A short and friendly reminder – at Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps, all orders must be placed on (or by) 12/19-2011 to ensure delivery by Christmas Day.
We hope you are enjoying the season!
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feel the Goodness!
Posted in AGH Business News | Tagged Christmas shipping deadline, Goat Milk Soap, handcrafted, soap sale | 2 Comments »
We are changing our website, switching to a storefront. Sreamlining for 2012. Our thinking is why have both a blog and a website? There’s a lot of writing and reading going on, with current product information here, at our blog.
Over the next several weeks I am going to copy photos from our current website over to our blog, to ensure what people enjoy now on the website, will still be available (via the blog).
At the same time, I am going to throw in some of Annie’s Goat Hill original photos. I hope you enjoy looking back and seeing some “faces” and stories you haven’t seen in a while.
In this photo, to the left is a doe that we currently own that is wild, but one great mother. The middle doe is Sarah, one of our favorite grown up gals. She is vocal. Always “maaa’s” up to us at the house when she sees us outdoors.
Love you all! Enjoy!
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feed the Goodness!
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2
Posted in AGH Business News, Blogging, Goat Care (and General Farm) | Tagged Blog, farm photos, farm stories, website upgrade | 3 Comments »
Raise your hand if walking down the detergent aisle in a grocery store bothers you physically. I would imagine there are a few raised hands!
A number of years ago I began to notice that laundry detergents and fabric softeners caused symptoms from a stuffed nose, runny eyes, and an overall feeling of not being well. I brushed the feeling off in the grocery store aisle with the notion that I was near a tremendous amount of the products and of course they were bothering me physically in that environment.
Recently I noticed that I felt fairly uncomfortable after opening a bottle of fabric softener in my own laundry room. So, off to the races I went, returning to making my own laundry products.
The photo above is from our studio, while working on a fabric softener recipe. I am tweaking that particular recipe. I didn’t like the static cling that followed the test run. Na-da, we have enough of that in the winter! I’ll repost once I am happy with the results.
But, I am happy with the laundry soap and will give you the simple recipe here:
1 bar of natural soap (scented or unscented) sliced thin or shredded
1/2 cup of washing soda (not bicarbonate of soda or baking soda)
1/2 cup borax powder
Have on hand a medium to large bucket or container for mixing the soap.
Instructions: Grate the soap and put it in a saucepan. Add 6 cups of hot water. Heat using low to medium settings, stirring often, until the soap shavings or slivers dissolve. Add the washing soda and borax, stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups of hot water into a bucket. Add the soap mixture to the hot water in the bucket. Stir. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of warm water. Stir. Let sit for 24 hours. Pour the liquid soap into bottles (I used 2 empty gallon water jugs).
Note: this recipe does not produce a thick gel. The laundry soap that my husband and I made in the past had to be scooped out, similar to a thick gelatin. This particular recipe makes a liquid laundry soap, slightly on the gel side, pourable.
A 1/2 cup of this laundry soap per wash load should do a great job (you may need to adjust slightly based on the hardness of your water).
Results: softer clothes, no residue, less itching of the skin, and definitely a blessing to those with sensitive olfactory systems (noses and other breathing/smelling mechanisms)!
Simple laundry soap is not a science…and it really is inexpensive! I calculated a gallon at a $1.00 or less.
I included a photo of what the packaged ingredients look like…and of course, you can get bars of natural soap right here, from Annie’s store! Who else washes their clothes with goat milk?
P.S. Ignore the herbs (lemon balm, lavender, and rosemary) on the back of the work table. They are NOT included in the laundry soap!
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feel the Goodness!
Posted in Skin and Hair Care | Tagged handmade laundry soap, natural laundry soap, nose sensitivies, recipe laundry soap, skin sensitivies | 5 Comments »
Owning a small business isn’t all about rosy smelling flowers in the garden. Operating a business definitely has expected up and down moments.
Last night I experienced what I’ll call long moments of “up” times as I wheeled the cart around the soap studio gathering lotions, soaps and supplies for customer shipments.
I thought about the gentleman that called a few days ago. He is 80 years old and said that he is taking care of his terminally ill 78-year-old girlfriend. The couple had attended a craft show 10 years ago. She wanted Rosemary goat milk soap. He refused to purchase the soap for her. He said to me, “Wouldn’t that have been a small thing to have made her happy?” With a tear in my eye, I replied, “We’ll take care of this now.” He said, “You know, that stuff stinks! But she wanted it and she should have had it when she wanted it. It makes her happy.” I agree. Let’s put a smile of her face today. God bless that man.
One of our customers loves a particular essential oil blend that we work into our products. After purchasing our soap for nearly a year she told me, “The scent reminds me of the cologne that my deceased brother used to wear.” Apparently her brother loved to mix and match his scents. The first time she purchased the soap from us she said she was taken back, she was filled with memories. She recently said that she wanted so badly to make Christmas gifts for her family (potpourri and other items) with our blend. In her next order I included a 1 ounce bottle of the essential oil blend, with the promise that she send pictures of the Christmas gifts. She asked, “Even if they look like they were made by a 1st grader?” Yep, I will hold her to it!
See, life gets tough, business gets tough. It all gets tough. But there are moments, and I treasure them, that simply are not irreplaceable. The customers that cannot decide which soaps to order, the customers that consistently send emails to me, “Throw in what you like. I love it all.” Those are the times I absolutely cherish, and realize that, my personal dream, what I have put into this business (hours and a lot of hard work), and what I get back (I cannot do this alone – it is you that makes it happen), is what REALLY COUNTS!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feel the Goodness!
Posted in General Reflections, In The Soap Shop, Inspirations | Tagged Goat Milk Lotion, Goat Milk Soap, small business ownership, the ups and downs of entrepreneurship | 5 Comments »
Recently I have looked deeper into where I spend our money. Yes, this decision is due to our (seemingly) shaky economy. But it isn’t a matter of running to the cheapest place I can find to save some dollars.
My outlook is that small business is vital to the economic state of our country.
So, I have been making a very diligent effort to make my purchases at businesses that are as small as possible. Yes, it means I spend a few more dollars. But, think of about, if everyone stopped putting money in the hands of the big-big boys, and instead put their money in the hands of the individuals that own small businesses, what does that do for the economy, or even the local area? I see business owners (your neighbors and local folks) that could afford to buy fuel, food, Christmas gifts, repair their homes, and the list goes on. If I were to make all of my purchases at the big-name department stores who am I helping? How does that help the individual? I am not sure that it does.
In the wake of Small Business Saturday (one day a year), I would like to see Small Business Saturday every week. Or every day.
How can we go about doing this? We start small, of course. Baby steps. I pledge to begin #smallbizeveryday! Can we start a wave? Or, has the wave already started, and can we make it larger?
I pledge!
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feel the Goodness!
Posted in General Reflections, Inspirations | Tagged #smallbizeveryday, small business, small business economy, small business saturday | 8 Comments »
We have a lot to be thankful for in life. Today we want to extend our appreciation to our customers. You come through our virtual door often, with special notes (email) in your hands, telling us how much your love our products and service. Many times you tell us, “Throw in the shopping bag what you want to. I love everything you have.” We are honored.
So, to say thank you, we are running a special offer in our soap store beginning Thanksgiving Day, through Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and onwards through Cyber Monday (11/28/2011).
For each 4-Bar or 6-Bar Goat Milk Soap Set purchased (while supplies last), we will automatically include an 8 ounce Goat Milk Lotion (unscented), gift bagged.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend! May it be warm, peaceful, safe, and fun!
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feel the Goodness!
Posted in AGH Business News, Products | Tagged Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Goat Milk Lotion, Goat Milk Soap, goat milk soap sale, small business saturday | 1 Comment »
We have barely scratched the surface.
A few days ago I was standing in a music store talking “shop” (small business) with the co-owner. As she began to tell me about natural-based products that a very large company sells I told her about our soaps and lotions. I saw the look come into her eyes. We (my husband and I) are accustomed to seeing THE LOOK. We decipher THE LOOK as: “I am not sure what she is talking about. How can soap be made from milk? And does she really make it herself? I just don’t know…”. We then explain what we do, where our products come from, and that our products are made-from-scratch, handmade. The look doesn’t go away. We bring out the business cards, the samples, and nudge people to give our products a try.
You know, the surface has not even been scratched.
If you are in support of small business, local business, farmers, and if you support the continued availability of natural, and nearly natural, products to each and every consumer, then we would appreciate your goat milk soap shout-outs!
Don’t forget to tell us about it here too!
Thank you for your support…we have some awesome customers!
Mary
P.S. If you haven’t noticed, we support quite a few small businesses, organizations, and local entities on our business Facebook page. This is why: now is the time to make waves, stand up for what is the backbone of America!
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feel the Goodness!
Posted in AGH Business News, Products | Tagged farm, Goat Milk Soap, milk farm produce, small business, small business saturday | 3 Comments »
The holiday season has arrived!
Don’t you just love this time if year? Everything smells so good, looks so pretty, and folks in general seem to be in great spirit!
In light of the season, we discounted our Pumpkin Caramel fragranced goat milk soap in our store to $3.50 a bar.
A customer recently told me they didn’t want to use their bar of Pumpkin Caramel because it made their bathroom smell so good! With the discount, folks like her can more easily double up on their soap purchases and place a bar in all of their rooms (kitchen, bath, or even another room where they might want to enjoy the seasonal scent).
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Posted in AGH Business News, Products | Tagged handcrafted soap, holiday soap, pumpkin fragranced soap, pumpkin goat milk soap | 2 Comments »
Does a long ingredient name (one that most people cannot pronounce, or need a magnifying to read) equate to a “bad chemical” in a product? No!
Skin creams and lotions (amongst other common personal care items such as deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste…) are considered cosmetics.
Per the FDA, cosmetic ingredients must be labeled with INCI names. What are INCI names? The International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients is a “system of names” that include scientific, Latin and English words.
Let’s take a look at a simple ingredient: shea butter. Good quality unrefined shea butter is about as basic as it can be. Shea butter is collected in South Africa from the kernel of the shea tree (as described here). The raw butter is melted, stirred and filtered. The INCI name for shea butter is Butyrospermum Parkii. Yes, a scary looking long name. No, the long name on the cosmetic label does not make it a “bad” chemical.
If you find yourself concerned about an ingredient on a label, I urge you to ask the manufacturer for additional information. A cosmetic maker should always be happy to explain their products.
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feel the Goodness!
Posted in Products | Tagged chemicals in cosmetics, cosmetic labeling, INCI cosmetic names, reading a cosmetic label | 6 Comments »
Yes, we are announcing a sale!
From today, through 12/31/2011 (or until our soap-shelves are empty), we are offering a 6-Bar Goat Milk Soap Special.
Select 6 bars, your choice of any soap available in our Goat Milk Soap Store, for a flat retail price, $24.00. Boxed (in our natural recycled Kraft soap boxes), stamped with our logo (gotta love the goat, thank you to our artist), labeled, and packaged in a biodegradable cellophane bag (holiday printed bags between Thanksgiving and Christmas).
It is our gift to you. Luxury soap at a savings, our thank you for choosing to shop with us!
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feel the Goodness!
Posted in AGH Business News, Products | Tagged christmas soap, Goat Milk Soap, handmade soap, holiday sale soap | 3 Comments »
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Annies Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps 