I was that annoying soaper at the stand!

[Spice]

haha. good for the Lady! I can never confront people like that....I always come off as witchy.

and btw - I was at a show and saw a vendor with ALL their soaps in loaves and "made fresh". they said I would have to buy the soap and leave it for 6 weeks before using. i didn't like that way of selling, but that's just me. and yowzas! that's pricey for soap!!!

Lately I have been hearing a lot about loaves of soap at craft fairs, is that something of the future? cutting my soap on the spot? Does that sell for more?

btw, was that vendor selling that expensive soap, I mean did it seem as if she had buyers?

Do most soap sellers know what a Salt Bar is? I came across a seller that had no clue and said, "all soap has salt in it". I think some sellers are just friends/family manning the booth and know just enough to answer the usual easy questions.

Not all soap makers are equal.:thumbdown:

 

[seven]

Lately I have been hearing a lot about loaves of soap at craft fairs, is that something of the future? cutting my soap on the spot? Does that sell for more?

btw, was that vendor selling that expensive soap, I mean did it seem as if she had buyers?

i am quite confused with those sellers offering loaves cut on the spot. sure, it looks pretty interesting from a customer standpoint, fresh, handmade soap and all that... but..

it should be uncured loaves, right? i mean, how in the world are they going to cut cured soaps w/o them crumbling all over the place? i've had a tiny loaf back then that i kept uncut for months. finally cut it and the middle bars were still a bit damp to the touch.

and if they're selling uncured soaps, well...

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

...........Not all soap makers are equal.:thumbdown:

Do most soap sellers know what a Salt Bar is? I came across a seller that had no clue and said, "all soap has salt in it". I think some sellers are just friends/family manning the booth and know just enough to answer the usual easy questions.

Actually, all soap IS salt - the saponified oils are salts of the fats. Sodium cocoate, sodium lardate, and potassium stearate are salts made by combine NaOH with coconut oil and lard respectively, or KOH and stearic acid.

Of course, I hope that is what they meant - but there is a big difference between "has salt in it" and "is salt" when explaining it!

 

[boyago]

I often wonder if people who do that price their soap by the ounce. If so, then the person buying the soap is paying for the excess water that will eventually evaporate out.


IrishLass

My thinking might be off on this and I guess it would depend on how the seller priced their goods but being that the cost of water being pretty insignificant for cost making the soap. The first bars being cut sold at what the sellers would like for their product and then as the loaf evaporates water the seller looses money?

Either way before I made soap I would have thought this was a novel way to sell soap, now that I make soap I wouldn't buy soap off the loaf. As far as being told to wait weeks until I can use something I just paid for? Pfff! That makes sense for things like insurance but I'm not buying a sandwich today I might want in a week.

 

[goji_fries]

i am quite confused with those sellers offering loaves cut on the spot. sure, it looks pretty interesting from a customer standpoint, fresh, handmade soap and all that... but..

it should be uncured loaves, right? i mean, how in the world are they going to cut cured soaps w/o them crumbling all over the place? i've had a tiny loaf back then that i kept uncut for months. finally cut it and the middle bars were still a bit damp to the touch.

and if they're selling uncured soaps, well...

Seven! soapmaster!
I saw this the other day at some hoity-toity shopping establishment. The vendor had a prop and table with lots of loaves stood on end, then there were lots of pre-cut soaps stacked up next to the loaves they allegedly came from. so it apopeared as if they were being cut from the loaf... appeared.

It is a magic trick. The loaves are for looks and the individual soaps come from the same batch but a different loaf, cut weeks before the display. At this point the pre-cut pieces are offered to the cutomers size liking then weighed per ounce. (this vendor was selling theirs for 1.49 an ounce) WTH...????? $$$ :thumbdown

 

[neeners]

Lately I have been hearing a lot about loaves of soap at craft fairs, is that something of the future? cutting my soap on the spot? Does that sell for more?

I have no clue. you can do the math if you're so inclined. it seems some people are trying to emulate LUSH. that's the first place I've seen that does the soap by weight.

it's a personal thing, but I don't like it. to me, it looks unappealing, and can be a lot for seller to deal with if your booth gets busy and you have to cut all the soap for people waiting around....