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A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 7, Issue 7
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1. HBN Member Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!
2. Lifestyle CEO Report: Hiring The Help!
3. Handmade Beauty Product Review: Barcelona Bath and Body
4. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win something wonderful!
5. Feature Article: A Grandmother's Legacy
6. One More Week To Vote For The Handmade Beauty Business of the Year!

Grapefruit Hand Soap Duo in Grapefruit Ylang Ylang
2 3.5 oz. bars | $12.00

I had a really hard time deciding which of Barcelona's wonderful products to review! Why? Well, you might think I would say that because a company offered a lot of different products, but you'd be wrong. The reason is because everything in the small but distinctive line is so worthy of review that it's hard to cut anything out. So I decided to focus on something I especially enjoyed and rave about the rest in generalities.

First, I have to say that now and then, I am fortunate enough to come across a line of products that is so well put together that I can't help to be impressed -- more than impressed. Everything is beautifully packaged perfectly for display in any upscale boutique anywhere in the country. Barcelona offers 3 products -- soap, room freshener and candles -- in 5 distinctive fragrances: Cinnamon Sandalwood, Grapefruit Ylang Ylang, Vanilla Lavender, Lemongrass Fennel and Coconut Bay Rum. Each scent is coordinated by a corresponding color. For example in the photo here, the  Grapefruit Ylang Ylang is displayed in its lovely deep orange color.

I tried the Grapefruit Ylang Ylang Hand Soap Duo, two 3.5 ounce bars packaged beautifully in a rectangular box with a clear lid. The bars are emblazoned with the Barcelona which makes them especially beautiful, and of course this is great for branding. They are made with shea butter, cocoa butter, olive oil and other oils and the lather is frothy and moisturizing. You can tell that a great deal of care goes into the manufacture of Barcelona products and the packaging is simply outstanding. The "grande" soaps are 7 ounces ($9.50) and make great family size bars. I tried the Lemongrass and Fennel aroma and it beat out the Grapefruit Ylang Ylang as my favorite only by a slight nose. I also enjoyed a Vanilla Lavender soy wax candle. Actually, I'm still enjoying it as I write this review. The color is pretty and purple and the scent is relaxing. Again, true to the company's form, the Barcelona logo is paramount, embossed beautifully on the silver tin candle lid. Each lid holds fast to the top of the candle with discrete "stick gel" tabs to prevent the candle glass from separating from the pretty lid. The details really do count! Candles are in frosted glass and burn 45 hours. Also available is Barcelona's "Votive Tapas" set, which include all 5 Barcelona scents in taller, slim frosted glass containers. Each burns 15 hours. The room fresheners, Barcelona's trademark "Room Refresh," are 8 ounces for $19.00 each. They even have a safety clip to prevent spilling in transit.

Folks, this is an exceptional line of products that not only serves useful bath, body and room freshening purposes, but everything in and of itself makes a beautiful gift. It's upscale, boutique and beautifully presented. If you are looking for something unique to stock your shelves or your online store, you won't go wrong with Barcelona Bath and Body. Prices included here are retail and wholesale is available. And while you're at the website, have fun refreshing the home page, which rotates all 5 collections. They are so beautiful! And you'll also have fun dealing with Rachel Lane, the owner, who I met at the Lifestyle CEO Conference last month!

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's name will be announced in the next newsletter!

TKB Trading, LLC

Started with $5,000 Kaila inherited from her grandmother. TKB Trading is located in the San Francisco Bay area in downtown Oakland, California. While today, the primary focus of the company is on color additives, its roots are deeply entrenched in soapmaking. The owners are husband and wife team Kaila Westerman and Trung “David” Bui. The “TKB” name comes from their initials, Trung and Kaila Bui. People tend to switch the initials, so Kaila says they’ve come up with the name Wholesale Colors for their company. “We found people often got our name wrong, she says, “and the new name describes us better since our focus is on color additives.”

From a Hot Market to a Soap Pot

Kaila graduated from college with a degree in Communications and planned to be a writer. She set a goal of writing a novel by time she was 40 years old, but her first job wound up being in real estate so she changed plans. “When I graduated from college, I began a career in commercial real estate,” she says. “I worked for 13 years in that industry and I was a real estate broker for 10 of those years. I’m probably one of only a handful of people that actually got out of California real estate rather than jumping into it.”

In 1994, Kaila and David decided to start a business concept that they could operate out of his home country of Vietnam. After some thought they came up with the idea of soapmaking. “At the time the only readily available soapmaking information was a handful of books and magazine articles from the 1970s. So I decided to join this newfangled “America On Line” and see if I could find someone who had a similar interest,” she says. She found no information, so she put “soapmaking” as an interest in her profile and hoped someone would find her. "Not long after, I was contacted by Elaine White, who was self-publishing a book on soapmaking," Kaila says. “She organized a small group of about 10 people who began to chat and share our soapmaking adventures."

One of the toughest things early on was finding raw materials, so Kaila says several in the group started supply businesses that are still in operation today. “It was really an exciting time,” she said. “I’m still amazed when I look at where the “hobby” is today, and at how many people are able to make a living out of it. And frankly, it is all due to the Internet! I can’t imagine trying to run my business any other way," she says. “I think the Internet is probably the key to the success of most Handmade Beauty Network members.

Colors and More

Kaila is the creative force in the venture, but she and her husband bounce ideas off each other and jointly make decisions about the general direction of the company. Kaila says she runs the daily operations, but they work together to come up with better systems of doing their business. Kaila and her husband “invented” liquid colorants for soapmaking early on in their business. They sell literally hundreds of different types of colors for different applications, and remain surprised today that the liquid ones are still a best selling product. “I think the reason for their success is that they are very concentrated, very affordable, very easy to work with, and very consistent batch to batch, “ she says. “Customers often tell me that our colors are the best out there.”

Their other products include general toiletry products and a specialty line of salt dyes for bath salt makers. They also have a very extensive line of powdered pigments, dyes and micas and always, every month, new colors!

From Book To Bank

Kaila’s says that her  hopes to write a novel by age 40 eventually gave way to the realization that “the only book in me probably was one on soapmaking.” Her book Melt and Mold Soap Crafting became very popular because encouraged readers to try many of the creative projects throughout the book. Amazon gave it a 4.5 out of 5 rating! "I really enjoyed writing the book and I’m very proud of it,” Kaila says. “I enjoyed it so much that I was spurred to write a book the next year on candles, Gel Candles.” Candle gel is a product that is 95 percent mineral oil and 5 percent resin. It’s transparent and easy to clean up and has a significantly longer burning time than traditional waxes. The book gives the basics and shows how to create candles that look rainbows, aquariums, and other designs. “For both books I was paid a $2,000 advance, and each took about a month of full time energy and effort,” Kaila says. “After that the publishers sent me checks twice a year based on the sale. I think ultimately the soap book has paid me about $15,000 and the candle book around $5,000." Not bad for 60 days of work!!

Kaila teaches at The Nova Studio in Richmond, California. One popular class she teaches is “Making Mineral Makeup.” Students learn by “touch, feel, and talk” about the raw materials used to make loose mineral makeup from scratch. When they finish class, they leave with a kit of raw materials so they can make their own makeup at home.
“I do not have any children, so it is easier for me to juggle everything,” she says. “There are lots of women out there who juggle far more than me and I am always amazed by them.”

Marriage, Business and Self -- A Sensitive Combination

Kaila limits her hours in order to maintain balance in her life, she says. That balance includes partnering with her husband in a business situation. She admits there were challenges, but “we have worked them out.” The key, according to Kaila, "“was to always place the marriage above the business and to always act in ways that honor the other person’s opinion and input. Once we ‘got’ this lesson, it actually deepened our relationship.”

Kaila says the toughest part of running your own business is learning not to take things personally. “I’m a very trusting and open person who was raised in a rather sheltered environment,” she says, “but running a business means you get slapped upside the head by competition and meanness on a regular basis.” Kaila says she often lost sleep or went on a crying jag in the early days when her sense of self was so wrapped up in TKB. “For example, when I sold soap at craft shows, I once shared a booth with another soapmaker. When I outsold her, she turned around and copied my design and packaging exactly and took it to the San Francisco Gift Show,” says Kaila. "Then another time I had a distributor who started poaching my customers and then lowering her prices to compete with me,” she remembers. “And once a woman I didn’t know, who had never purchased from me, decided I was a terrible person and she spent an inordinate amount of time in chat rooms and list servers letting everyone know her opinion."

Kaila says those days were painful, but she’s learning not to take these things so personally. She’s learned to balance all that pain with the enjoyment she gets from filling a need in the handmade beauty business. She says the positive feedback from customers helps her focus on why she runs her own business.

"Take The Internet, On Tap"

For those interested in starting a handmade beauty business, Kaila says, “definitely do it, because it is very profitable.” She also strongly encourages folks to focus on becoming as Internet savvy as possible because the Internet is key for growth for a business like this. “If, for example, you name a product and your profit on it is $5 per unit, then you need to have about 500 sales a monthly to make a tidy little $2,500 a month,” says Kaila. “This would be really hard to accomplish in your own city. You’d have to work very hard for each sale.” That’s why she says, Tap into the Internet because it tips you into the billions of people out there in the world. Five hundred sales is a very small number in that world.”

Because she sees the Internet as such a “dynamic place,” Kaila wants to stay on top of it and one way she plans that is to improve the company’s website. “We just recently did a major overhaul and it got me very interested in what kind of functionality you can add to websites these days,” says Kaila. Currently their space is very small, so other future plans include building a larger facility in her back parking lot in 2007. Until then, they run the business with one employee, Van Nguyen, who has the very important job of running the shipping department. “We used to have more employees,” says Kaila, "But I scaled that back because I found that it was less expensive for me to outsource work than to have an additional body in my studio.” She says they outsource to a couple of companies who employee developmentally-disabled adults. They also have stay-at-home moms who need extra income.

The Real Payoff

Helping others grow and expand their business is something that gives Kaila a lot of enjoyment. “My staff and I work very hard to offer excellent service and to stand behind our products, “says Kaila. “It is so rewarding for me when my customers go out of their way to send me a thank you of some kind.” She says she feels “very lucky to know them” and to be a part of the growth of their businesses. I love seeing customers start with an idea and become a thriving business.”

Clearly, Kaila and her husband see their business as a way to combine their love for crafting with their desire to help others achieve their goals, and also make a living. Does it get any better than that? Grandmother Westerman would be very proud!! You can enjoy learning about more of TKB's products at their newly designed website!

Help HBN Celebrate 6 Years of Serving the Handmade Beauty Industry!! 

Nominations are closed and the voting continues until February 13! To read some inspiring stories and vote for your choice, click here!

Best & Success!!
Donna Maria
Editor, The Handmade Beauty Connection
The Handmade Beauty Network | www.handmadebeauty.com