A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of meeting with Jason at RJ Rockers Brewery in Spartanburg, South Carolina. They make a peach beer that we were very interested in turning into soap. Turns out, they were very interested as well. The beer is called “Son of a Peach” and is described as unfiltered American wheat ale with mean peaches. We had to laugh because they have nicknamed the beer “S.O.A.P.”, so we would be making S.O.A.P. soap for them.

We made a test batch, and it was a very nice soap with a great smell. When talking with Jason, we discussed that maybe adding an essential oil to the soap could enhance the peachiness of it. After much back and forth with our apothecary, Eva, at Down to Earth Oils in downtown Wilmington, we decided on a mix of orange and clove essential oils. Let me tell you, it truly did what we were hoping for, the soap does smell like peaches with a hint of clove. It smells wonderful. We will be hand delivering the first batch to RJ Rockers tomorrow because we were fortunate to get tickets to the Panthers/Steelers pre-season game. I'm sure there will be some "smack talk" between the two of us on the way, since Gayle is a big Panthers fan and I will always pull for the Steelers.

RJ Rockers became Spartanburg’s first brewery in 1997. They have a long standing tradition of producing high quality brews by hand. In fact, their slogan is “HANDCRAFTED. EVERY BEER. EVERY DROP. EVERY TIME.” They no longer have a brew pub, but the beer can be purchased in locations throughout South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, DC, and Maryland. The folks there are terrific people! If you ever find yourself near Spartanburg SC find out about taking a tour of the brewery. For your reading pleasure, you can also check out blogs written by some of the employees.

You might be asking yourself, why beer in soap? Aside from the novelty of it; the ability to take your favorite beer home in a different form, there are some “skin healthy” qualities to using soap made with beer. Since beer is made from different grains, the mineral rich qualities of these grains are transferred to your skin, giving it a healthy glow. The hops are full of amino acids that are very softening and soothing to the skin. Many people with sensitive skin, and even eczema and psoriasis love the beer soap for its healing properties. In addition, hops are very relaxing herbs, so using it in the tub or shower can calm and relax your mind as well as your skin.

If you are excited or even intrigued about the Son of a Peach Beer soap, give it a try. It will not disappoint.

Jenn

Last week, Gayle and I found ourselves playing tourist in Chico, CA at the Yo-Yo Museum. One of the items on display was a 256 pound working yo-yo. It had actually been dropped from a crane and had “yo-ed” 10 times. “Big-Yo” (Yo-Yo Museum) also performed the “walk the dog” trick. The museum was filled with interesting memorabilia and a teenager that was performing some tricks and testing out some of the new yo-yos. His tricks were very impressive. However, we did not make a week long trek across the country just to visit Big-Yo. The main purpose of our trip was to throw a party for my parents for their 50th Wedding Anniversary. And everything went wonderfully, if I do say so myself. We had a reception in the afternoon with cake and finger foods. Gayle had put together a slide show of pictures from the last 50 years that was running on a big TV and there were other pictures used as decorations. The crowd consisted of friends and family from all over the U.S. Some had been friends of my dad’s for 60+ years. That evening there was a dinner for any interested at a restaurant right on the Sacramento River. The theme of the evening was a 50’s diner complete with Cherry Colas and music to “twist” to. A great time was had by all, and I know my parents appreciated seeing people they hadn’t seen for many years. After all the party planning, we still managed to get in some sightseeing. We spent some time in Chico and Paradise (if you need a quiet, beautiful getaway I would highly recommend Paradise, CA) and also a day touring San Francisco before we flew home. The best times were those spent reconnecting with friends that I hadn’t seen in years. We are now back home and working again. Yesterday was a busy Glynne’s Soaps day. We met with 2 companies that are thinking of partnering with us on making some custom soaps. We are very excited about both opportunities. Be on the lookout for these new soaps, coming soon! We will also be unveiling our Christmas scents in the near future, and new beer soap from a brewery in South Carolina. Exciting things are happening! Jenn soapmaker@glynnesoaps.com

I’ve been so busy I haven’t been good at keeping up with my blogging. Please accept my apologies. As I mentioned in my last blog, I started going to day care two days a week. I was scheduled to go half days until I could get settled in and comfortable with the other kids. Everyone, though tit would take me a few weeks until I was ready for full days. Tuesday of last week was my first half day and I did so good I was able to play with both big and small kids! On Thursday, I went again for a half day. According to Dyana, the day care owner, I was able to join in the fun right away. She says I am ready for full days, Yippee!! This week, I’ll be kicking up my heels all day Tuesday and Thursday at day care. You can check me out on the web cam. I’m the really cute liver & white boy ;-) On to soap business. Thing are going well at Glynne’s Soaps. My assistant has been busy keeping things going in my absences. Our soapmaker has cooked up come new people soaps. They smell good! We now have beer soap, an un-scented soap and a bug-off soap (it’s a special blend of essential oils designed to keep humans from being bitten by annoying bugs). We’ll be getting those up on our website ( www.glynnesoaps.com ) soon. Don’t forget, you can e-mail me anytime at Wrigley@glynnesoaps.com Wrigley Sales Manager