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Friday was my first night home since Monday, I even left work at 4 so I could stop at the grocery store and made a delicious healthy meal for my family. (I love that my husband willingly cooks instead of copping out and getting fast food for the kids... but he tends to forget the vegetables.) Then I loaded up for the show on Saturday.
Saturday's show was not good. This is my third show of the year and the third show that I have barely made the booth fee back (and not really, once I take out just the cost of the soap). On the plus side I set a goal to hand out soap samples to everyone who came in the door, and I did! This was a huge accomplishment for me because I normally don't engage people unless they stop and look, but this time I reached out to people who were avoiding eye contact. I didn't do a big spiel to try and reel them in, just asked if they wanted a soap sample. I did get one sale from a guy just by stopping him to give a sample. The show was so slow though. There was literally hours where there were no customers.
Sunday I cleaned up the soap lab, made the Butt Naked in Bed soap that is going to get renamed. It was a horrible attempt at a circling taiwan swirl. I have only done that technique once, more than a year ago, in a 1lb mold, so I really shouldn't be so hard on myself. This was a 2lb mold, using homemade dividers, an unknown FO, and a tweaked recipe. I learned a few things for the next attempt at least! I also masterbatched my lye, although I didn't use it for the above batch. I'll start using it for the batches I do later this week.
This week I need to: masterbatch another bucket of oils, make a batch of soap cupcakes, make a rice water soap, and make a beer soap.
Saturday's show was not good. This is my third show of the year and the third show that I have barely made the booth fee back (and not really, once I take out just the cost of the soap). On the plus side I set a goal to hand out soap samples to everyone who came in the door, and I did! This was a huge accomplishment for me because I normally don't engage people unless they stop and look, but this time I reached out to people who were avoiding eye contact. I didn't do a big spiel to try and reel them in, just asked if they wanted a soap sample. I did get one sale from a guy just by stopping him to give a sample. The show was so slow though. There was literally hours where there were no customers.
Sunday I cleaned up the soap lab, made the Butt Naked in Bed soap that is going to get renamed. It was a horrible attempt at a circling taiwan swirl. I have only done that technique once, more than a year ago, in a 1lb mold, so I really shouldn't be so hard on myself. This was a 2lb mold, using homemade dividers, an unknown FO, and a tweaked recipe. I learned a few things for the next attempt at least! I also masterbatched my lye, although I didn't use it for the above batch. I'll start using it for the batches I do later this week.
This week I need to: masterbatch another bucket of oils, make a batch of soap cupcakes, make a rice water soap, and make a beer soap.
One of the festivals I am doing in June has been doing a great job of marketing - with spotlight artists every week on their website. I did get a few requests from that to send out samples, and one custom order (pre-paid even) to deliver at the festival from those samples. (My samples are end cuts split in half with either a business card if I have the bigger bag or a sticker label with the smaller bag. I'm in the process of getting rid of my business cards. It's cheaper and just as effective to print the sticker.) I always do better at out of town festivals, so I'm hoping that will be true this year as well. I'm still on a learning curve for vetting shows. My husband is even more of an introvert than I am... can I borrow yours for my next show? 
