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Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Connection
December 16, 2002

A Publication of The Handmade Toiletries Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 3, Issue 51
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1. HBN Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!!
2. You're Invited to Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Brunch!
3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question
4. dM's Handmade Beauty Recipe Of The Week: Aromatic Winter Bath
5. Create The Life You Love™: About Face: Protecting Your Brand In The Face Of Change
6. Join Me In France Next Summer!!
7. Sweet Holiday Indulgences-Special Recipes For The Season

~ Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!

The Soap Fairy, Inc. | Scott Blackson | Delaware
* renewing member; signature Fairy Balls and lots of fabulous handmade soap, plus lotions and shea butter cream

Pampered Hearts, Inc. | Shirley & William Wilson  | Florida
* Body and Mind holistic treatments formulated for wellness and relaxation

An Rogha Essentials | Mara Z. Fraser | Minnesota
* relax and enjoy life with customized to order bath and body products

Handkrafts.com | Adriane J. McCray Webb | Virginia
* bath and body products formulated by hand with integrity one product at a time

Lavare' Bath & Body | Linda Roseborough | Missouri
* toiletries made to order - lotion bars, bath salts, bath bombs, salt scrubs & more. New items monthly!

~ If you're looking for some last minute packaging supplies and botanicals to make your holiday gifts, be sure to contact HBN member Bill Bates of Terra Natural and ask about his surplus inventory sale ... get 50%+ off regular prices! Contact Bill at (603) 286-2384 or terranatura@metrocast.net.

Learn more about our members and their exciting activities by visiting their Web sites through HBN's Online Member Directory!!

Meet and hear from Marla Russo, one of New York's top cosmetics public relations experts! Marla is a cosmetics industry media expert with several years of experience creating the "buzz" for clients like Renee Rouleau, Aroma Floria, Salon Selectives and HBN's own Kathleen Lewis Beauty Worldwide, who has been featured in top fashion magazines like Elle, Self, Lucky and O (Oprah Magazine)! 

Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Brunch is the perfect way to start off the New Year with your colleagues and learn from an expert while also having fun networking at Washington, DC's premier brunch location, Bambulé Restaurant!!

* bring your handmade beauty products for show and tell!
* learn valuable business and PR tips for the new year!
* develop new business relationships | strengthen existing ones
* network! network! network!

Date: Sunday, January 12, 2003
Time: 11:00am - 2:00pm
Where: Bambulé Restaurant, Chevy Chase Pavilion, Washington, DC
Includes: all you care to enjoy of dozens of brunch menu items including cereals, breads, assorted egg dishes, fruit salad, veggies, waffles and pancakes, fish, lamb, pasta, salmon, tiramisu, choice of a non-alcoholic beverage and more!

Price: $50; register by January 10 | HBN Members Enjoy 10% discount!!

If you're serious about growing your business in 2003, you won't want to miss this event!!

For Directions, Information & To Register, click here to download a PDF version of the details. If Adobe Acrobat is not installed on your computer, click here to download it for free.

Last Week's Question: I am thought to have first come into use in ancient Egypt to naturally color fingertips, palms of hands and soles of feet. What am I?

Last Week's Answer: Henna

This Week's Question: I am in plastic and vinyl toys to make them for flexible. I make perfume last longer. I help keep nail polish from chipping. I am a chemical and my use in all kinds of consumer products is very controversial since I am linked to birth defects in animal studies. What am I?

To win this week, be the first person to provide the answer to this week's question and win one of my Christmas Cocoa Lotion Bars made with real cocoa absolute, shea butter and virgin coconut oil ... delish!! 

Please read the contest rules here before submitting your entry. Put "TRIVIA CONTEST ANSWER" in the subject line or your answer will not be considered.

While time does not permit me to respond personally to all entrants, the winner will be notified by email and their name posted at HBN's home page.

The Scent Shack: fragrance oils and soap supplies. Fragrance oils are pre-tested in cold process, melt & pour soap, and candles, and test results are listed at the Web site. Scents tested by soapers for soapers!

Lynden House International , Canadian supplier of soap and candlemaking supplies such as fixed oils, perfumes, essential oils, molds, powdered milks, colors, pre-made bases, candle wax, wicks, embeds and more!

In working regularly with companies seeking to use their brand name to elevate their marketing capabilities, I have observed several situations when a company name change is highly recommended.

1. When Your Company Name Is Confusingly Similar To Someone Else's.
A company name change is desirable - even necessary - when you find that the name you are using was already in use by another company when you started your business. Of course, it's best to research this question before even starting a new business, but many small business owners overlook the importance of this step. I have spoken to countless business owners who have started out with what they think is a fabulous business name, only to discover 1 or 2 years later that someone else had been using it for years to sell similar products. To avoid that situation, take the time to satisfy yourself that no one is using the name before you adopt it for yourself. If, despite your best efforts, you find yourself using someone else's company name, you'll want to do everything in your power to make sure that your customers (both old and new) are not confused about the source of your products. And more often than not, that means changing your company name.

2. When You Need To Update Your Image Due To Unforeseen Circumstances.
Sometimes as a business grows, it encounters personality changes that were impossible to foresee when the business was started. A recent example is the name change of a major telephone company from Bell Atlantic to Verizon. This change was made largely because the old name identified the company with the antiquated "Bell Phone System". It also seemed to limit the company geographically to the Atlantic coast of the United States. In the face of changing technology and marketing opportunities, it was time for the company to change its brand to represent who it is and what it offers today, rather than keep a name signifying who it was and what had offered several years ago.

3. When You Need To Make It Easier For People To Remember You.
If your brand name is nothing else, it must be easily remembered and recognizable. In other words, it should speak clearly to customers so they can easily associate you with the type of product they are looking to buy. If your name is unusual, difficult to spell or incorporates images that do not appropriately articulate your market, people will not remember it. If a name sounded good when first used, but now seems stale and irrelevant, or worse yet, you discover that you're losing Web site traffic (and thus online sales) because people can't spell it (yikes!!), it's time to consider making a change.

No matter what the circumstances, a business name change should not be undertaken without weighing the pros and cons of keeping the old name and changing to the new one. In all circumstances, there will probably be a period of time during which some people will be confused. Some may even be annoyed because something they have come to know and trust is "not the same anymore." But if, on balance, the circumstances weigh in favor of a name change, you can weather the storm by making a clear announcement of the name change, facilitating as seamless a transition as possible, and being consistent with the new brand. With a little persistence and consistency, before you know it, people won't even remember the old company name!

Join me in France next summer from June 3 to June 8 where Aroma Tours'® Jim and Robbi Zeck will serve just a few HBN members this fabulous treat! Jim and Robbi have years of experience composing successful tours to France, Bali, Turkey and other exotic and aromatic destinations around the world! You won't want to miss this opportunity!

There are some spaces left so be sure to check out the links of great photos so you can see what you're in for when you come with us!

To view the full itinerary, click here! To register, click here!

This trip presents a wonderful opportunity for HBN members to enjoy a working vacation and we encourage all business owners to check with their tax professionals to make sure that they receive whatever tax benefits are available as a result of this trip to see first hand how some of the ingredients used in your products are manufactured!

Check the entire itinerary here.

Aroma Tours has set up a special page at their Web site for HBN members to register! Join us for this fabulous trip!

If you have any questions about the trip, just email me!

You may recall that this month, I am departing from product reviews to provide a different kind of treat: tasty sweets for your holiday table!! If you missed the first recipe for Chewy Orange Ginger Cookies, you can read it here.

This week's recipe for Rosalee's Zucchini Bread has been in my family for years. As a child, I was never much of a vegetable fan, but when my mom make this bread, it was always my first choice over even her richest pound cake (which is fabulous) or her most decadent chocolate death desert. The taste is great, but perhaps the best part is how easy it is, and it bakes up nicely in mini-loaf pans to give as gifts. I like to offer this as a treat to for my girlfriends who stop by to chat over tea during the winter months.

Rosalee's Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I use canola or sunflower)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups shredded zucchini

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and baking powder and set aside.

Step 2. In a separate large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until creamy. Add the oil and beat well to mix. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Step 3. Add the dry sifted ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well to combine.

Step 4. Add the walnut and zucchini last and stir to mix.

Bake 50 - 60 minutes; if a tooth pick pushed into the center comes out clean, it's done! Serve warm with a little cinnamon butter!

If you have a holiday recipe you'd like to share with other readers, send it to me and if there's room, I'll add it! By the way, you can check out last year's recipes too at this link. (Scroll to the bottom of the issue for the recipe links.)