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The
Handmade Beauty Connection
June
5,
2006
A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 7, Issue 24
To subscribe, click here
-- Sponsor --
1. HBN Member Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!
2. Handmade Beauty Business Magazine: Meet the 2006 Handmade Beauty Business
of the Year! Tell Me Your Soap Stories!!
3. Lifestyle CEO Report: The Buzz on a Budget
4. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win something wonderful!
5. Feature Article: Rising From The Dust, a New
Business
6. Farewell to a Friend
7. Here & There: Calendar of Upcoming Events
Handmade
Beauty Recipe of the Week: Triple Fruit Acid Facial Scrub
1. HBN Member Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!
 Welcome
Renewing Members!
Safe
Scents | J. McDonough and J. Alunni | Pennsylvania
* It is our mission to provide consumers with natural alternatives to
the typical, chemical-laden products we encounter daily. We produce the best
all natural, handcrafted candles, soaps (goat milk & vegetable), and wax
dipped air fresheners we believe you can buy. Try our Signature candle. It's
an all natural soy aromatherapy candle with essential oils....perfect for
gift giving! No synthetic fragrances ever.
Meadowyck,
Artistic Body Essentials | Janet Matherly | Ohio
* You will enjoy using our goats milk soap as well as our lotions and cremes. We also enjoy blending the many different floral waxes into our lotions, cremes and soaps. Most products are made with essentials oils for fragrance.
Blooming
Lotus | Jen Denslow | Missouri
* Enjoy my review of Blooming Lotus products here.
Blooming Lotus offers a yummy collection of primarily organic bodycare. We provide high vibration, healthy and sustainable alternatives to a chemical based society. Each herbal and aromatherapy preparation is handcrafted in the Wise Woman tradition incorporating healing intentions and unconditional love. No paraben preservatives, petroleum products, artificial colors, synthetic fragrances, or animal testing! Retail and wholesale.
Sheer
Nature | Edwina Wright | Indiana
* Sheer Nature manufactures skin-revitalizing products such as body butters,
body lotions, lip balms, avocado bar soaps, organic body washes, organic
body rubs, body oils and bath salts. Our ingredient list is a smorgasbord of
nutrients like natural nut and vegetable oils, essential oils, therapeutic
herbs, natural vitamins, and minerals. We use no petrolatum, synthetic
colorants, synthetic fragrances, mineral oils, alcohols, or harsh chemicals.
Rest assured that using Sheer Nature equates to sheer skin nourishment.
Retail and wholesale inquiries welcome.
Welcome New Members!
Oberon Cosmetics
| Lora Leavenworth | Texas
* Oberon's skin care has a wide range of cleaners, toners, treatments, and
moisturizers for every sensitive skin's type to promote a healthy, radiant
complexion. Mineral, marine, and phytonutrient based, Oberon uses only the
purest, most potent, natural ingredients in high concentrations to deliver
the utmost purity in our formulations. We do not use synthetic colorants or
fragrances, volatile alcohols, sulphates, strong emulsifiers, glycols,
petrolatum, lanolin, mineral oil, talc or formaldehyde-releasing
preservatives.
skin&hair
| Michelle McDonals | Australia (by way of Maryland, temporarily)
* Luxury & tailored … shampoo,
conditioner, cleanser, shave (men), toner, moisturizer, eye cream, lip balm,
mud mask, hand wash, hand&body lotion, shower gel, sugar scrub, body oil
& oil blends for burning. Includes essential oils, botanical ingredients
& fruit extracts known for their therapeutic qualities without
synthetic/artificial additives. skin&hair offers a tailored service for
times when our skin changes due to diet, climate, sensitivities, allergies
or pregnancy.
Floratherapy
by Ely | Elizabeth Velozo | Florida
* Handmade products with natural ingredients. We create customized aromatherapy blends in body scrubs, body oils and soaps to fit each inddividual need. We utilize the natural ingredients and are a private label company. We give all our products and clients tender loving natural body care.
Laughing
Rabbit Soap Co. | Charlotte Hayer | Oklahoma
* No, there aren't any rabbits in our soap! After all they wouldn’t be
laughing, would they? Our soaps are vegetable based, not animal. Combined
with herbs, grains, and oils these soaps are an experience we’ve enjoyed
making, using and sharing since the mid 80's. We take pride in creating our
soaps and other quality herbal products.
A
Basket For You! | Louis Atchison | Virginia
Learn
more about our members and their exciting activities by visiting their Web
sites through HBN's Online
Member Directory, now with 4 ways to search: (1) by
state/country; (2) by member business name; (3) by keyword search; or (4)
using our new alphabetical listings.
2. Handmade Beauty Business Magazine: Meet
the 2006 Handmade Beauty Business of the Year! Tell Me Your Soap Stories!!
Meet the 2006
Handmade Beauty Business of the Year!
 Congratulations
to HBN member Janae Chang of Raw
Beauty! Janae is the 2006 Handmade Beauty Business of the Year! Janae is
an Arizona mother of 3 who joined HBN back in 2004 and got involved right
away. She started by taking the Handmade Beauty University. After that, she
decided to revamp her whole line, so she closed things down and built her
business from the ground up again, this time using tips from HBU and
incorporating a whole new business name and look. She's been featured in
numerous media outlets and on local television. You can read more about
Janae and all of the other nominees in the current
issue of the Handmade Beauty Business Magazine! Congratulations Janae!
 Here's what one member said
about the new issue!
"Two of the articles have
confirmed feelings with which I've been struggling and helped me
"get real" about whether I want to be serious about growing my
business. Lisa Espenmiller, Potion Queen, Oakland, CA
The articles
Lisa is
referring to address the liability insurance
issue so many members are facing.
Thanks for your feedback Lisa!
Email yours to me
anytime!
Our magazine is sent to all HBN members as a
benefit of membership! To join and get yours, click here.
If you'd like to subscribe as a non-member, you can do so here!
Work is underway on the 2Q issue -- The
Soap Issue -- due out early this summer! As we speak, the
photographer is setting up to photograph dozens of soaps for the cover. If
you haven't discovered soaps made on a small scale -- mainly handmade cold
processed soap -- you're in for a treat. Look forward to Handmade
Beauty On Display as only HBN can do it!
Do you have a soap story? The upcoming issue
will feature your most hilarious soap experiences. Has anyone ever taken a
bite out of your soap, thinking it's cheese? How about not believing that
you actually made it? Have you ever added the wrong ingredients and still
had the soap come out right? Or not!? How about some funny comments from
customers and family members about your UGLY soap? Email your soap story to
me and you and your business could be featured!
Please
visit our magazine sponsors who make it possible for me to bring you this
unique publication!
3. Lifestyle CEO Report: The Buzz on a
Budget!
 \Life.Style CEO\n. A person who owns and manages a business, not
solely for financial gain, but also to enjoy the personal rewards of
entrepreneurship, independence, flexibility and fun.
Marla Russo is a New York City publicist helping women-owned
businesses get the attention they deserve for their wonderful unique
products. Marla's bubbly personality and inside access to the media have
made her one of the most sought after publicists for women. Join me on
today's show when Marla shares her tips for getting the buzz on a budget! Join us LIVE at 1:00pm EST at Global
Talk Radio.com. Just click on "Listen Live" at the home page to join
us! The first listeners to call in questions or comments live will win some
great prizes!
Upcoming Lifestyle CEO Show Guests ::
June 12: Yeah, I know it's June, but come November, you'll
realize that June is not too early to start thinking about how to get your
products featured in holiday magazine spreads. be wishing you joined us for
this show. Amy Bates Stumpf of The Gift List
shares how to start pitching your products for holiday 2006 editorials NOW!
4. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: last week's winner was
Peggy Deutsch-Knudson of Cedar Falls, IA. Peggy won some Applejack &
Peel handmade soap, courtesy of HBN member Soap
Dance , an HBN member since December
2001.
Last Week's Question: Plant me in your
garden and I'll grow all over the place. Pick me, wash me, dry me and soak
me in oil to make a soothing treatment for your dry skin. I am one of the
primary ingredients in Donna Maria's Emerald Oil. I grow so easily that if
you trample all over me around your garden and yard, I'll spring up
everywhere. For this reason, I have been called "The White Man's
Footprints". What am I?
Last Week's Answer: Alan Haferty of WholeMade,
an HBN member since June 2005.
This Week's Question: An Israeli company has started
marketing a South African fern as a dietary supplement which is supposed to
offer protection from sunburn. The dosage recommendation is one pill a day,
and two pills on days when heavy sun exposure is expected. To win this week,
state the botanical name of the tropical fern found in South America, which
forms the main ingredient in this supplement.
Be the first to answer and win something delicious!
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!
-- Sponsor --
5. Feature Article:
Rising From The Dust, a New Business
by Annette Esterheld
 Rising
From The Dust, a New Business
When HBN member Christine Rigos of Soma Essentials first bought a book on
aromatherapy, she thought the subject sounded interesting, but the book sat on a closet shelf for eight
years collecting dust. It wasn’t until she decided to pursue her interest in Aromatherapy by enrolling in classes that she dragged the book out of the
closet and dusted it off.
“I had been interested,” says Christine,” but I was working on a ‘family’ and working at a career in
behavioral science. After the birth of my second son, I decided I wanted to
stay home full time.”
At the same time, her husband was battling disabling arthritis. His illness
and her desire to be at home with her family combined to drive her to more
diligently pursue her aromatherapy interest, and she enrolled in a certified course which led to taking other courses and becoming
a certified aromatherapist.
In 2000 Christine, who lives in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, began her business as a
reflexologist and aromatherapist and later an esthetician, but it was her clients’ search for natural skin care products that
really got her excited. Soma Essentials was born in 2001 and Christine
joined HBN in 2003. I asked Christine where the name Soma came from and she explained that it is a Greek word that means ‘body” and that her husband, who is Greek, came up with the name.
Today Christine runs Soma Essentials with help from her husband. The Rigos’ sons are ages 8 and 13, and she continues to run her other part time business “Essential Health & Wellness,” where she works with clients doing Aromatherapy, Esthetic and Reflexology treatments.
Christine says, “the skills that have come along with all of the alternative education have become so useful in my day-to-day life, from creating natural skin care products to helping me to balance health issues for my family and friends.”
She says, “Soma Essentials uses the finest botanical, pure essential oils and ingredients that the world has to offer in the creation of a luscious line of handmade and natural bath and body care products.”
When asked what makes her products unique, Christine said she’s found over the years her attention to details, like stylish and functional packaging and sourcing the best possible ingredients, then preparing the products in fresh and small batches and having each product growing from an
aromatherapy concept – all this helps to keep Soma Essentials unique.
Naturally Chic Boutique
 Christine’s very excited about the “Naturally Chic Boutique” she opened last November.
In it, she prepares products and offers them fresh to her clients.
“Our specialty has become anything that we can make using natural and fresh ingredients, from Mango body butter, soy candles, to men’s shaving products,” says Christine. She sells her products via her website, her retail location and
also by hosting “Pamper Parties” at her retail location. (The photo here
shows Christine with Soma employee and Pamper Party co-host Leah Butler.) Christine says the current best selling Soma Essential products include intensive Rejuvenating Serum, Whipped Cocoa Body Polish and Citronella Soy Wax Candles.
“Prior to opening the retail location, most sales were via the Internet and I was doing home parties to create a following for the products,” says Christine. “I would take orders, make the products and then deliver them. The demand grew and grew and we ended up needing a space where our clients could come and ‘shop’ for their favorites and see and try our new offerings. Now, we have the best of both worlds, space to create and space to
sell.”
Never Enough Time In the Day
As with many HBN members, Christine finds her biggest challenge is finding time to accomplish all that needs to be done. “You have to make the products to stay in business, “she said. “At the same time you have to find additional ways to market and sell them, and there’s always the need for further
educate for yourself so you can keep current. I do this by attending conferences and seminars ‘in my spare time.’”
What spare time? Christine says she works seven days and nights a week and says working a normal 9 to 5 work day doesn’t happen unless you’re willing to make it up later on. So for her the toughest part of running her own business? “Definitely feeling pulled in many directions and not enough time in a day!” says Christine.
But the Hard Work Pays Off
But the long hours fade when she gets the phone calls, emails and visits to her shop from satisfied
Soma customers. “I love it when people tell me how our products have benefited them,” she says. “I also find myself surprised at the number of people who actually take the time to do this.”
“I think another enjoyable part of running my own business is seeing all the hard work pay off,” says Christine. “I enjoy the creative part of running a business, from developing products and packaging, to having input on the website and label design. ““Lastly, I really enjoy the flexibility of owning my own business because I can usually arrange to be where I need to be,” she adds.
Here's What You Can Do
Christine's advice for other HBN members or those thinking of starting their own
business is to take the time to prepare and revisit as needed a solid, well thought out business plan,” she says. “I also advise starting out small and then growing into what you want to be and what you want to offer in the way of products.”
“There always seems to be pressure to grow big and fast, not realizing the consequences that can lie ahead,” said Christine, “do what you can do. Things happen for a reason and people and opportunities fall into your path when they are meant to. You have to trust and follow your own instincts.”
Christine says that for her, HBN has been a valuable resource. “The information that is made available on a weekly basis helps to keep me motivated and connected with other handmade beauty entrepreneurs.”
“Soma Essentials began early on with the Handmade Beauty Network,” said
Christine who joined HBN in September 2003. “We have enjoyed watching HBN grow with all of
dM's efforts and excitements. dM has helped me in ways that she may not be aware of. She has been such a source of information, motivation and focus.”
Coming Soon!
Christine says to look for her products in many more retail boutiques, and some of those boutiques may be spa boutiques run by Soma
Essentials!! She says
trade shows are also in the works and, of course, new products.
Check out the Soma website
to learn more about Christine firsthand, and to shop for products in four
easy categories: body, face, massage and bath.
6. Farewell to a Friend
Since October 2005, I have
enjoyed working with Annette Esterheld, a journalist in my suburban
Washington, DC community who is also a wife and mother
of two daughters. Last week, Annette informed me that due to mounting
personal and work related commitments, June 2006 would be the last she would
write for the Handmade Beauty Connection. I accepted Annette's resignation
with great regret, but as a busy mom and wife, I understand her need to reduce
stress in her life. Here's what Annette told me about her experiences here at
HBN.
Writing for HBN has been an eye opener for me
in terms of the incredible variety of handmade beauty products that are available, and also the special gifted
people who create these lovely and for the most part natural products. I wanted to share something that my daughter Kristina,
shared with me on the phone yesterday. Kristina is in Australia with her choir from
college and they were in some boutique stores in the Sydney area and because she's been reading what I've been writing and enjoying different items I've
purchased for her from HBN members, she knew about things like shea butter and
other natural ingredients. She commented if I hadn't written for HBN, she wouldn't have recognized those items.
While in Australia, Kristina looked for
Australian Native Therapies products, made by HBN member Claire O'Dwyer. Her sister
Kathe, who is flying to Australia to join her this weekend, has been in touch with
Claire who has been helpful as Kathe plans her trip. What you do in tying all these people together around the world is important
and I know they appreciate you and all your efforts. So some night at 3 a.m. when you're working away, remember that people care about you and what you
do.
It's always a blessing to see how my work touches
people in ways I could not possibly anticipate. It's the same with all of you.
Whether it's business related or personal, as we move through life, we are
touching people. We do so for the better or for the worse, and sometimes both.
But I believe that if we strive to be all God created us to be, we frequently
touch people where they live and enhance their lives in wonderful ways. I'm
thankful to have made such a contribution to Annette, her daughters and Claire
all the way in Australia. (You can enjoy Annette's feature on Claire here.)
Annette, I thank you for being such a consistent
and excited contributor. Your writing skills are top notch and working with you
has been a tremendous pleasure. I wish you the best always.
7.
Here & There: Calendar of Upcoming Events
As
always, there's a lot going on at HBN, and our members are very busy. I'll
be including this chart in upcoming issues so everyone can stay abreast of
the happening here at HBN!
| Date |
Event |
Location &
Registration |
| June
30,
2006 |
HBN
Live! |
Monthly conference call; free
for members |
| July 15, 2006 |
HBN's
Business Growth Conference |
Secaucus New Jersey; Register |
| September 23, 2006 |
Lifestyle CEO Workshop :: For
Entrepreneurs in the Natural Aromatics Industry, with dM and Natural
Aromatics Expert Rosanne Tartaro of SunRose Aromatics |
SunRose
Aromatics, New York; registration to be
announced |
| October 13-14, 2006 |
Two Days With dM and Lisa Price of
Carol's Daughter |
The
Open Center, New York; registration to be
announced |
| February 2007 |
The Lifestyle CEO Conference (pictures
from 2006 conference) |
Washington, DC, registration to be
announced |
Best & Success!!
Donna Maria
Editor, The Handmade Beauty Connection
The Handmade Beauty Network | www.handmadebeauty.com
Copyright (c) 2000 - 2006 by
The Handmade Beauty Network (HBN) and Donna Maria. All Rights Reserved.
Unauthorized distribution or reproduction is prohibited. HBN does not
necessarily endorse any product, event or ideology featured in The Handmade
Beauty Connection (HBC) or on HBN's website. All information is provided on
an "as is" basis and no express or implied warranties are given.
Any use of the information contained in the HBC or on HBN's web site,
including recipes, is solely at your own risk. HBN and Donna Maria disclaim
any liability in connection with the use of all recipes, products reviewed
and other information. Except for sponsorships, HBC refuses compensation
from companies to feature or mention their names or products. Opinions
expressed in any Product Review are personally those of the reviewer and do
not represent the views of HBN, Donna Maria (unless she is the reviewer) or
any other person or company.
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