Donate Your Soap

August 17, 2010

Do you have left over inventory or products that aren’t moving and are collecting valuable shelf space? Here’s your chance to donate some of that inventory to a worthy cause before year’s end. The Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild has collaborated with this worthy cause in upstate New York.

On September 10, about 1,350 volunteers from over 50 businesses and other organizations in upstate New York will work on approximately 100 projects at local not-profit agencies, including partner agencies of United Way and others. Day of Caring is a yearly, community-wide volunteer event coordinated by United WayBroomeNew York. It was first held as a single day on September 11, 2002 to commemorate the volunteers and heroes who responded to the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City. More than 1,000 volunteers have participated each year it has been held.

As members of HSMG, we have been asked to donate any soap or toiletries that we can give as part of this day of volunteer service and support. ACHIEVE, based in Binghamton, NY (an organization serving the needs of intellectually challenged or impaired individuals) is in charge of collecting and assembling kits for Catholic Charities, in partnership with United Way.

Items donated will directly benefit those in need in of the very basics. Specifically, bar soap, body wash, hand soap, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, etc. will be put into personal care kits. Products can be non-gender specific, for men and women as well as children. There is no limit to how much you can donate. Their need is great; much of their money is spent on food, first and toiletries, second. As a donor, you will need to send the soap yourself, which ever shipping method you prefer (USPS Flat Rate is perfect) to:

Attn: Anne Marie Sieczkos, LMSW

ACHIEVE

125 Cutler Pond Road

Binghamton, NY 13905

Achieve Foundation Inc., a non-profit, established in 1993 has offered to supply charitable donation receipts for your business tax purposes. In addition, if you are in the immediate proximity (30 minutes or less) of Binghamton, NY they will make arrangements to pick up your donation from you. This can be done by contacting Anne Marie Sieczkos of Achieve at 607-231-5215.

Thanks for your interest and by giving your usable soap scraps or ends, you will help someone here in the U.S. in great need. Donation receipt deadline is September 3rd, 2010.

Contact Vanessa Cochran for any further questions at email@soapfarm.com.  Thanks to Delores Harris, HSMG Public Relations Director, and her volunteer Committee for their efforts.

David Fisher-About.com and HSMG Social Media Director-Maria Gelnett

David Fisher had been making soap for about 5 years when he started a family and had some major surgery in 2004.  Re-evaluating life, he decided he would change some things and follow his dream of being a writer.

Simultaneosly, About.com awarded him the contract to write about soapmaking and candlemaking.  There are 750 guides to different topics in general however David’s specialty is soap and candles.  Many HSMG members were inspired by David’s writings about liquid, cold process and melt and pour soapmaking.

His topics are geared for a beginner audience so his goal is to help you to get started by giving the basics and keeping them up to date.  He constantly refreshes his writings as his experience and knowledge grows.  Good reason to visit the site often to get updates.  www.candleandsoap.about.com

David gets email questions from all over the world since soapmaking is indigenous to many countries.

We are honored to have David with us at the HSMG Denver Conference, and he is excited to meet, learn and network with HSMG speakers, Board of Directors and members.

Here is your opportunity to tell the public about the marvelous benefits of handcrafted soap!

The HSMG is launching our first ever video contest. To participate in the contest, just submit a video that finishes the sentence *”Handcrafted soap is the best soap because ….”*. Winners will be announced at the 2010 Annual Conference in Denver April 30 – May 2 and the videos shown to all the attendees.

• First Place Winner receives 50% of the registration fee for the
  2010 HSMG Conference in Denver OR coupon worth $200 good toward
  any item(s) in the HSMG Store, including membership.
• Second Place Winner receives 25% of the registration fee for the
  2010 HSMG Conference in Denver OR coupon worth $100 good toward
  any item(s) in the HSMG Store, including membership.
• Runner Up receives a coupon worth $75 good toward any item(s) in
  the HSMG Store, including membership.

The contest is open only to members of the HSMG whose membership is current as of the time of the announcement of the winners at the Annual Conference.

Note: Deadline for video submissions is March 1, 2010.

Video Specifications

• Video length should be between 60 – 90 seconds, but in no case longer than 2 minutes.
• The video quality must be clear, understandable and reasonably professional looking. It doesn’t have to be a professional video, but should have good lighting, be in focus, not shaky (unless that’s part of the design), have clear audio, etc.
• If the soapmaking process is portrayed, it should be shown in a professional manner (clean preparation area, correct protective equipment, not in a home kitchen, etc).
• The video must be of a G-Rating quality; no inappropriate language, situations or behavior.
• The message and video must answer the question *”Handcrafted soap is the best soap because …”*. However, creativity and artistic presentation are encouraged. The answer can come in the form of a
  “taking head”, skit, mock news report, documentary, mock commercial, or in any other fashion you can dream up!
• The video must not name any particular brand name or product. You may display your own soap, but may not display any commerical products in a way that they can be specifically identified. If you
  include your own soap, it should be in keeping with the style of the video; plugs or sales pitches are not allowed.
• Signed releases from all people in the video are required and must be submitted to the HSMG before the video can be publicly
• displayed. (See member area for downloadable forms)  The video copyright will remain with the member who made thevideo, but the member must grant the HSMG a license for unlimiteduse and/or reproduction of the video.
• A member may submit one video.

For more information on the Video Contest, including submission procedure and forms, see the HSMG Member Website.

The videos will be a great way to spread the word about the benefits of handcrafted soap – we all know it really IS the BEST soap!

Looking forward to seeing your videos!

Competition was open to all soapmakers, commercially manufactured and handmade both bar and liquid soaps. Awards were given for the Best in Show for 1st – 3rd place winners in each division.

Maria presented a demonstration of a beginner goat’s milk soap and an advanced oatmeal milk and honey soap with a swirling technique.

This was immediately followed by a goat’s milk lotion demonstration that everyone got a sample of.

Leigh also presented Marie Gale’s bath products labeling regulations and an overall HSMG informational state of the union. It was well received with many questions and tons of interest.

All three demos and the presentation achieved in one day!!

Bonnie Bartley, Soapsmith, The Allegheny Hearth, conducted a year long experiment using the additives recommended by HSMG Conference Speaker, Dr. Kevin Dunn, Caveman chemistry, for the prevention of DOS.
Here are Bonnie’s results: One year ago, July 2008, I began an unscientific test using Dr. Dunn’s recommended additives for the prevention of DOS. On the same day, using the same identical supplies, I made two batches of my Vestal Castile Soap. The soap is 100% certified organic olive oil, distilled water and lye. Nothing else. No fragrance, no color. I did cold process, soaped between 4 & 5% superfat. To the second batch, I added .1% each of EDTA and Sodium Citrate and .05% BHT. The EDTA and Sodium Citrate was dissolved in water, the BHT dissolved in warmed oils. Both batches were brought to full gel. At all times, the test bars were kept together in identical curing and storage situations. They were cured in my soap studio for 8 weeks. One bar of each was put in muslin bags (I have always sold my bars in muslin), and one bar of each was left unwrapped. They were kept, untouched on a shelf in my office at the store. This would be the same retail environment as my soap cart. We only maintain the heat and AC during store hours, so the soap was exposed to fluxuating conditions, some very hot humid during the summer months, and 55 to 60 degree cold during the winter months.

Here are the pictures of the results:

As you will note, the two bars with the additives are sparkling white, pristine with no signs of DOS. The wrapped bar with no additives shows one small, very light DOS developing in the upper right hand corner of the bar, the unwrapped bar with no additives is almost completed covered in DOS on all sides. This did develop throughout the year, starting as typical smaller round DOS that spread to the full bar. It is also interesting to note the unwrapped, no additive bar shows great difference in shrinkage and cracking.

I have always believed that selling in muslin gives the best protection. I have had bars deteriorate on the display shelf while bars from the same batch wrapped in the muslin bags stay perfect. When I compare the bars that had no additives, the one that was unwrapped is drastically impacted by exposure to light and air. My beliefs that muslin is best for my soap have been validated.
More about Bonnie:

The Allegheny Hearth line of soap is handmade in small batches, in Bonnie’s studio located in the heart of the Allegheny Mountains. Food and cosmetic grade oils, butters, pure essential and fragrance oils are carefully blended to create a rich, emollient soap. When color is desired, Bonnie uses natural pigments, herbs, and cosmetic grade micas and colorants

The Allegheny Hearth line of body care items is also handmade from scratch. Lotions, balms, butters, powders, milk baths, tub teas, bath salts & fizzies, salt and sugar scrubs, hair serums, muscle massage balms and bubble bars are available and much, much more. In addition to the Allegheny Hearth products, Bonnie also offers the Soaps by Bonnie line. The crown jewels of Soaps by Bonnie are vegetable glycerin soaps. See her works of art here:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v285/Soapsmith/

Bonne has been a professional soapsmith since 1979, a member of the Handcrafted Soapmaker’s Guild since 2005. Her greatest pleasure is mentoring and has an obligation to pass along methods and techniques in advancement of the craft. She feels we owe so much to the generations of soapmakers who have come before us, generously giving of their knowledge, so she is only happy to share with others.

If you are interested in her detailed instructions on creating the gemstone soaps, please email her at soapsmith@hotmail.com.

Maria Gelnett – VP

www.soapguild.org

Marie Gale, President, HSMG

Information forum for Soap Guild Members

A new section has been added to the HSMG Forum under Art of Soapmaking called Safety.  It is ready to populate it with knowledge, bloopers and blunders that would be helpful to all Members.  I know I have a few.  http://soapguild.org/forum/

Maria Gelnett

P&S Chair

At our HSMG Members’ request for an Experts Panel forum in Marketing, I’ve arranged for Brambleberry’s www.brambleberry.com Anne-Marie Faiola to answer all your toughest questions.  Mark your calendars for Tuesday, January 27 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm PST. 

Yes, that’s right! The Soap Queen Blog:  www.soapqueen.com will be with us for a Marketing Day at the Forum. I am so honored that Anne-Marie carved us a spot in her busy schedule to be there for you – our HSMG Members. Utilize her time with us because she is the Expert at the Forum that has experience to help your business grow and prosper. 

Looking forward to it! Are you?
Maria Gelnett
P&S Chair

1. The new DOUBLE issue of The Journal will be in the mail in the next week. Look for the feature article “Soapmaking in a Shooting Gallery” (featuring a soapmaker in Afghanistan).

2. February membership drive receive DOUBLE golden soap bubbles, the member that refers the most new member will receive an expenses paid trip to the 2009 Conference in Palm Springs, CA generously sponsored by Stratus Insurance.

3. We’re approaching our 1,000th member, will announce soon!

4. Contracts have been signed for both the 2010 and the 2011 Conference sites!

5. Certification Levels I & II tests for CP/HP and MP will be available at the 2009 Conference in Palm Springs, CA. Exams by proctor are in the works.

6. The “Why Handcrafted Soap?” brochure is available to members at $1 per 25. This full color brochure is a great tool for marketing to your customers on the benefits of handcrafted soap.

7. The “Ask The Expert” series will continue on the HSMG Forum, the first one featured Sandy Maine from Sun Feather Natural Soap Company. Stay tuned for the next expert announcement.

Great things are in store for 2009. Thank you to all of our members, volunteers and staff!

From Leigh O’Donnell, VP HSMG

Posted by Maria Gelnett, P&S Chair

It appears that it needs to start with meeting planners. If planners demand more green options in the properties they choose that will get the ball rolling and create a domino effect that will trickle to the rest of the industry.

That being said, the question is how can we make the HSMG Annual Conference more green?

When I was visiting possible 2010 properties 2 weeks ago that was one of the questions I asked them. How green is your property and what steps are you taking to improve that status? Many hotels and resorts have taken the first steps, I am sure you have all seen the cards in your hotel room that ask if you will reuse your towels and your bedsheets so as to significantly reduce the amount of water and electricity used, but what some other things that hotels are doing to become safer to the environment?

Many properties are starting to use partial sustainable energies such as solar and wind, some are starting agressive recycling practices of paper, glass and metals, and some are recycling organic waste as compost reducing their garbage by 50% in some cases.

In order to contribute to this movement in a positive way, I will work with our 2009 property, The Miramonte Resort & Spa, to do the following:

• Donate surplus food to a local food bank or shelter
• Place recycle bins prominently throughout the meeting for cans, paper and bottles
• Reduce the amount of paper cups and napkins and use reusable service items
• Encourage attendees to put their A/C units up when they are not in their rooms and to be sure to turn off all lights and power equipment

If you have more ideas on how to make The HSMG Conference more green I’d love to hear from you, by working together and taking small steps we can do our part to contribute significantly to this movement.

Leigh O’Donnell

HSMG Vice President/HSMG Conference Coordinator

LeighO@SoapGuild.org