October Freebie

Every month I get to enjoy giving away a free bar of soap with every order. Never a mystery and always full size, the order box freebie for the month of October is a bar of Honey Me Smooth. Check out the freebie page to see what else can be free inside your order box this month.

Shea Bounty

The new delivery of shea butter for the Fall has arrived, and I'm sharing it with you. There's a Four Day Sale going on at the Manor. All shea butter products are located on a special "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" page. That includes soap bars, lotion sticks, lip balm, hair conditioning creme, cleansing grains, foot care and of course, shea butter!

From now until Friday the 2nd at midnight, buy two of any shea butter item from the sale page and get a third one for free. Simply enter 2 in the quantity box when making your purchase, and I'll throw a third one of the same product in your order box... for free. For every two you buy, I'll give you a third. (Sorry, no mixing and matching flavors)

Enjoy!

Burst of Color

I mentioned a couple of weeks back that I was going to kick up the mint bars. Well, consider the first mint bar kicked.

At the beginning of last week, armed with plenty of organic sunflower oil and babassu oil, I thought I'd get a bit artistic with the Spearmint Grapefruit bar. So, pink clay and ground parsley in hand, I split the soap batch into three and had some fun with colors. I think it's one of my best swirls yet.

It's sitting on the curing shelves, screaming spearmint. I can't wait to get it on the site. Just a few more weeks to go.

Music to Soap By - Katrina and the Waves

Fall might be upon us, but there's something about sea, sun and sand. I really do like it. I also like real good summer music. The type that makes you want to drive with your windows down, shouting along to the chorus. I've been listening to this one all day today. But I haven't been soaping. I've been wrapping. And wrapping. And wrapping. Tomorrow, I'll be walking on my own bit of sunshine. Soaping again. Just like the music, I love it.

Katrina and the Waves, 1985 - Walking On Sunshine

Golden Jojoba & Oatmeal

Spilling with wildcrafted jojoba oil and fine oatmeal, this soothing bar of extra mild is a luxury for your skin.

Hypoallergenic, non-toxic, and carrying the natural antioxidant vitamin E, the skin softening qualities of jojoba oil are exceptional. It penetrates the skin with ease, and is readily absorbed without any greasy after feel. It is non-clogging on pores, and with the anti-inflammatory qualities of myristic acid, is a very useful oil for acne. The different moisturizing properties found in oats all contribute toward maintaining the integrity of the skin's barrier, preventing water loss, and alleviating itch.

This bar is fragrance free, and yields a wonderful creamy rich lather to baby your skin with the gentleness it deserves.

Annual Fall Sale

Fall is underway and the leaves have already started to turn here in New England. It's newsletter week and there's a sale going on at the Manor. 15% off your order, all week long. Just enter the coupon code AUTUMN15 at checkout to receive 15% off your order. (Note: Coupon does not apply to already discounted items, including Mischief Makers and Monthly Specials.)

This week is the ideal time to try our new House of Almonds and Golden Jojoba & Oatmeal soap bars. Or maybe one of our brand new Gift Packs. With a 15% discount, you can't go wrong.

And to help your shopping dollar go further during the month of September, all orders will receive $6.00 shipping. Any weight, to anywhere nationally by Priority Mail. No coupon needed, our cart will apply the $6.00 shipping for you.

What a way to celebrate the start of the Fall!

Mattoon Street Arts Festival 2009

They had forecast it to rain all day long. We arrived to set up at about 8:45am and the rain stopped. We didn't see another drop until we were packing up the car to go. All in all, a very comfortable day weatherwise and not a bad turnout. They're saying tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 75 degrees, so I think it's going to be a busy day. The Festival is always great.

A big thank you to all my customers who turned out to see us, and all my regulars who buy from us at Mattoon once a year. I love seeing all of you and it really makes all the work worth it. When you sell primarily on the internet, you don't get to interact too much with customers. I love watching everyone pick up the soap bars and smell them. It's very, very satisfying.

Oh, and by the way...

Whooooo-hoo! Yes, that red ribbon is mine. My booth (above) won second place in my category of "mixed media". I can't remember the last time I won anything. The woman came over talking to me and then said she "had something" for me. I had no idea. It was the ribbon! I really had no idea. I grinned like a cheshire cat for the rest of the day. I'm still grinning. Rain or shine tomorrow, it doesn't matter. I got the prize.

Thanks again to everyone, and me and my ribbon are looking forward to a gorgeous day tomorrow.

We Will Always Remember

I love New York. It's one of the most breathtaking places I've ever been to. You walk the streets of Manhattan and the city is all around you. It's absolutely fantastic. I never got to see the Twin Towers. I'd had plenty of opportunities to visit New York in the fifteen months before September 11th. I was always too afraid to go. The reputation of New York before Rudy stepped in and cleaned it up wasn't a very good one. I only came to America in 2000 and I didn't really know much about it, other than yellow taxis, honking horns and drive-by shootings. That's all we ever heard about America in small town England.

I've been to New York too many times to count since September 11th, 2001. I go to the Twin Towers. I go to the fire station and walk around Ground Zero, remembering the images and sounds from the news that morning. I've taken many photographs this last eight years and every year the landscape has altered. The three above are from my own personal collection.

Every year it seems to change, yet there are still no skyscrapers going upward and no real memorial. But the one thing that doesn't change, no matter the weather, no matter the time of day or year, no matter what else is going on in the city, is the eerie quiet that surrounds the area. The one thing that always strikes me when I go there, the one thing that comes to me whether I invite it or not, is remembering the choices that people made that day. People way up above chose to leap to certain doom, rather than face a terrible end by fire. And people safely on the ground chose to go inside and upward to try and rescue those that were trapped, without any thought for their own life.

Those choices, made by people like you and me, are the story of that day. My heartfelt sympathies go out to everyone whose lives changed forever on that New York blue sky morning. God bless the men and women who serve and protect us, and their families, too. May we always remember.

Bar Hopping

Can you believe it's September already? I'm gearing up to the holiday season. I love this time of year.

The curing room is full of soaps and full of scents, both classic and new. These soaps may be my creamiest ever. Look at the way they're shining. I think the drier days and cooler nights really lend themselves nicely to the curing process. I can't wait to wrap these babies.

Pictured above are Fragrance Free, Lavenders Wild, Calendula Calm & Co, and Honey Rose Complexion bars. It was the beginning of the year when I kicked up my Lavenders Wild bar. I'm doing the same with the mint ones. I'll be unveiling those in October. Watch this space.

Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser

This natural foaming facial cleanser is made from organic oils and formulated to cleanse your face without harsh chemicals or alcohol.

Our gentle blend contains Lavender essential oil, a naturally kind, calming antibacterial, and Clary Sage essential oil, a sympathetic oil which is amenable to all skin types. Lavender oil is a soothing antiseptic and excellent for stressed skin. Clary Sage is restorative and clarifying, helping to balance the skin's natural oils.

Manor Hall Gentle Foaming Facial cleanser is on special all month long. Check it out along with all our other monthly specials!

September Freebie

Every month I get to enjoy giving away a free bar of soap with every order. Never a mystery and always full size, the order box freebie for the month of September is a Complexion Bar. Check out the freebie page to see what else can be free inside your order box this month.