We had an ice storm in Lovettsville today, which made it the perfect day to stay inside the shop and be productive. Making soap in January is always a relaxed process. Holiday gifts have long since been mailed out, craft shows are over until spring, and business in general is less frantic. There’s time for trying new things and catching up with the “to do” list.
Today I experimented with a couple of new scent blends. We’ve had customers asking for a peppermint soap for a long time now, and I’ve never been able to hit on a good blend. There are plenty of artificial Candy Cane fragrances out there, but we always try to use essentials if possible. Peppermint is tricky in cold process soap—it has a real tendency to fade and is easily overwhelmed in blends. For this batch I mixed the peppermint with tea tree oil and sweetened it up with a touch of vanilla. Dick added some finely ground black tea leaves at trace. The tea not only looks pretty but will also make the soap slightly astringent.
We always seem to have odd ounces of fragrance hanging around, so for our second new soap I mixed several of these odds and ends together. I put in several florals, some linden/cucumber for depth, and a shot of rain to lighten it all up. I have absolutely no idea what we’re going to name it. It might be time to bring out the paint chips again (some of those color names are absolutely inspired!).
Today we also brought back a couple of varieties from years past: Black Tea & Rose and Citrus Linen. Everything we made today will be ready in about six weeks and in plenty of time for the Leesburg Flower and Garden Show. Hope to see you there!
