Thanks to Janine for taking the time out to talk to us!

Q: You’re the owner and formulator for Things That Make Scents, can you tell our readers a little bit about it?

At Things That Make Scents, we feature hand poured soy candle, wax dipped critters, candle accessories and lovely gifts both online and in our retail store in Manasquan, NJ.

Q: What was your introduction to the types of crafting that led to TTMS?

It all started with a candle making kit that my husband got me for Christmas.

Q: What was the first product you ever offered for sale, and do you still sell it?

A 16oz soy candle was the first product we sold and is still available for sale in our wide array of scents.

Q: How has your product line evolved in response to changing markets and the boom in artisan crafters offering products for sale?

We listen to what people ask for, and do a lot of research.  We have recently added beeswax candles and citronella candles to our line.

Q: What has been your most successful method for marketing your brand?

We do a lot of online marketing, and we do local coupon ads for the retail store.

Q: What was your greatest marketing disaster, and what did you take away from the experience?

We spent a lot of money for an ad in a big popular magazine with a big subscriber base and news stand coverage and it didn’t really pay off at all.  Don’t let sales people give you the smoke and mirror routine just to get you to buy an ad from them.

Q: Some of your scents are really fabulous.  Do you design your fragrances by nose, or by molecular mapping?

A little of both.  I may do some mixing on my own until I get something that I like then I send it off to my perfumer to make it perfect.

Q: Your soy products are considerably better than many of tried.  Are you doing something different to temper your wax, or do you credit having a great supply chain?

There are many types of soy wax out there as well as para/soy blends.  After extensive testing we found a wax that we love, is easy to work with and gives great results, all while still being 100% soy wax.  Soy is a tricky beast to work with, there is a lot of testing involved, but once you get a groove going, its smooth sailing.

Q: What would you say is your signature product?

Our signature product is our OhSoy! 100% Soy candle line.

Q: What do you see as the biggest challenge to new people coming into the artisan crafting business?

It is hard being the new guy.  It takes a great deal of time to get your name  and products out there.

Q: What about challenges for existing businesses?

Right now? The economy.  If people aren’t spending money, it doesn’t matter what you sell.. Unless it is food! *laughs* Add to that all the price increases for supplies & shipping.

Q: Did TTMS lead you to start Lemmings, or was there another driving factor?

I had participated in some of the programs at Lemming Central before we took over ownership.  When I found out it was for sale, I discussed it with my husband, and we grabbed it!

Q: How long have you been doing TTMS and Lemmings?
I have been making candles for about 7 years.  We opened our first TTMS retail store March 2007.  This July is our 2 year anniversary as new owners of Lemming Central.

Q: Could you define the sample box modality for our readers?  What do you see as the core benefits for both consumer and artisan?

Our Samples boxes offer the artisian a method to get their products out into the hands of potential new customers.  It’s a great way to get not only your products, but your company name out there. When people cant just walk into your store to smell and try your products they might be hesitant to buy something online.  The samples boxes give the consumers a chance to try before your buy along with coupon incentives to purchase more products.

Q: What is your target for number of artisans in each box?

There is no set target, one campaign might have 18 Etailers participating and one campaign might have 45.  It all depends.  Typically there are approx 10-12 Etailers in each box.  Some Etailers include more than one product in their sample pack.

Q: How many boxes do you try to offer each period (monthly, quarterly, etc.)

We run the boxes every other month.  The number of boxes we have again depends on how many Etailers send in samples for that campaign.  Could be 65 boxes or could be 145 boxes.

Q: Your current price point for a sample box is about $20.00 including shipping.  Is that your standard price, or does it depends on the contents of the box?

$20 is our standard price for our Sample Boxes.

Q: When is your next LC box planned, and how should artisans reach you if they want to take part?

Our next box goes on sale Aug. 4^th and sign ups are closed.  We have our Oct. box and our Dec box which will be our holiday box coming up. They can sign up over at the Lemming Central site or contact me with any questions support@lemmingcentral.com.

Editorial Note: I purchased the last sample box without telling Janine, and I’ll be reviewing it and talking to some of the artisans involved in sending out samples in future issues.

For this recipe, I’m using ingredients that are pretty common, or easy to find in most areas. Essential oils can be found in small amounts at places like health food stores and craft stores often carry essentials and fragrances. Just make sure, if you buy fragrance oil, that you’re buying “body safe” oils and not stuff for candles.

So, let’s start with a basic recipe in two parts.

Dry ingredients:

• Baking Soda – 8 ounces
• Citric Acid – 4 ounces
• Corn Starch – 4 ounces
• Salts – 4 ounces ( in these pictures, I used Dead Sea Salts, but mineral salts work too, and are easier to find and significantly less expensive.)

Wet Ingredients:

• Water – .75 tbsp
• Essential or Fragrance Oil – 2 tsp (for these I used a Ginger Peach.)
• Oil – 2.5 tbsp (I used cherry kernel, but any light vegetable oil will work.)
• Food coloring – 1 or 2 drops. (Your color will look very dark in the emulsion, but will be light in the fizzies, so as to not leave rings around the tub. For this batch I used one drop red and two drops yellow. The final result will be very light peach.)

Step One:

Begin by putting all of your dry ingredients into a big bowl. Glass is best because it’s non-reactive. Whisk or pestle those pesky clumps out. You want a fairly smooth consistency throughout the entire mix.

Step Two: 

 Blend your wet ingredients together. I usually use a small jar and shake it up. Don’t worry about separation too much, you’re not going to get a full emulsion. Then, while whisking, slowly add small amounts of the liquid to your dry ingredients. Here we see my faithful Igor prepare to pour.

If the mixture starts to foam, you’re going too fast. Quickly whisk the reacting ingredients into the nonreactive part and you should be able to stop the reaction. I add about a teaspoon at a time. When all of the wet ingredients have been added, you should have a mixture with the consistency of slightly damp sand. It should clump together.

Step Three:

Once your mixture is together, you have a pretty limited amount of time in which to get it into molds. To create the giant Soapy Hollow ball of bath doom, I use round christmas tree ornaments that were designed to be filled with goodies. To do a three-dimensional bomb like these, you pack each side, then overfill a tad and the center and press the two sides together. It takes a little practice to get a feel for how much “filling” you need, so don’t get discouraged if your first couple fall apart. Here we see Igor holding a filled ball.

Step Four: 

You don’t need to leave them in the mold for very long, and in fact can tap them out as soon as you fill them. These are four bombs we made with this batch.

You can use all sorts of things to make your fizzies; muffin tins, ice cube trays, candy molds, Aunt Magnolia’s denture case…whatever makes you happy. This batch didn’t make quite enough for five bombs, and it started reacting, so I quickly stuffed what was left of the batch into my “bath cookies” mold. When using objects that surround the seltzer mix, the mix must stay in the object until dry, or it will crumble when you try to take it out. This is what the bath cookies look like after spending the night in the mold.

Step Five: 

Once they are completely dry, store bath bombs in an airtight container or bag. High humidity will make them activate. Because we used oil and water and no preservatives, you want to use them within about 6 months. Assuming you can keep them for that long. Igor demands payment in immediate fizzy baths, but you may have better luck actually getting to *use* yours.

When you’re ready to use one, just drop it into a warm bath, and relax.

As well as producing, marketing and selling her soap, Elizabeth has also launched her own fragrance oil line, supplying other soapers and cosmetic companies, and Longcroft Soaperie has gotten big enough that she’s now got new digs overlooking the moors.  And if that weren’t enough, she’s also raising two kids, a host of critters, and maintaining an ancient farmstead as old as the heather.  So, a big thanks to Elizabeth for taking the time to answer a few questions for us.

I started out making and selling bath salts. From there I got into balms and butters which eventually led me into soap making. Since I already had an established cosmetics business, selling soap seemed like the next logical step – and it was. I have since scaled back on all of my products and make soaps and lip balms only.

The first selling I ever did was at a home-party hosted by my lovely sister-in-law. It was a big success for me at that time, and I started getting quite a few phone orders. I decided to try farmers’ markets, too, and those were a lot of fun. I used to do three a month, but now I only support one market.

Definitely the internet. Since getting a website in 2004, things have really taken off for me. It’s lead to interest from the press as well as some lucrative wholesale accounts.

‘Unmoderated’ craft fairs have always been a disaster for me. While my products are reasonably priced, I can’t compete with cheap toiletries imported from China. Before doing any craft fair or market, I always make sure that the organizers are strict about the products being sold. If the organizers don’t insist on all of the products being hand-made, I don’t attend.

I used to have a huge line of products, but I’ve cut way back due to time constraints. When deciding what to cut, I thought a lot about what I actually use – soap and lip balm. So now that’s all I make.

I try to pay attention to what’s selling, and there are some items (like cardamom soap) that are sold seasonally. I keep a basic line of about eight soaps and then add limited editions as needed.

Oh yes. Oil cleansers. I’ve been using the oil cleansing method for a couple of years, and am beyond pleased with the results, however, trying to talk my customers into using oil to clean their skin just didn’t work out. It was frustrating, because I knew they’d love it if they tried it, but I just didn’t have the ability to sell it. So my main question now is ‘will this be easy to sell’. If it isn’t, I don’t bother with it.

Oil Cleansing?  Like unto what the Romans used?  Tell us a little about it.

Ooh!  I was hoping you’d ask.  Oil cleansing is where you massage vegetable (or seed) oil onto your face to clean it.  The principle is the old chemistry of ‘like dissolves like’, and it works really well.  An effective oil cleanser will contain a base of castor oil, as it’s the most cleansing of all of the oils.  In that, you can add different oils depending on your skin type — or even your skin’s mood.  I know my skin is different from day to day and week to week, so it’s great to be able to mix something up to suit the moment.

A great recipe for normal to dry skin is:
50% Castor
25% Olive
25% Avocado

To use the cleanser, you wet your face with warm water and massage a small amount of oil into your skin.  I use less than a dime sized drop.  The massage is important, so use circular motions and never abuse the skin.  Let the oil sit on your skin for about 10 minutes and then place a warm wet cloth over your face to sort of steam the skin.  You can use the same cloth to remove the oil by gently wiping it away.

Avoid the temptation to dig at your skin with the cloth, and don’t rinse.  You’ll notice cleaner, clearer, glowing skin after the first use.

Q: Tell us about the genesis of your fragrance company.  What factors moved you towards creating your own line of fragrance oils?

There was a real gap in the UK market. When I first started out making bath salts, I couldn’t find quality fragrances. I began working directly with a manufacturer who helped me develop a few exclusive fragrances, and the products I made the new scents sold well.

Oh, by nose only! I am not a chemist. But I do have a decent sense of smell.

It’s a warehouse for storing the raw materials I sell through gracefruit.com. Nothing exciting, I’m afraid.

Complying with EU legislation. There is a lot of it. We have such strict laws here. For instance, every product we sell has to have its formulation assessed and approved by a cosmetic chemist. The process can be daunting. (Editorial note: Regulations in the US are about to become even more restrictive than the EU restrictions.  Look for an article about these regulations soon.)

Keeping up with all of the micro-soaperies opening every day. There is a lot of competition that wasn’t there a year ago.

Nothing for Longcroft, but I’ve recently begun working with a large medical-supplies manufacturer. Their goal is to get into the cosmetics market, and I’ve been doing some formulating for them. With a little luck, there will be a new line of balms on the supermarket shelves soon.

Elizabeth, that’s great news, I can’t wait to see what’s coming out of your formulations lab!  Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with Soapy Hollow and it’s readers.   We’ve been talking to Elizabeth Carnahan from Longcroft Soaperies, who offers a limited edition of her soaps and balms here, and operates Gracefruit.com which offers fragrance oils and raw materials.