Special Orders: Inspiration from Customers

I love making soap. Now after saying that, I can honestly say that after making Lavender soap exactly the same way for the last 10 years, that particular kind has lost it's excitement factor for me. I no longer think "yippee it's lavender day", it's more like "ho hum, time to make the lavender soap, wonder what else exciting I can make today".

So the way that I break out of the doldrums of day to day production is with two things. First, every year I make 8 new fragrances. The research and development that goes into choosing these 8 and figuring out the best recipe to highlight the fragrance takes me at least two months each year. I keep a list of all the things that are asked for or suggested to me by customers, as well as things I see and hear that inspire me, and try out the things that seem different and well, honestly, affordable.

The second thing I do throughout the year is to make special orders. Typically what happens is that a customer has seen something or used something in the past that they would like me to make or try to replicate with my own spin on it. Often these are things people found on vacation and love the scent of, or have a particular ingredient that is of interest to them, possibly passed down through their ethnic heritage. Once they contact me I research the desired product and work up a price quote. Often we then have to work together to make some decisions: is it OK to use the third pressing of Ylang Ylang, because the first pressing costs $30 an ounce, or can we use sandalwood fragrance rather than the essential oil, wild-crafted rosemary essential oil, or just organic? Once I start posing these questions many customers are amazed by the number of decisions that go into just one kind of soap.

OK, now we have an agreed upon recipe, and a price quote for a 10 bar minimum order. Next the product goes out for a fast buy. I post the special order on my web site and send out a newsletter telling all about it. This helps me in two ways: 1) if enough people join in, then I can waive the 10 bar minimum order for the person who placed the special order, and  2) I can gauge interest in the product overall. Many special orders have gone onto be  a new product the next year, and some of those have even gone on to be best sellers (ginger white tea is an example of that).

Once the fast buy has been completed, I order the needed ingredients, and make up the product. Typically 6 to 8 weeks from the initial order, the product ships to the customers who have participated in the fast buy. Any extra soaps then go onto the web site and can be ordered by anyone, but I try to make exactly what I need for an order, so there usually only 3 or 4 extras available.

So thanks to everyone who participates in the special order and fast buy process, I love the inspiration that it gives me throughout the year, and leads me to work with new ingredients and combinations of ingredients that I would have never thought of on my own!