Surprise! Just when you thought it was quiet around here, I gave Soap Leaves a makeover and a new home!
I’ve had Soap Leaves hosted here at WordPress for a while, and this week I finally had the opportunity to both redesign the blog and move it over to its new location at http://www.sarvasoap.com/blog. I can’t wait to hear your feedback!
Nothing will be lost… all of the Soap Leaves posts are moving too, though some links may need tweaking here and there as I discover them. And, if you forget the new address, no worries… go to the Sarva Soaps site and click “Blog”.
There are some cool new widgets and features, and I’ll let you check those out at your leisure… a link to follow me on Twitter, among others!
Those of you who subscribe to Soap Leaves, either via RSS or e-mail – you don’t need to do anything; your subscriptions will be migrated automagically.
Those of you who would like to subscribe to Soap Leaves, either via RSS or e-mail – there are shiny new buttons for this on the new blog!
The page you’re viewing now will stay alive indefinitely, but any future posts will only be written at the new location.
Sometimes your intrepid soapmaker gets a little too busy to create a proper blog post (blush!), so it’s great to be able to give quick, on-the-fly updates.
Info about brand new soaps is posted regularly… and be on the lookout for special savings for Facebook members as well!
I’m posting any events or fairs that Sarva is attending, which will be of particular interest to our local (Cleveland, Ohio) customers and friends.
I’ve also set up discussion forums, where I’ll be happy to answer your questions about Sarva Soaps, and you can even submit product requests for us to consider. I’ve started a few discussion topics already, such as what a truly natural product really is. Just click the “discussion” tab to view all forum topics.
Warren, Vermont - October 2007. Taken by Michelle Gilbert. Click image for enlarged view.
Goodness, it’s been so long since I had time to post a blog entry! I have so many new things to share with you – some great small businesses to feature and some absolutely beautiful new holiday soaps – all of which will be forthcoming in the next week or so.
But for now, I simply want to wish all of my friends, family, wonderful customers, and visitors to this blog a blessed, happy Thanksgiving full of peace and abundance. May you enjoy the time you spend with those who are dear to you.
I have a lot to be thankful for, and I know I’ll be spending much of my day feeling very appreciative of the new people and successes that have come into my life this year. It’s been a time of intense change for me, a year that started out one way, presented me with some challenges and losses, and then ended up taking me in a new and happy direction. If you’re reading this blog, you are a part of that new direction, so I am grateful for you too!
Check back in a few days for some great new posts just in time for the holiday shopping season. I’ve got a lot of cool things lined up!
Be well!
- Michelle
P.S. Since I was asked The photo was indeed taken by me, your intrepid soapmaker and wannabe photographer. I spent some time ambling around (and falling in love with) Vermont in 2007 during my yoga therapy training. I love to take photos of nature, and I was immensely inspired by my time in Vermont. This scenery and the fresh air were very much the inspiration for my Gratitude soap.
Did you know that you can subscribe to this blog, Soap Leaves, and receive it in your mailbox? Yes! You can get your soapy fix and save yourself time and surfing effort in the process!
Just click here, follow a few simple directions, and you’re done!
This link lives permanently in the menu to your right, in the first section, “About Me”, right beneath a link to also shop online at Sarva Soaps.
Screen grab of Sarva Soaps, new web site. Click image for enlarged view.
EDIT: It’s Saturday. I couldn’t wait! (I’m terrible that way.) Mind you, there are a few bugs. I’m working on them.
Finally!
All you eager shoppers, tune in to www.sarvasoap.com on Sunday night (sorry, I don’t have a firm time) for a brand new, improved Sarva Natural Artisan Soaps!
Many new features! Among them…
Product search – I’ve created customized search terms for every bar of soap I make and sell. You can search by ingredient, scent, mood, whatever!
Better checkout experience – an improved shopping cart system provides a simpler, cleaner shopping experience for you.
Better photos – bright, large photos of every soap.
More detailed product descriptions – a more personal feel to the site, conveying the honesty and meaning of what I put into each and every soap I make.
I will still have a few things to do on the site… the gift section is under development… but I want to offer you the new site as soon as I can because it’s simply so much better than the present site.
Sarva remains a one-woman business, and that goes for the web site too. I did it all myself (which explains the blatant lack of posting here on the blog lately!)… and it will always be a work in progress. I do things a little differently. I don’t have a marketing department, a web design department, a shipping department, and so on. I am not a bath and body company… I’m an artist, and my medium is soap. I strive to make the best soaps I can, and I aim to give you a personal, comfortable, uplifting shopping experience online!
Oh, and for any geeks out there… yes, I hand coded the site.
Hope you all enjoy it! Can’t wait to share it with you.
The HSMG held a member-wide call for photos, with plans to use the winning member’s photo to represent the Guild in their advertisement, appearing in the December (holiday) issue of Body + Soul Magazine, available on 11/24.
Well, folks, guess what? I won! My photo was chosen, which is truly a great, great honor.
I am proud to represent a Guild of so many talented soapmakers. I’ve been inspired by some really amazing and creative people, and to think that I could be a source of inspiration too is pretty profound. I don’t take this lightly, and you can rest assured I’ll continue to give my all, offering you the best soaps I can!
Spa Series soaps from Sarva. Click image for enlarged view.
My goodness! I’m so flattered, and so proud of my little soap babies!
As I prepare for the holiday season, making extra soap to fill all of your gift-giving needs, I’ve been discovered by a whole bunch of new and wonderful people! As a result, my soap supply is getting low… blush!
But don’t worry! I’m making more! And it will be ready in time for holiday gift-giving!
Soapmaking is a very special process which actually takes six weeks from start to finish. Every bar of Sarva soap is made entirely by hand, by yours truly, in very small batches. I like to make sure my bars are always fresh, and the artistic effects I create in my soaps are only possible when I work in small quantity. After I make and hand-detail all of my bars, they must rest, or “cure”, for six weeks so that they are harder and longer lasting.
So, when you visit the Sarva web site and see low quantities, rest assured… it’s coming! My curing racks are full of great soap for you!
I’ve had the dream for a very long time of living the life of a small-scale artisan… creating little lovelies that make everyone’s life just a little sweeter… something people love so much that they don’t mind waiting for it now and then. I just might be on the verge of that dream coming true! For this, I thank all of you. I really love what I do, and I hope you love using my soaps!
The site will retain its unique, “handcrafted” look, reflecting who I am and what I do… which is what created Sarva in the first place.
I am a one-person operation and do everything myself: formulating, soapmaking, shipping, customer service, photography, packaging, and even the web site. I’m completing my certification in web design, and the present site was built prior to having any training. Can’t wait to get it humming.
Thanks for your feedback! Watch this space as well as the Sarva site for updates!
If this doesn’t spur you to action, I don’t know what will. I’m writing my congresswoman. What will YOU do?
Please support small business in America and, while you’re at it, remember what principles this country was founded on.
Thank you.
_________________________________________________
Letter to Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, my local Congresswoman (with personal contact information removed, of course):
I am writing to create respectful dialogue about the FDA Globalization Act of 2008.
I am in your district; I am a small business owner who would be immediately put out of business, literally bankrupted by the fees imposed by this Act.
I would like to know how–and whom–I can discuss this matter with in more depth so that I can make it clear how harsh, draconian, and unjust the proposed Act is to small businesses, who depend on their income and want a fair chance to grow their businesses without unfair fees and oppressive paperwork.
At a time when our nation’s economy is in a state of crisis, this Act will only serve to threaten our financial security all the more through a dangerous, damaging domino effect.
A petition against this Act may be found here, issued by Donna Maria Coles-Johnson of the Indie Beauty Network: http://www.indiebusinessblog.com/indie_business/2008/06/stop-the-fda-gl.html#more She will be in Washington next week to meet with representatives, and has contacted the Wall Street Journal as well as John Kerry to gain publicity.
I happen to be a woman with two chronic health conditions, not eligible for Disability or Welfare, who is following one of the few dreams she has left. I love what I do, and to have this taken away from me, after years of hard work, would be devastating. I am far from the only person in this situation. Please answer my plea for affirmative action to be taken seriously.
My sincere thanks for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you or your assistants.
The FDA’s proposed Globalization Act of 2008 places businesses like Sarva in severe jeopardy, potentially forcing small/cottage businesses to shut down and preventing new ones from starting.
The Globalization Act proposes mandating outrageous fees for food, drug, medical device, and cosmetics companies. Also required would be paperwork that would cripple the average sole proprietor. Fees for registration and re-registration, certification, importing, exporting, inspection and reinspection, heavy fines for noncompliance, and so on and so forth, are predicted to generate $600 million to fund FDA activities!
Companies such as
Sarva Natural Artisan Soaps
WILL NOT SURVIVE
under this proposed Act.
Let me be clear. I am fully in support of protecting the safety of consumers. After all, I too am a consumer, and there’s a lot out there to wonder about! However, these draconian measures are complete overkill and go beyond simply protecting the consumer. What they will serve to do is limit YOUR choices to only businesses who can afford what might amount to $12,000 per year in fees to simply stay in business. Yep, that’s big box companies.
And the effects will trickle into an incredible domino effect. If businesses all across the country don’t exist, they don’t need supplies, which shuts their suppliers down. Which puts a dent in the shipping industry. Which causes even more job loss. Which affects every single community. Think of the damage to an already drowning economy that can ensue. Think of the message it delivers to would-be entrepreneurs nationwide: “You don’t have a chance of even getting started.” In a time when many people seek to supplement their income, this is a devastating message.
Think also about consumers like yourself, my valued customers, who come to companies like mine for an alternative to mass-produced synthetics… seeking an environmentally friendly, meaningful product they can feel good about using. What will be left?
What will YOU choose if you lose your right to purchase artisanal products?
Remember: The fee structure under this Act is NOT tiered. All businesses, regardless of size, must pay the same fee. That means a business who earns $1500 in annual profit must pay the same fees that a business who earns $15,000,000 in profit.
Also remember: The most highly profitable cosmetics businesses are frequently using cheap, synthetic, often highly sensitizing ingredients. Don’t believe me? Read the ingredients for yourself.
Doesn’t it seem that the FDA is trying to protect you from NATURAL PRODUCTS?
This could happen very soon. This is the outcome if enough support is not garnered to lobby against this bill.
Thankfully, the bill is presently in draft stage, which still allows time for petitions and discussion!
Please watch this important video made by Donna Maria Coles Johnson, a former attorney, author, and founder of the Indie Beauty Network, a support and advocacy network for small business in the beauty industry. She explains the issue far better than I ever could.
Next, get involved. It only takes a couple of minutes to make a difference. Visit the Indie Business Blog, where she has created a petition that YOU can sign to prevent businesses like mine from going under. You can also visit the site she mentions in the above video, Families Against Unfair Laws, for updates on this important issue.
I am so grateful to all of my customers and friends for supporting what I love to do so much… and if you love your Sarva soap, or any other handcrafted/artisanal personal care items, now’s the time to take action… or you may never get to enjoy them again!
The photo was indeed taken by me, your intrepid soapmaker and wannabe photographer. I spent some time ambling around (and falling in love with) Vermont in 2007 during my yoga therapy training. I love to take photos of nature, and I was immensely inspired by my time in Vermont. This scenery and the fresh air were very much the inspiration for my 
