Miscellany Boutique is working on featuring local women who are workin' their handmade talents!! We are very excited about our first featured woman, Erin Williams, owner of suds! Bath & Body. I had the pleasure of meeting Erin last December at a boutique in St. Paul. I have since fallen completely in love with her products, and frankly find her story to be truly inspiring. I hope you will too!!! Below are some questions we asked Erin to answer:

What kind of products do you make?

All natural bath and body products including: soap, bath salts, bubble bath bombs, bath candies, body butter bars, body butter scrubs, facial cleanser, oil & toner, lip balms, lotion sticks, massage bars, shampoo & shave bars, sugar scrubs, baby products, doggie shampoo bars, herbal insect repellent, travel shower kits, unique gift baskets and more!

What sets your products apart from others in your industry?

suds! products are always 100% natural - no exceptions. I never use any synthetic chemicals, detergents, fragrances, colors, preservatives or any other synthetic ingredients in any of my products. I choose to do all of my moisturizers in solid form such as the body butter bars, lotion sticks and body butter scrubs, so that there is no water involved which allows me to eliminate synthetic preservatives. Although these products may be new to most people that are used to traditional water based lotions, just think of them as lotions without the water. Typically people that try them say they will never go back to a water based lotion again!

I also try to have a wide variety of products so that my customers can buy everything they need from suds! and can feel confident that everything is truly 100% natural. Some products on the market today try to trick the customer into thinking they are "all natural" but they really aren't. I try to be as transparent as possible about my products and I will answer any questions the customer may have about the ingredients in my products. I use all of my products myself, so I would never substitute a synthetic ingredient for a natural one.

I care more about the quality of my products than making them as cheap as I can to make the most profit.

How did you learn how to make the products?

My background is in Chemical Engineering and food product development, so I have a lot of experience developing new products. Although I'm not making food anymore, I can still use a lot of the same principles and techniques that I learned when developing new food products. I learned to make soap mostly from books and just experimenting with it myself. I learned to make a lot of my other products from a great studio in California called The Nova Studio. I went to the studio back in October of 2010 and took a 4 day bath and body class where I learned to make a lot of all natural bath and body products. I took what I learned from that class and started experimenting with my own unique formulas at home. There is a lot of trial and error when developing a brand new product line as well.

What is the most exciting thing about being in the "handmade" business?

It's very rewarding to be able to make something with my own hands and see that people really enjoy it. I love being able to talk with my customers at farmers markets and shows to hear what they like and what they may not like about my products. It's fun to be able to provide customers with custom orders they may want for a wedding, gift or any other special occasion. This level of customer service is something I can provide that a large company usually would not be able to provide.

What is the most challenging thing?

The most challenging thing for me right now is having to be the product developer, producer, marketer, packager, sales person and all of the other roles involved with owning a business. I develop the products, produce them, package them, market them, meet with stores, fulfill online orders, sell my products at shows and farmers markets and do all of the paperwork involved with suds! The product development comes easy to me, but sales was a whole new thing for me. I am not a sales person, nor did I ever think I would be. However, I've realized that it's not too difficult to sell something that I really believe in and something that I make with my own two hands. Although it is challenging, it is very rewarding at the same time.

How would you define success with regards to your personal business goals?

Success to me is being able to do something I really enjoy and making enough money to live comfortably. I left a very well paying job with great benefits as an engineer because I simply didn't like or agree with what I was doing (essentially developing new processed foods). It's more important to me to love what I do every day and feel good about my contribution to the world than making a lot of money. As a food product engineer I didn't feel like I was making the world a better place, in fact, I felt the exact opposite because I was developing unhealthy, processed foods. It was a big risk to quit, but I haven't regretted it for a second.

You can also find Erin's products in her etsy store!!

Handbagiddy

Just tinkering around with this new fabric that I have fallen for, and which, incidentally happens to be a perfect fit for this time of year. Thus I am calling this part of my "fall line"...

So smitten over this fabric, I have decided to sell these little ditties. My Etsy store is not up and running yet, but I will take orders via phone or email. I currently have this bag priced at $40. With bamboo handles, this bag has multi-sized pockets on the inside as well as the pocket on the front. The lining is a deep green. I can send more pictures if need be - just shoot me a line!

(turn-around time is approximately 1-2 weeks)

Happy Fall Y'all!!!

:-) Steph

Half a Handbag

After a futile attempt to find a handbag fulfilling my requirements (i.e. adorable and $10 or less) I decided to whip one up myself. I was very pleased with the results - but as usual - was too impatient to wait to use it until it was completely done - so it did not last but a few weeks. Incidentally, that is about how long it takes me to get tired of a handbag and move on. I do plan to make repairs - it's on that monster "to-do" list that seems to grow exponentially!!

Annual Blog?

Ok - so obviously I have not mastered blog maintenance! It has been a while, but life has taken over a bit. Things have slowed somewhat, so thought I would update a bit.

After Christmas I decided to make Lucy a bean bag chair for her birthday in March. This was super fun to make - and so obnoxiously easy!! No patterns necessary! And, aside from the ginormous mess that was made stuffing the thing with the little beans, all went smooth (this is uncommon in my world of craftiness).

Currently, I am working on some custom cushions for my sis-in-law's outdoor furniture. Keeping them very basic, and thrilled to have faith from my SIL that I can complete the project well! I will post pics of those later. I am so in love with the fabric she chose - I am tempted to update my own outdoor furniture with it!!

I am hoping to do more custom projects like these as I become more comfortable with them.

Have yourself a wonderful Spring day! Currently, in the Twin Cities, it is drab and dreary with a touch of gloom....but that always brings such beautiful shades of green, so I can't complain.

Be Blessed,
STEPH

p.s. please forgive the poor photo quality. I broke our camera, so temporarily I only have my phone camera :-((

Not bored of boards....

Well, I have been busy trying to get a little more interesting with the magnetic boards....boy are they fun!! I just love how it allows me to put awesome fabrics on display!

I have been trying some new sizes and really liking how they have turned out.

I volunteered (via a Facebook "chain" post) to make handmade somethings for 5 of my friends, with the delivery deadline being the end of 2011. A tall order no doubt, but I am excited. I think it was a great idea and I have seen many more on Facebook participating. It's fun to see creativity explode!!

Well, I hope to post again soon, but I can't be too reliable these days as my computer has not been cooperating. Just got it back from repairs yesterday and it's still freezing up! It has become my full-time job dealing with the folks over at HP. That is for sure how I want to be spending my time (insert eye-roll).

Happy New Year! (or as some say "Happy New Years"...which I never understood).

How do you measure success?

Well I have to say, I have a new interpretation of success after yesterday. My first craft boutique completed and it was great! Great, not because I sold all of my products, not because I made a ton of money....it was great because I enjoyed the entire thing so very much!! Aside from the lack of sleep and stress accrued in preparation for the event, it was truly an experience that felt more in sync with the passions in my heart than I ever even imagined. It was almost intoxicating to be surrounded by women who have that same drive and passion. At a time in my life when clarity is a rarity (ha!ha!) this event hit me hard in the heart department!!

Yay for all that!

The Power of Rick Rack

I am forever in love with rick rack. What is it about that little squiggly stuff that can so easily transform a boring project into utter cuteness? If only there were more of these little additives in life that could have such a profound impact. Of course, there are SOME...but not enough. I can think of a few "rick racks" I enjoy periodically....like a stop at Caribou on a snowy day, or an unexpected moment when my kids make me laugh a deep-in-the-belly laugh. For now, however, I am content with the literal rick rack and how it's changed my life - my crafting life that is :-)

p.s. These are the magnet boards I will be selling at the craft boutique on Saturday.