haus of gloi

We've moved!

2011-03-21T16:47:00.000-07:00

You can now find all of our blogging goodness over at: http://hausofgloi.com/blog

New Year's News!

2011-01-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

Greetings one and all!

Here at the Haus we have a number of new and exciting things planned for the first part of 2011! Last year was a great year for us and we hope to continue to improve the service and products we provide you. Here are some dates to mark for Gloi happenings in the coming weeks:

Roll on perfume bottles are now available as an option in our perfume section.

January 7th - Litchi Milk Tea is arriving at last! Our newest catalog scent will be available in our full product line. This will also be the last day for Yuletide items - be sure to stock up on any departing favorites!

January 20th - The first of our reformulated cold process soap bars will be in stock! We are really excited about our new longer lasting formula - we've heard good things from our testers! Not all scents will be in stock immediately - please expect approximately 2 weeks for full stock. We will also be putting up a cure date page so you can stay advised of what will be available when.

January 30th (approx.) - Valentine's release day! We have a trio of scents for your enjoyment that we are very excited about (formal announcement to come soon). In addition, we will be releasing the first products in our "Aether" unscented line - all of the same goodness of Gloi lotions and scrubs without added fragrance for those with sensitivies or workplace perfume restrictions.

Other changes and happenings coming in the next few months:

Body Emulsions and Pumpkin Butters will be resized. We've talked to a lot of you about what you want packaging-wise from our products and have come up with a size assortment we think is the best of both worlds. Pumpkin Butters will still be available in their current 2oz and 6oz jar size, however Body Emulsions will be sold in an 8oz bottle (with optional pump) only.

Label tweaking. We plan to take advantage of having an "in-house design team" - Matt's parents are quite happy that he's FINALLY doing something with his design degree - to refine the color schemes to reduce order mis-picks caused by "look alike" labels. Look for new labels to be appearing in the next couple of months and phasing in as products sell through.

Shipping price increase. Unfortunately we will be increasing shipping charges by about 5% due to a rate increase with the USPS. Our shopping cart determines shipping by requesting a quote from the USPS server so this change will be automatic. We will be keeping the maximum domestic shipping charge of $10.50. This change takes place on Jan. 2nd, so all orders placed after this will be charged according to the new USPS rates. We will as always do our best to keep shipping rates as low as possible and refund overages when they occur.

Thank you all, we look forward to serving you in 2011!
Britton + Matt

Please Read! Cyber Monday Orders!

2010-11-30T09:45:00.000-08:00

I also sent this out in a newsletter, if you're not signed up, you can read all about it right here.

_________________________________________

This regards all orders placed during our Cyber Monday Event!

Our goal at Haus Of Gloi is to provide our customers with a reliable and hassle free shopping experience. Yesterday we failed you. During the first few minutes of the Cyber Monday event, our website experienced unprecedented traffic volumes - this combined with the limited amount of stock on some items resulted in several significant cart errors.

When the items first went live orders were being placed faster than our webhost's servers were able to update inventory (we were processing an order once every 15 seconds). The result is that our cart system malfunctioned and allowed orders to clear with sold out items.

This situation has effected these products: sale soaps, last chance perfumes and old stock Reverie items. Customers who ordered new release Yule Reverie items WILL receive their items. Customers whose orders have been affected will receive refunds for unavailable items and shipping charges will be reduced accordingly.

We will be contacting affected customers individually with refunds and updated order status by the end of today (11/30).

Britton and I feel tremendously blessed to have such a large group of wonderful and loyal customers who have brought us such success. It devastates us to have to disappoint so many of you in this way.

We will do everything in our power to make this right - your trust is the most valuable thing to us.

With deepest apologies and gratitude,

Matt Seeman
Co-owner/Shipping Manager
Haus Of Gloi

Yuletide news!

2010-11-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I wanted to give you all a quick update on what is to be expected with our Yule release.

You will be able to find our four seasonal fragrances, Parkin, Snow Wolf, Hearth and Eggnoggin available in all formats of product except for Dust. We had an ordering issue with one of the necessary components for Dust a little while ago. The component that we needed had been back-ordered and then shortly, we received a complete refund for the order! That being said I am unable to make Dusts at all right now. I'm currently looking for another means of obtaining said ingredient, but in the meantime, I am also formulating a new product to possibly take the place of the Dust. I have been thinking along the lines of a bath oil that disperses itself in the water accompanied by a bag of salts. Kind of like Dust, only deconstructed!

(Hearth!)

We also had quite a few requests for the return of Glogg, which due to our closed supplier we are unable to bring back. BUT! While going through some old stock, I found a bottle of last years Glogg hidden in the mix! So, we will be offering what we have left in perfume only.

(Snow Wolf!)

Perfume bottles! We are reverting back to the old 5ml amber bottles while we get the new bottles sorted out. The general catalog line will be updated as fast as possible to reflect the change in bottles, but be rest assured that if you order a perfume (starting 11/7), it will come in the 5ml ambers and not the tipsy dram style bottles as pictured.

I think that covers it!

We've done a lot of flip-flopping in packaging this year as we have been growing and next year we are aiming for much more consistency in the packaging department!

Yule will be live at Noon PST Nov. 7th.

Perfume bottle follow up, Yule and new soap formula!

2010-09-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for the feedback on our perfume bottles! Matt and I have agreed, we will be offering an option of both the square bottles and the roll-ons, since opinions were split right down the middle.

We had a poll a while ago on possibly changing our soap formula, to something longer lasting and more luxurious. You all gave it a huge thumbs up. I've been testing new recipes left and right and we finally found a winner!

With our new recipe, you'll find our three typical oils coconut, olive and castor oil along with new additions of sustainably harvested and organic palm oil, rice bran oil, and various butters, depending on the recipe. Vice for example will be made with the addition of golden cocoa butter, which imparts a very mild chocolate fragrance to the soap. Future Pumpkin Queen will be made with pumpkin seed oil to take the place of the rice bran oil and so on.

We're looking very forward to bringing you all our new and improved soap!

New soaps will be made as original stock sells out. We are going to be doing the Yule soaps in our new formula as well!

And quick note one what we're looking at for Yule, shooting for a release date of Nov. 7th.

Parkin (solo release around 10/23 not 11/4, made a date mistake!) - Sticky black treacle, heaps of brown sugar, soft oat flour, a peculiar blend of white spices tossed with street roasted chestnuts and coated with the lightest of icings.
Hearth - The warm glowing center of any home. Autumns last apple pickings, warm bread, orange rind, various fire roasted nuts, cracked black pepper all nailed down by an oozing sticky benzoin.
Snow Wolf - Bristling and prowling, lonesome and haunting. Three howling firs, white frankincense, vanilla bean husk, tainted by droplets of blood cedar.

Glogg will not be making a comeback this year (main note was from our closed supplier), but I think you'll be quite happy to meet our newest Yule fragrance, Eggnoggin! Still tweaking the formula a bit, but it will be as expected, eggnogish ;)

Annnnd, remember our Reverie Litchi Milk Tea? Its going general catalog! No date down just yet, but likely as soon as the batches of soap cure up in that blend. Its just too lovely and delicious of a scent to let it disappear forever!

I want to thank each an every one of you for supporting us during this time of crazy changes and growth! We're working very hard to keep our ducks in a row. Thank you for being patient with us! ♥

MOAR: Updates and changes,

2010-09-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry its been so quiet on the blog and twitter front. Ever since opening the website, we've been ultra busy. Sales and traffic picked up more on the website than we have ever had on Etsy. We were totally not expecting this! I seriously thought it would take a minute for speed to catch up to the website, but it proved me wrong. Who would have thought!

I wanted to touch base on the reformulation of a few of our scents, due to one of our suppliers shutting down. If you didn't catch that blog post, you can read up on that here, that way you have the full scoop on whats going on and current status on some of those fragrances.

These are now the fragrances on the chopping block:

Aduwa (discontinued)
*Depravity (will need to be reformulated)
Honey Tree (will need to be reformulated)
Imp (will be reformulated, wont be too different)
Moon Dog (will be reformulated, wont be too different)
*Satyr (will need to be reformulated)

The loner who survived:
Troika, totally found a supplier for the main note in this lovely fragrance. Made me so happy!

Most of the reformulation changes will take place slowly. We just got in our last order with our supplier and are well stocked for a little while. The fragrances with an asterisk are likely to change sooner than the others! The reason for this was that by the time I placed an order with our former supplier they were out of stock on those components.

With Depravity I will do my best to keep it as close to the original formula as possible. Satyr however, I am wanting to make him more like his namesake, a naughty satyr! It will still be a primarily vanilla and blood orange based scent, but with a few extras to make him a bit more deviant ;)

Another item up for discussion is perfume bottles! We've had quite a few e-mails about the new bottles. They tend to tip-over a bit more easy than the old amber bottles. While looking onto a new packaging solution. I found this bottle:

Its 5ml (I will assume they hold a little more) and well, CUTE! They look fairly tip-over resistant and they fit well with our packaging and are a bit more unique than a run of the mill 5ml amber bottle. Personally, I enjoy the clear glass. I love being able to see the color of a perfume oil.

Let me know what you think of this possible perfume packaging candidate! I'm not putting up a poll for this one, just leave your opinions here on this blog post. If the response to this new perfume bottle style is mostly positive, then we'll definitely be make the switch in the near future.

Thats all for now!

♥

Etsy shut down,

2010-09-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

We're going to be putting the Etsy shop into vacation mode while we get caught up with orders from the new retail website. The very best way to contact us about orders or any questions you may have is by e-mailing us at customerservice@hausofgloi.com

We had record sales with our Hallowe'en release and our shipping computer decided to take a dive on us (we just bought a new one!). We're doing our best to keep up and pump out orders as fast as we can. Please excuse the hiccups!

You can still order from hausofgloi.com and most items should be in stock!

Site overview,

2010-08-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Hope your Saturday finds you well.

The website is very, very nearly done! You can look around over at hausofgloi.com. Matt and I wanted to just run everyone over on the site features. Everything is basically more-less the same.

You can use both paypal and credit cards at check out.
If you so choose, the cart will save your address info, so that you don't have to log it all in again.
The possibility of cart-lifting (items jumping out of your cart) is drastically cut down as we will be listing good inventory amounts on all of our retail stock.
You'll also be able to shop by scent!

We think the overall shopping experience will be much better.

A few other changes that we will be making:

Bathing Dust will be moving down to a limited edition status product. In other words, they will be avalible in our limited edition fragrances only. They haven't been a huge seller for us, and in an effort to maintain quality control we will be cutting them back. We would like to be able to hone our focus down to the products that sell the best, so that we can enhance our current product line and perhaps offer more catalog fragrances in the future.

Handmade soaps. These guys (by the look of the poll results and recent feedback) will be getting a complete formula makeover. Shea butter plus organically grown and sustainably harvested palm will be making their way into our soaps! This will result in a more luxurious and longer lasting bar. Double win! It'll probably be about 1-2 months for the full switch to take effect, due to production and the time sensitive nature of soap.

I think that covers most of our bases. The last bits of summer limited edition over stock (marked at general catalog price!) and bathing dust will be up in our Etsy stor e fairly soon.

We're shooting for the site to be fully and completely live between 6-8 PM PST today.

And a last note straight from the horses mouth: Matt the shipping-masta says that there will be no order processing this Monday and our shipping schedule will pick back up first thing on Tuesday.

Let me know if you have any questions! Thank you everyone for keeping up with us as we grow :) Your support means the world to us!

♥

Fall preview,

2010-08-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

Its time for a bit of a peek and scent line-up for our Halloween/Samhain release!

(Pumpkin Queen soap)

On to the good stuff!

PUMPKIN QUEEN: Gentle hay pillows, pumpkin flesh, ripe peaches dusted with clove and nutmeg, dried summer herbs, and lastly, a lovely crown of amber.

SAMHAIN: Rustling leaves, chilled winds ...
Freshly turned earth, wet leaves, and a cool herb laden wind carrying spectres and spooks!

HEX: You've been bewitched! Lecherous: brackish amber, aged vanilla bean and three dark fruits, veiled in darkness and otherworldly secrecy.

SAFT ERNTE: A merry drink of harvest and glowing with warmth: Peach juice simmering with sweet spices, pumpkin, silken hazelnut cream and made completely curious with a drop of orange blossom water.

Each fragrance with the exception of Saft Ernte will be made available in our cold process soap form (Saft Ernte will find his merry way into whipped soap!). They will also be found in all other products, perfume, dust, sugar scrub, bubbling scrub and a newer product: pumpkin butter! Instead of our limited editions falling into our lighter body emulsion, I created a fall/winter specific butter chock full of pumpkin seed oil, rich texture and velveteen after feel. This butter will be made with our fall limited edition fragrances only.

We have another new addition to the Halloween line-up as well: Lip balm! After much toil, I finally landed on a formula I was pleased with. Not too waxy, light sheen, not too soft, not too greasy, somewhat cushiony and divinely flavored. Flavor line-up is still in the works but you'll likely find: Maple + Hazelnut, Coconut + Chai, Caramelized Pear ... just a hint! Oh, and they're vegan of course! That should go without saying ;)

We're still on schedule for a release date of the 29th, (next Sunday) on our new retail website. If your bookmark is set to Hausofgloi.com you will eventually be redirected to our website and no longer the Etsy shop. Again, the full release will be on our retail website and not on Etsy (provided the website doesn't blow up!)

Also! We should be getting our last major order from our supplier that closed up. I will be assessing the situation when the order is in my hands. For now, everything is still in its original formula! I will let you all know when things begin to change.

Thats all I've got for you right now! Further announcements will be made when the website goes live (few days before the release we hope).

Fall + Oh noes,

2010-08-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Lots going on in the Haus these days! Some very important announcements - so please read!

Remember the poll we had recently? We were looking to discontinue one of our slow selling scents from the general catalog. The results were very close on all fragrances. The response was much bigger than we thought it would be so, Matt and I decided to drop the whole idea. Many of you came out of the wood work to let us know you didn't want your favorites discontinued! Thank you all for giving us feedback!

We very recently got news that one of our major suppliers will be closing their doors at the end of the year. This means many things for our current general catalog as many of our main fragrance components come from them. Unfortunately, we MAY have to discontinue fragrances that are quite beloved to us, or we may have to drastically change the formula of these fragrances. What we're hoping for is that someone will buy out the company, or buy out the fragrances and offer them elsewhere. We're really keeping our finger crossed.

Here is a list if fragrances that will likely be effected:

Aduwa (will likely be discontinued)
Depravity (reformulation possible)
Honey Tree (reformulation possible)
Imp (will be reformulated)
Moon Dog (reformulation possible)
Satyr (reformulation possible)
Troika (reformulation possible but will be noticeably different)

It pains me to deliver this news, because many of these fragrances are the core of our line! And many of them are my personal favorites. Before we decide to (or are forced) to discontinue any of these, I will be making an attempt at reformulating. This particular supplier had very unique blends not found anywhere else, so this is going to be tricky! But I will be giving it my best shot.

Like I said, if the company gets bought out then hopefully there wont be much of a disruption in our general catalog! Bust out and send as much lucky mojo you can muster, because I don't want to see any of these guys go!

I have placed a massive last order with them, so we will be well stocked for a little while. I will do my best to let you know if/when a fragrance will be discontinued or modified.

On a lighter note, preparing for our fall release has been keeping us ultra busy! We are shooting for a release date of the 29th. We are hoping to do the whole release on our eventual stand alone retail website. Our fall release will likely not be on Etsy. (unless our website blows up or something) We wont be leaving Etsy entirely, but we will be whittling down what we offer over there. We're doing this because we believe it will help with our overall organization, turn around time and ability to give all of you the customer service you deserve. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Etsy -but they make it a bit difficult for high volume sellers to operate efficiently. Here is a quick screen cap of what we have so far. We're currently building the catalog and working on the cart system. Should be good to go quite soon!

Thank you all for reading! I will be keeping you updated on the possible changes that might occur due to the closing of our supplier.

♥

Shame on me,

2010-07-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I tweeted that I would have some Reverie items going up this morning and alas! I hate getting your hopes up and not being able to deliver the goods. We're gunna have to push it back once again as we had an unexpected label shortage!

We're also going to be moving the whole Haus next Monday. So for the sake of better timing, they'll be going up as soon as we get settled! We are expecting to have them up next Thursday. In the mean time, I'll give you a wee bit of eye candy and what you'll expect to find when the Reverie items go up!

Kailua Bay - Ozone and soft fragrant pikake flower carried on ever blowing trade winds.
Kuawa - Pink guava juice and white ginger blossoms.
Litchi Milk Tea - Tart lychee fruit and black tea met with a splash of coconut milk. (Lychee has been a flavorful obsession of mine. Cant get enough!)
... and perhaps a few more!

All of these fragrances will be available in made from scratch whipped soap. I've had too much fun using it myself to not offer it in the shop! Makes an awesome shaving cream. Like the foaming scrubs, it contains a heaping helping of moisturizing shea butter.

Wondering what our Reverie line is? Check it here!

Pickin' weeds,

2010-07-27T11:58:00.001-07:00

Poll time!

I've been getting the itch to work on a new general catalog fragrance, and I've come to the realization that a bit of weeding will be needed before I can introduce a new fragrance. Pruning if you will, to make room for new growth!

I've selected four of our slow moving scents to be polled on popularity, save em if you love em.

The poll is to your left here on the navigation bar of the blog!

YEAH! (I can haz rez?)

2010-07-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

So, its been absolutely wild around here since we got back from vacation!

First: Matt and I both became ill shortly after we got back. We're doing better now. I came down first and he followed shortly after. This set us back a wee bit on production and our usual turn around time, so if things seem a bit slower - this is why. Working hard now to get everything back on track!

Second: Etsy featured us in their Quit Your Day Job series! Much fun. If you're curious about how it all got started, give it a read.

Third: We're moving! We've been looking high and low for a bigger space to conduct business and expand. Our current space is just too tiny, bursting at the seams to say the least. Looking to make the move some time next month. This may put a tiny interruption in shipping, but not big enough to worry.

Fourth: Fall release marks one year of our seasonal product rotation! Which means, RESURRECTION TIME! Pumpkin Queen + Samhain make a very welcome come back and two new fragrances themed upon that glorious day of honoring our dead. They will both be given a formal introduction once I get the formulas finalized and descriptions zazzed up. There should be a small host of Reveries for fall as well. Naughtiness will ensue!

And now, for a visual:

Pumpkin Queen has a new look to her this year, with the golden soap orbs, they're chock full of cocoa butter as well! Unfortunatly, when done curing she wont look quite so neat as she does in this photo. The nature of vanilla will take over (as you can see around the edge of the ball, in the soap) and darken everything quite dramatically. I'll be doing about 5-6 logs, so hopefully there will be enough to go around!

Samhain, and one of our two new fragrances will also be soaped.

I am also considering a dense buttery type cream in place of our light lotion for the fall release (will be limited to limited edition items only!). We all need a bit more moisture as the weather gets cooler. What do you all think?

We've not yet nailed down a release date for fall, but we are shooting for mid-late August.

See you soon!

♥

We're back, but not not 100%

2010-07-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone!

The vacation was surreal to say the least. We had an amazing time. Matt's whole family is in Hawai'i (they've been there since statehood) so we had the fine pleasure of staying with them at their house in O'ahu, beats staying in boring resorts and tourist laden sites! My first time there! I couldn't help but be reminded of my childhood living in the Florida Keys, it was like that, but with incredible mountains and unfamiliar tropical bird song. Magics to say the least, again!

We spent a good portion of our time beach walking, snorkeling (saw a sea turtle and a moray eel!), driving around the island and getting my pale pasty Portland skin nice and toasty.

I must recommend hitting the North Shore! If you're looking for good vegan noms (which are a bit hard to come by out there) you gotta hit up the tiny restaurant in the back of Celestial Natural Foods in Haleiwa. It wasn't anything fancy and in fact, it was the cheapest meal we had on the island. They have an impressive vegan/veggie menu - it was FANTASTIC food! If you're lucky you might spot Terry O'Quinn (badass Locke from Lost) while you're there too. He sat behind us while we ate! Seemed like a super nice fella.

Water so shockingly blue it make you want to drink it!

We went to Hanauma bay of course. I was deeply dissapointed in the lack of respect many of the tourists paid towards the reef. So many were walking on it, touching and one fella was even looking for sea urchins to EAT. Hello! Its a park, aka: a conservation area! You have to watch a video that stresses not touching or walking on the reef before you enter the park, you'd think it would be a no-brainer!

Anyhow, we're still recovering from our trip, catching up on sleep. The shop is wee bit low on stock and lotions which we will be restocking over this weekend. We had a minor glitch on a fractionated coconut oil order, so that set things back a bit. We're also working on Fall goodies!

♥

Heads up!

2010-06-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Matt and I will be going on a much needed vacation between 7/3 and 7/13. The shop will be closed through those dates. We closed up just a bit early to take care of personal stuff (I still haven't bought a bathing suit!) and wrap up any outstanding orders before we leave. All paid orders between now and 6/3 will be shipped before we leave, so no worries!

We wont have much internet access during that time and we will have no access to our shipping system/log so any convo regarding shipment/tracking will be taken care of when we return.

Looking forward to getting our batteries juiced up and when we return we will be prepping up for Halloween/Samhain! My favorite time of the year :D

Big thanks to all of our wonderful customers who have supported us! We couldn't do any of it without you. We will see you all when we return ♥

Almost summer time!

2010-06-12T12:12:00.001-07:00

Hey there! We're getting very close to our summer release and I wanted to fill you all in on a few things before it goes live.

Perfume samples! I decided to offer a limited edition perfume sample set (thats a mouthful) as a means to conveniently get a feel for the fragrances before you make a move on to the other products. We will not be offering these fragrances individually, they come in a set only. $10

And the long awaited foaming scrubs! These guys will be available in $9 - 6 oz jars and $3.5 - 2 oz jars. You'll find them both in general catalog and limited editions.

The whole shabang goes live on Monday at 5 PM PST.

See you then!

Summer peek,

2010-05-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick look at our summer soaps!

(Beguiled!)

Beguiled is probably the most fun soap I've ever made! I wanted to give it the look as if it had been freshly drizzled with a raspberry coulis. Its the first time I've ever used a bit of melt and pour soap (SLS free!), but I needed to achieve that shiny slightly transparent look of a coulis. The drizzle is lightly raspberry scented and will likely disappear after the first use. I love the way it looks!

(Zazz!)

Zazz is pure, well, zazz. The light fizzy scent tickles the nose and the cranberry, grapefruit, ginger couldn't compliment it better. Fantastic scent in soap form.

Unfortunately the other two fragrances, Nocturna and Red Roan were too delicate to soap, they would have withered away to nothing if I had.

You'll be able to find them on June 14th!

Have you seen our new cure date page? It will let you know when soaps come out of cure and are ready for the shop! We also have a fragrance catalog and Reverie catalog (which will be built up over time) for reference if you need.

Annd our own retail website is almost done! Very excited, as I think it will add to the overall feel and experience when shopping Haus of Gloi.

♥

Reverie nonsense,

2010-05-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

rev·er·ie [rev-uh-ree]

–noun

1.
a state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing: lost in reverie.

a daydream.

I have a very overactive imagination, which of course, spills over into my fragrance blends! Reverie products are going to be just that. Creations that do not make it into my seasonal releases, these fragrances will be sporadic, random and depending on popularity will either be cast into oblivion or made into a general catalog/limited edition. Each fragrance will come in a random medium (ie. soap, scrub, dust) and be made in small limited batches at the price of our general catalog items.

To make a clear distinction between Reverie products and general catalog products, we have brought the label printing in house, so you'll be receiving something that looks like this:

(Check the Etsy shop!)

You will be able to find these products in the Reverie section of the Etsy shop. When new fragrances/products go live you will likely find an update from us on the new items via twitter, facebook or the blog.

Fragrances/products may or may not be restocked once they are sold out!

Crickets chirping,

2010-05-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

Its been a bit quiet on the home front I know! We've been dealing with a broken wireless router, so I haven't been getting internet on my laptop and I've been stuck sharing Matts computer for a few days.

A quick heads up and a teaser, just to let you all know what we've got coming up.

First things first, spring limited editions will be brought down on the 22nd of this month! So get any favorites while you can. We'll be making room for our summer collection and new product release, which leads me to ...

Foaming sugar scrubs! These lovely little guys will be released the same day the summer collection goes live, just like we did with spring and lotions. You will find them in both limited edition fragrance and general catalog. The foaming scrub based is made entirely from scratch. Many of the foaming bath butters I tried from suppliers I found a bit too drying for my sensitive skin. This base lends soft gentle bubbles and the most mild of cleansing lathers! An ingredient list of our base for those who may be interested:
Vegetable glycerin, sodium coco sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, propylene glycol, sorbitol, vegetable stearic acid, fragrance, phenoxyethanol (and) caprylyl glycol, shea butter, citric acid

On to summer fragrances! I would have done this post earlier, but we were having a bit of a hard time naming a few of them, heh.

Zazz: (for inside joke reference, see this. Total cheese-ball name, I know!) When something feels a bit lackluster, dull and boring, it obviously is lacking, zazz. To fix this we recommend something definitely zazzy and not overly complicated: Tart cranberry, pink grapefruit, sparkling champagne all shook up with crushed ginger root.
Red Roan: Fresh strawberry flecked porridge with maple syrup and adulterated with a splash of white cognac.
Insalata Nocturna: In the night garden, green Bolivian lemon, rubbed tomato leaf, olive leaf absolute, black fig syrup and basil.
Beguiled: Lemon cake made with the tang of fresh buttermilk, raspberry coulis - an otherwise innocent cake corrupted by cardamon and deceptive pink peppercorns.

Summer products/fragrances should be up on June 14th. This is a pretty firm date for us, but you can keep an eye on our Etsy shop announcement or twitter to catch any updates or date moves, I doubt it will happen though!

(Single note black cherry soap!)

We will also have a few surprise single note fragrances popping into the shop fairly soon. I'll do a more detailed blog post on what we're calling, "Reverie" style creations.

Follow up: Summer thoughts

2010-04-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

(Foamy noms! Texture like cookie dough, with light foaming action.)

I know I owed you this post a few days ago, sorry!

In this post I asked you guys how you would feel if I made our emulsifying sugar scrubs a seasonal product and introduce a new foaming sugar scrub in their stead, for the coming hot months

Basically I'm here to say that we will be keeping the emulsifying sugar scrub in stock all year long. We will be doing all that we can to prevent the possibility of leaks during transit over summer.

But! We will be introducing the foaming sugar scrubs as a full time product here in the next few months. I know that for myself, I prefer more cleansing scrubs when the weather is warmer, and I know many of you feel the same!

Also, we can't forget our international customers. As many of you mentioned its always summer somewhere!

So, false alarm everyone ... I think I just got a little too ahead on this one ;)

Oh, and what is everyone thinking about smelly wise this summer? I'm thinking lemons, lots of lemons!

PDX Spring + Photo Dump

2010-04-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

I hope that you all had a fantastic Easter weekend! We spent ours being a bit gluttonous and lazy, as it was Matt's birthday last Saturday.

Its still been a bit cold around here. I'm still not quite used to how the Pacific Northwest seasons work, they're a bit odd. I enjoy the mild weather, but at times I do miss the traditional seasons of my last home, Iowa: Beautiful fall, bitter winter, and spring, so amazing! Hot ass humid summers. You get all the seasons in the biggest degrees.

Portland however boasts an amazing array of flora, really! Cacti next to blueberry bushes, eucalyptus, herbs of all kinds, fruit trees - everywhere! I swear, you could live fat and happy out here off of urban foraging, just make sure you're neighbors are ok with it ;)

Urban Edibles - really great idea. Its a database of wild food sources here in Portland. Fun!

Walks through the neighborhood have been delightfully smelly and quite colorful.

This had to be my most favorite of blooms to stop and smell, its was combo of a soft floral and vanilla, it was stunning really. I tried to google the flower but couldn't find any information on it! I saw this same bloom over on Design Sponge, and they called it a variety of magnolia but as I searched for that I still couldn't find it. If you know, do tell!

Fern heads are popping up, or rather, unfurling everywhere. Debating on whether or not to collect a few and not for eating either! ;)

Sun bathed Hawthorn leaves, they grow all over Mt. Tabor ... when walking the trails you kind of have to be careful as they'll grab at you with their thorny branches and catch your hairs!

Tomorrow I'll be following up on the summer scrub thoughts and the (soon to be) new foaming scrubs. Many of you made very valid points!

Till then!

♥

Summer thoughts,

2010-03-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

Always gotta be ahead of the game and I'm already thinking about summer!

I tweeted about this photo just this morning, daring everyone to guess what it might be ;)

That there happens to be a bit of (test batch) foaming bath butter base, made from scratch! The first batch was quite successful. Still though, there is more testing that needs to be done before we deem it shop ready. I've actually really fallen in love with the recipe! I've been using it for hand washing and in the shower for a few weeks now, and ... I'm hooked!

But, I wanted to run an idea past you guys and I'll include a poll for this as well ...

I fear that the Sugar Creme (aka: our emulsifying sugar scrubs) will not be hold up well to the dregs of summer heat. The butter and solid oils used in the scrub formula can stand up to about 80 degrees without deflating and if it goes past that and is exposed to long periods of serious heat, they'll loose their almost cookie dough/frosting style constancy ... not to mention the threat of leakage upon arrival.

So, what I propose is making the sugar scrubs a seasonal item to maintain product integrity. I know that it is important to you to receive a high quality product and I feel exactly same. So I'm a bit hesitant to run the sugar scrubs through the hottest part of the year. What I would like to do is introduce foaming sugar scrubs in place of the highly moisturizing scrubs during say, late May and bring them back in shop mid-to-late August when we begin rolling out our seasonal line of fall fragrances. The foaming sugar scrub will stay in the shop full time. So the emulsifying scrub will be theoretically out of shop for no more than 3 months.

So, what do you think?

I'm really excited to eventually introduce the foaming scrubs! My skin is a bit sensitive to most body washes which is the reason I bathe with cold process soap specifically, but this stuff hasn't irritated my skin in the least, its very gentle and not drying at all to my skin.

Take the poll, submit your thoughts, comments, whichever you prefer. I'd love to know what you think!

Thanks everyone!

Shop closing and a perk,

2010-03-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

Hello lovelies! I am typing this is great haste, so bear with me ...

First, I would like to say an enormous thank you to all my customers for this AMAZING month we've had! Record sales, two big releases and everything went very smooth. So glad to have the lotions out now too.

The shop is closed up this weekend as you might have noticed. We pulled most of our stock for the VMB event we're doing today. We will be close through Sunday and should be opening on Monday morning (PST).

And what shall you find lurking in the moss and tangled webs of our shop?! Those fabled vampire perfumes I was talking about so long ago! They're both priced at $15 and aren't exactly limited edition, specifically. We're slowly going to be switching our perfumes into these new bottles, they're a perfect 5ml.

Both of these blends are set in a base of jojoba oil that has been infused with the color and naturally light aromatic resin of Dragons Blood.

Tepes: Hard worn leather, sweet hay, black tobacco, forest moss, cold fir balsam and blood cedar met with bergamot and wild sage.

Erzsébet: Vain lashings of blackcurrant berries, stephanotis, Hungarian rose, black musk attar, long forgotten incense burnings and a cold breath of blue yarrow.

Alright, back to work!

♥

Lotion Time!

2010-03-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

(Lassi, scrub style!)

Gotta make this short and sweet, so much work to get done around here! I should have done this post days ago, alas!

Lotion release is tomorrow, along with our Spring limited editions trio of fragrances. We decided to do both at the same time rather than staggering it days apart so there wouldn't be lots of multiple orders floating around adding to the insanity.

So, keep an eye on the shop tomorrow at about 3 pm PST and you'll see new things popping up. We will have LOTS of new listings, I think totaling over 50, so we are going to do our best to get everything up at once!

Lotions will be available in these sizes and prices:

2 oz mini jar - $3.50
4 oz bottle - $5.50
6 oz jar - $8.00

Gotta chug the Viso and get back to work! See you soon!

Oh Monday,

2010-03-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

(Matt likes to sport a little USPS love with his cycling cap)

Monday has been insane, taking my lunch break to give you a little something, since I didn't have a recipe planned out for today! We've been eating out, ehheh. We've kind of over extended ourselves this month with new releases + website + re-branding + events = teh serious pressure. No time really for anything other than work and the occasional internet droolz time.

I suspect lots of photo dumps this week!

Why yes, that is vegan! Its our old stand-by food from the taco cart across the street and its hella cheap! That quesadilla you see is stuffed with soyrizo, Follow Your Heart cheese, Tofutti sour cream (it really is better than sour cream, really) on the side, refried beans, rice and is only $5.50, YEAH! They're a holy grail food spot for Matt and I. They do offer meat items, but their vegan menu is enough to put tears of joy into the eyes of any taco deprived vegan AND they clean the grill between each order, how nice is that? They have a new sit down restaurant down 12th and Division where they have an entirely separate grill for the vegans, how freakin' sweet is that?

Spoiled, we are.

I have a mass of Spring fragrances to blend tonight and lots of work ahead of me! I swear, a Spring update blog post is in the works, soon!

Here comes Mama!

2010-03-02T16:45:00.000-08:00

Hallo, hallo! Peach Mama is coming this Friday, to the Etsy shop! You'll be able to find her in all forms, dust, perfume, soap etc. and is making a permanent addition to our current fragrance line.

This new general catalog blend is a dark and solid not-too-sweet peach note entwined with various resinous oils, ambered labdanum absolute, benzoin, Indian frankincense, copaiba balsam, warmed with rich cassia and black patchouli.

I got to bust out the mortar and pestle for this one! The scrub contains hand ground dragons blood resin for a bit of peachy tint. Anyway, I've been slathering myself with this goodness, it's my current favorite. Love it as a scrub!

You'll find the amazing Mama in the shop this Friday at 12 noon (PST).

Be on the look out for an update on our full Spring release and dates soon!

Caramelized banana rice pudding!

2010-03-01T15:15:00.000-08:00

I just made a batch this afternoon, to measure out the recipe correctly for the blog, and yeah ... I've already eaten most of it! I'll just consider it lunch, heh.

This is very simple and quick recipe. I like to use a fairly sticky rice, so anything short grain, sweet sticky rice or something of the like would be perfect for this, I've been using jasmine. I like to eat this warm, but its great cold and holds up well when cut into bars for serving. I am again, using xanthan gum (I bought a huge bag of it a long time ago and find every excuse to use it!) which is totally optional. The natural starches of the rice will eventually set it into its pudding like consistency. If you keep it overnight in the fridge, you might want to add a splash of coconut milk if you're reheating it the next day, liven it up a bit.

Also, I really like using full fat coconut milk for this recipe, and I recommend the Thai Kitchen brand (too expensive you say? Its quite cheap here), I think it adds the perfect texture between the grains of rice. The "legs" on this brand of coconut milk is like no other!

2 - Semi-brown bananas (very ripe)
2 heaping CUPS - cooked rice
1 CUP - coconut milk
1/2 CUP - soymilk, rice milk, hemp, etc. Or just plain water
1 quarter - of whole lime or a splash of rice vinegar
2 pinches - salt
2 TBS - Agave nectar or cane sugar
2 pinches - pumpkin spice
Pinch xanthan gum
1/2 TSP - almond/vanilla extract (optional)

Preheat nonstick pan to med-high. Slice up your bananas into half inch chunks. Lightly oil nonstick pan and when the oil begins to shimmer (has movement) toss in your banana chucks. Allow these to cook until they begin to caramelize, try not to stir them around too much for the first few minutes in the pan.

Toss in your pinches of salt, spice and splash of vinegar (or lime). Continue cooking them them down until they resemble something to this consistency,

Looks appetizing, eh? ;) Anyway, at this point you'll want to add your cup of coconut milk, half cup water or other non-dairy liquid, pinch of xanthan gum, sugar, and almond extract. On medium heat, allow this to cook for about 5 minutes. Fold in two heaping cups of your cooked rice and shablam, rice pudding noms.

I like to eat mine right away, but if you're looking for a more solid texture allow it to set up a bit in a serving dish. Like I was saying about reheating left overs, you may want to add a little bit of soy/coconut milk to loosen it up a bit and maybe a squeeze of lime for zazz!

Etsy Trades: Idle Hands Design

2010-02-24T09:49:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to do this post for ages, seeing as how I did this trade with Lyndsay quite a while ago!

One of the best things about selling on Etsy is the community. Supportive, fun and filled with the most incredible artists covering every medium imaginable. Another wonderful thing about being a seller amongst a huge community of sellers, is trading! And I was just so lucky to trade with Lyndsay, proprietress of Idle Hands Designs.

I honestly don't wear much jewelry. I swore off ring wearing back in my cooking days, when my hands were constantly in and out of sticky, floury, meaty, and wet environments. Plus its just a sanitary thing, and any jewelry on my beat up man hands almost looked comical. BUT ... I put that life behind me almost a year ago, I can be a lady now!

Honestly, I cant and haven't taken this ring off since I received it weeks ago! Photos don't do it any justice. The craft(wo)man ship is stunning, really. You can feel all the love, care and attention imbued into her work!

The vintage brothel token necklaces were too amazing to pass up, totally had to have one! I'm pretty sure she still has a few in her Etsy shop! ;) You know you want one!

This is just a little peek into what she offers, her shop has many more items for your eyes to feast upon!

♥

Lotion Lowdown,

2010-02-23T08:29:00.000-08:00

I owe this post to all of my amazing, patient customers!

Lotion. You've probably seen me chattering about it off and on over on the Gloi twitter feed. Its been months and months of extensive testing, formulating and I think its safe to say, we've finally finished it!

I've been using it regularly for a few weeks now, and I've been enjoying it greatly. Its light, great glide, non-greasy and leaves you decidedly soft! I formulated with the idea of this being a layering product of course. I've been using it right after I've showered with both soap and scrub and it works seamlessly after hopping out of a hot shower, killer moisturizing and lovely on the skin! And of course excellent for throughout the day moisture when needed.

I used just enough butters for moisture impact and light "dry" oils for non-greasy feel. You'll find, cocoa butter, shea butter, fractionated coconut oil, hemp, and jojoba oils. Silicone's for glide, skin protection and a silky after feel and a pinch of pumpkin seed extract for extra love!

They'll be offered in 2oz sample/travel jars, a 6oz (scrub size) jar, and a 4oz bottle. I wanted to give a jar or bottle option to everyone. The formula is creamy, not super thick not liquidy either, so it works great in both containers. The jars won on the facebook jars vs. bottle poll, but there was enough bottle love I deiced to give a little something to suit everyones taste!

(4oz bottle to give you a size idea)

The entire fragrance line will be make into lotions, so no worries about not getting your favorite fragrance to layer with. I'm looking very, very forward to finally be offering lotion to you all! Due to our label and packaging re-branding we're looking to have them out the same time we do the Spring update, so be on the look out mid-March! I'll be talking it up before it happens, so I doubt you'll miss it ;)

Also! I'm listing perfume samples throughout the day today, so if there is a perfume you've been wanting to try, you can have at it!

Perfect Tofu Scramble

2010-02-22T08:07:00.000-08:00

Note: I am a horrible recipe giver, because I never ever measure when I cook ('cept for baking, of course). So, I decided to buy some measuring spoons and cups (the only ones I have are dedicated to Gloi use only, not for cooking!) for cooking purposes and start bloggin' my vegan noms that I make. Enjoy!

So, we eat at Sweetpea every now and again. Its a great local vegan bakery that hosts an awesome bunch every Sunday. They usually theme on comfort foods, and they do a fanfreakintasic job on waffles, biscuits and gravy, and most especially - their tofu scramble. Eating out often (its a vice of ours) can be expensive of course! So, over the weekend I tried to dissect their delicious, fluffy, creamy, reminiscent of egg, scramble.

In my past life I worked as a breakfast cook (waking at 3:30am to get the day going) at a wanna-be fancy hotel. I quickly became an egg master and you learn, that not everyone likes their scramble the same. Some enjoy almost raw lumpy soup (ew) and some like 'em like little burned semi-edible pebbles. I like a happy medium myself, but you can take this recipe in any direction your heart desires. This is the recipe I whipped up myself, and it can be modified and added to, to fit your taste. This should serve about 2 people.

For Scramble:

3/4ths to 1 whole block firm tofu patted dry - hand chunked into 1-1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup water, or any liquid you desire, unsweetened soymilk, etc.
2 TBS nutritional yeast
1 TPS Garam (chickpea) flour, cornstarch, or flour of your choice
Pinch Xanthan gum
2-4 TBS Vegetable oil

Roasted Reds with Rosemary:

4-5 Red potatoes, works well with whites too.
2 sprigs Rosemary, fine chop (more or less to taste)
Salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste
Oil, to coat potatoes

Necessary Tools:

Non-stick cooking pan
Heat proof spatula, or cooking utensil of choice
Medium sized mixing bowl
Non-stick sheetpan or regular sheetpan covered in parchment paper.

First, preheat oven to 400° (more or less, depending on your oven). Wash then dice red potatoes to desired size, I prefer small-medium dice. Place into mixing bowl, coat lightly with both salt, pepper, garlic salt and chopped rosemary, to taste. Coat lightly with oil, you should have a tiny pool of oil on the bottom of the bowl, perhaps a tablespoon worth. Place seasoned potatoes evenly on sheetpan and bake until golden brown on most sides, about 20 minutes. You'll want to check on the potatoes about every 5-10 minutes and stir them around a bit to ensure even browning/crisping.

Preheat non-stick cooking pan on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix and combine nut. yeast, flour, water, and xanthan gum. Your pan should be hot now, add about 2-4 TBS vege oil and heat until shimmering (it has movement) this should only take a few seconds. Add tofu (and diced veggies if you're using them), be careful as very wet tofu may cause hot oil splash back! Cook until lightly brown on edges breaking up the tofu chunks with spatula while cooking, about 15-20 minutes more or less depending on your range. Pour in nut. yeast water mixture, and lower heat to medium. Allow the mixture to reduce to your desired consistency. I like mine creamy, but not super wet.

The potatoes should be done about now, give them a stir around on the sheetpan, use your own judgment on the doneness of the potatoes, I like mine with crisp, so I cook em till they're evenly caramelized on the edges.

Plate it up! I like my taters in the scramble myself. Is noms!

(Damn right, those are frozen waffles! They were good too)

Tip:
Xanthan Gum is great for vegan dishes when you're need coagulating of food stuffs, like textured vegetable protein (TVP) in "soyrizo" recipes. Its a binder and a strong working one at that, you really only need a pinch! You should be able to find this ingredient in local health food stores, co-ops, etc. Or you can find it, here.

Next week I'll be posting the Caramelized Banana Rice Pudding recipe I was talking about on twitta!

Haus Activities,

2010-02-10T14:42:00.000-08:00

I was asked a few times very recently if we were planning on Valentines goodies this year and unfortunately we wont be. I did play with V-Day plans for a little bit, but everything I was blending just wasn't pulling my trigger, if you know what I mean. I didn't want to do anything ordinary and for some reason, my scent making mojo at that time wasn't working well enough to satisfy my senses, so I threw in the towel and moved on to bigger projects. I'm disappointed it didn't work out and I'm sorry if I let anyone down!

We've been keeping it under wraps a bit, but we're working on Hausofgloi.com currently and hope to have an off Etsy retail site very soon! Along with the website, we're working on some new packaging and re-branding (not super different!). Very excited about the website, as I think it will add to the overall Gloi feel and experience.

Lets move on to the juicy stuff ... Spring!

If you follow my twitter feed, you've likely seen me chattering on about either tea, randomness, tacos or sneak peaks of our spring line-up. We're shooting for a mid-March release (third week to be exact) and you'll find three new fragrances for a limited run, in most if not all formats.

Lassi: Fresh mango cream, neroli, black ginger, squeezed lime and green tea.
Seeress: The break of waves, gurgling sea foam, kelp, rain tinged air, smooth driftwood and sacred wild sage.
Mædwe: pesky dandelions, red clover patches, creeping sweetpea blooms and the dense afternoon haze of blossoming fruit trees.

We've also got another new general catalog fragrance coming out, around the first week of March, Peach Mama! As a southern girl by heart (Georgia, if you're wondering), my adoration of the peach is a strong one, so are resinous scents so what else could I do but combine?

(Little rough looking, they'd just been cut. Do you see the owl?)

Peach nectar and a host of resins: offertory frankincense, styrax, copaiba balsam and ambered laudanum absolute. Warmed with cassia and a barely audible breath of black patchouli.

If you're worried about patchouli at all, like it says in the description, hardly noticeable!

And VMB! We're going to be doing two to three very special perfumes for the event, that will also be available in the Etsy shop around the same time, March 27th. Vampire themed of course. Think perhaps of Vlad and Blood Countess, Erzsébet! Naughty bloody stuff of course ;)

♥

Happy Slappy V-Day!

2010-02-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

Matts 4 year veganiversary was just the other day. The moment we rolled out of bed he demanded Slappy Cakes. I of course had no qualms about this, as I am a very breakfast food lovin' individual!

We hit Slappycakes for the first time a few weeks back, after reading about this local (within walking distance!) joint where you can cook your very own pancakes, at your table. This information threw me into child like fits begging and pleading to visit this incredible place of pancakes and noms! We of course had to do the vegan safe check and yes! A total pass. Portland vegans are some of the most spoiled around, many -many restaurants here cater to us.

You get your very own personal squeeze bottle of pancake batter for $5 and a choice of many additions, bananas, hazelnuts, chocolate chips, blueberries, etc. A spatula, greased up griddle and you're ready!

(Order packing master in action)

For some reason this brilliant concept of dinning tickles me to my very core. Its fun and delicious! We also tried their vegan Benedict, which was fantastic. Great smash of flavors, textures and not too heavy. I really appreciate vegan food like this, when it is an interpretation of the original dish and not an attempt at a recreation. Bleh, I just cant imagine vegan Hollandaise!

We left super stuffed and feeling a little gluttonous! Happy V-Day Matt!

Vampires!

2010-01-30T22:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a fantastically hot tip from awesome Meredith, over at Sweet Anthem we've been accepted to participate as a vendor at the Portland Vampire's Masquerade Ball! You can find us there, dressed in our posh frocks (Thanks to Damsel in this Dress) - peddling our wares! We've got a few goodies themed especially for the event *wink wink*, so be there if you can!

We'll be along side lots of other fantastic vendors, such as Sock Dreams (OH HELL YES!) who I had no idea was local, until I realized that the vaguely familiar sign on the building next to my cats veterinarian office was in FACT THE Sock Dreams!

It'll be a magical event and we hope to see you there!

All is well,

2010-01-08T22:38:00.000-08:00

Been a bit quiet on the blog front! After an amazing and utterly surprising first year in business, we (Matt and I) took a wee bit of time off from our first retail holiday experience. Since then we've been playing a bit of catch up, inventory, planning shows, working on a website! (Yes, an official hausofgloi.com!) and of course planning out seasonal blends and new projects.

So, I'm shaking the snow off my rump, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and getting back into the serious swing of things!

I cant complain about 2009 at all, it was probably one of the toughest and most wonderful years of my life. I'll be frank, it was one hell of a shitty year to start and ended on a most satisfying golden note, really. I don't think I could ever say it enough: I have amazing - loving and caring customers! I love each and everyone of you, and you guys made 2009 perfect for me!

Cheese aside, I don't know if many of you remember, but awhile back I mentioned that Matt and I were moving back to our home state (Iowa) this coming summer, which would inevitably put a massive dent in any business growth. Well, we had a long hard think about that decision and we decided that the best move for us right now, would be NO move at all. We're staying in Portland to let the business grow, and I'm filled with freakin' glee that we've decided to do this. The Pacific Northwest is a vortex of amazing high quality fragrance and essential oil suppliers. I think I would shed tears daily if I found myself thousands of miles away from this aroma Eden (And honestly, I'm so not ready for -40 degree winter nights, oh no.)

So opens a new Haus chapter! Believe me, I'm devilishly rubbing my paws together for sweet goodies and future surprises. On that note, I leave you with this:

(Picaroon!)

In the dead of winter, I do crave a sun scorched mahogany bough crusted with a crystalline sea spray! Faint scent of plundered rare spices. Lemongrass, coconuts, fine Mexican limes and Haitian bay rum. Blasted scalawags! Oh Picaroon!

♥

Yule, part two!

2009-11-10T21:28:00.000-08:00

First things first:

I want to thank each and every one of my customers from the very depth of my heart! For being amazing, understanding and loyal! For all the encouragement and sweet words! And huge thanks to those who have shown great patience during our crazy growth the past few months, you know who you are ;)

So, time is drawing close to when I had mentioned perfume oils may be released, and I've been getting lots of questions about them too. I had been telling everyone that I would be releasing them all in one go ... and I've come to the maddening realization, that just wont be possible. I've been taking my time with each and every scent, and kind of rebuilding it, so that they're well suited for perfume wearing! Due to the nature of perfume, I want to really work on the complexity and depth of each scent (even more!) so that your experience while wearing it is unparalleled!

Absinthe and Honey Tree were the two I started working on first, so they're already in shop for your enjoyment ... other scents will be steadily rolling out over the next month or so!

I'm really looking forward to playing with the new medium of perfume, millions of possibilities!

So, if you've seen the recent shop announcement, you can get a feel for the next set of Yule goodies!

❉ HEARTH - The warm glowing center of any home. The falls last apple pickings, warm bread, orange rind, fire roasted chestnuts, cracked black pepper all nailed down by an oozing sticky benzoin.

❉ SNOW WOLF - Bristling and prowling, lonesome and haunting. Three howling firs, whitened frankincense, vanilla bean husk, tainted by droplets of blood cedar.

❉ GLOGG - Cheerful red wine, spiked with Yule spices and fermented berry juice!

Each scent will be made in soap, scrub and perfume. The soaps, will sell very fast! Parkin had sold out in about an hour! But fear not ... I will be running these scents through January and I've done a good amount of back ups. I must warn though, the first round WILL probably sell out, and I'll have a second round of soaps ready a week or two after the first round. I want to make sure everyone get a piece o' the Haus pie! ;)

Because I do not want to pick up a long turn around time and I want everyone to have a fair chance at the Yule goodies, I will not be accepting custom listings or add-ons for the Yule update. I think this may have been a contributing factor in the previous 8 day turn around time and order issues. Place as many orders as you want, I'll be more than happy to combine shipping! I just really want to provide the best customer service possible, with the least amount of confusion.

(Snow Wolf!)

Snow Wolf has to be my favorite of the limited soaps ... an odd soft and moody, white fir blend!

I must get back to the good ol' grind ... Much love to you all!

Changes,

2009-10-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Its been really busy around the Haus these days! Its our first Holiday season experience ever and so far its been a blast, just trying to keep up with demand! I thrive in busy environments, and my mind has been overactive with new scents, products and ideas!

(Troika and Imp, cure - cure - cure!)

If you look to your left you'll notice I put up a poll about the shape of our soap. I'm really curious to know what you all think. I have an odd fetish with square shaped soap myself, and I'll often cut my bars down so that they fit neatly into my hands while bathing!

(Currently in use: A wee bar of Madcap Garden)

A few days ago, as I was pouring a batch in my slab mold, it came to me, its time for a mold upgrade! I've been considering log style molds, which simply means a slightly more square shaped soap. I mostly want to do it because of production, it would be a much easier and faster way to deal with soap (larger batches, easier cutting). But, I wanted opinions before I made the final decision of course! So poll till your hearts content!

(A secret batch of Yuletide goodness!)

Just for comparison, that there is one batch of soap, yielding only 12 bars! I do dearly love my slab molds, but at this size and rate, they're not very efficient right now. One thing I do love about the slab style, is the surface area in which I get to play with! With the log style molds, there will less surface area to play with, but you can still achieve very beautiful looking soap for sure! Its still up for debate, while I hunt around for the best options. But one thing is for sure: I must increase production, and fast!

I hope the beginning of Autumn is treating you all well. I've been cooking up with lots of yummy golden squashes, and rich spicy foods lately; lots of curry. And its a good time to bust out the legwarmers and big bundle-y scarves! I do love me some fall garb. Its also the perfect time to start layering on thick rich perfumes, sipping chai and huffing in big breaths of crisp air!

Not your ordinary glass of milk: Part 2

2009-10-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well, a few weeks ago I got around to soaping up with that homemade almond and oat milk, from a previous blog post! The result was quite fantastic and it was dreamy to soap with.

We dubbed this lovely pale bar, Troika. A trinity of soft milk, almond, oat and coconut, lashed with sweet agave nectar and the ethereal scent of clean white.

You'll be able to find it in scrub as well, very, very soon!

Stolen Rose + Perfumery

2009-09-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

What a week its been for me, busy, busy, busy! (Read on for perfume oil update!)

Portland is often referred to the City of Roses, or just Rose City ... as you would guess it, because roses grow like weeds here. They're everywhere. I've never been much a fan of roses, I've always sort of considered them too posh for my tastes, but having lived in Portland now for over a year I've developed a wonderful new found love for the thorny plant!

On my usual walking route to the grocery store; through my neighborhood, grows this particularly amazing rose bush. I say this because out of all the bushes I walk by, this one will wallop you with incredible scent when passing by, and the blooms? The blooms are the most attractive I've seen ... almost feathery and a soft muted pink with brighter tips at the petals.

The other night as I was walking by the wondrous bush, I stole a bloom! I had to, it was just too wonderful to pass up, I usually don't do things like that, but it was just too tempting. The little flower has held up for a few days too. I've been keeping it at my work table to sniff at every now and then. I'm going to be quite sad when she begins to wilt, ahh well.

I'm going to do my research, but if anyone has information on this rose variety, let me know!

On to business!

I have had many, many requests for products in a more concentrated scent form, lotions, oil sprays, body mist, and perfumes. I know I've hinted about doing a lotion, but I'm still testing, I really want it to be perfect! Also, I want to be in better facilities for lotion creation, I'm in a very tight cramped space, and as business grows in my tiny space I really only have room for one more small addition to my product line: perfume oils! I think this will be a happy medium for now, for those who are seeking to apply my scents for longer wear. I've been wanting to do this for ages, I'm really happy that it is finally materializing! This will really give me a chance to play with scent blends that don't translate well to soap; some fragrances literally get eaten by the soaping process, sad but true.

I do not have a set date for release, but I can say I would like to see it out around early November.

Next summer the Haus will be making a half-way-across-the-country-move back to our home state, Iowa. Once set up there, lotion creation will be in full swing and I will be rejoicing in my new studio/work space! You have no idea how excited I am to have bigger and better working space!

Now, I am knee deep in order packing and soap making and scrub mixing! Till next time, my lovelies! Much love!

Who is this?

2009-09-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

I don't know yet, but I created him the other night. Nameless!

I have the feeling, that this little guy is going to become a shop regular! My house stank for days and days of gloriousness! I even had to keep a bar close at hand to sniff. Cant imagine how amazing it'll be in a scrub ...

As for scent: Steam billows rolling off a vessel of fresh made Turkish coffee, marshmallow goo tainted by graham cracker crumbs, toasted hazelnuts and blanketed in black chocolate.

Ready round about the end of September.

Rose petal blackberry vials!

2009-09-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

I meant to post these during the height of summer.

Wee blackberries I found growing wild near my local extinct volcano. And little watch part vials I found on Etsy for 4 bucks! They were on the front page and I haaaad to snag the little dudes.

(A singular dried rose petal inside)

(bought via SylvizAndersonEtc)

I have no idea what I'll do with them. They either going to be for photo sets or, made into necklaces! I like the necklace idea best.

Mt. Tabor makes for fine blackberry picking. They were literally dripping from the bramble bushes! They were made into simple jam and mixed into yummy cornbread muffins. Nomtastic.

Not your ordinary glass of milk: Part 1

2009-09-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

Looks like a regular glass of ol' pasteurized, cholesterol laden, bovine milk doesn't it? Nay, it isn't! Its fresh, homemade organic almond and oat milk, rich and more delicious than ever with added agave nectar and the tiniest pinch of sea salt for flavor perfection.

During the month of August I went on a raw vegan diet ... which entails, as you might assume, consuming raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. It was really fantastic! I gave up coffee completely (mind you I'd been addicted for 12 years!) and pushed aside the vegan junk foods. You might be thinking, "vegan junk food?! Is there such a thing?" And the answer is: YES. Varieties of chips, candies (Oh Chick-o-Sticks!), cookies, all sorts of things are vegan, but absolutely naughty.

Back on track: While being raw, I discovered the joys and wonder of making your own "mylk," or milk if you prefer. I bought a nut milk/sprouting bag at my local co-op, read up on the basic methods and am now totally addicted to making my own milks! I highly recommend this how-to if you're interested.

(Giving it the squeeze! Soaked overnight raw almonds and oat groats, pulverized with water and drained to produce rich, yummy milk!)

My personal favorite is basic almond milk, its mild, slightly sweet and depending on how much water you add, it can be quite rich! Occasionally I'll make a super creamy batch and while using my stick blender, I'll incorporate lots of air, to create a nice froth to top my morning cup of chai:

(My favorite cup ... almond cream froth, flecked with Tahitian vanilla beans and swirled with amber agave nectar! Yum!)

You can make this more delicious by adding a whole vanilla bean, I suggest buying them here cheapest (20 cents each!) most amazing vanilla beans you'll ever find, I promise. I cut my beans down the middle, scrape the seeds, set aside and add the bean shell to the nuts and water mixture to be blended, and once drained I add the bean flecks to the milk and store in an old clean applesauce jar. Over time, the vanilla flavor gets better and better!

So it dawned on me, last night while I was rummaging through some old fragrance oils that I had shoved to the back of the cupboard, in the, "I'm going to forget you bad purchases section." I must make a milk soap! I was looking to put those less than desirable purchases to good use and somehow, I ended up blending a beautiful soft and somewhat ethereal , not too sweet milk fragrance. Of course, this soap will include said homemade almond and oat milk! I'm absolutely excited about it and cant wait to get to work on it!

I'll be filling you in on the results in part 2!

700 + The Queen

2009-09-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

I had my 700th sale on Etsy this month! But I hardly had time to celebrate at all as I've been pleasantly busy, and we've opened the doors to wholesale, thats a whole other beast unto its self! Perhaps we'll celebrate the 1000th! On to the real goods ...

The Queen is coming!

(via Dio Bach)

A little sneak-peek, Pumpkin Queen!

Sweet hay pillows, pumpkin flesh, ripe peaches dusted with clove and nutmeg and the summers last herb pickings, hung and dried ... lastly, a glowing crown of amber! Fit for the queen!

When the veil is thinnest, between the living and the dead, summers end ... also known as, Samhain, as celebrated by ancient and modern day cultures.

Samhain smells of damp earth, wet leaves, and a cold herb laden wind, reminding us, that the white winter will soon be upon us.

Both of these beauties are in fact, Limited Editions! I have only made 50 bars of each, so when they're gone, they're gone! They have specially developed labels and all, fit for the season :) Both scents will also be available in Sugar Creme, limited only by its seasonal nature and not by quantity, probably discontinued round about the first week of November, so we can make way for Yule Tide yummies! (Gingerbread and snow! *wink*)

Lotiony adventures!

2009-07-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Its been a foggy few days for me. Finally getting back to my neglected haunts!

I've really been wanting to offer a lotion for the Etsy shop. I've ordered a few lotion and cream bases, just to test them out ... I wasn't quite satisfied with the samples that I got. So, I took matters into my own hands! Even though there are some very nice cosmetic bases out there, I like the idea of putting my personal touch to it, handmade y'all. Plus, lotion is pretty fun to make I discovered!

I'm testing lots of self formulated recipes right now, playing around with a multitude of ingredients, and testing out a fantastic paraben free preservative!

After a few texture fails, I ended up with this:

I scented it with the Haus Absinthe, touched up with some amber and bourbon vanilla. The scent result was quite a treat, might have to make it into soap or scrub! The cream texture though, quite impressive ... I was really excited with the way this turned out. Totally thick, slightly springy, smooths on perfectly and deeply moisturizing. Shea butter and pumpkin seed extract make it quite luxurious. It isn't exactly where I want it though, there are some additions and subtractions I would like to make for perfections sake. It was definitely a YES! Moment, but not a EUREKA! So, still testing.

Body cream will most definitely be making its way into the shop!

Dusts are back in full swing, too!

Apothecary Dust is out, and will make a come back hopefully by the 18th! Waiting on an essential oil shipment.

I'm going to see the Half-Blood Prince tonight! Too excited for words. This is the first movie I have about peed my pants to see! I usually don't get to riled up but movies, but this ... this is going to be spectacular!

I'm going to cry like a big baby though, I know it!

98¢ Cherries!

2009-06-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

They went on sale the other day, and I went mad with cherries. They're delicious!

Perfect little red snacks. Nom nom nom!

A foxy barter,

2009-06-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about Etsy, is the almighty, glorious trade between two sellers.

I landed upon MissBrigette a little while ago and was in awe of the wee little foxes, tea having coyotes and pretty painted ladies. She obliged me with a super sweet swap! My walls are in tears with boredom these days, and this will most definitely cheer them up!

And today I received my envelope!

As I only live a block from the amazing Stumptown, I will definitely raise a steaming toast of Holler Mountain in your honor!

Naughty,

2009-06-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

I've been bad about updating the blog! I'm sorry. I'm an easily distracted person. And every time I would come to post about something, I would sit here in front of my computer with a blank face having no idea what to jabber on about! Writers block I guess you could say. Plus, the camera decided to go on a perfect working condition hiatus ... today I crossed my fingers and lo! It was working, so I got right to it and started snapping pictures, before it decided the memory card wasn't there anymore :-\

Recently Matts grandparents came through town as they were RVing up and down the west coast and we got to hang out with them yesterday, and had lunch with them today to see them off on their great adventures. Nana is the most adorable little lady! I wish I would have gotten pictures of her. Matts grandfather likes to play around with glass creations and he insisted that I have one of his pendants ...

Its like a frosty piece of ice! The colors morph a bit when it lays against the skin. I love it ... And I'll probably have a hard time not wearing it! The little silver hummingbird skull is by BillyBlue22 ... its is a treasured favorite of mine, so dainty and pretty.

Well, I have a Soap Box Co. order that I think I am going to dive into, got a kitchen to clean and some projects that need to be tended to!

I promise that I will be blogging more regularly ... as I have some neat things I think I'll be pulling from my sleeves here soon to show you all ;)

I'll leave you with this, its a secret surprise!

xo!
Britton

I loose the prize,

2009-06-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

I did, today ... loose the prize! I totally forgot about grabbing a treasury while it was open ... I took a shower instead, to removed the eleventy times that I had slathered myself in a failed pumpkin concoction. Bah! Plus, I've been testing lotions so my skin was just feeling weird and I needed a good bath.

Anyway, so I said fug it ... I'll just put some of my most recent favorites right here!

(iheartnorwegianwood)

Yep, its a harness but not any ordinary one! Its beautiful and I want it so very badly.

(MelissaSue)

This. This. This. Its pure freaking genius! A strawberry friend, on his own little perch, for your wall! I'll take ten please.

(pamelasimonton)

I think Hyenas are often over looked as beautiful creatures, and lately I've been into them for some reason ... This print is perfection, its gorgeous.

(PeekoApparel)

This fine lady makes some amazing clothing. Her recycled tops are perfect ... if I wore them, I don't think I would ever remove them! When I've got the extra skrilla, I'll be heading over there asap. Her entire shop is amazing.

(marysgranddaughter)

Her shop is a treasure trove of awesome! I love how absolutely unique her necklaces are. When you peek at her shop, try not to be overwhelmed by the cuteness of her bears!

Thats all I got. I think I have some soap to work on and a few orders to place. Still searching for my perfect pumpkin, it is a most epic battle: Me vs. Cinnamon! Argh!

In the land of nerds,

2009-05-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

Time for a non shop related post!

My dude man and I had a fantastic yesterday together. There was a surprise estate sale on the way to bentos and book stores! There were a few interesting dust covered things, I couldn't leave behind, so I bought them for cheap!

I don't know exactly what these are used for, but I assume perhaps small egg pans? I'll have to look it up, they were too dainty to pass up! Plus, who doesn't love a copper pan?

Currently I have chamomile herb patches all over my house. Toki Wartooth thought it was a treat of some sort and ripped open the plastic bag that it was in and scattered it all over the house! Its been getting on everything. Anyhow, the soap ... it is a sweet resinous blend, probably a limited edition kind of soap, we'll see!

And because it would be seasonally appropriate: I was browsing Powells (best places for cheap used books) for the Sandman Vol. 1 ... unfortunately its was not used and $20, and any ONE item that costs that much, I can not afford to buy (unless it is coming from my paypal account and is for soap supplies only!). I was a little bummed out, and then! I found this for $10!

I grew up in a Tolkien obsessed house hold, so much so, that my brother is named Beren after a character. And to elaborate; my sister is named Leia, yes like the princess. Anyhow, after I am done taking a good through look of it, I'll be sending it off to my dad, as I know he'll love it to death! Fantastic art within it:

The epic battle of Hornburg!

Uruk-Hai.

A man of Gondor.

I think the man and I are going to walk to our neighborhood extinct volcano and watch the sun set over the hills and the city ... should be a lovely one, as I hope you're all having!

User Info: Gloi Sugar Creme

2009-05-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

So, firstly I want to apologize about the mishaps that have occurred with the Sugar Creme and this warm weather ... This is something I should should have foreseen with the oncoming summer months ahead of us! I really, seriously did the *headdesk* when I first got wind of it!

These scrubs are lightly hand whipped, that is why some of you received jars 2/3rds the way full, the heat had gotten to the solid butters and oils, melted and deflated! Which is a terrible shame, because I want all of you to experiance the product as I picture it and sell it! I really didn't want you ladies to feel cheated out of product ... I just personally found, in my home experiments that the whipped consistency was divine in in spreadability of the scrub.

Portland is a very mild climate 11 out of 12 months of the year, so here ... they remain in their creamy white, balmy state. They're designed to be comfortable in a habitat with temperatures of 70 to 80 degrees.

Orders placed on 5/25 and on will receive unwhipped scrubs ... and I believe they will remain this way forever, unless you would like to make a special request and as such I would be most happy to oblige you, as always!

In the end, more for you and less hassle for me! I don't know if you have ever had to revive real whipped cream by hand ... it is quite taxing on the arms when done for long periods of time, and painful! Takes me back to my line cook days.

I put Aduwa in the form of a scrub this afternoon, while I was making a batch of soap ... unwhipped, here is what he looks like:

A bit of a yellow tint, because I added some ginger powder to it. Aduwa is quite delicious in scrub form, and I added a touch, just the tiniest touch of coconut to the scent blend! I know what I'm bathing in tonight ;) The scent will definitely be made available in the near future!

Now, what to do if your dear little scrub buddy arrives melted? Simply place into the fridge for an hour or so and give a good stir with a fork or spoon. Or just allow it to sit at room temperature (with an assumed range of 70-80 degrees) for a few hours.

As always I am dreading the summers days and wishing we could jump right into fall, my favorite time of year! Pumpkins, sweet treats, crunchy leaves and the soft smell of distant fireplaces crackling. I've got a couple of schemes going on for Samhain/Halloween ... and if all goes well, they will materialize!

Thank you for reading and many a happy bath to you!

Shop update and inventory levels,

2009-05-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

I don't think I can toil over this entry too long, because I have orders to pack, people to e-mail and supplies to fetch! But I did feel the need to give y'all an update on things that are currently happening!

Giving away free Sample 4 Stacks with the purchase of $10 or more! Randomly picked sample slices are offered, and while my supplies last! My shop announcement will be updated as soon as the samples are low or gone.

Sweet little birds have been whispering here and there about Gloi, and I've had an unexpected surge in sales! ... meaning that I am somewhat low and or out temporarily on some items! Bear with me as I am learning how to maintain that magic level of inventory. I could kick myself for saying I was going to be fully stocked by the end of May and early June, and it looks like I'll be missing a few of my regular items. Argh!

Thank you all for understanding ... Now, I must get back to the grind, mad saponifying to get done.

And, just because ... I strongly recommend you give a cherimoya a try! Its also known as a custard apple, and its just that! A soft custardy, pineapple, vanilla, apple combination that melts in your mouth. They are very delicious! Just watch out for those seeds ;)

Enjoy your extra long weekend lovelies!

Everybodys doing it,

2009-05-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

And you can do it too.

Portland is covered, from head to toe, from pebble to car, branch to stepping stone, in moss. The sweet and I walked into Mt. Tabor one morning to watch the sunrise, and on the way back I collected a few moss varieties! I've been meaning to make the ever popular moss terrariums, mostly because we have absolutely no green living things in our tiny apartment.

My favorite, it came with two little stones!

Crafty,

2009-05-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

Ohh, I had a fantastic time at Crafty Wonderland! It was my first craft show ever, and I think it went very well! I was intimidated and a bit nervous at first, but everyone was warm and welcoming and I felt at ease as the day went on. I've been a bit of a hermit for the past month or so, and I wasn't my best at social interactions!

And you know what I didn't do? I didn't take PICTURES! I could kick myself. There were some very lovely vendors around, lots of chatting, information sharing, lusting (of the overwhelmingly beautiful handmade all around me!), and sales, I did better than I thought I would!

Loved Attic Journals, and instantly spotted the most fantastic recycled old book. I was once (who am I kidding, I still am) a huge old book addict ... I asked if I could possibly do a trade and I received this! I set the book within my eyes view, over the sea of vendors, watching and hoping no one would snag:

I'll have to think a minute before I start filling it up with scribbles ... that first page is always so difficult.

Its late and I'm exhausted!

One more, just cause:

Good night.

Sweet sugar crème!

2009-05-05T15:31:00.000-07:00

My fantastic graphic designer of a husband finished the scrub labels just last night, took them into my local printers this morning and they printed everything for me, on the spot! It was amazing, I was thinking it would be at least a week before I could begin putting the scrubs up in the shop, nay! Sooner!

Sweet sugar crème!

I will be listing them perhaps - tonight, if not, throughout the day tomorrow. Today has been non-stop errands for me! I've haven't really been able to complete my photos of each scent.

A few other important shop notes:

I will be out of a few particular soaps, due to the unexpectedness of the craft show. I have several batches that will be ready at the end of the month. Like I mentioned I had no idea I was going to be asked about the Crafty Wonderland show, after I had gotten their e-mail I began whipping up as many batches as humanly possibly with my two hands! So, this has slightly set me back ... but I will be fully stocked between late May and early June.

There will also be a few scents to be in sugar creme only, actually, I can only think of one at this moment ... I think it is the only scent that I will discontinue in soap format and that is Twice is Nice. Every time I make a batch of that scrub I want to shove spoonfuls of it into my mouth! Delicious!

Gotta take my little dude to the vet, then onward to more mixing, stirring, bubbling, and concocting!

Cat salad,

2009-05-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

I recently bought a cheap plastic mixing bowl, the cats think its a sleeping nest. Silly kids!

Ol' fatty Pistachio! And little Toki Wartooth.

Dirty socks and crumpled paper! I know, I know ...

Vert,

2009-05-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

At long last I found a suitable peppermint oil that makes me happy! Its an ingredient that I have been lacking in my supplies for some of my particular soaps ... It was also a necessary ingredient in one of my most recent ideas that I have been wanting to make!

Anyhow, this peppermint is perfectly soft, sweet and herbal ... Somehow or another I kept landing on icky medicinal smelling mints, I'm so happy with this oil!

I've been itching to blend up my personal interpretation of Absinthe and with the arrival of my peppermint essential oil yesterday I was able to begin! I'm not really one for licorice scents, as a matter of fact, I somewhat detest them, but there are ways to work around that - even for me.

This scent is hauntingly herbal, with hints of mint, lemon balm, a lump of sugar, wormwood and a bit of anise and the tiniest drop of moss to make things curiously suggestive. It came out an incredible smooth shade of jade, when I was cutting it into bars I really wanted to take a big bite of it!

Ohhh, fae! It'll be ready May 28th!

I have a few orders I've got to run to the post office, some vegetable shopping to do, a custom soap to whip up and some much needed preparation for the Wonderland show! Plus, the sun is shining and there seems to be a nice breeze, a walk sounds wonderful right now, I've been working on the internerds for hours, gah!

Wonderland of Craft!

2009-04-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all, get yer PDX craft on!

I was invited to join the amazing Crafty Wonderland show at the Doug Fir May 10th! Totally flabbergasted and delighted, I am scrambling to get things in gear ... I was a bit surprised and unprepared for the show! Never fear however, I work best under pressure ... and I've got more to offer than I thought I would!

This will be my very first craft show ever, I'm a bit nervous ... and on Mothers Day too, my man will be there to back me up, it'll be a blast!

Now, back to creating my crazy concoctions!

Shop doo-dads and whatnots!

2009-04-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy little bumble bee the past week! Working on some new ideas for the shop trying to materialize them into a reality. So far things seem to be going as planned ... haven't been foiled, yet.

I really want to bring a greater variety of products to the Etsy shop, its just somewhat of a slow process due to my lack of a steady paycheck (no paycheck at all for that matter!) ... my shop is completely self funding! Whatever I sell goes directly into new projects, I've finally hit a point where I can begin expanding my current offerings ... and I'm very excited to do so!

Here is a little sneaky peek at what I've been working on,

- Creamed sugar and tons of shea butter, the emulsifying sugar scrub.

-Fluffy orange cake, hot black tea, and sugared almonds.

Just a sampling of what's been going on. I'm insanly pleased with the soap right above. I have one placed right here on my desk so that I can sniff and fawn over!

I currently do not have any estimated time arrivals for new products, but I can tell you within the month of May you'll see some wondrous new offerings!

I also, really want to take this time to thank all of my very wonderful and supportive customers. It may sound like I'm putting on the cheese, and in a way, I am ... but all of you have made the progress and shimmering future of my tiny soap business possible!

Love to you all!

Sweet thangs,

2009-04-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

Matt treated me to a slice of coconut cake at Sweet Pea, just the other day. It was saintly. Nice dense cake, and soft buttery creamed frosting!

They have an amazing array of vegan baked goods, donuts, chocolates, cookies, cupcakes. One thing that really pleases me with their desserts is they aren't sickeningly sweet, its a perfect well rounded sweetness.

-chocolate thumb prints

-chocolate peanut butter cake

Annnd, apparently they do a killer Sunday brunch! ... All you can eat for $10, YES. I haven't been to this smorgeshborg but I think I will be going quite soon. Ha, and I just confirmed with the husband that if he would like to make me very happy on my birthday, $20 is all its gunna take, muwaha!

Now I've got an insatiable sweet tooth, argh! On to more sweets ...

The Cupcake Mint seems to be Etsy's most amazing cupcake purveyor, and vegan as well. Behold:

-Double Mint Fluffy Cupcakes

-Chocolate Ganache Dipped Mini Easter Cakes

Someday when I've got the cash, I must give in ... for now, I'll just have to day dream.

Ok, I've had all I can take, I'm going on my own quest to find something sweet!

Beeean Vegan!

2009-04-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

So, I took the vegan vows for the month of April, I decided to try it for a month just to see how things go ... so far, I've really been enjoying it. I did it cold turkey, or should I say ... tofurkey (Stuff tastes bad, bleh) I make lame jokes, anyway ... due to my lack of food service employment, where I am required to taste food I jumped on the opportunity to briefly/permanently join my manly man on a vegan adventure ... him being vegan makes it much easier, plus I've been eating this way at home (save the few times I bought some Ben and Jerry's oatmeal cookie chunk, oh! Don't even think about it! And that hon-dashi for my miso) for some time now ... simply out of respect for him, personally, cooking meat at home has never been my fancy. I actually think I've only done it twice.

Due to all this excess time on my hands, I've been snapping pictures of some meals I have made over the past week! Very basic foods that are cheap and filling ... but totally delicious. I'm living on a really tight budget so making due with what I've got laying around in the pantry is very essential to me and my survival!

Oatmeal has been my morning comfort food, day starter and money saver for a few weeks now, I adore the thick rolled oats, heavenly with its texture.

- earth balance butter
- westsoy unsweetened vanilla soy milk, saintly on the vanilla flavor, I did detect maple, they must have snuck it in there
- bobs red mill high fiber hot cereal to mix, to make things a bit more filling

King of left overs and vegetable odds and ends inside the fridge! Fried rice.

- wildwood tofu, fantastic stuff
- sriracha, who can live without it?
- zucchini that the man snagged from work

Black beans, slow cooked all day, fresh brown rice and lots of other good friendly lovin'. Tofuti sour cream!

- Tofutti Sour cream, the non-homogenized verity is so much like the real thing, you might have a hard time telling the difference
- Soyrizo, going to make this stuff myself someday
- A good reason to eat that iceberg lettuce

Now that I wrote all of that, I'm hungry. Anyhow, I'm off for a day of house cleaning.

Spun sugar trees!

2009-03-29T22:06:00.000-07:00

From a distance they look like bright pink puffs of cotton candy ... the blooms have been filling the air with the faint smell of corn tortillas, maybe I'm crazy, but thats what it reminded me of!

I love how "the green" magically appears on everything out here, I've even seen it growing on cars ... and I still haven't gotten to work on that moss terrarium! Maybe I will today, I found an old jar in my closet just the other day.

It does feel like winter is still trying to cling on to everything, its been quite chilly out here. Hopefully things warm up soon, I think I'd like to be wearing something other than a vest and hoodie at all times.

Ohh March,

2009-03-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

March has been a bit of a downer month for me, hard lessons have been taught and learned ... like the inner meats of your soul being exposed and hacked at by a giant cleaver! Seriously. Like everything got ransacked and pillaged.

I am an optimist, so, I do know things will be looking up.

Hard times can be a great blessing in disguise, encouraging serious self-examination! Terribly hard pill to swallow, but once its down its done and the effects will be at hand.

Meanwhile, I am going to be as thrifty as possible and whilst searching for a job I will be plugging away at my Etsy for a bit of income ... but, like I was saying, March has been a downer! Literally, my sales have been down. Not that I'm complaining, heh, I don't think I've been promoting as well as I could.

Enough with this downer business! On to good things!

Mine eyes will be witnessing a Portland spring, for the very first time ... so far, it seems to be happening, slowly but surely.

These folks were pushing out of a mass of gray leaves and winter rubbish, like someone stuck a fresh bouquet right into the ground. They're everywhere right now! And popping up in the most strange places ... I find them even in sidewalk cracks.

Portland moss makes me all warm and fuzzy feeling! I love petting it, as if it were some furry little creature. I've been aching to jar some up, little moss terrarium quite an etsy popular item, but amazing nonetheless!

The ever famous madebymavis, and her wonderful creations!

Dusty things,

2009-03-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

I've been stewing on bath stews.

A fizzing, water softening confection.

It coats your body in a light oil, which is readily absorbed by the skin. Crushed shea butter and coconut milk powder for lavish skin conditioning effect, sea salts for detoxifying properties. Your bathing water turns into a heavenly nectar!

I've been using it quite frequently this past week and everything is 20 times more smooth!

Victory.

Keep an eyeball strapped to my Etsy, it will be making its debut soon!

Frustration,

2009-02-26T11:22:00.000-08:00

I cant seem to get my head clear, and get things together. I feel terribly scattered. I am always plagued with this agonizing feeling that I am getting nothing done! The nature of my sign.

Lists do not work for me, they just dont.

I need some focus, and I seem to be making myself believe that I need more time on my hands ... I probably have plenty! I think that maybe I need to breathe more deep, more often.

But, I have been doing things ... packing orders, creating new concoctions, folding and cutting! I always find the greatest pleasure in those things. Coffee stained labels, oh my favorite.

I have been eyeballing Orpheus Alchemy with much lust lately. I recently made this purchase, a lovely pot of Mugwort, and I know exactly where and what it will be doing and going!

Well, perhaps I need to take some time out, and clear things up. I feel congested and foggy, physically and mentally. My house needs cleaning, so does my head.

I've got an odd chill, and I think I am going to warm myself with a shower.

Space Odyssey Soap,

2009-01-30T11:20:00.000-08:00

This is pretty neat and I was totally surprised by this outcome!

Not only does it look neat, but it smells divine and the texture is quite smooth and silky ... I discovered a fancy method of obtaining such texture!

Pure white coconut, cracked, red sandalwood and darkened by hot Indonesian nutmeg.

It'll be available in about 4 weeks!

Some sun beams,

2009-01-27T11:19:00.000-08:00

The beau and I took a walk to the post office the other day, rather nice out ... cold though. I did get to utilize my new Tulle coat though! It feels very nice to wear:

Oh the ol' dread bush sticking out, dreads make for an amazing built in scarf! They're getting long ... I also didn't realize how light my tips had gotten.

I've been dreaming of a pair of funny glasses to wear. In a way, I envy those with bad eye sight, I think glasses are one of the best accessories! When done right.

When I was about 8 years old I tried so hard to fake it on my eye exam, so that I could wear glasses! My mother knew what was up and bought me a pair of reading glasses, which in the long run just hurt too much to wear ... and, I had such a hard time seeing with them on. Silly me.

I think I might get these:

French vintage, and I shan't tell you where I found them!

In other news, I hear these beautiful boys are working on a new album ... it'll be wondrous, no doubt!

Dah, I've had too much chai. I've got the jitters!

Sights into the future,

2009-01-26T11:18:00.000-08:00

Well, my etsy shop is finally stocked up (a little) and ready to go!

All orders receive a little free gift!

I will slowly be adding more as time goes on. I am currently working on an after bath concoction, should be interesting and quite smelly! Along with, of course, new soaps!

My head is over flowing with new ideas, and it is somewhat frustrating for all of them to materialize in a timely manner!

I leave you with this, a recent creation:

Food Stuffs,

2009-01-25T11:18:00.000-08:00

More hazelnut milk, more often!

If you haven't tried it, you must! It is amazing in everything. I've been eating this for breakfast every morning for the past few weeks:

1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill - Organic high fiber cereal.

1/4 Organic old fashioned oats.

2 TBS Real maple syrup, or Agave nectar .

2 pinches cinnamon.

1 pinch nutmeg.

About 1/2 cup boiling water, perhaps a little more.

Various fruits of your choosing. (I've been doing smashed bananas, chopped fuji apples, blueberries and toasted pecans)

Personally, I enjoy my oats and hot cereal somewhat chewy and chunky, add more water if you so desire. I combine everything except the maple syrup and stir well, I then microwave it about 1.5 minutes or until obvious steam is billowing upwards and then add the maple syrup and enough soy/hazelnut milk, until I have reached desired consistency. Surprisingly, I haven't found the desire to add any salt to this at all! I usually eat this at work (which is very easy for me to prepare because everything I need is within an arms reach, horrah for being a cook!).

I am often made fun of for eating this weird looking "slop" as I like to refer to it as, BUT! Due to its high fiber content and filling ways (not to mention those yummy pecans) this will satisfy any hunger and keep naughty cravings away for some time, and thats saying something, especially when you have yummy cream laden macaroni and cheese, home made buttermilk biscuits and country gravy, knee weakening devils food cakes, crème brulée, passing by you every second of your 10 hour shift. Ahh, self-discipline!

However today, I did let food get the best of me and I had a pint sized passion fruit tartlet! It was most fantastic! It had a great crust, not crumbly, not too buttery ... just right. In my opinion, crust always makes the pie.

And I cave!

2009-01-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I've done it, joined the legions and hordes of others on this great blogging quest.

I have no idea what exactly I will be covering here ... things that fascinate me, my soaping business and adoration of worldly things!

Heres to a fresh blog!