Martinsville Emporium

The garage and barn

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:13:04 GMT

The garage and barn
Originally uploaded by Martinsville.

Sadly, I have yet to figure out how to employ pixie people to do my work for me.

I didn't start out on the second floor of that two story barn. Like most home-based businesses in my area, I started out in the kitchen, making soap by day, and dinner by night.

Until the (in)famous Rose Flavored Mashed Potato Incident. It was the fall of 2002, and it seems I must have been making rose soap that fateful day, and spilled some of the fragrance oil on the only real work surface I have in my tiny 10' x 10' kitchen, a little 3' wide wooden microwave cart.

Wood is really porous, you know. Tends to soak up just about any oil that falls on it, and then transfer it to whatever you put on it.

So there we are, happily eating dinner, and the Husband takes a bite of his mashed potatoes, puts his fork down, and says, "Maybe it's time to clean out the garage and move your soapmaking things out there".

Oops?

I outgrew the garage in about a year. And actually, the plans for the barn were already in the works for his woodworking shop - I just handily noted that adding a second story would add very little cost to the barn itself, and I could work with the sloped ceilings whereas he could not.

So now the garage is used for storing finished products (except in the winter, when the lotions and sprays have to come inside so they don't freeze) and I have a lovely but very disorganized workshop dedicated to things that one really shouldn't eat. ^_^

Pumpkin Pie cold process soap

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:19:05 GMT

Pumpkin Pie cold process soap
Originally uploaded by Martinsville.

Now that it's officially fall here in Martinsville - never mind that it's 78 degrees F out today, and I just heard a cicada - all I can think about is pumpkins.

Specifically, pumpkin pie.

Which of course, is my second favorite pie of all time. (The first, in case you were wondering, is rhubarb custard.)

So I really do think you should celebrate fall by buying a bar of Pumpkin Pie Soap - either at Etsy or Mintd (your choice).

Martinsville will soon be on the march!

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 03:00:42 GMT

Later this month, Mr. S. and I will be invading the Etsy Labs for the Etsy Green and Clean Guild's Trunk Show! W00t!!

Meet and Greet
CoffinColor.etsy.com
Lollibomb.etsy.com
MagickalRealism.etsy.com
MartinsvilleEmporium.etsy.com
Soap.etsy.com
Xiane.etsy.com

RSVP to rsvp@etsy.com

New soaps! Chameleon and Geisha

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:21:42 GMT

New soaps! Chameleon and Geisha
Originally uploaded by Martinsville.

These are the first two soaps in our new Extreme Limited Edition line. Each new fragrance will be made in very small 1 pound batches, so there will be at the most 4 bars of soap available.

The white soap is Chameleon - based on one of Lush's most famous fragrances, Karma. You get that, yes? Karma, Chameleon, Karma Chameleon - what can I say, I'm a child of the '80s. ^_^ Our version is a blend of amber and patchouli surrounded by fresh clean citrusy notes and woodsy notes of the forest, a whisper of Lavender and much more. These bars are very rustic, and have an interesting pattern - there's a circle inside the square, where the soap heated up after being poured into the mold.

The tan soap is Geisha, a very Eastern, mystical fragrance, combining soft amber, sandalwood, and spices, against a creamy background of musks and myrrh. An intoxicating, feminine fragrance inspired by the Geisha tradition of Japan.

You really should check them out! ^_^

New Lip Balm Flavors!

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 21:57:50 GMT

New Lip Balm Flavors!
Originally uploaded by Martinsville.

I've been busy with these three great new lip balm flavors in my Etsy shop:

Lime Sugar - Bright and Bubbly absolutely describes this flavor, that also matches our new Lime Sugar Supreme soap. Don't think bitter when you think of this citrus, it's lovely dulcet notes will delight the most discriminating lips.

Mojito - If you have tried the refreshing sparkly Cuban drink of the same name, you know what this one is all about. It's minty, lime, sparkly and very fresh. The Cubans really knew what they were doing when they invented this drink and the flavor is just like it.

Berry VooDoo - A "wicked" good berry flavor. For the berry lover it's an unforgettable blend of juicy, fruity berries, the best of summer. Yummmmmm!!!

Visit us in Martinsville, why don'tcha? ^_^

Lime Sugar Supreme Handmade Soap

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:43:13 GMT

Lime Sugar Supreme Handmade Soap
Originally uploaded by Martinsville.

OK, I admit it - I'm on a lime kick, and have been for a while. So when this fragrance arrived in Martinsville, I knew I had a winner. This isn't just lime, it's lime with an attitude! It's positively bursting with bright notes of Lime with lush background notes of musk and tiny floral notes. I think you'll love it just as much as I do! ^_^

Now available at http://MartinsvilleEmporium.etsy.com

Need some zippers?

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 04:03:23 GMT

Zipper Set - code name Georgia
Originally uploaded by Martinsville.

I have lots of zippers listed in my Etsy store. They're all great for pouch and purse making! (Not so great for skirt-making, which is what I bought them for.)

Alcohol-free Body Mist

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:05:09 GMT

Alcohol-free Body Mist
Originally uploaded by Martinsville.

New in Martinsville are these great alcohol-free body mists. These are just a few of the fragrances that I made for a wholesale order. I can make them in all of the soap fragrances, and many of the candle fragrances as well. Chocolate raspberry truffle, anyone? ^_^

Holy Green, Batman!

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:44:44 GMT

Holy Green, Batman!
Originally uploaded by Martinsville.

A VERY green block of one of our new Spring '07 fragrances, Lime Sugar Supreme! Trust me, it smells great, but that's NOT a color found in nature! ^_^

It'll be ready on 2/5/07, just in time for Valentine's Day shipping!

Limited Edition Holiday 2006 Soy Wax Candles

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:35:20 GMT

Limited Edition Holiday 2006 Soy Wax Candles
Originally uploaded by Martinsville.

When I first saw these adorable little ceramic baking dishes, I though to myself, "Self, those would make really great double-wicked candles!"

They burn a little faster because of the double wick, but oh man, the fragrance throw on them is OUTRAGEOUS!

I only have 3 of each fragrance, though, so grab them now!

New lip balm flavors!

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 17:34:28 GMT

New lip balm flavors!
Originally uploaded by Martinsville.

I've just added these three great new flavors to my Etsy store. Yay! You shoudl come visit us!

Human tested, cat approved!

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 00:15:45 GMT

Human tested, cat approved!
Originally uploaded by Martinsville.

Kinako is a bit crazy, being a kitten, and rarely sits down long enough to take a nap, let alone let me get a decent picture of him. So I was really surprised when he sat down next to these cantalopue lip balms to take a sniff!

sneak peek!!

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:53:55 GMT

Hmm, now what can this be?

Hint: It's not food. And it will be on Etsy on October 1st.

I think I've lost it, lol

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 21:19:47 GMT

So today, while taking pictures of new things like the Here There Be Dragons and Amber soaps (two of my favorites, by the way), I was contemplating just how to take pictures of these itty bitty soaps I'm going to offer.

I had cut them up on the dining room table instead of out in the shop, right next to my latest VistaPrint order, and this is what happened:

Oh look! I'm walking through a field of giant soaps!

And it just gets worse from there, 'cause then I went and started taking lip balm pictures in front of the postcards.

I need therapy. :^P

I really did want to offer these for free, but the best I can do is $1 - which just covers the Etsy and PayPal fees, and the cost of shipping. BUT, just mention in the comments that you saw this in LiveJournal, and I'll send you one for free.

So go ahead, order one, tell me you saw it in LJ, and I'll ship one off to you!

Yay!!

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 15:34:34 GMT

Well, after two days of tweaking and fighting with FrontPage, I've finally updated my sad, broken website:

You can, of course, go take a look for yourself!

LiveJournal Special!

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 17:42:02 GMT

I need to clear out my old-style labels on the lip balms, so here's the deal:

But a 3 or 6 pack of lip balms, and if that flavor is in an old style label, you get TWO of them!

And these are some dang good flavors, too! Choose from:

Bubble Gum
Cotton Candy
Cream Soda
Grape
Peach Cobbler
Strawberry
Tangerine
Wild Cherry

Some of them are VERY limited, so grab them now!

The Three-Pack listing

The Six-Pack listing

squee He's going to be really happy about this!!

Fri, 12 May 2006 22:16:58 GMT

So as some of you know, once you order something from Vistaprint, they will bombard you with offers for "free" things until you die. Some of which I just can't pass up.

I've wanted personalized receipt books forever, and when I saw the notepads at vistaprint, I had to grab them. Ooh, and a free rubber stamp, yup, gotta have one of those too.

And postcards. Hmm, what am I going to put on postcards???

And then it hit me - so I used this:

Which, of course, is the picture where my logo comes from.

The Son is going to be thrilled when they get here. And I'm pretty happy about it too.

Well it's official...

Thu, 11 May 2006 02:54:41 GMT

I will be vending at Northern Migration on June 10th and 11th. Yay!

Restocking the incense today, with the Son's "help", which consisted of him getting us some drinks and snacks, while I did all the work. At least he didn't spill or break anything.

Ordered a few things today, have a few more planned - should be a good summer!

Goodies!!

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 04:41:00 GMT

I received a notice from http://www.yokodana.com that my order was processed today and should be here by next weekend. Ten pounds of kimono to play with!

Oh goodness, I don't know what I'm going to make first!!

In other news, finished four batches of candles today, all in the 11 oz size. Two favorites - the Fresh Cut Grass and the Lilac Blossoms, and two new ones! And oh, what an interesting trip both of those were!

The first was a fragrance oil called Fresh Laundry, that I've sold before under the name Field of Flowers. I wanted to make those a nearly-white very pale blue, but I was using a new dye and they are bright, Smurf blue! I swear, I only used a tiny amount of dye!! So those are going to be named something dumb like Denim Revolution or Denim Dreams or something like that. Very pretty color, but nothing like I was planning!

The second, which I just finished a little while ago, is a fragrance oil called Lagoon, which I was going to rename Blue Lagoon (and I already printed up the labels, too *sigh*). But I open the bottle and it's a citrus!! So it's not Lagoon as in ocean/ozone/rain but Lagoon as in drink-those-foo-foos-until-you're-begging-the-kids-to-make-sure-you-get-back-on-the-ship....

Um.

*ahem*

So I did catch this before I added the blue dye, and they are a very pretty orange shade. Unfortunately, if I had had the correct mindset beforehand, I would have made them a darker orange. As in Etsy orange. And given them an Etsy-ish name.

"Etsy Light", maybe?

*sigh* An interesting weekend in the Lab, that's for sure!!

The 1000th Candle Celebration has begun!

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:40:56 GMT

Somewhere in my Etsy store is a free candle. If you purchase it, I will refund the purchase price of that candle, and you will only have to pay for shipping. Not bad, eh?

I just really am happy that I don't have 1000 candles in my house/shop. Really!!!

When I got that box of 1000 Glue Dots I didn't realize it would take less than 2 years to go through it. I am totally amazed at how well my candles have gone over with family, friends and customers alike.

I couldn't have done it without the support of my Husband and my Kids. Love you!!!

Eh, enough reading my sappy crap - go find that candle! LOL!

Poured my 1,000th candle the other night...

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 04:48:05 GMT

And when I list it on Etsy, it will be free. You'll just need to find it. *grin*

1,000 candles.....man, I am SO glad that I don't have them all!!! LOL!

Today's listings

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 04:40:25 GMT

Just two today - Lemon Drop candles in the 11 oz and 3 oz sizes.

Other things in the works:

Candles in Tulip Blossoms, Caribbean Dream, and Hazelnut Cappuccino.

I'm working on a [blank] of the Month Club - and I think it will be tealights. The starter kit will include a candle holder - just found some nice ones tonight. But then how many per month? Six? Eight? Four? I have no idea... Shipping is always the hardest part, since candles are so heavy. But tealights are nice and light.

Lip balms are coming up soon, and I'm also going to start listing the Body Creams that I've been using for the Pay-It-Forward thread. Soaps can't be far behind. *smile*

Namaste,
Heather

Just a test...

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 04:05:39 GMT

*tap tap tap* Is this thing on?