Breaking the Mold

The other day I was watching YouTube videos (which is what you do when you haven’t owned a television in forever) and up pops the following commercial from Ivory soap:

Here is Ivory Soap, owned and manufactured by Procter & Gamble, a Fortune 500 multinational corporation that made $82.6 BILLION in sales this year, coming after me and my fellow soap makers. A company known as one of the most admired brands in the world is saying what I make isn’t soap -- evidently because it isn’t white and in the shape of a rectangle. This is news to me...


So you can imagine my surprise at this “Galactic Empire” of a company coming after a rebel like myself. I mean, have my fellow soapmakers and I suddenly become a threat to a company that has sales of more than $80 Billion a year?

The reason this hits me so hard is because I don't look like a "business owner" or even a "responsible parent". I have been bound, gagged and tied down by stereotypes. By people, banks and schools telling ME I can't be what I have worked my ass off to be because of the way I look, because I don't fit the mold. Cuss yes I'm covered in tattoos and I drive a giant flaming van AND I own a hugely successful business. YES, I was a teen parent and I let my children read comics before they even touch homework AND they are years ahead of their peers in educational development. The fact the my hair might be neon pink, my pants neon green, or that there is a giant Star Trek insignia tattoo on my neck, has not one single thing to do with it.


Since when do we have to squeeze ourselves into a simple, plain, mold to be something? Since when did our shape, size or color define what we were? If a GIANT billion dollar company can dictate what a product is by what it looks like...really, where is the limit? *insert my extreme paranoia here*

There are tons of things around the house, where instead of forking over money to some corporation trying to stuff you into a box, you could buy those goods from crafters, artisans, and small business owners who have love and passion for what they do and who are responsive to their customers. And for those things that can’t be handmade, maybe think of buying something used and fixing it up or simply upcycling! I recent bought an awesome cowly scarf, handmade by my friend Marissa, instead of buying new shirts for winter. Bonus points for upcycling my summer tank-tops and for supporting another crafter!

I’m not saying never buy anything from a big corporation, but we should all try and keep in our minds the idea that going to a big box store and buying something from a large corporation is only one of our options and when possible we should try and look at some of the others.

Meanwhile, Ivory Soap (and by extension Proctor & Gamble) -- you keep doing what you do and I’ll keep doing what I do. I pour as much love and passion into my soap as they can hold, and my customers return it all back to me ten-fold. I’m pretty sure no one loves your soap like they love mine. And the icing on the cake? (mmmm...cake!) The whole reason I got into soap making was that the likes of you couldn’t make a soap that didn’t make my son break out into horrible, bleeding rashes. YOU created the need for people like me to step in and make quality products that people not only enjoyed using, but could feel good about.

Everyone, go out and break the mold today. ♥Kylee

Dear Anonymous Jessie

I recently had this comment anonymously left in my blog and I thought I would do this "Jessie" a favor and give a real reply. If ANY of you ever have questions about my products, please please please feel free to ask away! I stand by what I make. I have no reason to hide anything that I do.


I am so very sorry if I have given anyone the impression that I have mislead them.


On a personal note, I 110% respect the viewpoints of EVERYONE. I may not agree with them, I may not believe the same things you do, but I still respect the fact that they are YOUR choices and ideas. All I ask it that we all try to be polite and respectful. If you are going to slander a person or company, at least have the guts to not be an anon about it. I mean really, how strong are your convictions if you can't even admit they are yours?

Anonymous said...

"complete open door policy"


Regarding that, I just received my first shipment from you in the past month and noticed a card that says you are "green" and environmentally friendly but then i went to follow you on twitter. To my surprise you eat meat, which even "grassfed" cows are still the worst thing you can do for the environment. You can't be a environmentalist and a meat eater according to the UN. So I just found that a bit misleading. Maybe you are only referring to your products but it's not clear.


However, I noticed most of your soaps contain palm oil, which is horrible for the environment and locals health as well. I know how great "labels" can be to make profits but in all honesty it's not fair to mislead the consumer who may not be aware of the damage such ingredients cause.


Also as a fellow Etsy craft maker, it concerns me that you use trademark logos for your soaps which is not legal or fair. Not only to the companies that created that art but to other members who are trying to make an honest living.


Thanks for reading. Hope you consider these issues in the future.


-Jessie

October 22, 2011 1:02 PM

Dear Anon Jessie,

Yes, the open door policy is for real! You raised several points, so I'll do my best to address them one by one.

First - unless you're a vegetarian who is eating only vegetables you've grown yourself on a solar-powered farm, with crops fertilized by the wastes from your own animals (and thus subject to bio-contamination), you're carbon footprint is likely almost as large as any meat-eaters -- and if you like your seasonal items like oranges or avocados year-round, it might even be bigger. Yes, I know meat is a resource intensive source of nutrition, but if you're eating vegetables grown in the Big Agri US-style farming environment or even worse - US-style agricultural products grown abroad and shipped here, that's pretty resource intensive as well -- petroleum products play a huge role in everything from transportation and harvesting fuel to fertilizer and power for irrigation, and huge monoculture farms require more irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticides. So the issue, from an environmentalist's standpoint, about beef=bad, vegetables=good is not really so clear-cut as you put forward. From an ethical standpoint, I do believe animals should suffer as little harm as possible and there is a lot of room for improvement in this area. I would also point out though that while humans can survive on vegetables alone, we evolved to be omnivores, and while you may disagree with my choice to eat meat, I believe that doing so in moderation is responsible from a nutritional, ethical, and environmental standpoint.

Secondly - regarding palm oil. Yes, many palm oil harvesting operations have very bad direct and indirect consequences for the environment. However, in and of itself, palm oil is a great natural product that requires much less chemical- / energy-intensive processing than other types of oil, say soy for example. As a responsible environmentalist, you have to go beyond scanning headlines and do the detailed research necessary to understand the effects your choices have -- not just at a single point, but through a product's entire production, use, and disposal cycle. In this case, I purchase palm oil that is not only certified organic, but certified to have been responsibly and sustainably grown. I spend more money on these base ingredients and yet have to keep my prices competitive, so if profits were truly my driving force, I wouldn't go through this charade. I'd just buy the cheap stuff and charge the same price as my competitors and I'd be earning more money immediately.

Which makes a great transition to be able to talk about something that I believe is at the core of my business: integrity. I didn't start making soap because I wanted to make money, I started because my son needed something pure enough that his very sensitive skin wouldn't over-react to it. And I continue to make soap because it's something I have a passion for -- from the ingredients I put into the soap, to the care and attention that goes into crafting my own molds and making my soap, to how I advertise and sell it -- it all comes down to integrity. And I think, compared with many other crafters, that integrity can be seen in every single product I make. I can't tell you how many times I've been presented with a choice pitting integrity against profit -- I ALWAYS choose integrity.

Lastly, I feel I must take exception to your phrasing "to other members who are trying to make an honest living" -- I'm happy to explain my choices regarding the environmental impact of my products, after all I have links on every product page of my site which answer the questions you presented, and I still took the time to reply. But when you imply that *I* am making a dishonest living, I believe that crosses a line. However, I will tell you that you seem to be laboring under a seriously mistaken viewpoint regarding intellectual property, what exactly a trademark is, and what the concept of "fair use" provides for. None of the stuff I reference in my soap is really “trademarked” per se. People always get confused about this. There are intellectual property rights involved, but within the confines of the law, there is fair use and my products are always truthfully presented as the interpretations of a huge fan that in no way presents a threat to the rights of the owners of the intellectual property rights. I have been bullied into no longer selling some products by companies that have more time, money, and lawyers than I do, but I would not sell ANY product that was not honestly represented as what it really is and that I had the right to make.

Thank you for your comments and I hope you feel that I have given them the time and attention they deserved. My door remains open to you and anyone else who has questions and I wish you the best of luck making a living, honest or otherwise, as a crafter. I've been doing it for more than six years and have been blessed with opportunities, but I understand it can be a very difficult business for some who aren't suited to its demands.

♥ Kylee

It doesn't have to hurt.

First. I am posting NO links to the asshat who bashed con goers, or to 'the magazine'. I know how unique visits work. So if you have NO idea what I am talking about, consider yourself lucky and carry on...Oh! look! A kitty!

For the rest of you, you know what I am talking about. I first heard about the travesty via Totalfangirl.com.

My gut response was this (as commented on @NicoleWakelin blog)

Number one reason why I have raised my kids to not be assholes...

We are literally that family totally lost in a different world. Every weekend our home becomes the Enterprise, a TARDIS...the Death Star. My children even choose to sleep in cots because it fits better with where their imaginations are taking them that night. The beginning of every movie starts with us shouting "ENGAGE!" and my kids are more concerned with costume details over what they are wearing to school...

With all of THAT being said, my kids get picked on A LOT. I do not teach them to ignore it. I teach them about empathy. Feeling sad for the ignorant children at school who don't have parents who love them enough to dress in character or explain homework in the voice of a Dalek.

WE give people the power to hurt us. Whoever wrote this article is a very sad and shallow person and personally, I don't feel hurt by the article, and as a culture I don't think any of us should. I am proud that those REAL con costumers are on our team.

(End my awesome response)

I thought Nicole articulated the situation very well. After a lot of searching on twitter, facebook, G+ and general google searches I started to feel sad. Not because of the article in question, but because of how WE are responding.

After reading outrages all over the internet, I honestly have to sit back and ask myself “Why?”

WHY are we still letting these people hurt us?

WHY are we still willing to lower ourselves to their level?

WHY are we having internet tantrums, instead of saying “Fuck it. I am going to dress as Batman today in honor of the fact the I AM AN ADULT and can do such things if I want.”

I know it hurts. Been there, done that...But WHY, as a united group of intelligent, over weight, under weight, inside out weight, beautiful faces, are we STILL letting it hurt us?

You can not make everyone think like us. That is part of what makes us unique. Don't waste your time bashing some ass who has no idea what he is talking about. Celebrate who you are. Some of those people in the photos genuinely were overweight/underweight. You are too. So am I. It got pointed out...The end and clearly proving the intelligence level and originality of the writer. 

Instead of giving MORE attention to the magazine, bust out your con photos and get to writing about the freaking awesome people you see at these conventions! Write a blog about how to craft costumes. Write a blog about how liberated you are by the fact you buy groceries in a Starfleet uniform (*cough*). Litter our geek propaganda all over the place! Convert the youth! TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!!

Just do so in a polite and respectful fashion. We knew from the beginning it wasn’t going to be our shiny six packs that made us powerful, but our brains and unlimited trivia knowledge.

Now. For your enjoyment and for actually getting all the way through my rantish blog, this is how I am making the world a better place.

Where's My Salon Size?!

I am sad to “officially” announce that 16oz Salon Size bottles of Hemp Satin Shampoo and Crème Conditioner have been discontinued. *Sadface* Let me tell you why...

Our primary supplier for organic, raw materials has raised their prices. Rather than pass the monetary increase on to my customers, or purchase lower priced, questionable materials, the difference is made up by dropping the larger sized bottles. HOW does removing a product that sells so well help save money?? Let us do some math...

8 ounce bottles cost $8.99 while 16 ounce was only $14.95...saving you $3.03 when the larger size is purchased. I can only make 32 ounces of product at a time. Only 2 of the 16 ounce bottle or 4 of the 8 ounce. 16 ounce bottles actually cost me more time and product to make. Add to that, having to purchase the additional bottles in the larger size, with additional shipping charges and salon bottles required a separate sized shipping box, along with larger product labels...

So my options were to increase BOTH sizes $4.00 OR drop the larger bottle. It felt fair to not increase prices but drop, yes, one of my best selling products in an effort to keep my prices steady for you.

I have gotten many many many emails and at Luxury Lane Soap there is a complete open door policy. You have a direct line to me all of the time, over multiple mediums and I am so happy so many of you contacted me with questions. Not a single one of you was demanding or rude and I am glad to be in such excellent company.

I hope that answers everyone’s questions. Email me if it didn’t and I am happy to post edits here.

Side note...My days have been starting around 5am and ending around 11pm. I have a serious sleepy right now so I apologize for the my lack of kylee pep in this post...
♥Kylee

*Edited to add questions received...

Will you be dropping hair care scents to save money?

Fragrance options will NOT be shrinking and if there are any changes it will be to expand the scents available to you. I make my items fresh so it is never a problem switching up fragrances. If you don't see an old favorite, I am happy to make it for you. I have around 300 fragrances right now so no additional materials are required.

Will trial size bottles ever be available?

I have been promising this for months and I have finally found decently priced 1 ounce bottles! These will be limited edition until the bottles run out and then I will start looking for bottles again. Custom scents will not be offered at this size, sorry. 

How about a solid shampoo?

Honestly, I have never made one that I personally liked. My hair is longer than mid back length and it is dang near impossible for ME to use a solid. >.< I am happy to begin working on one again, in a limited run, if you promise to give me feedback. :D

Ring

In regards to my last blog post I randomly put up forever ago...I am working on a massive discount weekend. That is what I was talking about announcing. I use Bigcartel for LuxuryLaneSoap.com and they developed the most kick butt coupon code system and I will be doing testing for what types of codes you all want. However, I am behind on that promotion at the moment as we get our Fall/Winter Limited Edition products up on the site. HOW IS IT ALMOST OCTOBER?! Bah!!

Making tons of candles today and experimenting with super low pouring temps. My place smells like an insane mixture of pumpkin, cinnamon and cake...YUUUUM! I always tend to focus on food smells in Fall. Now you know.

Local customers: I have been getting a huge amount of requests for mail order brochures and we finally have them complete and printed! There currently are three of them:

• Best Sellers! Luxury Body Care
• Fall/Winter Home Fragrance
• Holiday 2011 

We are doing free delivery within Sheldon and Primghar, IA right now to get a feel for how this is going to work. If demand is as high as we are anticipating, we will be looking into buying a store front come summer 2012. Yay!!

I think that is about it for today...

I actually jumped on the blog to talk about how my phone phobia is making work extremely difficult...but business updates came out instead. Go figure.

LOVES!
-Kylee

I fail at blogging.

...and that is why I am one of the very last people with a blogger account...Eventually we are shuffling ourselves over to Wordpress, but just like blogging itself, I doubt it will be anytime soon.

I was looking at some blogging stats and there are hundreds of people poking around in this blog daily. (Hi! *waves*) It hit me, I should probably add some content/updates/product info for you mighty fine blog readers to go crazy with! Woo! Party time!

Yeah...I've got nothing and need sleep. However, I do actually have a pretty awesome announcement tomorrow that, hopefully, will make you love me more. ♥
-Kylee

(This was me attempting to just sit down and freestyle blog, whatever that means...)

What do you want?

"Create a WANT list by adding any item from anywhere on the web and have your friends and family contribute to it!" -The WANT List

Yesterday I was contacted by Greg Links (Vice President of Sales for shareabill.com) and I was introduced to the WANT button...You can check it out in detail over HERE.

After reading every possible thing I could find AND asking Mr. Links a few very blunt questions about what this is really all about, I have got to say, I am impressed. I am very cynical when it comes to anything involving a company pushing a product or service...so it is rare I am genuinely impressed.

I had issues coding the button into my site, I was helped right away. I asked questions and I got good answers. To the point and without a bunch of self fluff. Helpful and honest. +10 for Greg Links.

Anyway. Now this button is integrated into LuxuryLaneSoap.com and I want to know what YOU think. Social shopping and networking and media and marketing...it seems like there is a "button" for everything. Do product pages look to bloated? Do you think a want button is even useful? I do see great potential for this program when it comes to wedding/baby/holiday/birthday wish lists...

You can visit any product page on my website and you will see the "Want" button directly under the "Add To Cart" button. You can also see the "want" button in action over on Sharperimage.com.

So I call on you, my friends and customers overflowing with awesome...what do you think?
♥

The move! Dun dun duuuuun......

FINALLY this past weekend we started getting our boxes hauled over to the new place. Wait wait. Not the new place per say....

Those who have been following me on twitter for the past year know that we have been trying to buy a house. We found one last September and have been saving every last freaking penny we have for this place. Rory found a second job just to put his entire check into savings. Luxury Lane Soap has been paying the bills and feeding us. Team work FTW.

Fast forward through many bank appointments and a lot of learning and question asking, going through excitement as we were approved for everything, about to sign for the loan and then sadness when lenders decided they weren't comfortable with the property. Rinse and repeat many, many times and this is where we are.

Thank goodness the sellers of our future home are SO AMAZING and they are willing to wait until we find a bank that works for everyone. The thing is, this property is like non other in our entire county. It is almost 100 years old and a brick fortress. The land around the house could be used to build two or three new homes, which would be much more profitable for the banks and city, tax wise. Regardless, we are $35,000 short and we need to sell our house in Primghar...fast.

My point....In order to get the house sold we need to be out of it. So were do we live? We are moving to the apartment above the garage in the back yard of our future house. Did you get all of that? This will not be easy. The space is very tiny. (I will post a video of it later this week.) It will be cramped, claustrophobic and stressful. And, it embarrasses me.

And then it embarrasses me that I am embarrassed.

The next two months are going to be the hardest I think we have ever had to endure. I am not going to sit here and make a list of how frustrating this all is. Instead, I am going to redirect his blog while we move and keep recored of how this all pans out. For two reasons...

1. Nothing worth having comes easy. I am at the point where most people stop. The comfort level has been surpassed. If I can do this YOU can do this. I hope to inspire at least one of you to go that extra mile and achieve whatever it is you are trying to reach.

2. I want a personal record of this moment. This is something pivotal. It isn't just buying a house anymore. As a family, we are becoming something more.

It may sound overly cliche'...but this just feels like one of those things you want some sort of record of, you know?

I am working on getting a wordpress blog all figured out so I can keep everyone updated about what is going on personally, and with the business. I love you Blogger, but I have outgrown you.

And on that note, I want to let everyone know that if I seem a little bit gone this week it is because I will be making/shipping orders during the day and packing/moving at night. ♥

Stay tuned as I get my ideas in better form and keep your eyes open for a new blog layout this week. :D I really just wanted to give you all a heads up and thank you SO very much for being a part of this. Like I have said a bazillion times before this, my business has become a success because of YOUR support. You shower me in an abundance of love. Seriously. Thank you.

This is where I make some grand exit.That works. ♥

Summer is Here!

Summer is usually when cute and clever take over Luxury Lane Soap, as apposed to the ever ruling intricate and exclusive. Why? Well, with my kids out of school for the summer, I get a lot of pressure from these two to make "FUN!" kid friendly soaps for tub time. This works in my favor as they will hang out in the bath for literally HOURS "testing" soap for me. It is SO hot right now in the Midwest that the bathtub has just become the swimming pool...Oh to be young again...

Also, we have switched formulas over here and now ALL Of our Gentle Glycerin Soaps are organic!
Previous ingredients:
Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, Safflower Oil, Glycerin, Aloe Vera, Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Sorbitol, Sorbitan Oleate, Soybean Protein, Certified Pure Essential Oils, Non-Phthalate Fragrance & Color.

New Ingredients:
Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Palm Oil, Glycerin (vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sorbitol (from berries, moisturizer), Sorbitan Oleate (botanically sourced emulsifier), Soybean Protein, Certified Pure Essential Oils and Non-Phthalate Fragrance.

With ingredients like Olive and Safflower oil cut out and the organic ingredients bumped up, the result is a completely pure and gentle soap. I can not bring myself to just through away my already printed labels (I don't have that many, just a few) so you many receive a soap with the previous ingredients. I have linked all of the products to the new ingredients on the site, so know, you are getting the organic formulas. Do not hesitate to shoot me an email if any of that doesn't make sense. ♥

So, on to the bribe! Win a Summer Prize Pack from LuxuryLaneSoap.com which includes our new Caffeinated Night Owl AND a Bubble Bear, plus many more surprises!

All you need to do is visit LuxuryLaneSoap.com and post your favorite ice cream flavor as a comment on the Luxury Lane Soap FB fan page.

That's it! Really! :D While you you are over there, feel free to give Luxury Lane Soap a quick "like" and I will be your best friend forever, but it is not required to win.

Terms & Conditions: Giveaway open to USA residents only. Prize(s) must be claimed within 10 days. Fun starts today: Wednesday June 8th 2011 and ends Monday June 13th. Winner randomly selected (as always) by random.org

Monday Mini Feature

IPhone 4 Microscope Lens

Product Features

• The lens measures approx 3.7 cm x 4 cm x 1.7 cm
• Includes a special LED light designed for hallmark verification and a regular LED light
• The Mini Microscope for iPhone 4 is a lens adapter for your phone that magnifies 60x!
• Lights are powered by 3 x cell batteries (included)

And I want it. Thanks to @Geekleestist for finding more awesome that I have to have...
♥

Giveaway Time! (aka...Sorry I have been gone for so long...)

Giveaway is closed. Congratulations to our winners ♥


As we get ready to move into our new studio and now that the kids are finally out of school, the Come Clean blog has been seriously neglected. Really, the only way to apologize for this is to do a giveaway. That and I am SERIOUSLY thankful for all of the support you have given me while I run around trying to get things in order for all of the big changes ahead. ♥

I have FIVE super sweet Soapstache soaps scented Olden Times Lemonade all wrapped and ready for new homes. Be the very first to have that glorious mustache feeling, without paying for it.

All you need to do is visit LuxuryLaneSoap.com and pick out your favorite TWO products and post your choices as a comment on the Luxury Lane Soap FB fan page.

That's it! Really! :D Do feel free to give Luxury Lane Soap a quick "like" as I am still pretty new over there, but it is not required to win.

I am clearing out a couple of designs to make way for a plethora of awesome and I want to be sure your favorites are locked in tight.

And...you want to watch this RIGHT NOW....Yes, it is very possible I made a mustache soap simply to be able to reference my most favorite episode of The Tick for the rest of my life.

Terms & Conditions: Giveaway open to USA residents only. Prize(s) must be claimed within 10 days. Fun starts today: Wednesday June 1st 2011 and ends Friday June 3rd. Winner randomly selected (as always) by random.org

First Quarter Recap...i.e...Longest Post Ever...

Our first quarter is almost up and there has been a lot going on over here. ♥

New Site Design
A few weeks back I thought I would code a quick string of HTML, for I don't even remember what, and exploded my entire site. LuxuryLaneSoap.com was down for ten solid hours while I sat and pretended to learn CSS...After much reading and cussing, I was able to revamp and redesign LuxuryLaneSoap.com to its current version. If you haven't seen it yet, give it a quick look and do let me know if you catch any mistakes here and there. All cart systems, security and links check out...so basically I am asking if I made any major spelling errors...

New Products
First of the year sales are always pretty low. With the Holidays just getting over and taxes being...well the hell that they are...luxury soap products do not tend to be high on purchase lists. However, this opens up a little breathing room to create new products resulting in a record breaking quarter for product development! Unicorn Carousel Soap, ThunderSoap, Alliance Ration Bar, Vintage Shaving Soap, Pure Clean Whipped Moisture, Dreamsicle Delight, Lip Lovin' Butter Balm

New Newsletter
Finally! Keep up to date with all that is new at LuxuryLaneSoap.com and get sneak peeks at what is cooking in the Lane Laboratory. You can also look forward to mini tutorials from our very resourceful, yet lacking tweeter, @Rory_Lane. You can subscribe right HERE.

New Location
Luxury Lane Soap will be moving this summer! After almost half a year of searching for the right location, a new home has been found! With space to breath and room to stretch, you can look forward to a huge boom in development and production in our second half of 2011. I am currently mulling the idea of having an epic summer slumber party to thank all of you for your continued support and constant encouragement. Ideas? Shoot me an email!

What's Coming Up?
Our second quarter is going to be an interesting one... Trying to shift locations while keeping up sales is going to be intense. I mentioned earlier that I will be bumping up the marketing on twitter, facebook and tumblr to help make up the sales I may lose not being online full time. This does NOT equate SPAM. It means I am shifting to more open involvement, sharing pictures of what I am making and how it is made. If I can't sit at the computer and tweet with you all, then I am bringing you all to work with me.

More Variety
I have received a few emails stating that while the Vintage Push Up Shave Soap formula is wonderful/amazing/superb, the packaging tends to be a bit frustrating for everyday use and large area shaving. I agree it its harder to use for an entire leg, though it does work wonderfully for under arms and customers have also mentioned the size and shape is perfect for beard touch ups and travel. So, I will not be discontinuing this product for all of you who have fallen madly in love and for those looking for something larger, expect to see an additional version early second quarter.

Product Rename
Ultra Rich Organic Soap has been changed to Vegan Organics. Why? A few reasons. Firstly, it is shorter. With the new website layout, long product titles look sloppy. Secondly, you would not believe the amount of emails I receive daily asking if my soap is vegan. Yes. Yes it is. It always has been and it always will be. Do I use organic ingredients? Same answer. Yes. What about sustainable vegan organic ingredients? *nods* Yup. Sure do. "Vegan" and "Organic" and "Natural" are all heavily used buzz words nowadays and honestly, I appreciate customers who research where their products are coming from. Many companies are attaching these words to chemical crap and Luxury Lane Soap means to redefine what you expect from a high quality, natural soap.

One Last Thing...Really.
Thank you. ♥

What's happening at Luxury Lane Soap?

For the last couple of months things like blog posts, product development, hanging out and hugging has been sporadic and minimal...How come?

The house I wrote about back in October of last year? (What happened with house hunting) We cussing signed on that baby this week!! After months and months of trying to see if we could even afford a new location for our family and the business...our signatures are finally down on that magical piece of paper they call a contract.

After looking and looking for a building for Luxury Lane Soap and a separate house for us and the kids, we stumbled across a property that will combine both!! A historical mansion built in 1917...Yeah. I just said that. While searching and searching the internet for historical information on this house, we crossed this listing: Fairhill

The listing in the link above is pretty old and it isn't even linked from the original realtor's site, but you get a pretty good idea. The square footage listed is wrong and doesn't include the 990 square foot ballroom on the third floor or full basement. (YES! BALLROOM! W/ original bandstand!) That is the new Luxury Lane Soap location! A full floor to create and grow the business! FINALLY! For the last year, since Soap in Carbonite went viral, we have converted our current kitchen and dinning room into a production and shipping facility. We haven't even been able to sit down at a table together, as a family, since last summer...

We have worked so hard for this and it is finally happening, for reals! We still have thirteen more weeks until our possession date and we are in the process of selling our current home (2 story, three bedroom, 1.5 bath...interested?) So we have a crazy few months ahead of us for sure...

Unfortunately, this also means I am going to have to cut my convention tour short. I will be at StarFest this year and either GenCon or DragonCon. Though my prime goal for Fall this year is to get over to Indy to see the new Karpiuk baby! *SO EXCITED* However, I will not be joining everyone for SDCC this year. This is where I met so many of you, and having gone a full year as a friends "IRL," I really wanted to be able to connect again this summer. ANY and ALL of you are more than welcome to hop over here and help us move in June, if you'd like. :D SLUMBER PARTAY!

And for the mushy part, your favorite part... Honestly, THIS could not have happened for us without you guys. I can not even begin to express what that means to me. You all helped Luxury Lane Soap take over the internet. Really. I can't even put it into words proper like. This
is what we do for a living, we make soap. From product conception (heehee) to development to debut, you all support what we do from start to finish.

Thank you.

Our first step is to get marketing ramped up which means I will be posting more product links

and generally keeping my twitter stream business related. (But not totally *wink*) I need as much help as possible these next few months spreading the word of Luxury Lane Soap! Without convention income, we will be solely depending on online sales.

Also!! I wanted to ask all of you who have tweeted pictures of your orders, if you could be mega awesome and start getting them on the Luxury Lane Soap FB page either directly, emailing them to me or by tagging us in them. I am going to move some over that I have and if they are ones you took, please feel free to tag yourself in them!! ♥

So yes. New house, business expansion and I love you. THIS BIG! Really. I will keep everyone updated on our progress with the house as much as possible. On a personal level and business level, you are all a huge part of this and I send out mega squeezes.

Back of the house

Two Story Cottage

Inside!

Coming clean on the Alliance Soap Bar!

More and more Luxury Lane Soap is becoming known for our extreme attention to detail. Just like with the Companion Cube Soap we built I wanted to give you all a little insight into the process of what it takes to make a positive for us to then cast. Best part?? This entire piece was built with things we had lying around the house!!

The first step was to construct a model to make the mold from. The measurements of the original were scaled down to 75% to make it more practical as a bar of soap. Wood was used for the bulk of the model, and the detailing on the face were added to that. The block of wood was cut to size and then passed through a table saw set at a 17 degree angle several times to make the beveled sides.The design on the front of the bar was sourced from the internet with some changes made to reflect accuracy to screencaps from the episode. The image was printed to card stock twice, one with the first layer cutouts made, and the second on top of that to complete the image. Double sided tape was used to adhere them to the wood block.

The model was then sprayed with lacquer primer to seal it. This also helped to highlight areas that needed some work, mainly chips in the sides and along the wood to card stock transition.
Red spot putty was used to fill problem areas, and sanded down smooth using 1000 grit sandpaper and water.
The model was then sprayed with one more coat of primer, before being sprayed with flat black paint to give the whole thing an even matte finish. The finish texture is important because it will transfer over to the mold.


After we finally have our piece to mold from, it is then on to color matching, formula testing, fragrance development, product descriptions and photography. SO WORTH IT!


We would love to hear what you think in the comments below! You can find our brand new Alliance Soap Bar right here! ♥♥♥

Ink Me

I HATE the word *ink* but use it all the time. #personalFAIL

Twitter usually fuels the subjects I blog about. Today was no different. Today, class, we are going to come clean on the subject of tattoos.

While poking around on iGeektrooper.com I came across the most awesome cookies ever, made by @geeksweettweets. While reading the Geek Sweets Blog I ran into these sweet freaking Irish Whiskey cupcakes which then lead me to mocupcakes.com. There I saw hamburger cupcakes and immediately tweeted at my internet crush •GEEK•LEE•TIST• that him and I needed matching hamburger cupcake ink. From there the ball was rolling and I have been talking ink with people all day. However, I have also dealt with some punks on the subject...

Let me make it very clear that this is NOT a rant blog. Just prefacing my next paragraph...

The Dms started rolling in...WHY would you get a hamburger tattoo? Are you crazy? Why would you get a matching tattoo with an internet crush? How could you do this to your body? AHHH!

blink blink

I then took a nap.

After waking up, I find that my good 'net friends are STILL talking about ink! This pleases me. I enjoy my friends on the internet. However, DM haters are always gonna hate.

I have A LOT of tattoos. I post a fair amount of them in this flicker album. (#vain) Though I haven’t updated these pictures for almost a year...You will see that I do indeed have some random tattoos.

Why? Shouldn't something you put on your body have some grand, epic, undying meaning? Shouldn’t it have years of thought behind it? For some people, yes. For me, no.

I put on my body what inspires me at that time in my life. I enjoy living in the moment. When I look at my tattoos I see page markers. Things that make me smile.

In 2010, most of my ink was Star Trek related. I spent that entire year of my life watching every single episode of Star Trek with my husband and kids. (TOS to DS9, in order, as most of you already know. #BraggingRights) Hours and hours of my life spent falling in love all over again with Star Trek and watching my babies experience all of that Trek, for the very first time, with wide eyes. In twenty years when I see that ink I will think, hot damn, what a great year.

When I got the tattoos, they were VERY spontaneous. Usually when I have an idea, I have it put on me with in 48 hrs. Thank goodness I (now) have an amazing artist who thinks the way I think.

From safety pops on my shoulder to a six inch hello kitty on my chest to confessing my love for Boba Fett, everything on my body has been very spontaneous, but that is how I live. Joy inducing tattoos are not any less valid to me.♥

I do have the most 80's metal dragon on my leg and sigh yes, I have flames on my arm... THAT was an interesting year...

What do YOU have? What do you want? Share share share in the comments below!!