Heady about Homespun

What a great day yesterday at Homespun Markets! Thank you to everyone that came along to chat and support! Totally appreciated.

Brilliant weather too for a change! With the sun out, I am sure folks were more keen to be outside and away from the house.

There was a great turnout of stalls with such a mix of goodies on offer. From Jams and Preserves, to Jewellery, Childrens Clothes, Letterpress, Felting, Cushions, Weaving, more Kids stuff and more!!

Gem from Loz and Dinny has some piccy's on her blog (check out 'Childrens Clothes' above), but there was so much more happening!

Thanks to Tameeka for organising everything - I have never done a market with a Tea and Coffee station for the stallholders before!! Nice job!

The new palm wax candles and fragrances got good feedback and it was nice to see my little soy melts were a polular choice. The next big market is the Niche 3 day market at the end of November. Will needs LOTS of candles for that one!

I will also be dropping off new stock into Ruby Pear in town as well - so feel free to drop in and see what other delights Rachael has in stock!

OK! Enough plugging other blogs for one day! More soon.....!

Homeward bound for Homespun....

Phew!
We are finally on the home stretch of a bit of a marathon effort of alchemy in the kitchen and I am officially all 'fragranced out'!
I finished off the last of the Soy Melts and Candles today and everything is all packed up ready to go.
All going well, I just have some printing of menus and pricelists to do and I am all set for this Saturdays market in town.
I am very much looking forward to seeing Mrs Smiths retro cushions, Loz and Dinny's range of childrens clothes and other goodies and That Vintage's array of designer jewellery and accessories. I know there are loads more stallholders coming along and you can check some of them out on the markets website.
Here's hoping for some sunny weather to get folks out of their houses and into the Pilgrim Hall, Paterson Street, Launceston between 10 and 3!!

Candle making day

Today has been a flurry of production... this time it's my soy candles. The house will smell like different fragrances for days. These are all for the upcoming Civic Homespun Markets this coming Saturday.

I have learnt my lesson and even though it's still chilly outside, my kitchen window is wide open to keep fresh air coming in. Some of the fragrances are really strong and can leave me lightheaded if I'm not careful. This is pretty much what I start with - pure soy wax flakes. After measuring them out, they go into a double boiler setup for melting down. I use digital scales to measure out each batch and record the weights, mls of fragrance, wick size and dye colour used in a log book - this helps me keep track of any problems, recipes and changes in each product I make.These are candles that have been poured and are curing - I pour while they are in the carton and wrap everything in a big towel for insulation. Being a chilly climate down here, they can set unevenly on the surface if they set too quickly. It's been a challenge to combat this and I am not always successful. Occasionally a rebatch is called for..... Still, it's an awful lot of fun and I just love seeing the finished product wrapped and ready for sale!

Rediscovered treasures..

I recently 'rediscovered' Wicked Child Designs through another friends blog (thanx Nicole!) and was reminded just how groovy Tenealles creations were!

I did a market with her many moons ago at Manly in Brisbane, but didn't get to chat or go over (we were pretty busy) - now I am so far away, I am sorry I didn't! Pictured are Dame Edna (top, of course!); Kevin Rudd (bottom) and; Gothic Gretel (right). All have a cheeky story to tell and come with a blurb on their personalities and backgrounds.

New Candles, Lotions and Fragrances

Finally got to take some photos of the new palm wax candles I've started making. They take a bit more work than soy wax - both making and cleaning up! - but I think they have a great look to them with the pearlised crystal patterns they produce as they cure. I'm also having fun with dyes as well. Palm wax is one of those ingredients that have a bad reputation in regards to how it is harvested - often it is done in non-sustainable ways - the wax I've found has been sourced and partnered with a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. This organization was founded by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and heads of government and industry involved in palm cultivation. So I am happy to use it in my products. The lotions have come up great in their new bottles - these also took some extra work to fill as the necks are much smaller and harder to pipe the lotion into them! But I persevered! I have only done up 9 for the Homespun Markets next Saturday - just to see what feedback I get.

I was also pleasantly surprised to receive a fragrance order very quickly from one of my suppliers - I didn't think it would get here in time for the markets.

The new fragrances I am going to play with are:

Ancient Sedonia - Orange Blossom and Bulgarian Rose and Vetiver, plus notes of Sandalwood, Bourbon Vanilla, Amber (whew!!) - reminds me of the prefume Dior Addict to be honest!

Applejack - this has warm and spicy top notes of Cinnamon and Cloves rounding down to the mellow scent of Red Apples - I'm hoping it will be a popular Spring/Summer scent.

Cinnamon Sugar - warm Ginger, Cinnamon, and Cardamom - making a yummy sticky cinnamon bun aroma!

Marrakesh - this one is super strong!! I almost made myself nauseous after I spilt it and couldn't get the smell out of the house for days! Notes of Bamboo, Vetiver Grass, Vanilla Orchid and Myrrh mix beautifully with Tangerine, Patchouli and Clove Leaf. Amazing.

Turkish Mocha - top notes of Milk, Cardamom, Cocoa and a touch of Nutmeg, scents of Vanilla, Honey, and of course, Turkish Coffee - for all those needing a coffee fix!

Passionfruit & Papaya - a very summery, fresh scent combing these two tropical fruits. Yum!

All going well these will be on my stall (that I am sharing with the lovely Mrs Smith and her groovy home sewn cushions!) at the markets.

Batty about Bottles!

These just arrived on my doorstep... so exciting!!!

They are the new bottles for my lotions and potions - I stumbled across the packaging company in a magazine and then again a few weeks ago at the Sydney Spa & Beauty Expo (which gave me an opportunity to see the bottles in the flesh). They cost a little more than my previous containers - but I think they are so worth it!

I wanted simple but elegant and I am really happy with these little guys. For the upcoming Civic Homespun Markets on the 12th Sept, I am planning on doing up my Vanilla & Marshmallow Extract Lotion, as it has been popular before. Plus two new ones: Frankincense & Lime and; Ylang Ylang, Bergamot & Lime. That's the plan at this stage anyway!

Op Shop Heaven....

Hubby and I found these little gems in a local Mission store (think St Vinnies on steroids) for $2.50 each. I was totally taken with the very retro shape and even liked the colour! The full set of six are all intact, no chips or cracks, happily. Made in Japan and very, very groovy!

Tea Party anyone....?