Yesterday was spent in the studio, perfecting our foaming hand soap and our luxurious body wash. The Bibbed Wonder cooked up our first large masterbatch and worked tirelessly to dilute the gel to a consistency that earned the stamp of approval from myself and The Bean. This has been quite the process, but we are enjoying ourselves and are excited to roll out samples to select soap family members. We have created a mental list of those we feel will give us honest, unbiased feedback. I’ve approached a few trusted individuals, and two have told me quite honestly that they don’t feel they can give me honest feedback because they love everything we do. I love our soap family.
My bib overall wearing wonder buns is antsy with excitement. I am currently the one stifling his creativity and reining him in on his plans and ideas for expanding with industrial soap equipment. It feels good to be the one saying, “Now, that’s a good idea but let’s not put the cart before the horse.” He has several tabs open on the computer in the studio. He is looking at liquid filling machines, labeling machines, and stainless steel tables. These are all great ideas for improving and streamlining the system, but we need to perfect a product and see how well it is received before making any big purchases. I do love his enthusiasm, though.
We did purchase an industrial warming tray, a thermometer, and a food-grade five-gallon bucket with a nozzle and hose to dispense liquids to fill our bottles. Baby steps are necessary; as I stated before, I don’t want to kill our business with expensive, unnecessary purchases before we have a chance to grow. It’s odd to be the one showing restraint.
Eric and I work well together because we aren’t excited about the same things. He loves logistics, functionality, and streamlining. While I, on the other hand, love anything glittery, colorful, or creative. Eric says I’m like a cat, easily distracted by shiny objects. Sigh, sometimes he’s not very charming. Anyhow, I rein him in with his big ideas, and his ability to crush my creativity and keep me grounded makes us a complimentary pairing.
Speaking of creativity being crushed, my grandiose ideas for beautiful, square black bottles are dead in the water. Finding what we want at a reasonable price with supply chain issues is impossible. It has been days of deliberation and painful back and forth, but we have finally settled on the packaging. Although it is not the beautiful black, square glass bottle I envisioned, I believe it will work well, look great, and meet the needs of our soap family. I will surprise you with our finished product when/if it is ever delivered.
Also happening here at the farm yesterday, The Bibbed Wonder and I tried the new body wash in our showers. I used a shower poufy; I don’t know what else to call it. You know what I mean, those puffy balls of netting on a string? The body wash creates a lovely, lasting thick lather, and our skin feels clean and moisturized once we are rinsed. Eric likes how the body wash is dense enough to maintain its shape in your hand when it is pumped. Eric used the body wash with a washcloth. He was not as impressed with it because it didn’t lather as well as when used with a poufy. I could be wrong, but I feel like most people who use body wash in the shower use a bath poufy as well. The Bean also used the body wash in her shower, and she loved it. She said her skin felt clean and moisturized afterward, and she likes its smell even though it is unscented. It does have a pleasing scent. It smells a bit sweet and warm. I believe this is due to the natural sugars in goat’s milk. We are debating what scents we will use in our initial release. The Bean and I think we should use vanilla absolute. I will be able to use all kinds of essential oils that don’t typically hold up in cold process soap. I find this option to be very exciting. However, The Bibbed Wonder is the one reining me in on this idea.
If you follow us on social media, you will be kept up to date on all the happenings on the liquid soap front. I am happy to report we are making progress. It feels a bit slow, but patience has never been one of my better qualities. I can’t wait to know what our soap family thinks of both products. It will be soon, very soon. As always, dear reader, stay safe, be smart, try to be patient, and keep washing your hands.
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