from Rinse in the Spa Room and a whole lot of other cool and inspiring things throughout the store.

Jekyll Books at The Old Infirmary; 101 Old Plantation Road, Jekyll Island, GA

a weekend away from soap – part ii – Jekyll Island

2010-09-18T10:13:00.006-04:00

Hello island. Where have you been all my life??? What a great place to visit. Unfortunately we were just island/beach hopping on our way home but we were so happy to find this gem and plan on going back for a more appropriate amount of time (1.5 hours just wasn’t enough.)

Our favorite beach was Driftwood Beach. What an amazing view of dead trees. I know that sounds funny, but they were smooth and twisty both on the tops and the bottoms. It looks like a giant just plucked them out of the ground like a weed and left them on the shore to die.

Teagan loved it there. Lots of climbing and peeking. Exploring to be done everywhere. It was like no other beach I’ve seen.

And the best was Crab Hunting. Yes, I said crab hunting. T quickly made friends with a boy who was a maybe a year or two older and his harem of little girls. The girls (and T) would spot the crabs (who were crawling all over the trees and rocks) and the boy would swoop in and catch them in his bare hands. Oh, to be young again.

And then of course, I had to join in the fun but purely by accident. As we were saying good-bye to T’s new friends, I looked down as the sand moved under my foot. The boy didn’t believe me when I said he might want to bring his bucket for this one (last image)!

What does it look like getting ready for Disney?

2010-09-16T13:39:00.001-04:00

We are 11 days away from leaving for the Food & Wine Festival (a 45 day festival to boot.) What does that mean for our workshop? Things like producing until we run out of ingredients (which is happening more often than not); back-ups in what gets done (tons of soap needing to be shelved, dishes to be done, ingredients to be ordered…); packing our displays… All while trying to keep product stocked at the workshop to fill wholesale & web orders while I’m away.

soaps that are waiting to be put up to dry

shelves, some full, some empty – all will be full by the end of the weekend

This doesn’t even include packing for 45 days of unpredictable weather; getting the house in order to be a bachelor pad while I’m away or spending all of the quality time I can with one little T.

Enough for now. Off to put up that soap!

a weekend away from soap – St. Augustine, FL

2010-09-15T21:56:00.001-04:00

Even the best of us needs to take a break, and that’s just what we did for Labor Day Weekend. We cruised south to St. Augustine, FL then worked our way back home hitting some great beaches along the way.

There is just something about a kid playing at the beach that I just can’t seem to get enough of…

I guess it’s the innocence, exploration, creativity and just good ‘ole fun in a humungous sandbox. By the way, the structure that he was building in the last picture wasn’t a sandcastle. Oh no, that would be too traditional. It was Asia. Complete with Mount Everest and a Yeti.

Oh, and the “King of the Hill” image was actually Teagan scaling a sand dune. Luckily he was too young to read the “Keep of the Dunes” sign.

The Rabbit cont.

2010-08-30T10:41:00.000-04:00

I first introduced you to our visitor a few weeks ago here.

Well, the plot has since thickened. We figured out that the rabbit is actually our neighbors’ bunny and goes by the name Snowball (very fitting we think.) We were told by our neighbor (the father) that we could keep her if we wanted to (hmmm… been researching bunny habitats.) Snowball is also a sweet junkie. Since she has eaten all of the peaches that are expired in our yard she has returned to her own yard to eat the expired apples.

Since we found out her name was Snowball we also found out that she can do backflips (just been told, never witnessed it), is litter box trained and that her name isn’t Snowball. It is actually Crystal or Hippity Hop. We have also not confirmed that she can be relocated. I never trust the info given by fathers!

Smurfs could be living here

2010-08-28T22:31:00.002-04:00

The “National Geographic” that is our new home continues. After a 2 mile nature walk in the woods we found what appears to be a Smurf-a-minium in our backyard. It is the biggest mushroom I have ever seen. I can only imagine what could be living in it (smurfs, fairies, trolls…)

My mom suggested we transplant it so we can keep an eye on it and build our fairy garden around it. My son asked “so can I kick it?” For now it remains where it was, unharmed.

As for the blue construction hat - also a find on the nature walk.

Our New Workshop ~ before

2010-08-06T08:11:00.000-04:00

In all of the commotion of the summer, we moved our workshop from a 400 square foot space to a 1500 square foot space (with some space still to grow). The space took a lot of DIY handy work (by D mostly) but it is coming around nicely.

For the past 20 years the workshop was an unfinished space with every inch housing a metal fabricating shop complete with metal scraps all over the floor and metal dust covering everything.

You can see some of D’s handy work already here. He cleared out some “stuff” cased in the french doors, taped, mudded and painted 1 wall.

Behind the boxes and stuff is the antique wood burning stove that comes with the space!

Here are the colors that we’re going with: Enamelware for most of the wall surfaces & Aegan Blue for our accent walls. So far the colors & white trim are cleaning up the place, beautifully!

Flashback: Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

2010-08-05T11:44:00.000-04:00

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I’m a girl who loves a theme. We outfitted our space with everything from flower pots to window baskets and even a bird bath!

There’s a Snake in Your Boots

2010-08-03T09:31:00.000-04:00

Well maybe not in your boots… more like on our porch. And maybe not a snake, but more like a snake skin. But Still!

And that bad boy measured in at a whopping 75 inches long! If it were a child it could ride on all of the roller coasters around!

Better seeing the skin than the snake and better seeing it outside than inside. And I’m hoping the rabbit we saw a couple of days ago is soooo big that there isn’t a snake that could eat it.

Hasenpfeffer

2010-08-02T14:26:00.000-04:00

Here at our new house we are experiencing all sorts of nature. Here is what showed up next to our porch a couple of days ago.

D was so excited. He called me to come downstairs “quickly but quietly”. This bunny was HUGE. I’m thinking it was the Easter Bunny checking his route.

I can see why D said quietly. Look at those ears!

The New Digs ~ Our Home

2010-08-01T23:25:00.001-04:00

I had mentioned before that we moved both our workshop and our home. I figure I should give a few details because our new surroundings have become rather entertaining.

We moved from Woodstock, GA (which has become quite Suburban) to Monroe, GA (which is quite rural – they do have a Walmart, McDonalds & Chick-Fil-A though). For those with a map handy, Monroe is right outside Athens (home of UGA – Go Dawgs [I guess that’s what they say]).

Our previous house was in a subdivision and had approximately .75 acres (1/4 of it was down a steep slope – a great sledding hill if it ever snowed enough). Our new house is on 8.5+ acres which are pretty much fully wooded with a river bordering the back of the property.

This “city” girl (Suburb of Chicago to Suburb of Atlanta to Rural outskirts of Atlanta) has already come across a whole lot of country in the short month we’ve been living here.

To-do’s

2010-07-27T00:30:00.001-04:00

I’m a list junkie. I’ve been known to write a list of lists that I needed to write. I don’t blame myself for this nasty habit though. It’s all my son’s fault. Ever since he has been in my life my brain functionality has decreased dramatically. If it’s not written down, it may not get done.

I’ve listed on everything from the back of an envelope, to post it notes, to fridge magnets (probably all in one day!) That is until my husband started to get on me about all of my notes. He wasn’t really complaining about my notes as much as he was complaining about the fact that I could never find them. When asked what I was looking for, I would say “it’s a note about XYZ. It’s on the back of a blue piece of paper with a coffee stain on the lower right corner” or something to that affect. So I started carrying a notebook. My lifeline of all things that need to get done.

But what about other people’s to-do lists. Like my husband’s. How can I add to it, manage it and keep him on task when I’m away?

Today, I might have found the solution… which everyone has probably known about for years. There are actually web applications that are To-Do Lists!

I tried out the TaDa List today for my husband’s to-do’s. Since I’m in Chicago for a few more days and he’s handling the workshop and sending out orders I needed to make sure he could/would remember to do some of the extras that needed to be done. I loved it from the moment I started! Very, very easy to use and simple. Nothing fancy, just a list that I can add to, arrange, edit, delete, and cross items off when they’re completed. I just “shared” the list with him and he was able to do all of the above with it as well.

I also looked at Remember the Milk. The name caught my attention – I of course love it. I also like the tie-in’s the Pro version of the application has with smart phones. It’s a little more in-depth. You can prioritize, set due dates, assign tasks to different categories (personal, work…) I’m giving this one a whirl too, but had to invite my husband to join in order to give him tasks. Not as “hit the ground running” as the other, but has some cool features. The one draw back, once you complete something from your list, it disappears. No line drawn through it so you can see how much you’ve accomplished. Just Poof, and it’s gone.

And last but not least, I was told about Teux Deux. Again, very simple usability in a day of the week kind of format. I’m not a day of the week kind of girl, so this one didn’t do it for me. But I do like the look and ease of use of the program.

We’ll see how they all pan out and how long my dear husband will allow me to just add whatever on to his list.

Things are looking a little different around these parts

2010-07-25T23:49:00.001-04:00

First you’ll notice that there is a posting circa July 2010. Now that’s a major accomplishment! Things have been busy in our neck of the woods, but literally and figuratively.

You may also notice a few more eyeballs peering back at you as you read this post. I have finally been able to infatuation with owls! (thanks in part to my dear friend Freshie & Zero and her awesome blog as well as Shabby Blogs) I just figured out that this blog is about me, my musings, rinse, and whatever else I may or may not want to include. The biggest thing I discovered is that it doesn’t have to be all matchy-matchy with our site or our brand. This is the casual side of things isn’t it? And I’ve been dying to incorporate owls and branches in my world one way or another… so here they are. As far as the blog is concerned, I’m also working on some other aesthetically pleasing points. So keep an eye out.

Our family has a new address now. One could say the move is complete because we aren’t physically moving anything from one zip code to another anymore, but until the last bin is unpacked, we are still in the process. And there’s a lot of bins to go.

Because our family has moved… so has Rinse. 75 miles was just too far to commute. We are working on our new workshop (which is probably 4 times the size as our previous one) and never fear, some before and after’s will be coming your way. Before’s of course will be coming first.

As if all of the above hasn’t been enough over the last 2 months, we’ve launched a ton of new products. Not all of them are on the site yet (come on, we’re only human), but you can find what has been added here.

Once again, my plan is to hang around these parts a little more often. Now that there are owls to look at, I think I just might be able to.

Highlights of the 2010 FnG Festival

2010-05-16T12:16:00.000-04:00

The things I will remember most (in no particular order)…

Bob – the squirrel I befriended the first day we were there, who then went on to become the festival mascot & general talk of the town.
The guests who would come by just to say “Hi” and to check to see if I ever took a day off (yes, an occasional Monday I was no where to be seen.)
The Zonies & the Managies
Throwing a duck – I didn’t actually “throw” a duck. I just encouraged a duck from not letting nature happen in the middle of my space in front of my son (“Mommy, what are they doing???”)
The guests who were so excited to see me, because either:
1. They had met us at Food and Wine in the fall and didn’t realize we were back
2. They had received our product as a gift (purchased from one of their local stores) and was so excited to meet the person behind the products
3. They had read about us in several publications (and even called me “famous”)
The rest of the nature around me including the Lizard that hung out all day; the Toad that visited once a week & the Baby Ducks that scattered across my floor like a bag of marbles.
My frequent visits from non-festival related cast members.
Getting added to the products carried in 10 High End Hotels!
The invisible “I” on top of my booth.
Stories of a 6’ duck.
My Favorite Zone Checker
Being Joan Collins for the Proms

and probably a million other things…

2010 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

2010-05-14T12:01:00.000-04:00

We’ve been busy this spring… busier than ever before, with the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

We’ll just say that the Epcot Food & Wine Festival in the fall was our first date. We were checking them out, they were checking us out, and we decided that we liked each other… a lot. So much so that we committed to spend 75 days together!

The festival is now winding down (ends May 16th) and guess what!?!? We still like each other! As to not disappoint, the folks at Disney were fantastic. The Cast Members took great care of us both physically and emotionally. We had some fantastic laughs, great conversations & the best are the friendships that developed. The Guests were happy to see (and smell) us. We were able to see lots of old friends from Food & Wine and made lots of new ones.

Together we trudged through Brrrr….Cold days and nights, then rain and thunderstorms that shut us down. And finished with the heat and humidity that you can only get in Florida.

This last week is always the hardest. Mixed emotions about wanting to get home and back in the swing of things (if I even have a swing of things anymore) and knowing that I’m going to miss those that have become such an important part of my daily life for the last 75 days.

We will post pictures of the festival soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Don’t forget about Facebook

2010-05-12T10:07:00.000-04:00

When you need a little Rinse Fix be sure to check out our Facebook Page.

We do lots of different things on there like: Product Research; Facebook Friends Sales; Talk about our Squirrel; Preview New Products…

See you on FB!

We Love Farmers’ Markets

2010-05-10T10:02:00.000-04:00

Although we are wrapping up our time in Orlando (75 days at a festival is a long time) we are playing double duty back home in Atlanta.

With the help of a fantastic friend and devoted Rinse product lover we were able to do our first Farmers’ Market of the season. With the help of Heather (yes, scary I know, 2 Heather’s – we even have the same initials!) Rinse will be peddling our wares at the Marietta Square Farmers’ Market more weekends than not now through September.

We’ve been a part of this market for 5 years now, and wow it has grown! My personal faves are: Pretzels for Breakfast (note I said Pretzels – they are just too good to have only one) washed down with a cool Lemonade. Oh and the Chicken Salad & Pimento Cheese… Yum! Oh and the cookies, and honey and…

It looks like I’ll be able to make my first appearance at the market on Saturday, May 22nd. I hope to see you there!

Dear Blog,

2010-05-08T09:55:00.003-04:00

I haven’t forgotten about you, honestly. It’s just that I haven’t had all of the time in the world to properly work on you. It’s certainly not you, it’s me.
I promise to try harder and to work on our relationship more. I will come around more often (heck it won’t take much, what this is the first time in 4 months) and we will have interesting dialogs.
I have a lot on my plate right now, I hope you understand. These are not excuses but legitimate things that have been keeping me away:

Since January about 40 more stores are carrying our products
We’ve been at the Epcot International Flower & Garden Show (March 3 – May 16)
We have launched lots of new products at the above show (which we will be rolling out onto our website soon)
We are getting ready to move both our workshop and our home (approx. 1.5 hours from where we are now)

As you see, we have a lot of catching up to do.

Miss you,
H~

Just when we thought we were finished

2010-01-30T11:45:00.000-05:00

With round 1 of the Gift Shows… Denver popped up! Unfortunately we’re not going to Denver, but Rinse is!

In Atlanta we met the most amazing Rep Group. They have so many fantastic lines that if given the opportunity I would spend a hack of a lot of money on. And guess who they liked.?.?.? Why Rinse of course!

The fantastic crew of Rep’s (who have about the same energy level as little ‘ole me) are going to represent Rinse in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming & Idaho. So far, we have only 1 retail location between those 4 states.

This is our first relationship with a showroom/rep group and we’re hoping it works out beautifully. Not saying that we don’t like hitting the road & making appearances at the Gift Shows. It would just help us cover a little more ground and maybe get a day off every now and again.

Market Time: Chicago Living & Giving Show part II

2010-01-29T09:36:00.000-05:00

So all and all we had a good market. Traffic was slow at times, but busy at others. We wrote orders & accomplished what we came for – to beef up our retail locations in the Midwest… we may have even found a Rep Group in Michigan.

We took advantage of some of their marketing opportunities for first time exhibitors including the Speed Networking. It’s the same premise as speed dating, but exhibitors got to entertain potential buyers during a free lunch. Despite forgetting about the event & arriving 20 minutes late because Damyn was out running errands for me, it proved to be successful for us. Not only were buyers interested in our products, some of whom would have never stopped by our booths on their own, but the Merchandise Mart girls fell in love with the products too!

The next day the Mart girls came to the booth with smiles on, champagne, trophy & huge sign in hand. We had been selected as the Best Exhibitor Display in our category! It was almost like Publisher’s Clearinghouse, except no big check or balloons.

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The addition of the easel and “Best Booth” sign drew a lot of attention to our booth and products for the rest of the show. What’s even better… we were nominated by Press, Buyers & the Show Management.

The show ended on a high note too. We were about 45 minutes into tearing down our booth when a woman popped in, pulled me away from packing to write an order. Gotta love that!

Market Time: Chicago Living & Giving Show

2010-01-28T08:22:00.000-05:00

We packed everything in a trailer and headed North for the winter. Now we know why the birds head south. It sure is chilly here, but there’s nothing quiet like Chicago in the winter. A brisk walk amongst the tall buildings and the crisp breeze off of the lake.

This was our first time at the Chicago Gift Show and we weren’t sure what to expect. We decided to show there for a couple of reasons. First, we didn’t have a good network of retailers in the Midwest (only 3 stores in IL) & second it’s easy for us. We’re used to doing the drive to Chicago to visit my mom & dad and Teagan got to hang with the P’s while we peddled our wares.

We walked into a hard white walled booth. I was hoping to be able to paint, but apparently that’s a union job.

Before:

Not knowing what we could/couldn’t do with the walls we didn’t bring anything, but figured a shopping trip or two would be in order. After a trip to one of my staple stores & of course IKEA and a few hours of work, we pulled it all together. Sterile no more!

After:

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It’s amazing how an empty white space can be transformed!

Market Time: Atlanta Gift Market

2010-01-27T11:59:00.000-05:00

We used to have a down time, but not any more. After a hectic and draining December we had about a week to pull everything together for the Atlanta Gift Market.

In true Rinse style we did it. New signage, new images, updated fixture, new booth space.

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Foot traffic seemed down a bit from July’s market, but our orders were good and our fellow exhibitors were great!

We met a fantastic couple with an awesome product: EcoDotz. It’s a make it yourself soy candle station with the most amazing colors and smells.

Frankie & Johnny’s PJ’s were right next to us too. Luckily for Rinse, they are affiliated with eBubbles.com who are now anxiously awaiting their opening order from Rinse (fyi – it should be there early February.)

We blinked, and market was over. We’ll do it all over again in July… and we did it again just a couple of weeks later in Chicago (our first showing.)

Where we’ve been…

2010-01-26T19:32:00.001-05:00

It’s been a while, I know. But like any good friend, you don’t mind. We can pick right up where we left off, never missing a step.

You know if you haven’t heard from me that some big things are happening. This hiatus wasn’t any different.

My last post was that we were back in the real world and nesting. Which of course didn’t last too long. We had a good show in Nashville and a fantastic time in Chicago. We were able to spend Thanksgiving with my family in Chicago before the show and step away from production for a bit.

After Chicago it was time to produce again and get the house ready for the pending holidays (and all the family that was to descend on our home for such festivities.) Everything was on track… even dare I say, ahead of schedule. Until the phone rang at 11:45 pm the evening of Friday, December 18th.

It was the call we all dread to receive. One of Rinse’s biggest fans and supporters – and even more devastating – Damyn’s father/best friend passed away from an apparent heart attack.

Our world went into a full tailspin and the next 5 days were a full blur throwing us into Christmas Eve. Thank goodness family is family and they really don’t care if your house is clean and all of the presents were purchased. We were able to be together, and that’s all that mattered.

The tailspin has continued as arrangements for the estate are being made and everything is sorted out. Admittedly a couple of small things slipped through our cracks but we have done a good job of picking those up and we are still pulling all of the pieces together.

Colin is and will be missed everyday. He helped us in so many ways that I don’t even think he knew about.

Back to the Real World

2009-12-04T10:52:00.001-05:00

It was great to be back. The minute I walked into the house, I nested. This is something that I never expected to happen, I thought relax for a moment and take a break. But no. I looked forward to doing laundry, washing the dishes and sorting through the huge stack of mail that was waiting by the door. I switched out Teagan’s clothes, organized his closet and dresser. I made a list of things to nest.
The nesting bliss lasted for about a week. And then it was pack up and head out to Nashville… then Chicago.
I can’t wait to nest again.

Rinse at Epcot’s F&W Festival – Part IIIII

2009-12-03T08:48:00.000-05:00

Well all the days came and went, then it was time to pack up and go home.

Home!?!? Really!!!! I couldn’t wait to see my family & sleep in my own bed. To cook for them. Yes – Cook! I accumulated some amazing cookbooks during my stay and couldn’t wait to use them.

I have to leave??? I spent so much time there. Made so many friends. Spent so much time. How would I acclimate back into the regular world??? It wasn’t long before I had to find out.

It took just about 45 minutes to pack-up and move out everything that took hours & days to set-up. And that was it. We were done. The next day we returned to hand over our credentials and parking passes (no more driving on the promenade.) We’re back to being Disney Civilians.

Rinse at Epcot’s F&W Festival – Part IIII

2009-12-01T00:37:00.001-05:00

After setting everything up and getting into my “groove” everything else seemed to just fly by. My responsibilities were pretty much 5-fold while I was there:

Sleep
Eat
Sell Soap
Make Soap
Stay Healthy

I have to say, I was pretty much successful at all of the above. My days consisted of:

Waking up @ 7:30 am; Out the Door by 8:30 am; On-Stage (that’s Disney’s term for being in my space ready for guests) by 9:00 am; Head Home at 9:01 pm; In Bed by 11:00 pm to do it all again the next day.

Don’t let the grueling hours fool you. It was truly a fun experience, through & through. I befriended a couple of the College Program peeps who covered a few hours here and there for me so I could buy pants (I had the arctic blast blowing directly on me & silly me only brought capri’s), sleep in an extra few minutes and getting some other Rinse work done. Out of the 540 hours of the festival I was present for at least 525 if them.

I also met some other amazing people, both guests and cast members, that made my stay so very comfortable & fun.

I was fortunate enough to sit at the Chef’s table every now & again for dinner, breakfast or an occasional snack. So, maybe it wasn’t a table but more like a plate (paper or plastic) at either a table in a kinda dark hallway for the exit of the old Buzzy ride or sitting on a golf cart right outside the doors. But I gotta tell you, the food was fabulous!

My space tended to accumulate the cast members smelling all that was new and old and sharing their Rinse success stories. The favorite items… Speppermint Shave Soap (Ashley’s –one of the event manager’s favorite); Dead Sea Mud & Salt Polish (Robert’s – one of the security host’s favorite); Cioccolato Soap (which I was so surprised that Steve didn’t take a bite out of it) and of course the Cabernet Soap (Jase’s – he who made sure I was well taken care of’s favorite.) What was so nice about the cast members drifting to my space was that there was always someone around to help pass the occasional slow times & just to talk with in general.

The guests were just as good to me as the cast members. They were very receptive to Rinse and our story. They purchased products and then would come back to tell me how much they loved it. I saw guests several times during their visit and some even made a point to come and say goodbye before they left. Within the first week of the festival I had blog posts and emails from guests cheering us on… and those haven’t stopped coming even 3 weeks after the festival ended.

This (and a million more moments) confirmed exactly why I went and why I would go back in a heartbeat.

to be cont…

Spam... If it's not the meat alternative, there's really no use for it

2009-11-24T12:21:00.000-05:00

especially on this blog. Sorry, just venting for a moment.

I don't really know what they're thinking... let's make a generic comment on a blog and put a link to our website with the only intent to pull traffic to our site. C'mon people! We're on to you. We won't let you advertise your prescription drugs, escort services or the best of all... your own (comercially produced) Bath & Body Products on our blog, so please stop trying.

I guess on the bright side, our blog is now getting a bit more attention. Hopefully it's not just from the crazy spammers out there.

Now on to the regularly scheduled program...

Rinse at Epcot’s F&W Festival – Part III

2009-11-15T09:28:00.001-05:00

So we’re there, unloaded and able to drive the BWT. Let the magic begin.

As we were unpacking and setting up there was bustling everywhere with rigging going up, merchandise being put out, plants potted every which way. I didn’t want to take any liberties with our space or layout since we were incorporated in such a way as to flow with the festival merchandise.We got down to doing our usual thing, after all, this is just another show – right?

Technically yes, but actually no. As we were getting the product out and we were placing and fluffing the real magic happened. One of the merchandisers for the festival offered suggestions, a hand & props/fixtures! She also had the power to move tables which ended up showcasing our products beautifully (as well as front & center.)
Before Picture (to the left)

And after…

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While we stepped away for a bite to eat the elves were busy at our space. It’s amazing what the coolest burlap (could I expect anything but from WDW), a few fantastic props/fixtures (which includes an amazing birdbath that I’m now trying to duplicate) and a quick rearranging of the tables in the hands of a fantastic visual merchandiser can do. We came back to more than I ever could have expected.

The rest of our job that day was easy - fill in the blanks with product. As we were doing that the excitement started to buzz. Cast members were intrigued, the smell was drawing them over and I was getting into my groove.

to be cont…

Rinse at Epcot’s F&W Festival – Part II

2009-11-13T10:36:00.002-05:00

We headed over to the Wonders building (formerly the home of Body Wars) after we finished unloading HF’s 2nd load. Everyone else rolled in at a reasonable 8:00 am hour so we were able to get some direction as to where in the world my space was going to be.

We got a golden location conveniently blended in with the festival merchandise. As guests walked in the door.. BAM, you saw Rinse. I don’t think I could have planned it any better.

We commandeered a cart and the two of us unloaded the big white truck (BWT) and started situating the tables (of which HF had arranged a sweet selection for my merchandising pleasure.) In no time we were ready to head back for HF’s load #3.

Easy enough right? That’s what I was thinking. We got everything moved in and they hadn’t even asked me to leave yet. This is good. But then it happened. Between the time we parked at the top of a fairly steep hill a collection of golf carts, a semi truck and a van decided to play Tetris with BWT. HF “measured” the space left and was confident that I could maneuver the BWT through the space to freedom. After what felt like 10 minutes of Austin Powers in the tunnel I successfully got the BWT turned 90 degrees from where we started and stuck between a steep hill behind me, a semi truck in front of me & a WDW van to the right – the left side was wide open.

HF hunted down the semi driver and got him to graciously give us about 3 more feet to play with. That just happened to be just enough space for me to get the BWT stuck even worse. At this point the passenger door of the BWT was ON the BUMPER of the white WDW van. How this happened I will never know but now I understand why I had to up our auto insurance before they would provide me with a parking pass (did someone warn them about me?)

Just as HF was going to get a forklift to move the van (lord only knows just how it was going to happen, but HF is certainly the person to be able to get it done) my knight in shining armor walked out the door… his name was Andy. I had no idea who he was or what he did but he offered to help direct me out of my predicament I felt a little better. Andy, being a dad as I found out later, must have seen the terror in my eyes because he then quickly offered to hop in and get the BWT unstuck. Which was a feat that took him about 10 minutes to do.

I saw my Disney vendor career pass before my very eyes before it even started. But because of Andy I got to stick around for another day (46 actually.) So Andy, if you ever read this posting… Thank You!

to be cont…

Oh and the flashing lights of AREA 51 weren’t there for intimidation at all. They were the lights from Test Track. Now don’t I feel silly!

I’m back…

2009-11-12T22:46:00.002-05:00

As I’m recapping my experiences in Orlando I thought I should go “Live” for a moment.

I did my first regular show today, an office building Gift Show. Wow, what a difference. 3+ hours, I’m in, I’m out. It seems now that any show is going to be a cake walk.

This coming weekend (Saturday, November 14) we’ll be at the Dunwoody Untied Methodist Holiday Festival from 9:00 – 4:00. This is a great little show that has a fantastic bake sale & casserole sale. Yum!

We are then off to Nashville for our 2nd appearance at Nashville Junior League’s Tis the Season shopping extravaganza November 19 – November 21. I call it an extravaganza because last year we were in what could have been the worst booth in the place, but because of the fantastic Junior League Members and their guests we sold out of quite a few things before 11:00 on Saturday. I’m also planning on going on a shopping extravaganza on my own and I can’t wait to see some of my girls who are going to be there with me: Flutterbugs, Freshie & Zero & Hot Squeeze. I am also thrilled that Faith Wallace is going to make another appearance. I picked up a few of her picture frames last year and can’t wait to add a couple of more to my collection.

Rinse at Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival in Epcot 2009

2009-11-11T22:11:00.001-05:00

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This certainly isn’t the first time you’ve heard it, and it definitely won’t be the last… Best Made Plans. While my true intentions were to journal my way through the awesomeness that was the Food & Wine festival, I just couldn’t.

So instead of play-by-play action, here is the Sports Center version – Part I

I am such a very lucky person to have a fabulous artist, Heather A. French (HF), in my life. She was instrumental during this whole wild ride and allowed me to hunker down at her house for the duration of the festival. We arrived at her house the evening of Tuesday, September 22. I was scheduled for set-up on both Wednesday & Thursday opening on Friday. HF’s set-up was Wednesday with a soft opening on Thursday. As any good house guest (and excited newbie) would I volunteered for a wild morning starting at 5:00 AM to help HF load into her space on the promenade. With only 4 and a bit hours of sleep I rolled out of bed ready to help and take it all in.

We drove separate and I was given the instructions “pay attention to where we’re going because it can be confusing and you’ll need to be able to get there on your own.” Not a lot of sleep, driving the big white pick-up truck in the dark, trying to follow someone who knows where they’re going, trying to remember where I’ve been… was not the best multi-tasking project for me to take on at the time. Never the less I made it there. As we crested the hill there it was… AREA 51.

Ok, so it wasn’t AREA 51, but you could have fooled me. We approached a guard shed. A bunch of red and yellow lights were spinning everywhere. Two sets of gates and big yellow and black striped barricades blocked the entrance. Following HF I was praying that she hadn’t led me a stray. That all of my credentials were set-up and that they would allow me to pass through which they did.

As we headed to HF’s space, which was located between Japan & Morocco, she gave me the tour via cell phone. We drove around the backside of the world showcase (you’re not missing much, it’s actually pretty drab.) The Earth was lit and spinning, a boat was being repainted and FYI, you can’t make a complete circle in a car (Epcot’s big ball is in the way.)

The highlight of my 5:00 am wake-up call was that I got to drive on the promenade. Yes it’s true. It felt so weird. I was paranoid that I was certainly going to run over something and get thrown out of the festival before I even had a chance to unload the big white truck. After quickly unloading HF’s car and doing a U-Turn in Japan (there wasn’t a sign saying I couldn’t) I skirted off the forbidden road without doing any damage, thank goodness.

We tried to unload the big white truck, but there was no telling where in the world my space was going to be and no right minded person was there at the crack of dawn to tell us so back to HF’s we went to reload.

to be cont…

We're here... in Epcot

2009-09-29T22:53:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone!

Wow, what a crazy and wild ride this has been! I just wanted to check in to let you know that everything is going magically... would you expect anything less from Epcot!?!?

The days are a bit long (9 am - 9 pm) every single day, so needless to say, I'm a bit tired.

I'm really taking this first week to settle into my spaces (one on stage & one off stage), getting a work flow down & making sure I have enough inventory. After that, I'll be able to chronicle my journey better. Images are coming I promise.

But for now. good night.

Back to the Workshop

2009-09-15T12:04:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to say hello, and that we made it back from Chicago safely.

We had an amazing time at the Chicago Renegade Craft Show. A full report & pictures are coming soon.

Now off to the workshop to:

create some sparkly goodness which we will be launching at Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival later this month.
ship our website orders
ship a few wholesale orders
unpack from this weekend's festivities
make product that we're out of or nearly out of
try to do it all over again by applying for the Chicago Holiday Renegade Craft Show

Rinse - a Featured Vendor @ Epcot's Food & Wine Festival

2009-09-10T09:50:00.000-04:00

Yes, your heard me right! Rinse Bath & Body is going to be a featured vendor at the 2009 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

You may ask yourself:
"Soap. Food. Wine. I don't get it?!?"

Well here's your answer:
With the exception of a synthetic fragrance (which we use in only a handful of our products) you eat just about EVERYTHING that goes into them everyday. Ironically enough, most of the ingredients in our products are found in very fine chocolates (yum!)

We feel that you shouldn't put anything on your skin that you wouldn't eat.

We also let food inspire us all the time. From the packaging to the names (truffles, candy...) to the look and even some of the scents (Cioccolato, Nectar...) We are foodies and we aren't afraid to share it with the world!

I love food. Ok, so that doesn't have anything to do with it, but it sure will be convenient for my tummy!

We are so excited to be a part of such an anticipated event (and are launching a handful of exclusive magical products at the event.) The line-up of top chefs & winerys is unreal. The entertainment is going to be top-notch. And Rinse, will be in the thick of it!

Our little space in the world of Epcot will be in the Festival's Welcome Center. Our products will be available from 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM every day of the week from September 25 - November 8.

And yes, I'll be there (in Orlando and probably at our space) the entire time. Stay tuned here because I hope to blog my journey from pre F&W through the whole thing.

The UPS man can't come quick enough

2009-09-09T10:34:00.002-04:00

So I've been on a bit of a shopping rampage as of late. Unfortunately it's not all for me. Well, maybe it is, but not in the way the usual person would shop.

I've got Rinse stuff... supplies to restock of course but then we've got a few things that we're going to pull out of our sleeves in the next few weeks. We are super-excited with a new niche & are just waiting, (some what impatiently I'll add) for our packaging to come.

Then I've got me stuff... which really does translate over to Rinse. My most favorite paper/creative store in the world, Paper Source, is shipping me a box of goodness.

I've got what I hope will be the perfect planner (and for those of you who know my planner habits know this is a tall order.) I'm using this planner now, but it's just not quite perfect. I wished it would be a little smaller as to be more purse friendly - and waalaa... ask and you shall receive! And the funnies thing is that I never officially asked, that is unless Paper Source can now read deep down into my thoughts...hmmm. Well in case this one doesn't work out, I've always got another planner in the wings cuz that's just the kind of girl that I am.

In the same box as my planner goodness will be the prettiest, most sparkley fun ever. Stickles!!! For those non-crafty types, Stickles is glittler glue. Only the best glitter glue known to man available in a plethera of fun and fancy colors. Now I can't tell you quite yet what I'm doing with the Stickles, but it will be marvelous I promise! Stay tuned.

Guaranteed not to rain this weekend

2009-09-08T22:17:00.002-04:00

Well at least let's hope the trend continues. I bought a rain coat. It has been years since I've had a coat specifically for when it rains. My last one was probably a yellow rubbery one my mom bought for me and made me wear in the 4th grade or something.

But anyhow, I figured the time was right and my dad isn't conveniently here every time it rains for me to steal his rain coat and REI was having a sale. So here it is, my guarantee that it won't rain this weekend - because for once, I'll be prepared.

Chicago... Here we come - again!

2009-09-07T21:23:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to be heading back to the windy city for hopefully a not so soggy Renegade Craft Fair.

If you remember, last year we had the honor to experience the most rainfall Chicago had in the entire recorded history. [I wonder if the fire the cow did or did not allegedly set off destroyed the records of what was the rainiest day ever in Chicago.] So sorry for digressing, anyhow... We loved the show. The girls sported the cutest galoshes & matching umbrellas we had ever seen (so inspiring that we were also sporting galoshes on the Sunday of the event thanks to Target.)

The Chicago show, even in all its rainy glory, was so much fun & showed so much potential that we applied & attended the Brooklyn Renegade show in June 2009 which also rocked the house.

Now fast forward to September 12 & 13, 2009. We are coming back and we are more excited than ever! Our craft peeps, Freshie & Zero (and Greg too) are right behind us, so you know there will be some laughs will be had throughout the days. The weather report (yes, I'm already looking at the extended forecast - I need to know if I need to find some new galoshes) says there is a 40% chance of showers on Saturday, but sunny on Sunday.

So Come One, Come All to my favorite (and only show... for now) in Chicago. I will be doing some damage myself shopping & hope Damyn can hold down the fort on his own for a while. If time permits, I'll post some pre-shopping notes.

Hardly a Master... part II

2009-09-05T22:17:00.001-04:00

Since I am no master, but am pretty handy when it comes to making a log or two of soap it's always exciting to find new & better ways to do it - especially after you've been doing it for over 7 years!

Today was one of those days. Since we've upped our production getting ready for the craziness that is about to ensue I've been able to streamline quite a bit of the production.

My amazing father built quad molds (they hold 4 logs of soap) so my dear husband had to build a log splitter (splits one big slab of soap into individual logs.) Now that I've gone quad I don't ever want to go back.

Scheduling the production & creating a production chart have help tremendously too. Less dishes to wash because I'm planning what we're making, how much we're making & when we're making it. Out of 34 logs of soap, only 4 pots were left to wash. And let me tell you, washing dishes after soapmaking is just as fun as it is after making dinner.

Now if only I could find a way to add a few extra hours to each day... hmmm...

Hardly a Master

2009-09-05T22:10:00.002-04:00

Some have said that I'm a master soapmaker. At times, I would have to agree for instance, after making 2,000 perfect bars in a 3 day span - impressive. But today I am far far far from that.

As I was working on log numbers 24-28 there was a terrible turn of events. The pot was too hot, the lye was too hot & within a minute, soap that was beautifully lying in its mold started to volcano. Yes... bubbling, steaming, rising... Luckily I was near to stir, stir, stir & poke, poke, poke the soap back into its place.

After wrestling with the logs they finally started to behave. They are certainly not going to be the prettiest bars (watch, they'll be amazing and I'll never be able to nor would want to reproduce them) but they should work. Guess I'll be showering with that batch for a long while.

Marietta Square Farmers' Market - May 23

2009-05-22T23:25:00.003-04:00

Never to fear, Rinse will be there...

We had to miss last week's Marietta Square Farmers' Market because we were already committed to the Papermill Market & the Geranium Festival but boy did I miss my fresh Pretzel (or two or three) for breakfast and the fresh squeezed Lemonade to wash it down with.

We'll have a little bit of everything including our almost famous Dead Sea Mud Soap. We've even got some of my new personal fave... Fresh Figs making its market debut tomorrow.

My Pants will Never Fall Down!

2009-05-20T11:12:00.000-04:00

There aren't that many markets that I shop at, but Papermill Market is certainly not one of them.

That is where I found my dear Princess & Butch. Julie & Stacy make the best belt buckles I have ever seen. They are so good that I have 2 belts (a black and a brown - c'mon you have to have one of each) and like 5 buckles. Ok, so maybe I don't NEED 5, but you have to have a buckle for your black belt, and one for your brown one. You need a fun one, like the birds:

And a pretty one like the flowers:

And... and... and...

Here is their display. Now you can see where my problem is.

Soon you'll be able to wear Rinse outside of the shower

2009-05-18T08:54:00.001-04:00

That's right... we're working on something great. Partnering with Lawton at Indie Peace to design a t-shirt for us. It's going to be a little funky, a little yoga & a whole lot of cool!

We're hoping to be able to debut the new duds at the Renegade Show in Brooklyn.

I can't wait to expand my closet!!!

The Wet Weekend

2009-05-17T22:34:00.003-04:00

You would really think that it's holiday time if you were to look at our show schedule. We had 2 shows scheduled this weekend. One was a 3 day show, the Papermill Market, & the other the Geranium Festival in McDonough, GA.

Luckily my dependable, friend, child care'er & sidekick stay at home mom was on hand to help Rinse be in two places at one time.

We avoided the rain on Friday at Papermill and wish I could say the same for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was torrential downpour with lightening & thunder. Erika, my dear assistant for the weekend, was texting me updates throughout the afternoon. At one point there was a waterfall in front of our booth, but we were much better off than some of our fellow vendors.

Saturday at the Geranium Festival, just 45 minutes away from the Papermill Market we had about 2 minutes of light sprinkles and then bright sunny skies.

Sunday at Papermill was just a rainy day, but with none of the fan fair of lightening and thunder.

While the weather left a lot to be desired, the vendors & shoppers did not. We had so much fun chatting it up with all of our neighbors, shopping & eating that the time pretty much flew by. I was really reminded about how connected I feel because of Rinse. I have a great network of other small business owners. I shop with them, share stories, leads & words with them on a very regular basis.

There is nothing that I like better than to be complimented o a piece of jewelry, or a purse, or a scarf, or art in my home... and I can turn around and say "my friend is the designer..."

Thank you to all of the fantastic, creative & inspiring people that cross my path on a regular basis! You make wet weekends so much fun.

Follow us & Friend us

2009-04-13T12:04:00.003-04:00

Twitter: www.twitter.com/rinsesoap

Facebook Group: Rinse Bath & Body

Where did February & March go?

2009-04-13T11:49:00.003-04:00

Here I thought I would do so well and be more active on posting, updates, life... but here we are, the middle of April and I just realized I haven't posted since January.

I can't say that anything prolific has happened between now and then. Lots of traveling, lots of planning (we almost have our entire year of shows scheduled) & lots of ???. We almost got a space... yes, a real space for both retail & production. But after a lot of soul searching and projections we decided that just because we could do it, doesn't mean we should do it. With the uncertainty of everything (especially in downtown Woodstock where 7 retail stores closed their doors in April) we decided not to risk everything we've worked so hard for, at least not yet. In the mean time we'll reconfigure our space one more time, get an off site storage for a little extra room & be patient.

If it is meant to happen it will and it will be easy... at least that's what I'm hoping!

We Did It... and we survived!

2009-01-21T22:57:00.003-05:00

Mart that is. We are a full week out of the madness of Mart and are actually looking forward to doing it all over again in July.

Here's a glimpse of our booth:

As my fellow first timer, Freshie & Zero, put it: "It was even... dare I say.. easy?" And it pretty much was! We were able to leisurely set-up, our neighbors were nice & we were well received.

Of course we didn't write as many orders as I super-secretly had hoped, but we held our own. We added 6 more states to our repertoire and have a dozen or so more leads to follow-up on.

There are only a few minor adjustments to be made in July, and a few products to add. But other than that, we're ready to go again.

I would love to give a huge THANK YOU to a few other designers that were there & who advised us, vented with us & befriended us through this process: Flutterbugs, Freshie & Zero & HollyBeth.

Did you work out today?

2009-01-02T19:30:00.000-05:00

On a rambling personal note...
I think everyone who made the resolution to go to the gym went today. At least those who are members at my gym.

Ok, confession, I have been to the gym once since October. Now that's certainly not to say that I haven't been getting my exercise. Schlepping my soap around to the 8.9 million shows; setting it up; tearing it down; standing there to sell it & making it all had to burn a few calories, wouldn't you think? I just haven't gotten to the gym due to all of the activities stated above.

So I went yesterday, and almost felt the need to whip out my day planner for the last 3 months to prove why I hadn't been diligently attending and that no, this wasn't a "let's change just because the calendar year has" moment. So I got over the feeling (and might I add that no one made me feel that way... just my own little mind) & had a great workout in a fairly quite gym.

Went back today and holy cow! I think EVERYONE was there. And if they had kids, they were there too. The kids gym was to capacity. The floor was shaking due to an over-capacity Kickboxing class & I think, for a moment, every treadmill was in use.

I am so excited to be getting back into the great routine I started of hitting the gym 3-4 times a week. I just hope that everyone who started today doesn't stick with it (or at least they change what time the go) so I can have my fairly quite gym back.

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T16:21:00.003-05:00

The elves here at Rinse have been working over-time. We made it through our 9 million holiday shows, our last minute Christmas rushes and prepping for Mart. Our blogging elf pretty much slept the entire month of December.

We are enjoying 2009 so far and have set some goals for the new year.
1) Work~Life~Balance - 3 little words that just don't go so well together for us but hopefully with the help of #2 they will.

2) Organization - or should I say, re-organization. We are putting together a new office, manipulating the workshop to work better, organizing/tracking raw inventory better (no more "we're out of what!?!?")

3) Working ON the business - Not just IN the business - this is going to be the trickiest part of it all. First things first we need to get everything out of our heads and on paper. But in the long run, this is going to be HUGE. First step - procedures. How do we do the things we do. That will probably take all of 2009!

Wish us luck & good luck to everyone and their goals for 2009.

Dave Ramsey Interview

2008-12-18T16:39:00.000-05:00

Hot Squeeze - Yum

2008-11-21T09:54:00.004-05:00

So I'm not normally a foody at shows, but I've gotta say I'm infatuated (but not as much as my husband is) with Hot Squeeze.

It's a sauce that you can put on practically anything. So much so that D has already tried it on every food available through the hospitality at this show including: cheese casserole thing, sausage biscuit, meatballs, rolled sandwiches... you get the picture. I think he's going to want to cover our Thanksgiving turkey in it, and to be honest, I don't think I would mind.

My infatuation is more because the person behind the sauce - Sue is just as amazing as the sauce. She is an inspiration to me and for where I want Rinse to be in the next couple of years. Her hard work has placed her in all of my favorite stores including Whole Foods, Cost Plus World Market and gourmet shops all over the place.

Ahhh, to have aspirations!

Ingredients I love: Squalane Oil

2008-11-13T10:20:00.002-05:00

Squalane Oil (known around here as Pure Bliss) is to me what Windex is to the father in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Derived from the olive & used in Asian skin care for centuries, Squalane Oil is:

100% natural

scentless

the lightest oil I have ever felt

quickly penetrating

It is known to:

promote elasticity

promote cell regeneration

help healing

fight fine lines & wrinkles

soothe tricky skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis & rosacea

It has been used for:

spots that need a little extra TLC (hands, cuticles...)

facial moisturizer (I use it every day)

eye treatment (I use it every night)

extremely chapped lips (and even the skin around the lips)

assisting the healing of scratches, scrapes, scuffs & cuts

dry cracked heals

cradle cap

Personally, I use it all the time. Example: when Teagan was a newborn the doctor informed me he had eczema and that I should use hydrocortizone cream on his dry spots. I admit, being the sleep-deprived new mother I went home & applied the cream for a couple of days - no improvement. Then it hit me. What in the world was I thinking?!?! I blame it on mommy-brain. I started to use the Pure Bliss & within 36 hours the dry spots were gone.

I'm not the only one with success stories. Some others include: healing bedsores; severly decreasing the irritation of eczema on both the body & scalp; evening out tricky facial skin; cuticle oil (used by salons & spas); and the list goes on.

Scout Bag - My New Tote Love

2008-11-10T09:52:00.001-05:00

Now I admit, I'm a totey kind of girl, and my husband just doesn't get it. I need totes for specific tasks so that I'm not swapping things in and out & forget something that I shouldn't - it's my grasp at organization. My current tote roll call is:

Gym - enough said
General Rinse - carries pertinent info, fliers, samples...
Scrapbooking - a girl needs all of those cubbies
Sales Meeting - this one carries all of my samples & a stock of sales materials
Just in Case - you never know if you'll need to take a lot of things somewhere
Show - the most used and abused October - December this tote carries everything I need for shows

Well my circa 2004 Show Tote had seen better days, and frankly isn't really in style anymore. So I've been in the market for a new one for a while. And then there it was... across the room, actually (ugh, there's that word again; smiles) it was in my friend Laurie's booth at one of my markets.

The Scout Pocket Rocket Tote Bag. It is the tote of all totes and this is why:

6 exterior pockets which are now filled with pens, sales receipts, business cards, scissors, bottled water...
Water resistant material so no worries if it's raining, or I spill something on it.
A zipper top so nothing spills out when I A. make a sudden turn or B. bale - it happens, a lot
A shoulder strap & handles
The inside pocket has a pocket.

Wow, has it really been...

2008-11-08T21:44:00.004-05:00

that long since I was on here. Teagan is probably almost 12 by now. Not really, but sometimes acts like it.

Anyways, I'm really going to put forth a lot of effort to blog more often, and different kind of stuff rather than just the same ole same ole ramblings of a soap girl. Things like: ingredients that I love and why I love them - short sweet & to the point; Goodies that I love (hello, shopping!) and who knows what else.

In the mean time here's something to chew on...
A reflection of me in my 3 year old son.

Apparently I say the word "Actually" a lot. I know this because I now here it (used properly if I may add) all of the time. "I would like blue, no actually I would like red" he says. Now every time I say it I smile.
Good Job. I am a big positive reinforcement kinda gal, but I never knew just how much until I started to get "good job mommy" for tasks like loading up the truck from a show; cooking grandma's pot roast recipe & when I get done making a batch of soap. Every time I hear it I smile, because I know that he hears it & gets it.

Smiles.

My family in pictures

2008-10-17T22:08:00.002-04:00

It has been so long, ok - never, since we had family pictures. I really had no interest in everyone wearing white shirts & khaki pants all while turning our heads a little to the left and sticking our chins out a little further & "cheese'ing."

Then I met the one. She changed my thoughts on family pics. and made me HAVE to have them. So on Monday Damyn, Teagan & I trucked out to meet Amy, Sing Photography. But we didn't go to a gloomy studio, instead we went to one of our favorite parks that has a small river flowing abouts.

I have to say, Damyn didn't "get it" at first but as soon as Amy took Teagan to play& was having a full blown conversation with him about one of his many sticks all while laying in the mulch, dirt & leaves to get the perfect shot, he said "wow, she's good." Then she was tip toeing with her camera on slippery rocks to follow the free spirit (Teagan) & his keepers, that's when Teagan knew she was good.

And good she is. She hung out with us for a couple of hours. Letting us be us and capturing it all on film. There were a few "coached" moments, but not many at all. You can catch a peek of our session on her blog.

And the final answer is...

2008-10-12T23:34:00.002-04:00

We're going to MART!!! As I'm sure you can figure out, we're going to be a bit busy here over the next 2 months & a bit getting through all of our retail shows & preparing to debut Rinse to the wonderful world of retailers.

I'll try to post as much as possible about the wild & crazy ride we're going through... but not at 11:36 on a Sunday night.

Watch Out World, here we come. Ok, world might be a little extreme, how about Southeast.

To go to market or to not go to market... that is the question

2008-09-22T17:48:00.003-04:00

Number crunching & projecting. Trying to figure out what in the world to do next.

How many wholesale accounts do I want?
What kind of accounts do I want?
How in the world do I want to get them?

I originally thought the good 'ole word of mouth & scouting was the way to go. And it would be if the number of new accounts I want is say, 10. But what do I do if the number is say 50? Not that it is, but I want to exploring all options.

Mart is so expensive for 100 square feet. Then there's the question: NY or Atlanta? Then there's the booth design & then sales/marketing materials & then helpers (I can't expect to be able to do it all myself - even though I would try)

And what if the buyers don't embrace Rinse the same way our great & dedicated (ok, possibly addicted) customers do?

Is there a formula? A guru? A fortune cookie to tell me what to do? Where is the magic 8 ball when you need it?

Mmmmm... Chinese food for dinner.

another bit on the FDA Globalization Act

2008-09-21T16:34:00.003-04:00

Can I just say that I hate these posts. I much prefer posting about fantastic things, happy news or just misc. ramblings. But I am determined to do my part to spread the word about how devastating this Act would be if passed.

Things are going so well here, it's such a high. When I think about the potential of extreme regulation from the government & what it will do to my business I get so bummed, you know, that queezy feeling in my stomach. I wish if I didn't think about it that it would go away... but we all know how that works.

Here's a news story in DC about the FDA Globalization Act and what it would do to one woman/small business owner. http://tinyurl.com/44yr3a

What can you do? sign the petition at the Indie Beauty Network & by contacting your representative.

So I'm off to make soap, hoping that I'll always be able to make soap & that the FDA won't totally screw my happy little business up. grrr....

Rinse as you know it... gone forever!?!?

2008-09-19T08:45:00.007-04:00

Not at this very moment... but now that I have your attention, it could happen. That is if the FDA Globalization Act is passed as it is.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce released a proposal that will significantly impact businesses that sell cosmetics (including soaps, lotions...) A few of the major provisions:

1) $2000 annual FDA registration fee

2) Fees for reregistration, inspections & reinspections, certification, certifying agent accreditation, laboratory accreditation, export certification, and importer registration.

3) Cumbersome paperwork

4) Substantial fines for those that do not comply

Who wins??? FDA. $600 million is predicted to be generated from the food registration fees alone. Big Box Manufacturers. They have the $$$ & the staff to be able to jump through all of the hoops without even noticing that they're there.

Who loses??? You. Customers who love a choice & prefer knowing what you're using on your body. Me (and the others like me.) Small Indie Businesses are either going to loose a lot of time & $ trying to comply with all of the requirements or loose the battle all together.

What can you do??? Speak up & let the House of Representatives know that you want a choice. Sign a petition that the Indie Business Network has put together. Email your state representative. Spread the word.

My thoughts: I'm not against having to register & jump through some of the hoops, but come on... a blanket fee no matter what your annual sales!?!? That means that Rinse pays the same registration fees as Proctor & Gamble!

We have nothing to hide as far as ingredients or known/potential adverse conditions from those ingredients (hello, you eat pretty much everything we use in our products.) But as any small business owner knows, time is $$$. There seems to be a lot of hoops, a lot of paperwork (for each product, even if the only difference is scent,) and a lot of $$$ involved - across the board.

We are proud to still offer products that are handmade is small batches. We are proud to not be a Big Box Manufacturer. It will suck if we have to pay the same $$$ as the Big Box Guys to be able to do business.

Wish us (and every other small indie Bath & Body company) luck!

The Most Rain Ever in Chicago

2008-09-17T10:00:00.004-04:00

...well that is to say since someone has been writing this stuff down! At about 3 PM on Saturday, September 14 there was 6.3 inches of rain at O'Hare airport. And here's some picts of the results of all that rain, which I heard totaled 8 inches+ in some areas.

If you haven't visited here before you're wondering why in the world is the soap girl talking about rain in Chicago. Well, because the soap girl was IN Chicago, IN the rain with her soaps!

The R enegad e Craft Fair was this past soggy & wet weekend. I was so stoked to head back to where it all started (Rinse was founded in Chicago & hasn't been back in almost 5 years,) show the company to my friends, eat my mom's home-cooked meals & be a part of a legendary event. That is until I was plastered to weather.com hoping & wishing that the rain would just go away.

Well, needless to say, it didn't. The rain came and came and came. Cats & Dogs at times. But I have to say, so did the people (considering the record rainfall and all.) I couldn't imagine the event on a sunny day.

There were times where both my friend Jess (who endured the wet weather with me ALL weekend long) & I were both helping visitors and had a couple more waiting for us. There was a great steady flow of people walking about most of the day. We did make note on Saturday that 90% of the women had on the funkiest galoshes we had ever seen and made a pact to have galoshes of our own to sport on Sunday seeing as though we did have a small puddle form in our booth.

Sunday proved to be a little bit nicer out, well in the afternoon that is. As promised, I ran to Target in the AM and provided galoshes (that was the least I could do.) Our feet were so happy & DRY! At about 2:00 the rain let up & the people flocked out. We were hoping from 3:00 til about 6:00. And by then our puddle was gone!

We have to give a HUGE shout out to the Renegade Girls. Even in the worst rain Chicago has ever had, the followers of Renegade came out. Great show, I can't wait to see how fantastic it is when it's dry!

And yes, I will apply for Brooklyn!

Soapmaking 101 - class of 2008

2008-09-16T12:13:00.001-04:00

As sad as I am to say, I'm offering my last soapmaking class for 2008 on September 21 from 11-2. Registration is now available on the Beehive Co-op website under Atlanta & Classes. Since it's the last hurrah I've doubled the number of spots available which I think are 1/2 full already.

Why you ask? Have you looked at my show schedule!?!? We've confirmed a couple of more shows since we posted our last crazy number and have inquired about a few others that have always been good to us.

Yes, now I'm going to look into the Events Anonymous meeting I spoke of earlier.

All of the Buzzing has paid off

2008-09-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Petra Geiger, the founder of Beehive Co-op, has been working her wings off on the new Beehive Co-op website and more exciting the Beehive Co-op webstore... www.BehiveShop.com.

Both sites have launched & are fantastic. You'll be able to find some of your favorite Rinse products for sale on there (and don't worry, there will be more added - a girl's gotta start somewhere though) along with some of my favorite colleagues/designers.

And keep your eyes peeled on the Bee Blog where you'll find me rambling on a regular basis... lucky you!

Rain Rain Go Away...

2008-09-12T20:44:00.005-04:00

I am sooo excited. Sitting here in the P's house awaiting for the Renegade Craft Fair tomorrow. We are THE most prepared for this show than any other. We are premiering a new show display (including what hopes to prove to be an organized cash wrap); new products (3 scrubs & the long awaited coffee lip balm... we've been busy) and showing off to our Chicago natives.

I've also been stalking www.weather.com. I guess the optimist in me hopes that they are magicly going to change the big 'ole 100% percipitation to 0% (is it asking to much to loose a 1 & a 0?) but, unless we all do an amazing anti-rain dance, it looks like it's going to be soggy.

Lathering is a bit of an occupational hazard for us here at Rinse, but it is a challenge I'm willing to face, with a smile on my face because I'm so excited to be here. Hopefully the Renegade fans will be out in droves (after all the weather does change more often than not here in Chicago & Chicagoians are used to crappy weather... hello... winter!)

I'm also excited that I'm going to see Brynn with Brynn Handbags, one of my old designer friends from my days in Chicago. She has a great new line of clutches out, Cher wristlets, that I can't wait to see.

Grant Park Summer Shade Festival... crowned my new favorite

2008-09-02T09:04:00.001-04:00

I love festivals because of the people, people watching, artisans, the families, being outside, the never knowing how things are going to turn out & what seems to be my latest addiction... Kettle Korn.

Since festivals & shows really are like a box of chocolates... I'm always ecstatic when I think I've got a solid milk chocolate piece and bite into it to uncover milk chocolate covered toffee (one of my favorites.) The Grant Park Summer Shade Festival was just that.

Milk Chocolate:
I hadn't heard much about it even though I knew a few folks who did it years prior. What I did hear was that it was HOT (come on what do I expect for August in Atlanta) & the venue was nice.

Milk Chocolate covered Toffee:
The Park was amazing. I have to say that I think this is the most family friendly festival (for both visitors & exhibitors alike) I've been to. Teagan was filthy (ironic that he's the son of the soap girl) both Saturday & Sunday after playing in the dirt/mulch/acorns that were behind my booth or from running through the huge open field that my space was facing. Never once did I feel the need to constantly hold his hand or worry that he would get swooped away in the crowds.

Now this is not to say that it wasn't busy. It just wasn't crowded. Visitors had more than an entire traffic lane to peruse the displays. Everything was spread out enough that there was no shoulder to shoulder mad rush of people, rather just a nice afternoon stroll in the park.

Loved thy Neighbors. My bud Wesley of My Fowl Intentions (great one of a kind funky birdhouses) was 2 booths away from me and right in between was Marie Louise Coil (acrylic on wood - which does NO justice to her art) who made the best Atlanta inspired paintings & collages. She's just starting out in this whole show thing, but I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of her. Oh, and Freshie made an appearance (Freshie & Zero) so I was able to pick up a new necklace (yea!!)

The Shade. They really meant it when they said Summer Shade Festival. My space was under a huge canopy of beautiful trees which made the Summer part totally tolerable. With the exception of an occasional fear that the sky was falling (acorns dropping from the branches above) the space was perfect.

And the cherry on top... people were shopping. I even had to bring more soap for Sunday because I had sold out of a few scents on Saturday.

A huge thumbs up from me to all of those hard working people who put the Grant Park Summer Shade Festival together. I look forward to next year.

So for those of you at home keeping score: 1 down 14 more to go (plus maybe a couple more.)

Super Secret Dave Ramsey Sale

2008-09-01T19:40:00.001-04:00

Well, it's not going to be so super secret, but secret enough that I'm not sending any emails out about it to anyone. I guess a better word would be surprise. OK, so the sale is officially renamed the Super Surprise Dave Ramsey Sale (or SSDRS for short.)

What:
20% off site wide for approximately 50 hours or so (I'm not doing the math, but orders need to be in by Wednesday, September 3 at 11:59 PM EST.

Why:
Because Dave (yes, 1st name basis now) was so super-sweet to plug our website www.RinseSoap.com on his Fox Business Network Show that airs tonight (September 1st) between 8:00 - 9:00 PM EST and for those of you who don't know he's ALL ABOUT saving $$$.

How:
Just hop on the site www.RinseSoap.com & shop, shop shop. We'll do the rest!

Do you know what are you doing @ 8:00 PM EST today

2008-09-01T15:54:00.003-04:00

We do. Our butts are going to be plastered to the couch watching The Dave Ramsey Show on Fox Business Network. We already have our DVR set, as well as a half dozen of our friends' DVR's just in case a huge power-outage strikes and we're not able to see it... or worse yet, record it.

If you are wondering why in the world are they so bent on this show... Jump on down to "Heather Talks to Dave, Ramsey that is" post & you'll see why.

For those of you who are dying to watch it and not sure what channel to TiVo/DVR just click here enter you zip code & plan the rest of your evening.