Oh So Natural

We had an SOS call on Friday evening from a friend of mine - she had a swarm

of bees in her front garden, very close to the gate...and too close for comfort to her front door. She had got home from work, turned the car engine off, but could still hear a motor so was very confused......she then realised it wasn't the car engine, but some other source and it didn't take her too long to track down the buzzing!

Knowing that not only am I doing my bee keeping lessons but that I was a happy recipient of a bee hive (Christmas prsent), she phoned to ask if we could help. I'm still kicking myself as I had my son's hockey awards to go to as well as meeting up with friends for a drink...somehow overlapping those two Friday night's entertainment just didn't allow for squeezing in building the beehive and catching my first swarm. :-(

Luckily Ted, our local bee keeping swarm patrol came to the rescue and took them off in a temporary hive.

This week we'll be putting the hive together in anticipation of it being swarm season and offering a home to another band of bees on the run. Can't wait!

Charity Bike Ride Across Zambia

My husband is busy training for a 500km bike ride across Zambia. The children and I are really quite amused and amazed as he isn't necessarily what we'd describe as 'fit - and yet the amount of training and passion he is putting into this incredible journey has quite stunned us.

If you would like to know more about the trip, please visit the Zambian Bike Ride blog where you can make a donation if you wish. The charity behind the venture is African Revival.

Meanwhile, I'm putting together a list of trees, bushes, shrubs and plants I want him to photograph as we use the butters, extracts, oils etc in our products.....oh yes, and persuading him to use the Incognito 'No More Mosquito' spray instead of deet.

Seaweed & Watercress Soap care of The Apprentice

OK - own up, who saw it? I love The Apprentice and last night it was very close to my heart - making beauty products! See our website to listen to our stint on BBC Radio reviewing the Apprentice Soap Making episode www.plushfolly.com

Seeing the Apprentice teams scavenge around in the rock pools collecting seaweed or donning their protective gear to collect honey reminded me of two lovely ladies we had on a course once. Their plan was to drive around the British Isles in their Winnebago making and selling soap created from ingredients indigenous to the area they were staying in.

We had fun compiling the list - Oats & Whisky soap (Scotland), Seaweed and Sea Salt Soap (Cornwall), Clotted Cream Soap (Devon), Guinness Soap (Dublin), Tea Soap (Yorkshire), Coloured Sand Soap (Isle of Wight), Crab Soap (Cromer - OK I'm lying, but you can see how fun this was!), Strawberry Soap (Wimbledon) etc - the list was extensive.

I wonder how they are getting on.....

Ducks in the window

When we used to dress the windows of the shop, it was a long, well thought out plan of action....we'd decide on a theme, a colour, a range of products, props and positioning and then spend a happy couple of hours darting in and out of the shop peering through the window to see how the creation was emerging. We'd have critical hats on, creative hats on and finally, the 'yup, that'll do nicely' hats on.

Well what a load of poop! The idea was to draw passer bys attention to something attractive and appealing in the hope that they'd stop in their tracks, back step to the door and come in and spend money. Now I know that the effort spent was all in vain....we recently took every single rubber duck we had in the shop and put them in the window. What an easy display they made - over 60 ducks in all, ranging in size, all with very cute faces, all lined up in a winding, snake-like row. Children have been stopping and head bashing the window to get a closer look - I can't believe there isn't one buggy in Hampton that hasn't been parked up whilst mother and toddler/child/ teenager/grandmother have been duck counting. The ducks weren't for sale, they were our shop ducks used to fill in gaps, adorn shelves, sit on pots, pans and generally keep us company when it rained.

The Make Your Own Lipstick Effect

The lipstick effect is upon us! In times of a recession, instead of cheering ourselves up by spending money on expensive items, we women tend to purchase less costly 'feel good' items such as lipstick. As an inexpensive pick-me-up, wearing a new lipstick can help you look good as well as feel good.

We had a lovely email from one of our customers last week. Instead of buying a lipstick, she had purchased a Make Your Own Cosmetics kit and spent a happy time making lipstick...."my daughter and I shared the box between us and we spent the afternoon making a lip balm, a lip gloss and a lipstick. The results are amazing, I can't believe that we are wearing what we made. It's a double whammy - not only do we have the pleasure of making, but the enjoyment of wearing it too. Thank you - we'll be back for the handcream one next".

So - in times of bank balances going into the red, cheer yourself up and make a shade of lipstick to match!

Cosmetics College - even more beautiful than usual

This week we have had a Cosmetics College student visiting us from Antigua. Not only was it her first trip to England, but it was the first time she'd seen snow! And what a performance the weather put on for her.

Deep, crisp and even.....beautiful twinkling mica-like snow covering everything it could touch. This was no dusting of talc, this was a heavy dollop of ice-cold pleasure! OK, so she missed the first day of college due to the plane being delayed, but luckily with other students finding they couldn't make the journey, we could dedicate our time during the second and subsequent days and cover everything she needed.

It's quite incredible to think that her family were basking in 80 degrees and relaxing on the beach drinking coconut rum while she was enchanted by mineral makeup, coconut soap and snowballs!

Making Perfumes - the power of smell

Never underestimate the power of smell, its an extraordinary sensation (excuse the pun)

Whilst writing the Making Perfume: An Adventure Trail course, I had an overwhelming urge to sniff everything I came into contact with. I guess it's like reading a cookery book when you're hungry, you want to devour the contents of the fridge! Translate 'reading a cookery book' to 'writing a perfume course' and you'll understand how I felt. My nose sampled everything from wet washing to dry washing (they smell very different - and yet the only difference is water...), a ream of freshly opened printer paper, a brand new leather diary, burnt apple sauce (don't ask) and every conceivable fruit, vegetable and flower I could lay my hands on. I think Sainsburys have be down as a serial veg sniffer, luckily they appear to be very understanding.

The rather cloying and not-my-favourite ylang ylang, became livened up with lime, mellowed with vetiver and full bodied with patchouli. It was then spiced with sandalwood, peppered with bay, lightened with a pinch of orris and rounded off with a touch of bergamot. What a splendid aroma it is now - I've splashed it liberally around the shop and been noting people's reactions when they come in. The result is a definite success and ylang ylang is back up there on my list of 'gorgeous essential oils'!