Thursday 20 December 2012

Save The Date!! -The WEST Holiday Pop Up Shop

Still looking for that One Of A Kind, handmade gift for that special someone? Want to treat yourself? The Winnipeg Etsy Street Team to the rescue!

We will be participating in this weekend's Holiday Pop Up Shop at the Frame Arts Warehouse, Saturday  December 22nd, 2012 at Frame Arts Warehouse in Winnipeg (318 Ross Avenue) from 11:00 until 5:00 pm.

Lots of things to see, goodies to eat, and we will be offering free gift wrapping of your purchases.

Hope to see you there!

Louise

Monday 17 December 2012

More on Nail Polish

This has started to become a bit of an obsession! It took some time to learn how to color the nail polish, with a few failures.. but pretty sure I understand the process now.


This is my first picture worthy polish and it was named Sugar Cookies. Silver, red and green holographic glitters, sprinkled with white hex and bars, this polish went on so well when we tested it with 3 different nail polishes as undies:





This is over an essie nail polish - don't shoot me - I'll edit this part and insert the nail polish name later. My photography isn't that great and this was taken with my Android phone....
 This is Sugar Cookies over Sally Hansen's Mint Sorbet. These are the best shots BY FAR! Still cannot capture the sparkle but the base color is awesome. I'm going to make another polish with this color as the base :)






This is Sugar Cookies over a dark midnight blue base. The dark base polish is discontinued but I thought it would be good to show how it glimmers even on a dark colour.

Would LOVE to hear what you think of this polish. Next week I shall show you another!
Oh yes! almost forgot! If you would like to try this polish, I'm offering it for free with any online purchase from our shop of $25+ until Dec 24. Our website is http://www.sogasoap.com


Monday 19 November 2012

Mani-SoGa

Oh! I'm so clever huh? It's a play on Manitoba, where SoGa Soap & CupFakery, is based. You're probably groaning out loud just about now, dear readers :)

The reason that I've come up with this (maybe not) so clever name is that we're starting to make our own polishes! This is a project that I've had in my mind for a few months now, but to bring it into fruition took some time.

It's not easy to get a good suspension base. I want not only to colour, but I want to be able to suspend glitter in it. AND have it as eco-friendly as possible. Therefore ALL ManiSoGa polishes are 3-free, meaning they contain no toluene, dibutyl phthalate or formaldehyde. Our polishes will have the Health Canada approval.

I can't wait to show you some Christmas polishes! If you're an avid nail blogger I'd love to send you some to swatch and help me develop this new brand! Just inbox me!



 

Monday 29 October 2012

We are really lucky here in the prairies!

Although living here has its ups and downs weather-wise, it's nothing like what is currently going on both on the East and West Coasts! Record setting 7.1 of Prince Rubert, BC, with the ensuing tsunami warnings was just the start. Called my mom once the warnings came out on Facebook (she lives on the West coast of White Rock, BC) and she hadn't heard anything at all on the news. What's up with that!!! What's wrong with the reporting up here :( I'd love to hear what you think.

Meanwhile, as I am writing this, the power has just gone out in parts of New York city, with sections of the city already flooded from Superstorm Sandy. My thoughts are with you, friends!
I forgot to mention last week that at Scattered Seeds, I brought home a new friend, DaShmoo the gnome summoner and her summoned dragon, LilChewy! a wonderful artist by the name of Cynthia had her available during Scattered Seeds. Here is LilShmoo in all her glory :)

DaShmoo and LilChewy
They look pretty happy perched on that geode, don't they? Let Cynthia make you a special dragon! She can be emailed at creativeclay@mymts.net


Onto Soapy things -> We have finally introduced our Stain Stick to complement Sensitive Skin Laundry soap. I will demonstrate its use next week. It is unscented and meant to rub directly on the stain itself.

After wetting the end of the stick, apply to the stain, covering it completely. Rub into stain.  Wait at least 1 minute or up to a week before washing. Wash according to care label instructions in the warmest water recommended.
 

New on our website is Dark Espresso Vetiver bar soap.





The perfect marriage of coffee and vetiver - the fragrance is masculine, morning, with a deep rich coffee undertone.
As the scent unfolds, a spicey heart of Mace, Green Pepper and Coriander enhances the sharp astringency of the initial topnotes. The dominant incense base notes kick in with a counterpoint of Smoky Incense, Haitian Vetiver, Sandalwood, Juniper, Bubinga Wood, Green Lichen and just a hint of Bouron Vanilla.
Each handmade SoGa bar retains its own natural glycerin, keeping your skin smooth and soothed. SoGa bars are made with vegan ingredients, with custom blends of essential and fragrant oils to add the wonderful scent that you will not find anywhere else. Our bars will last many weeks when cared for properly, so keep out of the flow or pool of water to extend its life! SoGa soap is perfect for baby, new mom, or anyone that suffers from ultra-sensitive skin. You simply won't find a more gentle soap.

See you next week!

Monday 22 October 2012

Three day shows are exhausting!

It's time for the Monday blog post! Two weeks in a row, what's up with that :) First I'd like to share the new items in our shop. We made sugar scrub!

We decided to offer SoGa Sugar Scrub in 2 sizes, 8 oz and a smaller 4 oz if you are travelling. It's offered in all our scents and I can't wait for you to try it!  Here is a short video about what is in SoGa Sugar Scrub.

We have just finished a 3 day event called Scattered Seeds (http://www.thescatteredseeds.com). It was our very first large consumer show. The energy was amazing and we had a blast! There were 11 other soap/bath & body makers there, which was a fair amount considering there were only 140 vendors. We spoke to people about our products and our new shop. We were very pleased to present our newest set - a soap, scrub and lotion. People loved them :)

Black Raspberry & Vanilla set

Luscious Lavender

Lime in the Coconut



Tell us what you think!

Monday 15 October 2012

New Shop Opened!

You probably thought this blogger had given up the ghost and gone awol... fear not! I now am on a schedule and you will see this blog updated every Monday - this is when I am in the shop (Luis, my husband, is here the rest of the time...)

So, as you can glean from today's title, we have opened a brick-and-mortar shop in Winnipeg! This came about serendipitously- Thrive Nutrition were looking for someone to sublet half their space as we came to the decision to look for a retail space. This is really a dream come true for yours truly, as it is for many soap makers out there.

We had great promotion from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Metro and the Lance:

Tons of people came through - I really hope they loved what they saw. We can't wait to hear what you thought of our products :)


Some shots from the opening:




Winner of our $50 Gift Certificate!
 More soon!

Friday 20 April 2012

Mango Berry Artisan Soap

I was feeling like a new swirl so had a lot of fun creating this soap. It has cocoa butter in it for a change, not the usual shea butter. This soap smells just like a grapy gummy bear and I can guarantee it will leave your skin feeling fantastic!




Thursday 22 March 2012

Sakura Hana

I'm soap-obsessed! Our latest adventure is a short video on cutting Sakura Hana soap - the scent description will follow in another post once the pictures are ready.

My husband, Luis, is the man behind the scenes :)

Saturday 17 March 2012

Earth Day CupFake "Save the Ocean"

In honour of Earth Day on April 22, we have come up with a special CupFake, Save the Oceans. 20 wonderful eco-conscious A-list celebrities will each receive one of these, along with a Trilogy pack of BaBalm lip balms!
Earth Day CupFake
The scent of Save the Oceans is a mysterious blend of essential oils including Lavender, bourbon Geranium, Sage, Lemongrass, Rosemary and Lime. The blend was left to mingle for over a month and the result is a wonderful fresh beachy type scent!

Each celebrity will receive this beautiful natural soap inside a small burlap sack, embellished with wooden beads and topped off with a flowery bow. On the outside is a smaller lace bag with three Vegan BaBalm lip balms, to soothe and protect against harsh conditions.

ANNOUNCEMENT!
We now have the list of celebrities!

  • Jeremy Piven
  •  Tom Hanks 
  • Bill Maher 
  • Adrian Grenier
  • Kate Bosworth
  • P!nk 
  • Leonardo DiCaprio 
  • Dave Matthews
  • Rosario Dawson 
  • Woody Harrelson 
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus
  • Daryl Hannah 
  • Drew Barrymore
  • Ellen DeGeneres 
  • Orlando Bloom 
  • Jake Gyllenhaal 
  • Josh Hartnett 
  • Sting 
  • Barbra Streisand 
  • Alicia Silverstone 
  • Courteney Cox 
  • Cameron Diaz 
  • KT Tunstall 
  • Mark Ruffalo 
  • Edward Norton 
So excited!~

If you are interested in receiving an Earth Day CupFake set (I made extras!), contact me either via our site http://www.sogasoap.com or on Facebook!