What is Smellicious up to this year?

Just a little update to let you all know what I am up to this year.

Considering I'm still relatively new to the biz, I've decided that I'm going to set a plan in motion to keep going what I started last year and make myself a name and a face in the community.

Last year I signed up to do a 6 month long craft fair.. that sounds a bit extreme but here is the gist. It's the first Saturday of every month May - October. It's not bad actually. It's in a well-traveled new-ish strip mall here in Sparks. Legends Mall, where you'll find Scheels, the new Imax theater, and Outlet stores for things like Sanrio (Hello Kitty), Adidas, Gap.. etc. Last year was the first set of craft fairs there so the organizer and the Mall itself had no idea what to expect really. It was kind of a mess at first. The first 3 fairs we did great. The Mall decided we needed to move our booths to an area with more room, but this ended up hindering sales. The organizer has come to an agreement about this year and we will be set up near the Imax where there is a ton of room, so I'm hoping this will mean more foot traffic and therefore more sales.

I also signed up (mid-season) last year for a small Farmer's Market in Sparks which starts in June. There are quite a few in the area, and this one is just a small guy. I think there were 5 booths of fresh produce, and then about another 5 booths like mine (well... there was Avon, a popcorn person, the "egg lady", the Lavender guy, and beef jerky vendor who dropped out with the popcorn vendor a few weeks after I started). Oh, and a fresh meat rancher guy. It runs every Tuesday from 7 am - 1 pm which are great hours. I'm not sitting out there allllll day, and I generated about 2-3 times my booth fee which isn't bad, however my booth fee is pretty low considering. I've talked with the organizer of that market and he said he's had great feedback about my product and loads of people asking if I'm coming back. Good prospects.

Other than that, I haven't committed to anything else. I'm sure I will find a fair or market here or there to attend in the meantime, although I'm not actively looking. I'm refining a few products that I've offered in the previous markets so I'm hoping they will be a hit.

I've also become a completely legitimate business woman. I now have most of my licenses (need the city license, but I'm not too fussed because the markets/fairs offer a blanket license fee for their events) and I've registered my DBA (doing business as, in conjunction with my state license) and I'm now insured. I'm pretty happy with myself for accomplishing these most important tasks. It's just one more step in the right direction to realizing my dreams.

Thank you all for your support in my venture. You are helping me continue to do what I love to do, so I dearly hope you love what I offer.

If you're in the area, you should stop on by one of my shows and say hi. If you'd like a closer look at where I'll be in the coming months, take a look at my Event Calender on my website, it will tell you where I'll be.

Thanks for reading, and until next time....
Shannon

Drop Swirl Challenge - Great Cakes Soap Works

Here we are again for another Great Cakes Soap Works challenge!! This time it's for the drop swirl which I've done a bazillion times. Of course, I had to be difficult and use a fragrance oil I've never used before... the results are interesting to say the least. Here are some pictures of my process (you can click on the pics for a bigger view)...

The beginning

 Adding my lye solution

 Pretty colors!!!

 Adding my fragrance.... wait for it!

 Oy... it's ricing on me! I didn't add fragrance to the white

 Poured my base

 Plopped in my purple

 Drizzled some white on that

 Plop in some green..

 More base..

 Rinse and repeat

 Texturing the top

 Drizzle on the rest of the white

 Adding some glitter (a sample from The Conservatorie)

 Ta Da!!!! Ooooh how does it look inside??

Like that!! I'm surprised it came out so well!

It never fails that I'm doing a challenge and my soap misbehaves on me. I could have done this exact same soap with the same fragrance and it would have been fine.. I know the soap gremlins are out to get me lol. Anyway, lesson learned. From now on, for all challenges, I will use a fragrance I'm familiar with and I know how it will act.

I hope you liked this blog post, please tell me what you think in the comments below.

Thanks,
Shannon

Bramble Berry S.O.A.P. Panel soaps in scents 5-8

Now as you all may know by now, I was dreading soaping scent #5. After I opened it again, I realized it might very well be a dirt scent. After I put it in the soap, I think that's exactly what it is. We shall see after it sets up and I'm able to cut it. I should be able to cut the final 4 loaves tomorrow. I'll then take pictures and post my final thoughts on all of these fragrances.

My favorites out of these last 4 fragrances are #6 and #8 with a very close tie with #7. I really like most of these mystery fragrances, I am hoping we will be able to learn what these fragrances really are. Some of them I'd love to buy, some of them I'd love to avoid! =)