A Wonderful Weekend at Craft Shows!

Shenandoah Soaps participated in the Tower Grove Park Harvest Fest this weekend, and it was wonderful.  The weather couldn't have been better, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.  I wanted to make a quick post to thank everyone who stopped by.  My family was especially great this weekend and kept me company.  Wes, Megan, and Miles were also quite radical : ).

As much as I love our "East St. Louis Hills" home (as my fiance jokingly refers to our neighborhood), I  still miss my old neighborhood.  The Tower Grove Park neighborhood was where Shenandoah Soaps was created. There was a brief moment in the sun of the early morning that I felt a slight twinge of missing my bachelorette pad, but it faded as soon as my fiance brought me a homemade breakfast sandwich and a thermos of warm coffee. . .

My view from the Tower Grove Park Pool Pavilion

Goodies from the Farmers' Market

The Saint Louis Tower Grove Farmers' Market was packed today with city dwellers ready to get their hands on some good, farm fresh produce.  I decided to take a trip over to my old 'hood this morning and peruse the local market.  The weather was cooler today (a heat index of 94 instead of 110). 

I could've spent half of my paycheck this morning, but I resisted the lure of the fresh crepes, watermelon basil lemonade, chocolates, blackberries, artisan breads, and lots and lots of peaches.  The Baetje Farms cheeses are so delicious and almost irresistible, but they do not fit into my diet right now, so they were left for next time.  I also highly recommend Farm Fresh Cupcakes.  I admit that I had a slight cupcake addiction for a few short weeks that took this house by a delicious icing filled storm, but I digress.

Back to the market. . . the figs from Ivan's Fig Farm, located in Dittmer, Missouri, are in season and they appeared to be very popular.  My friend Megan goes on and on about how wonderful the figs are.  She has a special recipe for them that I bet you would like, because she has excellent taste.  Maybe if we ask real nice, she'll share it with us.


What did I buy?

Apple butter and honey sticks from Centennial Farms, Sazitza from Live Springs Farm, and Fresh Honey from Robin's Honey Co. located in St. Charles, Missouri.

It feels good to buy local and sustainable goods.  Just take one minute to click on the link for Live Springs and you will immediately feel their positive vibe.  As a former 14 year vegetarian, I still have some guilt and reservation when buying meats.  It helps know that this farm is doing what is ethical and healthy for both animals, people, and our environment.

Now that I'm sure I've inspired you to run to your local Farmer's Market, I want to share that Shenandoah Soaps will be at the Tower Grove Market for the Harvest Fest on October 22nd.

Stop by and say hello!

Old Fashioned Shaving Kits

The shaving kits are up on the Etsy shop.  There are only a few in stock that are ready to be sold right now but there will be several more for sale in a few weeks.  Cold process soap takes at least 4 weeks to cure, so that's why some products are not ready to be sold right away.  Melt and pour soaps are ready immediately, but Shenandoah Soaps are made the old fashioned way, cold process with lye. 

These kits will make wonderful groom's/groomsmen gifts, and the scents can be customized to fit the preferences of your wedding party.  Please "convo" me (that means send me a message in Etsy language) on the Etsy shop and we can work out the details of your order.

Thanks to Ladue News for mentioning the kits in this weeks edition!  The kits are listed along with several other lovely and unique items here.

Craft-O-Matic

Shenandoah Soaps has three new soaps to show off at the Craft-O-Matic craft fair and fundraising event that is coming up on Saturday, June 4th.   Summer Strawberry,  Peony, and Lavender will be for sale at this boutique style show.  Old favorites have also been re-stocked such as Figged Out and Raspberry Lemonade.  You can look forward to coordinating body creams in these fragrances as well!

Indie Craft Revolution 2011

Shenandoah Soaps will be taking part in the Indie Craft Revolution this upcoming weekend.  It would be great if I saw some familiar faces, because I'll be sitting there all alone this weekend (tear, sniff). I'm also very excited that there will be local FOOD!

Indie Craft Revolution a booth style, indie craft event featuring over 80 local and national artists. Come and meet your maker! 

This St. Louis Craft Mafia production will happen on Saturday, April 30th 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday, May 1st from 10 am to 4 pm at the Saint Louis Artists’ Guild in Oak Knoll park.

This show will also feature local food offerings. Goodie bags will be offered as door prizes while supplies last. 

Bring your stray craft items to Up-Cycle at the Up-Cycle Exhange.

facebook page:   http://www.facebook.com/#!/indiecraftrevolution

See you there!

Off White Indie Wedding Weekend

Photo courtesy of Brea Photography

The wedding show was wonderful!  There were so many lovely vendors and beautiful brides to be that it seemed surreal at times.  The weather was perfect here in St. Louis on the event day, and crowds of people piled in the Third Degree Glass Factory for their peek at the hottest wedding trends and free goodie give-aways.  

Photo courtesy of Brea Photography

The three Shenandoah Soap gals (Me, Megan, and Renee) made new friends, sipped on some cocktails, and presented our new wedding favor and gift set line.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by the table to test products and chat with us.

Photo courtesy of Brea Photography

Photo courtesy of Brea Photography

Our biggest success from the show is that Off White is writing a feature article for St. Louis Bride and Groom magazine and will be using the new groom's  shaving kits as a highlight in the article. Woo hoo!  Look for us in the May issue.  If you would like to see more lovely photos from the grand 2011 Off White Indie Wedding Show event, click here.

Clone Ranger Homebrew Beer Soap and Harvest.

Clone Ranger and Harvest are the newest original creations by Shenandoah Soaps.  They are listed on the Etsy shop with lots of juicy details. 

Clone Ranger Homebrew Beer in it's lovely wrapping.

Clone Ranger

Harvest

Harvest, all wrapped up.

Preparation for the Off-White Indie Wedding Show

I have been astonished by good news lately.  One wonderful thing is that I recently got engaged, and I'm working on planning my wedding.  Coincidentally, I am also participating in the upcoming Off White Indie Wedding Show on March 20th from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. at the Third Degree Glass Factory.

I'm so excited about it all!  Off White will be showcasing vintage bridal boutiques, fashion shows, yummy gourmet cakes, sustainable catering services, stationery, attire and accessories, and all kinds of goodies with class and a bit of edge to them.

Shenandoah Soaps will be a vendor!  Look we're listed!

Yesterday, I had a meeting with my friend Megan who is part of my marketing team for Shenandoah Soaps.   We are going to be marketing Shenandoah Soaps as wedding favors and bridal party gifts in a couple months.  She gave me some wise advice and ideas for wedding show products.  I take her advice seriously because she threw a totally kick-butt wedding a few years back that we all still talk about when we get together.  

This is going to be a lot of work creating new products and giving the table a crafty allure.  I've been spending hours upon hours getting inspiration from the different craft blogs out there.  Personally, I love 100 Layer Cake and One Pretty Wedding.   The creativity and photography on these sites are amazing.

This week, I created some new scents. . . some were good. . . some were ummm not so good.  Overall, I had fun and didn't drop anything soapy and gooey on the floor this time. (Ugh, what a mess that can be.  Don't ever do that.)  I've decided to stick with most of my current scents, but I've added two new all natural masculine soaps.  They are both woodsy and one is made with Matt's home-brew that he named "Clone Ranger."  It was designed after the New Belgium Ranger beer (I'm marrying a very clever man, eh?), so that's what we'll be calling the soap.  Clone Ranger.

My Etsy shop will be filled with new products in the next couple weeks and the basement of the house will be buzzing with ideas and hard work of the Shenandoah Soaps team!  Go team!  I'll keep you updated on the progress and will post photos as we go.