Great Packaging = Repeat Business

I recently ordered soaps to give as gifts. Maria, owner of Kokolele Soaps on Etsy, has been my go-to person for handmade soaps for the past 10 years. Not only are her soaps impressive, they trump my packaging expectations.

Packaging is the first thing your customers see once your product is actually in their hands.

KEY POINTS:

Use of protective wrap around product to prevent damage by dents, scratches and breakage during shipping speaks volumes about the customer service ethics of your company.













Personal touches supplement your customer service declarations. Consider showcasing your product in unique gift boxes, that include ribbons, baubles and decorative labels.

Include an appreciation gift or discount coupon when an order totals a specified value.

Invest in quality craft punches & card stock paper to create labels that promote & identify your branded product.

 Coordinate product packaging to compliment  product colors.




 

Impress customers by including a handwritten note with your product.

Ensure your product, customer service, packaging, and shipping all live up to the hype promised.

Be sure to follow up with customers a day or two after they should have received their order to make sure they are happy with everything.






 Stay up-to-date on your competitor’s prices,
services, discounts, and marketing promotions. If you can’t lower your prices as much as your competitors, then make sure customers understand how your product is worth the extra money. 

Remember, first impressions are everything. The way you package your product is a way of putting your best “face” forward to a potential customer when they encounter your product for the first time.

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Embellishing Your Soaps

Mold Market's soap molds take soap making to the next level. If you don't believe me, take a look at what Maria at Kokolele Soap has done with Mold Market's ice cream cone mold. Maria told me she was so delighted to discover this mold could me used to make a 3-D soap.

Mold #239 (Soft Serve Ice Cream) has a flat back. However, when you join the halves, you get this wonderful 3-dimensional soap which you can embellish to your heart's content.

Maria's soap artistry is amazing.

These are the new border trims from Mold Market available in June 2013. Use them to embellish your soaps. There are six border strips on each mold.

 

Here is a former blog post on how to make the different colored layers for the ice cream soap.

 

 

Here is another creative soap by Maria using Mold Market molds. I have purchased a number of soaps from Maria's Etsy shop and I must say, they are perfection with lovely packaging and labels.

The above soap is made with Mold Market's cupcake base and a small bath bomb mold. The two pieces are connected with clear soap base and embellished with a rickrack soap border.

Soaper's Shout Out: Cold Country Soaps

 



I will be sending Teresa a Mold Market soaping apron and a few other goodies tucked inside the apron pocket. Thanks Teresa for submitting your favorite soap and sharing your passion for soap making.

There is still an opportunity to receive a free soaping apron and goodies by emailing  a picture of your favorite hand-made soap along with a short bio about yourself. I have two more aprons to give away. Don't be shy. Strut your stuff and let us see what you've been up to in your soaping kitchen.
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Teresa's Bio

My name is Teresa Jensen from a very small town in Northern Minnesota (Bovey). I am mother of 2 fabulous children and married for 18 years. I am 8 months into soap making and loving every time I create a soap.

I started with MP and moved to Cold Process 5 months ago and now have started teaching myself cupcake piping. Love both methods so I make both. The endless possibilities of soap making I LOVE IT !! 

Loving the benefits of handmade soap, getting the word out to others in my community to try handmade soap, (with the help of family and friends) has been great that I started a little shop Cold Country Soaps. This is the perfect hobby/business for me. Now that my children are 17 and 19 I needed something to keep me busy.

I have tried other hobbies but after awhile interest faded until I bought $100 worth of soap supplies and I kept building shelves to add more supplies. After dedicating a room of my house to soaping I knew I found my hobby/business.
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Thank you Teresa for sharing your beautiful cupcake soaps with all of us.

Soaper's Shout Out: LatherDash Soap Company

Meet Lori Appleton of LatherDash Soap Company in Jacksonville, Florida. Lori submitted a photo of her favorite soap and is a winner of an apron from Mold Market along with a special gift tucked in the apron pocket.

Lori's mission is to make the best possible homemade bath product's using wholesome ingredient's that you can pronounce. I like that!
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Lori's Bio

Our handmade natural soaps are made using full of natural ingredients such as essential oils, organic herbs & flowers and natural base oils. This handmade natural soap lathers richly, moisturizes as well as cleanses, and leaving your skin feeling clean and soft. You will find our soaps leave your skin feeling softer and smoother than those of a typical mass-produced soap since we do not use any chemical ingredients in our made from scratch soap recipe's.
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Beautiful "Vanilla Breeze" is Loaded with Cocoa butter, Chamomile, Rosemary, Shea butter and Mediterranean Sea Salt.

 

Lori didn't submit the above photo, but I discovered it on her FB page. I love the classic look, not to mention I'm a big vanilla fan. The addition of cocoa & Shea butters score big points with me. My skin needs all the nourishment it can get. Take a moment to visit Lori's FB page and check out all the awesome soaps she sells.

Thanks for sharing your soaping passion with all of us.

Soaper's Shout Out: Kokolele Soaps

Yesterday, I posted on FB about a give-away for soaping aprons courtesy of Mold Market brand molds. The catch? You must email me a picture of one of your best soaps along with a short bio. If I showcase your soap on my blog, you will receive an apron with something special tucked inside one of the pockets. I have five aprons to giveaway. This is a great opportunity for free business exposure, plus free stuff. Can't beat that!
Maria, from Kokolele Soaps has been a long time customer of GoPlanet, and was also the first to submit her entry. Her soaps amaze me and leave me wondering, "How'd she do that?" Maria told me the above soap was made with Mold Market's #001 Basic Rectangle mold and GPE's liquid gel colorants. Look at what you can do with just a simple, basic shaped mold. Or, should I say, look at what Maria can do.
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Maria's Bio
My friends and family ,including my grandkids, they were the first persons who tried my soap creations, they loved them and gave me the idea to start to share them with others.

I have some business in Australia and the last year I traveled to Central America and I could start another little business in Costa Rica with success....and now the best part is that I am making a lot of Free Soap for children in Kenya, Africa..♥

I am very happy working in my home in Arkansas, making every soap by myself when it is ordered, I don't pre-make soaps, I like for my customers to receive freshly made soap , for this reason you can tell me your favorite scent and colors about any design you like, I will make it for you with love ♥
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I will be showcasing Maria's awesome soaps that were made using Mold Market molds. The things she can do with a mold is impressive. Check my blog over the next couple of days to visually sample her blue ribbon (at least in my opinion) soaping artistry.

Thanks, Maria for your submission. Your apron and special gift is on its way!

Business Shout Out

I was delighted to find a tutorial posted on SisterStuff.blogspot on how to use GoPlanet's popsicle mold. Carrie from greenbeans craftterole was a special guest on the SisterStuff blog. A big thank you to sisters Alish and Whitney for sharing the how-to. And an even bigger thanks to Carrie for the great tutorial filled with wonderful pictures that are easy to follow.

Here is a list of ingredients needed for this project:

• Clear melt and pour soap base
• Crinkle cutter
• Small soap bags
• Popsicle mold with sticks
• Soap fragrance (Carrie used Fruit Punch, Mango, Lemonade, Apple and Grape). We sell them all.
• Soap colorant (make sure it's non-fading colors). I suggest our Neon Bright Liquid gel colors. These are extremely concentrated. Start with a drop and add additional until desired color is achieved.

Back in 2008, I posted a video tutorial on making these soaps. It demonstrates   fudgesicle and raspberry drizzle soaps. The raspberry drizzle soap is poured in layers which is helpful if you want to learn how to pour in varying colors.

The link for the tutorial video is found here. I sure hope you take a moment to visit the two blog sites mentioned above. They have some really awesome craft ideas that are inspiring and unique.

Brown Bag Holiday Gift Wrap Idea

Now isn't this so clever? Recycled brown bag, recycled blue jeans, recycled tissue paper... VERY earth friendly and "green". I bet you have a slew of old jeans that don't fit (I do!). Or, jeans your kids have worn out by sliding across pavement, rolling in gravel... who knows how kids wear out the knees of jeans, especially boys. It's a mystery much like the missing sock the washer seems to gobble up.

Rebecca over at Older and Wiser offers this incredible packaging option to recyle denim parts.

Think soap here (not the chocolate bars). How fun to place a soap in the denim pocket and fill the bag with bath goodies (lotion, shower gel, body butter, room spray... you get the idea). Add colorful tissue and your own finishing touches and you've got yourself an "attention grabbing" package for little cost.

Absolutely Inspiring Soap Design

This soap design by Omar is stunning. The colors are breathtaking and the shapes lend themselves well to the design concept. The soaps made by Omar are inspiring to say the least. They are true works of art. I hope this post inspires you to think outside the soap box and experiment with new designs, colors and shapes.

A number of years back, I remember a comment made to me by a colleague in the business. She said, "You can only do so much with soap and soap mold designs." Well, I think that's a bunch of hooey! I see individuals stretching the boundaries everyday. This is just one example of the talented soap artists in the industry.

Everything's Coming Up Polka Dots



I so love to see some of the handiwork and colors used for the Mold Market brand polka dot soap mold. Pictured above is Blueberry Bliss from The Soap Garden's Etsy Shop. Love the colors.

This Christmas soap is from Katy Star Smoothie Esty shop. You'll want to check out some of the other soaps offered. Nice job.

Pink...my grand daughter's favorite color. This polka dot soap is made by Moxie Makings Etsy shop.

The Mold Market polka dot mold is soooo easy to do in multiple colors. The dots are raised for easy filling. If you use the GPE injector tool, it makes the job even easier.

Awesome Stocking Stuffer Soaps

Here's a shout out to Soapsations at Etsy. Great display of GoPlanetEarth's printable soaping paper.

Nice job, Melanie.

Autumn Leaves Soaps by Fields of Ambrosia

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Mold Market Sponsors 2011 Soap Guild Conference

Each year, Mold Market helps in sponsoring the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild. This year, Mold Market provided water bottles for each attendee. Each time you purchase a Mold Market brand mold, you are helping to sponsor future Soap Guild events. For the record, GoPlanetEarth carries the entire line of Mold Market molds.

Mold Market's center page ad at the conference is just another reminder of why you want to purchase these quality molds. The annual Soap Guild conference is a huge event and if you've not yet attended or are not familiar with this grand event, I encourage you to visit the HSMG web site.

STRUT YOUR STUFF: SherrisScentsandSoys

What an amazing Candy Cane soap. And, it's scented with none other than, YEP, you guessed it, candy cane fragrance! I will be ordering a few bars today from Sherri's Etsy shop for stocking stuffers. There's still time... so check out some of the other cool soaps Sherri offers.

This is an Oatmeal soap made with one of our Mold Market molds. It's scented with oatmeal, milk and honey fragrance and also contains goat's milk.

Lump of Coal Soap: A must have for that naughty boy or girl on your Christmas list. These Lumps of Coal soaps contain genuine activated charcoal. The activated charcoal helps to lightly buff and detoxify the skin. How fun to give and not to mention very useful.

STRUT YOUR STUFF: Brigabauble Esty Shop

OK. If you follow my blog, you know that my honey-man is in the wine biz. One of GoPlanet's FB friends is making this wine cork necklace. It caught me eye because I never know what to do with wine corks (and we have a kazillion of them!). Brig from Brigabauble Etsy Shop has this item for sale. What a unique holiday gift for that wine geek in your family or, for that matter, anyone on your shopping list!

Brig originally opened BrigaBauble on Etsy in hopes of selling her handmade jewelry to feed her bead-buying obsession. Since then, she has expanded her crafting and wares to include cuff links, bath & body goodies, magnets, bottle-cap jewelry, rosaries and more. Every time she gets a sale, she does a little dance of joy. Let's help Brig do that dance of joy this holiday season.

STRUT YOUR STUFF: Eastwind Soaps

Kate is one of GoPlanetEarth's FB friends. I recently visited her EastwindSoaps Etsy store and found the following soaps. I loved this personalized bar. Very classy looking, and can be personalized with anything you wish.

How about this ice cream soap? Great job Kate. I love how you have the soap coming over the edge of the cone. Very nice.

And then the soap crayons. What teacher OR student wouldn't get a kick out of this?! Pay a visit to Kate's Esty shop and see what you might be able to pick up for gift giving.

STRUT YOUR STUFF: Vegan Kitty

Strut Your Soap Stuff is part of GoPlanetEarth's Christmas countdown (and yes, I will use the word "Christmas" instead of "Holiday" because I really have grown tired of all this politically correct rhetoric).

I recently posted on my FB page that I would showcase some of my customer's favorite holiday soaps, lotion, gels, or anything that appropriately fell into the handmade gifts category. I know that many of you are out there in cyberspace shopping for unique gifts. I will be doing random posts on what I believe to be ideal holiday gifts at affordable prices. If you are a customer of GoPlanetEarth and want a business shout out, now is the time!

Vegan Kitty shared some of her favorite handmade holiday soap slices. You can purchase these soaps at Nikole's Etsy store. The soaps showcased are scented in peppermint which is ideal for both men and women. Each bar weighs in at a generous 5 ounces.

Best yet, each bar is handmade with nothing less than 100% vegan-y goodness containing a generous amount of moisturizing Shea Butter soap along with natural, pure and moisturizing Veggie Glycerin, including added Aloe Vera and Vitamin E!

Christmas Countdown: STRUT YOUR STUFF!

STRUT YOUR STUFF! Here is a chance to showcase your handmade soap or toiletry goods. Email your best holiday wares. It can be lotions, gels, body butters, soaps, sprays.... we will be showcasing them on my blog. A great opportunity for a business shout out. I will be showcasing the best of the best and posting every day until Christmas. What are you waiting for? Strut your stuff! This is part of our Christmas countdown.

Mold Market Introduces 9 New Soap Mold Designs

Mold Market has released 9 new soap mold designs that are sure to please the heart of many soapers. They range in style from classic, to kids, to just plain fun (as in their s'more mold!). They include a pebble rock mold (pictured above) and a plum leaf (shown below).

As always, Mold Market pushes it to the cutting edge in mold designs and the grape fern with border (shown below) is a perfect example. In a future blog post, I will have to talk about what it takes to create one these mold designs. It's not as easy and straight-forward as you may believe it to be.

You can check out the 9 mold designs here. Other new designs include a S'more mold (based on pre-orders, an expected sell out). There is Homer the Fish, Whale Willie, Assorted Easter Eggs, Oblong Leaf, and a Tic Tac Toe mold.

Mold Market is one of the leading soap mold companies in the US. They are a strong supporter and sponsor of the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild year after year. Quality follows their name. You won't be disappointed with their mold line AND all molds are made in the USA!! I know ya' all are jumping up and down about silicone molds these days. But, 99% of silicone molds from are NOT made in the USA. They are manufactured in Mexico, China, or other countries that are not supporting the US economy and our workers. Go ahead and shoot me now (I know I'm going to get email feedback on that one), but I have to call it like it is.

Holiday Decorating: Business Shout Out

One of my most favorite online stores is CB2. They have some of the most hip house and kitchen ware items ever!! This is just one of the clever holiday decorating items offered on their blog. Easy and actually quite inexpensive.

Just think of all the ornament types you can hang from the sprayed tree branch. I have a big floating island in the lower level of my home. It seats up to 10 people. I am going to spray a branch in the same silver as shown and then drape ornaments from the branch to match my table decor (might even hang some soaps as hostess gifts). Oh, what fun. I can't wait to see how it all turns out. My honey man and I host a number of dinner parties during the holiday season. This idea will allow me to switch up the table decor to fit the event.

Using Mold Market's Tray Soap Mold

I happened up on Little Sparrow Soap Company Esty shop this morning. Once again, I see another unique way that someone is using Mold Market's 8-bar Rectangle soap mold (Items #79) to produce some awesome soaps. This retro soap design was created by Libby. Great job!