Shop Closed for August

 

Greetings! 

 

The shop will be closed for most of the month of August! (sad face) 

But it is all for good reasons! 

I decided to close for this month because there is just so much madness. First of all, we made a very tough decision and we decided it was time to move to a better school district for our children who need extra attention in school. We loved our little farm home but the school district there was horrible. So we packed up our home and moved a few towns over to a very amazing school district! 

Our new home has allowed me to set up Sweet Neon's soap studio right in my house so I don't have to pay anymore studio rental fees. Chicka-chicka yeah! 

Second of all. I needed to focus on preparing for the holiday season for the shop. Last season was awesome but I will admit things would have gone a bit smoother in the shop if I had planned things out a little earlier! 

Last but the most incredible is that I am getting married August 24th! Even though it is just an intimate ceremony there has turned out to still be quite a bit of planning and work involved. 

So all these things combined I decided there was no better time for a break! 

Have a lovely day! 

-Lav 

Top Soap Favors for Weddings

Here are my shops top 10 selling soaps for wedding favors this year! 

1. Lavender Lemonade : This is the highest selling soap for wedding favors. Brides really love that Lavender! :) 

2. Carrot Cake  - Was a big seller for spring weddings. 

3. Peony - Elegant and perfect for a May wedding. These are also a big hit for bridal shower favors. 

4. Champagne & Pears - Sparkly and refreshing. Great for classic black tie affair type of weddings. 

5. Balsam  - I sell alot of these for weddings and showers especially since I am located in the Adirondacks. These are great for rustic or mountain weddings. 

6. Sex on the Beach  - Not only is a big seller for beach weddings, it's also been a hit for bachelorette parties! 

7. Bacon - For the silly bride! This is surprisingly my ultimate number one selling bar overall but actually many brides bought it this year for favors.  

8. Wasabi - Foodie brides loved this bar. 

9. Elderberry Wine  - These were purchased quite a few times in bulk this year for different events and some of them were weddings. Including a steampunk style wedding! Also sold them as favors for a Spamalot Production cast giveaway. So cool! 

10. Gingerale - An interesting favor pick. A great favor for mid-summer weddings.

I have sold many soaps from my collection as wedding favors this year for different themes but these are the ones that constantly got ordered. 

♥ Also keep in mind if you are thinking, "Gee, those soaps would make awesome favors for my wedding but I have so many guests, I could never afford enough for all of them." I have the perfect solution. I sell my bars in half size at half the price if need be. That way a bride can easily order 150-200 bars without spending a fortune. ♥ 

Of course brides have also been loving the fact that I can customize any label to fit the theme of make it say what ever they wish! 


Have a lovely day!
-Lav 

Mother's Day Orchid Gift Wrap

 I added these custom gift wrapping cutie to my shop tonight. I think they are perfect for Mother's Day! So cute! 

I got custom printed wrapping with the same damask print I put onto all the soap labels.
 





Here they are in the Shop! :)

-Lav. ♥ 

Purple Christmas Tree!

Lumberjack and I finally took a break from working long enough to get our little Christmas tree out of storage and got it all put up. ♥

I came home to this tree all set up back when I had my studio apartment during college. People are always telling me now that I have a bigger house I should buy a purple tree that is more proportional to the house and maybe someday I will but right now I'm still in love with this one. Lumberjack bought and decorated it for me when we first started dating back in college and to me it symbolizes a lot!
 
 
There are a lot of people in the world and even in my life who just plain think my monochromatic way of thinking is freaking weird. 
 
I have dated a lot of guys over the years that just didn't get...me, not just the purple thing but a lot of stuff. Especially since I don't live in the city anymore! (Luckily I have become a "local character" in my small Adirondack lake town. I'm that girl with the big purple hair that is always lugging a ton of packages down main street to the post office!) 

Maybe it's just me being a gushy sap because it's the holidays but to me this micro purple tree symbolizes the fact that I found this awesome beardy lumberjack that doesn't "put up" with certain things about me but rather encourages all things that make me happy. 

We have been dating for a few years, did the whole college sweethearts♥ thing but we did separate for a bit back in the beginning of the year because after college we were going completely different directions in life.
While we were apart, I ended up dating a guy who although he also had a turbo charged Subaru and street bike like me, he wasn't feeling the purple life, my colored hair and weave and he really didn't get my soap artisan/flower grower & floral designer career. Even though there was some good chemistry, he was constantly trying to change me or put me down for the things I enjoyed that he thought were strange. It was so stifling! 

Thankfully I got out of that suburban hell and went back to mountain life and converted an old boat storage barn into my very own small home and now that my lumberjack and I have found a way to blend our life paths together. I appreciate his acceptance/understanding/encouraging/ laid back ways a billion times more than I did in the past. ♥ 

On a lighter note we now have a kitty in the house. Some jackwagon of a person left a box of kittens on our farm (this happens a lot in the country) but thanks to social media I got them all good homes within days. Well...except for this little girl. I felt so bad that I gave all her brothers and sisters away and she had no one to take her. So even though we already have our Subie Pup, some hamsters, a bunny and some glo fish (purple duhh) I reluctantly added this silly girl in the mix also. I have never been into cats but we have gotten very attached to her. Now I just have to work on getting the dog and her to get along and keep her away from the hamster cage. le sigh, more things to do around here. 

Sidenote: The purple tree came from a craft store and the ornaments are from target, all purchased years ago but I know they have similar styles at Walmart, Target and Jo Ann Fabrics right now if you decide you need a boss purple tree in your life as well! 

Have a lovely day! 

Lav. ♥ 

Late Night Randoms

Sailor Moon pendant! I'm in love!! ♥ So happy it's finally here! 

If I wear a sparkly mini skirt to work will I get in trouble?? Nope! Perk of owning an indie business: I can wear what I want and it stays between the soaps and I...and you of course. wink wink! 

Have a lovely evening! 

Lav. Alden

Small Business Saturday & Cyber Monday Sale!

Greetings Lovelies! I had so much fun giving all my awesome customers a soapy sale on Black Friday that I have decided to get keep the sale going all weekend long and all the way till Midnight Cyber Monday! I will be staying close to my shop all weekend to answer any questions or take custom orders (those also get the sale price♥) 

 

Also all weekend long at different times throughout the weekend I will be creating some amazing flash sales on selected soaps! 

Why buy handmade soaps for the holidays?? 
♥ Supporting Indie & Handmade 
♥ Awesome Stalking Stuffers 
♥ Great Hostess Gifts 
♥ Looks Festive by the sink at parties. (Who needs boring & chemical filled chain store soap. Umm Yuck!)
♥ Unique & affordable Gifts 
♥ Can get a custom blended scent if your looking for that extra thoughtful present
♥ Get some for yourself! : ) Combined shipping is a great deal! 

Okay, now that I got the soapy business out of the way. I am gushing over the mega Black Friday haul I scored! I did a little in person shopping at Target to get gifts and such but then I did the real dirty work on my laptop from the comfort of my bed. I cleaned house at Modcloth, American Eagle, Forever 21, Delias, Romwe & Footnotes. I also went down to my favorite local dress boutique in Saratoga Springs called the Saratoga Sundress Company and got some super cute dresses all 50% off! The ultimate BFriday win was getting a glittery long-sleeved dress that was originally $90.00 for twelve bucks!! Got a lot of amazing pieces for my monochomatic wardrobe. ♥ I can't wait for my orders to get here! 

Did you get any amazing deals anywhere this weekend? I'd love to hear about it. I'm crazy for these online sales! 

Have a lovely day! 

Lav. Alden ♥  

Hustlin in the Studio!

Finally we are getting some real Adirondacks snow around here! I can't play run around and chase the falling flakes till later though, le sigh le sigh. I have lots of soaps to make today.

I have created over 15 new cute soaps for the shop. They are all packaged, and they have all had their little photo shoots but I have had zero time to list them in the shop because it has been so crazy filling wholesale & favor orders. Also people buying in bulk for stalking stuffers keeps me recreating the holidays soaps, but who's complaining??? Not me!! : ) 


Studio Stats: 

Currently Creating - 60 Elderberry Wine soaps. Which will be used as casting favors for a play called Spamalot. This is a really cool order because the awesome lady who ordered them requested a custom label that reads "You mother was a hamster & your father smelled of elderberries." Hilarious! I love that line. 

Beats - Surround sound is currently blaring Azealia Banks 212. We share a love of long colored hurrr & mermaids. 

Consuming - Fueled by Monster Energy Original! Lumberjack jokes he is gonna buy me a Monster fridge for the studio. I think that would be awesome. Then I could pretend like Monster Energy sponsored my artistry. Hey it could happen. 

Wearing - Rocking a lacy dress from the mothership ( forever 21 ) & some shoes that my boyfriend Jeffrey Campbell made just for me! All. Purple. Duh. 

Dreams - Snowboarding is on my mind with all these awesome flakes coming down. Hope I get to ride some powder this year, since last year not so much. The mix of the adrenaline when I'm snowboarding & listening to nature-scapes downloaded to my ipod from soundcloud really makes for some zen times for moi. Cosmic experience. 

Plans - I have made a deal if I get all these orders made and at least half of my new soaps listed in my shop I can go out for thirsty Thursday with my lady clan later tonight. So I guess I gotta quit blogging and get back to work! : ) 

Have a lovely day! 

Lav. ♥