Welcome 2009!

May it be better than 2008.

All in all though, 2008 wasn't a bad year. We started our little shop on August 1st, and managed to make it to 350 sales in just 5 months. We started out like a lot of hobby soapers start I think, using standard formula MnP soaps, premade bases for lotions, etc. By October we graduated to all natural products, including our soaps, bath salts, body frostings (our biggest hit!), milk baths, and more.

We have lots of long and short range goals for the new year. Starting with winnowing out the scents that didn't do so hot in '08, adding in new scents and products in time for Valentines day shoppers, graduating to cold process and hot process all natural soaps.

We're still working on lickable Body Frosting, which is high in demand, but a bit longer in planning and experimentation than initially hoped for. I really thought we'd have more time in December to work on it, but we got slammed with sales, and spent so much time filling orders we really didn't have time to work on anything new.

We will be able to add massage oils to our line up in time for Valentines Day. I think we'll also make up for the lack of Lickable Body Frosting by adding lickable body dust (a delightful blend of honey and arrowroot powder) as well as Shampoos and Conditioners to the line up instead.

Along with eliminating the scents that didn't do so well (though, eliminate is probably the wrong word, they'll be available as custom orders, they just won't be in our standard line up in the shop) we'll also be rounding out our lines with some new scents: Euphoria, Seduction, and Love will be joining the Cedar & Saffron and Mid Summer Night.

I'll also be working on my new novelty soap scent: Sunday Afternoon Football. An earthy blend of dirt and fresh cut grass, with a bit of citrus... trust me..it will smell better than it sounds :)

So there's our plans, in the rough, for 2009. What are your plans for the new year?

Stay tuned for more goals for Heathen's Hearth.