WHITHER SOAP….or, The Gift That Keeps On Giving!

We were invited to a Christmas party, and had to buy two small gifts, under $10.  We wanted to buy something

handmade and local,,,but it was mid-week and there were no craft fairs on.  So, we went shopping!  Firstly, not

much under $10…..how about five beautiful plastic coat-hangers made in China.  Nothing against China, but it’s

too far away….

What else?  Nice little box of chocolate-coated cherries,,,but no, not even Canadian.   I was looking for maybe

a nice jar of homemade jam, or how about a little beeswax candle? Not at the Mall…not on Main street.  I

couldn’t really give anyone soap, could I?  But the idea seemed better and better all the time…

Recently, someone asked me, “how do you make any money doing this?”  I was a little taken aback….and

reluctantly asked, “why?”

“Well,” she said…”your soap lasts FOREVER!”  She said she logged her last bar, the Seaweed, in at around four

months.  “No fillers,” I answered.  “Just Pure Soap!”

A local tradesman came into our Salt Spring Island shop….bought a lovely big gift basket of soaps and lotions for

his Mom….said…”What do you give someone who has everything…more trinkets or doilies?”  He said

he comes in every Christmas and soaps are the perfect gift for her….”something she can actually use!”

he said.

This year…more than others….as we all pinch pennies and spend less on Christmas (news polls)….our soaps

seem to have escaped the discounting trend…….a lovely gift, handmade with natural ingredients, by local

artisans, with cheerful recyclable or no packaging….for $5, $6 or $7…..What more could you ask for??

“Ah,” I thought…..The Gift that Keeps on Giving!”

HO HO HO, Have a Natural Christmas!

With the recent economic downturn, we were concerned that our Christmas sales might be impacted…..and THEY WERE!!  However….so far, sales are Up, Up, UP!  How to account for this..well…we asked for feedback and came up with two or three things that were really interesting that I’d like to share.

Firstly……it appears that when people are watching their spending…out go the electronics…expensive perfume, and shopping at the mall.  Small, local…and handmade…gifts you can buy for under $10, $20, $30 or $100…..that still make adorable gifts…..IN this year!

Secondly, recent TV shows about scary ingredients have reached lots of consumers who didn’t really worry a lot about their body care products.  One high-powered lady, busy in politics…simply has never had time to think about it!  But her daughter with two young twins….called her up.  “Help Mom!”

“I know,” she thought….”I’ll talk to Linda.”

“Know anything about this,” she asked.  “Of course,” I replied…”it’s what I do for a living!”

So, two more ladies using natural products…on themselves and their families….TV isn’t ALL bad!

And third…..everyone seems to be looking for HANDMADE…LOCAL…….SMALL!  No more mass-produced generic gifts…..no more things made in China or Indonesia….no more gifts that have 200,000 look-a-likes.

I really feel it’s a lot of things….first, environmental concerns…secondly, the whole shift in our food patterns where we want small and local….which made people think why not source other things that are hand-crafted,  handmade, different, and thus, a lot more special than what most of us have been getting and giving for years.

So, although things keep changing…small is still beautiful….and great handcrafted artisan mittens, cookies, soaps and lotions will be filling stockings this year in ever greater abundance!

Merry Artisan Christmas!

Linda