update on labels and such...

[RocknRoll]

Hey everyone! So I've managed to fit a lot in this past week. I got all my curred soaps wrapped, labeled and boxed up & ready for retail. Several little shops want to sell my soap for me! One is even commision free . I talk about my soap wherever I go and Im finding that people are more interested in it than I thought.

I dont expect this to bring home the baccon but I think I have a fair chance at making a decent side income. In the past I've sold out of every bar I ever made! Just life got in the way... but Im back stronger than ever ( and thanks to you guys ). Maybe this will inspire some of you. Here's some of my labels... each soap bar has a back sticker as well with all the pertinant info on it. I decided to go with a cosmetic label because I wanted to mention certain qualities that these soaps had such as moisturizing benefits. I made them kind of playful and Im going to run with that for a while.

One thing I did notice is that I need to change my wording from "discontinue if irritation occurs" to "discontinue USE if irritation occurs"....woops roblem: I may need to add more info but I think its pretty covered. Let me know if I've forgotten anything important!

I still have not found a spot to keep my FO's out of light but at least its a north facing, cool window. The shelving I got is perfect. All my boxed up soaps are neatly oraganized,, while the curring soaps are happily residing above the dehumidifier. Here's some recent pics...enjoy!
PS~ sorry about the poor quality of the pictures. My camera is sucky :wtf:

 

[Soapsense]

Love them!!!! Did you do all the labels with Online labels? They look so professional, and the soap
looks great too!

 

[RocknRoll]

Love them!!!! Did you do all the labels with Online labels? They look so professional, and the soap
looks great too!

Thank you! Yes I bought the labels through onlinelabels.com. when you buy labels from them it activates label design software that you can use. you can import images and use whatever font you want and then save your work and print at your own convienence. I love it! Plus I like that you can go back and edit anything. It costs under 5 cents for me the wrap and label each soap. ( half that if I squashed everything onto the front label and elimainated the back ) Not bad! Well, this is not taking into account what my ink costs are lol :?

 

[dianne70]

Wow...very nice. Very professional looking.....you may be surprised.....it might soon bring home the bacon for you Good luck with the soaps in the shops...I think they will sell well.....and if I lived closer, I would sure try some

 

[RocknRoll]

Wow...very nice. Very professional looking.....you may be surprised.....it might soon bring home the bacon for you Good luck with the soaps in the shops...I think they will sell well.....and if I lived closer, I would sure try some

Thanks! I was really trying to go professional with the look because I wanted them to blend in with the rest of the soaps that they will be sitting next to in the soap sections in the stores. I feel that when I do my sales pitch and present my product (@ Central Market or Trader joe's is my goal) that I need to bring to the table something professional. If I were just doing farmers markets and the like it prolly wouldnt matter that much to me but with high end boutiques and upper end specialty stores... I think I need to blend in with the more sophisticated soaps as competition. Thats just my approach Although I must say that "Rustic" looking soaps/packaging are still my favorite!

 

[melstan775]

Those look amazing! So professional, I am sure you will sell a ton, especially since you have a selling out history!

 

[RocknRoll]

Those look amazing! So professional, I am sure you will sell a ton, especially since you have a selling out history!

*squeels* thank you! I sure hope so, I've invested so much time and money. I really want to suceed with this! I'll be sure to pass on any tips I learn along the way =)

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Beautiful soaps and labels! Very professional looking!

 

[RocknRoll]

I love the "black magic" one. Its a facial soap with activated charcoal. It looks just like a hockey puck lol! My skin LOVES it!

 

[Trxflyer]

Looks awesome and I'm sure you'll have great success!

 

[dyclement05]

Congratulations! Your wrapped and labeled soaps look gorgeous - I would definitely buy these if I saw them at Central Market! Great job and thanks for sharing all your awesome experience.

 

[AngelMomma]

Good Luck and hope you have a bunch of back stock because they look GREAT!

 

[RocknRoll]

Thanks everyone! Its good to hear positive feedback! I'll keep you all updated as to how it goes. My last step is to get insurance before I actually put them up for sale. I was going to go with Soapmakers guild but heard of another place thats only $200 a year and has a cap of $5,000 per year in sales. I cant remember the name but thats what I'm gonna roll with I think, at least for the first year. Im making back stock as we speak lol, lots of Lavender and Bay rum, my two sell outs

 

[MaitriBB]

Thanks everyone! Its good to hear positive feedback! I'll keep you all updated as to how it goes. My last step is to get insurance before I actually put them up for sale. I was going to go with Soapmakers guild but heard of another place thats only $200 a year and has a cap of $5,000 per year in sales. I cant remember the name but thats what I'm gonna roll with I think, at least for the first year. Im making back stock as we speak lol, lots of Lavender and Bay rum, my two sell outs

Make sure that you check the amount of insurance that the $200/year gives you. The quote that I got first was for about that amount but it was only for like $200k in liability. Most of the farmer's markets here that I sell at require at least $1M in liability insurance.

I love your soap packaging! Is the first one shrink wrapped? I am so tempted to invest in a system, but my husband would need to be the one to figure it out =\

 

[LuvOurNewf]

Wow. Your wrappers and labels look fantastic. If the outside looks this good, can only imagine what the inside is like.

May I ask what you use for the wrappers? I'm not a fan of the cigar labels as they leave too much exposed and as the bars shrink the wrappers tend to look wrong. I've been leaning toward a kraft paper wrap but I like the brightness of yours

 

[SpiralTouch]

I love the "black magic" one. Its a facial soap with activated charcoal. It looks just like a hockey puck lol! My skin LOVES it!

The labels look great!

Does the charcoal soap make black lather and get messy?

 

[RocknRoll]

Make sure that you check the amount of insurance that the $200/year gives you. The quote that I got first was for about that amount but it was only for like $200k in liability. Most of the farmer's markets here that I sell at require at least $1M in liability insurance.

I love your soap packaging! Is the first one shrink wrapped? I am so tempted to invest in a system, but my husband would need to be the one to figure it out =\

Thanks for the tip, I will definately make sure that I am insured up to 1M. as the farmers markets here require that as well. I dont srink wrap my soap but simply wrap it with waxed parchment type paper available in restaraunt supply stores. Its real cheap and I can cut one piece in half and for less than one cent have my soap wrapped!

 

[RocknRoll]

The labels look great!

Does the charcoal soap make black lather and get messy?

It doesnt lather black, maybe just a very faint grey but nothing real noticable

 

[RocknRoll]

Wow. Your wrappers and labels look fantastic. If the outside looks this good, can only imagine what the inside is like.

May I ask what you use for the wrappers? I'm not a fan of the cigar labels as they leave too much exposed and as the bars shrink the wrappers tend to look wrong. I've been leaning toward a kraft paper wrap but I like the brightness of yours

I buy mine at a local resturaunt supply store called cash n carry. they are simply waxed parchment paper squares used for food service, they are super cheap and for less than 1 cent I can wrap my soap!

 

[MaitriBB]

I buy mine at a local resturaunt supply store called cash n carry. they are simply waxed parchment paper squares used for food service, they are super cheap and for less than 1 cent I can wrap my soap!

Are you able to smell the soap through the paper?