Merry Christmas!!

My very last message to you all - thank you for your valued support, readership and feedback - we do so love hearing from you!

We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

We wi-i-ish you a merry Christ...mas

a-n-d a happy New Year!!

 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish our Riverlea Soap family, near and far, a wonderful festive season and hope that wherever you are, you stay safe and enjoy some quality time with loved ones.

 

In true 'soapy' spirit, I made a vanilla mint bar for my dearest - hope you all enjoy!

Keep all those mails rolling in - see you next year!!

 

www.riverleasoap.com

Thank You & Merry Christmas

It has been a long hard year but we could not have made it without you – our customers. Thank you! We truly appreciate your business and look forward to great 2012.

Here are some of our best sellers through out 2011.

Have a good Christmas.

 

www.riverleasoap.com

Soaps for Market

Technorati Tags: Riverlea Soap,Soap curls

We have just completed our last market for the year – YAY. Here was our most popular soap.
It was Neroli with a hint of sea breeze

 

www.riverleasoap.com

Swirling

I am having so much fun making swirled soap.
Christmas is such a busy time and orders have to be filled and you don’t really get a chance to have fun and make the soap that I want to make as the stock items have to be churned out. Sometimes I forget how much fun soap making can be. Watch this space in the New Year as I will share this technique with you.

   

www.riverleasoap.com

Tutorial - Melt and Pour - Scrunchie Soap...

Holiday season approaches and you have some time on your hands! What to do? Feeling creative? Want to try something new? Here is a fun project you can do on your own, in your home, with safe ingredients. Make an exciting “scrunchie soap” which is ideal as a gift or for use by you and your family.

Follow the steps below to make this soap and scrunchie in one.

 

You will need:

• Paper cupcake holder
• Shower scrunchie
• Plastic strip and sticky tape
• Soap colouring of choice (I used pink)
• Fragrance of choice (I used a Musk blend)
• Pearlescent powder
• 200g Clear M and P soap base
• Jugs, stirrers, scale, stick, micro-wave  

 

Method:

• Position paper cupcake holder on a flat surface
• Fold scrunchie into itself and secure with plastic strip and tape
• Chop M and P into jug, and melt in 30 second bursts until just liquid
• Add colour drop by drop and stir until desired tone achieved
• Add pearlescent and watch your soap blend!
• Add fragrance - guideline 2% of soap weight and stir
• Pour gently into positioned paper cupcake holder until two thirds full

Method continued:

• Insert your scrunchie and hold submerged in the soap
• Gently pour the remaining soap around the scrunchie until ‘full’
• Secure scrunchie with a stick for a minute or until set in position
• When cooled (approximately 60 minutes) release plastic strip
• Stand back and admire!

Refer to previous tips if need be.

Email me to order the ingredients for this fun project!

 

 

Till next time…stay safe!

www.riverleasoap.com

Market Day - North Coast, South Africa!

I must tell you that we try and share with you every Monday via our blog but sometimes technology fails us and it is just not possible. This time – I have to apologise and admit that I just did not have enough time. With all the pressures of studying again at university (assignments, lectures, meetings, exams) as well as the year end ‘hockey-stick’ in sales, I am a tad late.

Towards the end of the year, we are busier with markets that we attend, and the most recent, was a two-day market on the Kwa-Zulu Natal north coast in Ballito. This is the town that has seen the most significant growth in the area in recent years, and our market days certainly supported this.

Us ‘soapy ladies’ could be seen earnestly marketing our wares and getting first-hand feedback from clients which is always exciting.

 

Amid shrieks of delight, we were pleasantly surprised to receive “The Friendliest Stand” award! Thanks to all who voted – we sure had fun!

 

We are often asked, “so what do you do at markets?” and “don’t you get bored?” Well, to share a little of our fun – at this market held at the Collisheen Estate, we were positioned in the enormous boma and directly behind Odette was a support pole which for some bizarre reason was covered in velcro! Yes, you guessed, she kept getting stuck to it! So, the little Miss McGyver devised a cunning plan, and wrapped the pole in plastic to avoid any further sticky situations.

We were also thoroughly spoilt, having dinner served to us by faithful friend Carol Rae Dengler, and pudding was creatively prepared by young Chad – thanks to you both!

Our mornings were tough – imagine waking up to this view (below) and then watching the water break with a school of dolphin swimming by!! Yes – just another tough day in Africa!

 

We have a number of Christmas markets coming up so we had best get back to work!

Take care and chat to you all again soon!

www.riverleasoap.com

My Love Affair with the Post Office

 

We deliver, whatever it takes - even if it is to the wrong person!

You will have seen my posts, here, and here with previous stories of fun with the post office and living in South Africa.
Well I have more on this continuing love affair.
In August we held a competition with a regional magazine, SA Garden. See the post here. The editor of the magazine sent us the names and contact details of all 9 winners and we wrapped, packed and posted their parcels to them. Our postal system has a tracking facility so you can see where the parcel is at all times. Once I was sure all parcels had arrived I stopped tracking them. Imagine my surprise when I got a notification to say there was a parcel at my local Post Office. I love receiving post, especially parcels, but I knew that I had not ordered anything so this dreaded feeling crept into my stomach. I went onto the Post office website to check the tracking number on my slip and it was one of the prizes we had sent out!! AND I had to pay to collect it!!
When I got to the PO to pick up the parcel I had a bigger surprise in store - they had handed my parcel over to someone else. When you collect a parcel you have to hand over your ID book/ number and it is scanned into the system as proof you are the recipient. So how in heavens name did Mrs ABC collect a parcel sent to Miss XYZ. The name is wrong and the addresses is wrong. Did no bells ring out in her head?

Well the manager, Patience, has been a great detective and recovered the parcel. Of course it has been partly used. The teller who handed the parcel to the wrong person will be punished, according to Patience, but what happens to the person who took the parcel knowing it was NOT THEIRS to take? She is being protected by the post office but gets off Scott-free with some of our products. I think some sort of punishment is due to her.

Tell me what you think, I would love to hear your comments.


www.riverleasoap.com

I-M-P-O-R-T-A-N-T dates!

To all our loyal readers,

Nothing too exciting or creative from my desk this week – rather something very important indeed!

As the end of the year races toward us, and with less than 50 days until Christmas, we are excitedly preparing for our summer holiday.

Not before we take care of all our faithful clients and ‘super-clean’ Riverlea Soap users. So – help us to help you, and please take note of the following important dates…

Wholesale orders LAST order date - 2^nd December 2011

Retail orders LAST order date - 9^th December 2011

Office LAST day - 15^th December 2011

Our Riverlea Soap offices will re-open on the 16^th January 2012 with renewed ideas and energy for a bumper year with all of you!

Get those orders in soon to avoid disappointment!

Chat soon,

www.riverleasoap.com

I Love Colour

I am not sure if many of you know that in a past life I was a fashion designer. We had to work with seasons and everything was driven by the colour palettes.
Certain circumstances led me to my soapy path that I am now on but I know that I will always be drawn to colour and fabric, so when I came across this website Design Seeds. I had to share it with you. It is the MOST inspiring website that I have seen in a long time.
A lot of people are not impressed with colour and it doesn't "talk" to them, but it certainly does to me.
I think colour is important in soap so these palettes really jump out and and inspire me to want to make soap.

www.riverleasoap.com