conference & guild

[Guest guest]

I must give the HSMG a big thumbs up-I have deliberated about joining

for a long time-finally came out of my " soap cave " and so glad I not

only joined but also went down to the yearly conference. Met so many

nice folks including our own goup members and would rec. it to any

others thinking aboutjoining. They will be possibly adding many new

perks for us soapmakers (insurance was spoken about in the possibility

list...;O) and I found the DOS talk by the chemist very informative.

Using a high percentage of olive in my recipe makes me realize why I

sometimes get this. I started off twenty some years ago using beef

tallow(which I renderd myself) and never had rancidty issues. Selling

to a vegan clientelle kind of ruins that though. I had to smile as our

trip to another soapmakers shoppe was a suprise as his shoppe is

decorated almost identically to mine-soaping minds think alike I guess.

I have been thinkig about upping my soap batches and the issues that

arrise from heat loss and equipment needed was addressed-not ready for

the 100 lb batches but maybe 1/2 that for now.Bob worked during the

day with his own business and stores while I attended the lectures and

then we visited in the lounge at night with. He had a great time too.

Bob the soap nazi!!!-we hardly spoke-you were a social butterfly!!!

Hopefully we will get a better oportunity at our own swaray this

summer.

I took my cp soapbars for the swap using my own formulated fo blend

That lebermuth made for me in bulk-Spring Fever and it seemed like a

hit. It was nice to visit with Deb woodruth in person and talk shop.I

also took my beauty elixer fro the toiletry/skin swap. They put one

each of our items in the window of a downtown Pittsburg bookstore on

display and then they will be donated to a women's shelter.

An all around positive experience.

Debbie Sturdevant

[Guest guest]

Hi Debbie:

Glad you enjoyed it! There is already some insurance info on the website,

probably the members side or the Forum. Unfortunately I slip through the

cracks but I have one more place another soaper buddy down this way

recommended, so I have to check them out too. I guess the Guild talking

about expanding what's already there.

DOS? LOL Not many folks here would know that stands for the " Dreaded

Orange Spots " that we sometimes get in our Veggie soaps. Dunn is a

very talented guy and he is working on a " Middle Ground " book just for us

soapers. It's going to be something between the books by well known soapers

that tell you to add water to your Lye (!) and the tech manuals used by

industry. If anybody wants to buy my copy of that book, I have a slightly

marked copy for sale cheap!!!

was even kind enough to run from the Vendor room to his room and

back to get a couple samples of his to reinforce what he was telling me about

his version of Oven Process. What a guy!

Tuesday evening while we were making up the goodie bags we even spoke

of looking into charging by the day or possibly even the lecture. Not everyone

has the time or the funds to attend the entire 3+ day event so why not make

parts of it available? Plenty of people were long gone by the time the Banquet

rolled around Saturday evening. I guess after 3 days if they lived close they

hit

the trail. That saved 'em getting home at 2am...right Shaye?!

Oh yeah, I'm just such a social butterfly. LOL Between doing some massage

to loosen up the board members (and anyone else lucky enough to squeeze

in) I spent the rest of the time trying to relax myself. For some reason,

probably

springtime allergies, no matter how much alcohol I consumed I couldn't get to

sleep until about 2:30am or so. It certianly made for a several cups of coffee

every morning to get me moving but my brain took way longer. Man did I pay

for it!!!!

I guess the herbal tincture is working because if my allergies were in full

bloom you would have seen me sitting there with a paper towel hanging out

of my nose!! The realization that sour food and drink makes things much

worse (thank you East Indian folk medicine) and a cooler spring are having

mercy. Normally I just wanna pull my eyeballs out. 2 years of 1/4 teaspoon of

tincture 3 times a day will be worth it if it works. Not that I'm that too

religious

about it but something is helping.

Bob

> Bob the soap nazi!!!-we hardly spoke-you were a social butterfly!!!

> Hopefully we will get a better oportunity at our own swaray this

> summer.

> I took my cp soapbars for the swap using my own formulated fo blend

> That lebermuth made for me in bulk-Spring Fever and it seemed like a

> hit. It was nice to visit with Deb woodruth in person and talk shop.I

> also took my beauty elixer fro the toiletry/skin swap. They put one

> each of our items in the window of a downtown Pittsburg bookstore on

> display and then they will be donated to a women's shelter.

> An all around positive experience.

> Debbie Sturdevant