More Of A Classic

4 ounce Classic size soap bars are being returned to the website over the next few evenings. I'm using different molds for them, which means the bars are weighing in just a little heavier. Prices will remain the same though, because I'm not getting as many Mischief Maker off-cuts from the new molds. On the left is the Classic size as it was... on the right is the newer Classic style bar. You get a little more in your hand, and I get less wastage in the workshop. I think that's a win-win all round.

Making Mischief

Well, it's Day 2 of the new year, and already it's feeling a lot like last year. Yes, I've been in my workshop all day today.

The Mischief Makers page is one of the busiest at the Manor. That's the page where all the "little less than perfect" products go. A blemish here, a tiny air bubble there. Soap bars that may not quite make the cut in weight. All otherwise perfectly Manor Hall, they land on the Mischief Makers page, just waiting to be taken home at a reduced price.

Now stocked up with more special deals on soap bars, the 2009 Mischief Makers selection includes assorted full size bar packs, assorted slice packs and even single flavor end packs. Buy them now. When they're gone, they're gone.

Mmmm... Chocolate...

The change of the season is happening again. I never tire of watching the seasons come and go. Each one offering something new to replace the colors and smells of the season past. As summer begins to fade into fall, we welcome warm familiar tones and scents, while looking toward preparing our skin in readiness for the cool and bluster of the months ahead.

Cocoa butter is an ingredient new to the Manor. Pressed from the cocoa bean, it carries a wonderful chocolate aroma. But aside from its heavenly natural scent, it also holds excellent benefits for the skin, and has been used through the centuries as an effective moisturizer helping to keep the skin soft and supple. Cocoa butter melts into the skin with ease, creating a natural barrier between the skin and the harsher elements associated with our weather. Rich in antioxidants, cocoa butter helps retain moisture and offers emollience to dry or chafed skin.

There's a new wild child running the halls of the Manor. Set against a backdrop of sweet orange essential oil, and stirred through with moisturizing cocoa butter and rich cocoa bean powder, "Choccy Orange Kerfuffle" is an indulgent heavenly delight. It's a little chocolate commotion with a big feeling of lotion. On the website and available to chocoholics near and far. Get yours now, and prepare to feel the melt.

Rinse and Shine

The outer layer of each strand of hair is made up of small cuticle scales. They overlap for protection of the hair shaft, laying flat and reflecting the light to give shine.

Rather like louvre blinds, these cuticles open when the hair is washed. When this layer of protective scales is damaged, the cuticles don't close properly, causing an uneven sheath. The hair looks course, tangles frequently and breaks with ease. Instead of reflecting the light, the hair absorbs it taking on a dull and lifeless appearance.

The residue left behind from many of today's hair products builds up on the hair shaft. This residue coats the strands, and impedes the cuticle's ability to lay flat. Rinsing the hair with cider vinegar helps to condition the scalp, removes residual build up, and promotes closing of the cuticle layer. Tangles are fewer because the strands of hair are smooth, and natural shine is restored.

Our Ingredients

Another day, another section of the web site. The Ingredients page is now up, and on there is a handy list of many of the ingredients I use and the qualities I use them for.

There's also a neat little feature that's been added to the product pages. Just hover the mouse over a purple colored ingredient in the ingredients list (shown above) and a little informational box will pop up telling you about it. How cool is that?

Reading Room

I had a very enjoyable day today. We finally got the Reading Room active on the web site, although it's still a work in progress, which will no doubt continue tomorrow. Still to come is the Ingredients section of the site, but... one thing at a time.

Meanwhile, you can check out the Reading Room here, if you fancy a short read or two.

Back in January, I wrote about a Manor Hall Soap contest over on the awesome mineral makeup site, Specktra.net. Janice, who will be featuring Manor Hall on her site throughout March, is running another Manor minded contest for her wonderful community of followers.

This time, you get to suggest a scent you'd like to see added to the Manor Hall line. Enter your scent idea through her suggestion form and you'll automatically be in the running to win three Manor Hall soap bars.

Head on over there and check it out!

Specktra Girls

I love to take a hot shower after yoga. There is something about the warm soothing water that really relaxes and calms me. I would love to use manor hall's products during those showers. When the products smell good it makes that time all the more special.

I love trying new products in the tub and making myself feel pretty and smell good. I would love to try some olive oil products from Manor Hall Soap Company to try and appease my dry, winter skin...

I take a hot bath with soap from Manor Hall..
Until I awake and hear the real world call.
No more dry skin for me,
Just moisturized, soft, and snuggly to a tee.

Why are all these people talking about Manor Hall Soap? They were part of an innovative contest run by Janice over at specktra.net. In early December, I sent off a lovely box of Manor Hall goodies as part of the Specktra holiday contest giveaway. Janice had contacted me and asked me if I would like to donate, and I was more than happy to take part.

On Manor Hall giveaway day, the community was asked: Respond with your personal favorite relaxation technique and how you would use this prize from Manor Soap Hall Company to unwind. It inspired many creative responses that were a delight to read. You can catch the thread here and read them for yourself.

Janice has an excellent beauty community of cosmetically minded followers who gather to read and share the latest in makeup. She also has reviews and beauty news on her main site and on her blog. Go take a look in at the forum, but I warn you, be prepared to be there a long time, it's a very good read.

Havin' a Blast

I love the change of the seasons as the year moves along. January's barely got underway and I'm already playing with the new scents for Spring. While that's exciting as the blends meld in their bottles, the staples still have to be made. Customers have their favorite soap bars... the best sellers like Ooh La Lavender and Oatmeal, Honey Me Smooth, Almost Sunset and the one I've been making today, Orange Tree Blast.

The three soaps that are the Shower Power Trio were made with showers in mind. I think most of us experience the same, first thing in the morning. It's like, alarm clock... oh no hit the snooze... alarm clock again... oh do I really wanna get up? I've always loved showers. It's the early morning journey between the bed and the shower jets that gets to me. That bleary eyed time where you know you've got to be awake, but you're just not ready for it yet.

Essential oils are great for hitching a ride on steam. Citrus oils are great for awakening the senses - not to mention deodorizing. With that in mind, the Shower Power Trio were born. Mind blowing bars, speckled throughout with poppy seeds. Just right for gentle exfoliating. A little scrubby, but without the sandpaper effect. There's a flavor for every morning mood. Lemon Poppo screams with mint. Lime 'N Thyme yells eucalyptus. And the Orange Blast bar shouts tea tree.

And with all that going on, it's easy to forget the rich olive oil and the other skin kissing ingredients that make these bars possible. That is, until you step out of the shower...

The Ripple Effect

So this is where I've been. In the soaping room. For the last ten days nonstop. Not that I mind. The smell is heavenly. The chappies line the shelves like little soldiers. Each and every one of them proudly beaming his scent.

The ripple effect. I had no idea when I made my very first batch of soap, that I would be here these years later with so many on offer and with so many people enjoying them. It's official... Almost Sunset has become my best selling bar. It was inspired by the sunset over Cape May, New Jersey. It's an absolutely to die for smell, with nine different essential oils playing off each other to create something you don't want to put down. It's sweet, it's tangy, it's fresh. Romantic and very addictive. And it's in the curing room until November 19th.

There's something about a glorious sunset. The reds, the yellows, and the orange, all rippled across a setting sky. Only fitting that they should be on display in a soap bar that smells like this. Almost Sunset. Take yourself back to the night when the sun was setting and you never wanted it to end.

Flower Power

It is believed that around 5,000 years ago (3,000 B.C.), in what is present day New Mexico and Arizona, the sunflower was domesticated into a single headed plant with varying seed colors including black, white, red and the familiar black and white striped. Yes... the sunflower was domesticated in North America. And it's the only crop harvested around the world for seed that can make that claim.

Way back when, the seeds of this plant were pounded into flour, cracked and eaten as snacks and mixed with other vegetables. And evidence indicates that other parts of the plant were used in the making of ointments for snakebites and other skin conditions. And the oil from the seed was actually squeezed for use on the hair and skin.

Sunflower oil is utilized widely today in cooking, but also as a carrier oil for massage. It is chemically stable and therefore excellent as a base for natural balms, lotions and creams. It is easily absorbed and contains skin-adoring vitamins A and D, and more vitamin E than any other vegetable oil. It also has calcium, iron, zinc and phosphorous, minerals which help nourish and revitalize, while the oil moisturizes, softens, heals and protects.

Organic sunflower oil is the base of Manor Hall Lip Skippers Lip Balm, including the all new super-soothing Lip Skippers Mend Blend. Also made with calendula infused organic olive oil, this lip balm is ready to take on the harsh of the cold season. It's just what every pair of smackers needs this winter.

Say Hey to Shea...

September is almost gone, and the cooler season beckons. Preparing the skin for the harshness during the months ahead is important. I've never seen the point in waiting until the dry flakes appear before deciding the skin needs attention.

Unrefined shea butter is very versatile, and has excellent soothing, moisturizing and anti-aging properties. It also has a characteristic "nutty" scent to it, that disappears after about twenty minutes on the skin. Shea butter has been used for dry skin by African healers for too many centuries to count. It is high in non-saponifiables and has a unique fatty acid profile. Together, this makes for an incredible ability to moisturize and retain the skin's elasticity.

But the wonder of Shea doesn't stop there. It also helps to protect the skin against damage done by the sun. It repairs degenerated cells, and its vitamin A content makes it a true friend to excema, dermatitis, and skin blemishes. Many report the natural butter to promote and accelerate wound healing, scars, and stretch marks.

The unrefined butter is thick, and easily melts when rubbed between the palms. A little goes a long long way. Intitially, for the first few minutes it feels a little greasy. Then, almost as fast as it melted between your hands it's gone, leaving behind a soft silkiness of protection that soothes cracks and eases dryness.

If you've never tried Shea butter, then you don't know what you're missing out on. And for those of you who don't need any introduction to its wonderful skin kissing properties... take yourself on over to the Manor. Fall has begun, and our natural organic unrefined shea butter is here in plenty...

Mattoon Street Arts Festival

I've spent the week so far stocking up on soap bars. I love the smell of a soapfest, as batch after batch wafts through and fills the whole place with wonderful natural plant oil aromas.

The weekend was a glorious one, and the Mattoon Street Arts Festival didn't disappoint. The Festival, celebrating its 35th year, is Springfield's signature festival, and one of New England's longest running arts and crafts fairs. With over 90 exhibitors displaying and selling handmade arts and artisan crafts on a wonderfully historic tree-lined urban street over two weekend days, it is as unique as the artists and craftspeople that participate in it year in and year out. Herringbone brick sidewalks, stately London Plane shade trees, and cast iron ornamental street lights all contribute to the charm of this designated historic district.

Saturday was sweltering with high humidity and the temperature a record breaking 92 degrees. It was a little too warm, and the numbers wandering through the pretty canopy lined street reflected that. But in true Scarlett style, tomorrow was indeed another day, and the Sunday shoppers stopped by our canopy all day long taking home with them many olive oil soap chappies.

Almost Sunset won the day yet again. I have yet to put this soap bar out and have it overlooked. Thank you to all who stopped by the booth to see what the scent was all about, and to everyone who couldn't resist picking up some Manor Hall goodies.

Full of Beans

I've always found September to be one of those "where are we" months. I mean, it's still warm but it isn't quite summer. And yet, it's not cool enough for fall.

Skin takes a beating during the summer months. It's odd... the English complexion of olde was always one of pale. These days, if we look like we did back then, we'd be accused of being anemic. Wonder if that's why they were always fainting back then. Yes, okay... I'm just being clever. I know it was the corsets that were way too tight.

So... flaky lips from summer's blaze give way to new ingredients for the Fall. Macadamia nut oil, moisturizing virgin coconut oil and intoxicating coffee butter. Just the right thing to condition that pucker, ready for the cool of the coming months. Lip Skippers Conditioning Lip Butter in a wild coffee roast. Available now at the Manor. Just the thing to take the middling out of the month of September.

It's All Happening

Growth is great. It can also be very frightening. Because in order to grow, things must change. What was once new becomes old. And a new "new" comes along.

We celebrated our third birthday back in July. The web site will soon be two years. And the What's Happening page just turned 1. At the beginning of July, the Manor Hall Soap Blog was born. I'm not very techy. But after six or seven weeks, I'm now getting to grips with how to make a post all by myself. It's much easier than having to wait for my techy guy to upload the What's Happening page to the web site. Yes. Growth is great.

So as September begins, this is where you can keep up with all the goings on inside and outside of the Manor. This is where it's at. This is... What's Happening. And as for the soaps in the picture above... I'll be telling you about them soon.

The Naughty Boys Club...

To make it for a classic jacket, you've gotta be pretty near perfect. Okay... each bar of soap is different from the next because I cut them by hand. So in that respect, no two bars are ever really the same. But there is a standard here at The Manor, and the chappies have to meet it when being chosen for their designer labels.

Over the summer, we've been clearing out to make room for the new of Fall, and the other day I rounded up all the cheeky chappies that never made the grade for one reason or another. It's something I've been meaning to do for a while. Soaps, salts, bath oils, cremes. The usual crowd who won't sit still for their labels, or who get too boisterous when being bottled and jarred. Usually, they find their way to friends, or family.

As we've grown, so too have our cheeky ones. Way too good to just ignore, and with little personalities all of their own, the Mischief Makers are now making noise at the Manor. Which one's shouting your name...?

Curb Appeal

We've had the decorators in at the Manor this past few months. And this last weekend with ladders in place and dustsheets all around, the paint cans finally got their day. I always love daubing the first of new paint on old walls.

There's still a ways to go yet, but the general look is pretty something, I'd say. On first look it's not the Manor. But then as it settles on the eye, you just know that it couldn't really be anywhere else.

There's a few more changes to come before the 1st of August sunrise. It's been one of those glorious summers we're sure to remember for many years to come...

Fruit By The Foot (continued...)

We finally got the labels on straight, and the natural daylight hung around long enough to get the photographs taken. I can't believe it's been so long in coming. I thought I'd never get here. But fruit's like that, isn't it. It appears after the blossom falls and you so badly wanna pick it. But you can't. You've got to let it grow. You've got to let the sunlight do it's job. And you've got to let the rain fall. New product alert. Here's the update to the post I made a few days ago up at the Manor on my What's Happening page.

Islands. Bays. Fruit. Don't you just love how nature naturally gathers together what's needed, all in one place? So I thought, why not? The sea, with its salt. The trees with their fruit. And the tropical islands with their fresh scents, wonderful gentle breeze, and cheery, colorful memories. That's what I put into my brand new Froot line of relaxing yet refreshing foot care. Gentle like the breeze, my Froot Salt Scrubs are now available in two island flavors. Froot Washes and Froot Balms are now here too, with even more on the way. Just the thing to whisk you away at the end of any hard working day.