You haven't heard a lot from us these past few weeks, but that doesn't mean we've been sitting around eating cheesecake from Chris' Cosmic Kitchen. (Although that is a fun thing to do.) We are now deep in our fall festival schedule, and that is keeping us incredibly busy.

It all started on September 26th with Aunt Kerry's Pet Stop's 3 year anniversary party. The day started out with some light rain, but that didn’t deter many of the vendors or guests from showing up to the parking lot at Aunt Kerry’s. There were various vendors there, including Monty’s Home, Port City Candles, Cape Fear Golden Retriever Rescue,
Carolina Boxer Rescue, NC Rottweiler Rescue, CAT, DogWatch, and Saving Animals During Disasters.

In the early afternoon, the rains came. We moved deep under the tents and had a great time chatting with others who braved the storm. All in all it was a great time, even with the less than perfect weather. Thanks Aunt Kerry for having us and for providing a wonderful place to buy pet supplies and be treated like family! If you haven’t stopped in at Aunt Kerry’s Pet Stop yet, you really should. It’s on the corner of 17th extension and College Rd in Wilmington.

The next weekend (Oct 2nd-3rd) was Riverfest. This is a huge fall festival in downtown Wilmington. They estimate that there were over 100,000 people who walked down Water St. checking out all the vendors. We had a prime location, right on the corner and we set up along with Jackie from Port City Candles. After a few revisions to our booth set up, we just enjoyed the GREAT weather and spoke with a lot of wonderful people.

People we knew stopped by, people we didn’t know stopped by, and we just had fun chatting with everyone (and selling soap). We were able to educate people on the need to stop using chemical flea treatments on their dogs (and cats), and on the importance of using soap for themselves that was free from all the nasty chemicals and preservatives.

On Saturday, Gayle was interviewed for an article in the Wilmington Star News. On Sunday a lady stopped by with her son because they wanted to meet us. Turns out, her son had to do a current event for school and he chose our article as the basis for his current event. It was great fun to meet them and good to see education in action.

We had a wonderful time at both events and are looking forward to 3 more festivals in the coming weeks. Come out and see us:

Hanover Kennel Club Dog Show, Legion Stadium in Wilmington – October 10th-11th
Salty Paws, Carolina Beach Lake Park – October 17th
Dog Fest, Empie Park, Wilmington – October 24th (This festival marks our one year anniversary! Come share the fun with us.)

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

Wrigley here! What an awesome weekend! The Glynne’s Soaps crew spent Saturday at the 1st Annual Dog Wash, put on by the Dog Club of Wilmington. It was set up sort of like a car wash, but without anything scary. Just good clean fun. People brought their dogs for a bath and a manicure or pedicure and the proceeds went to Tarheel Weimaraner Rescue. I don’t know about you, but I love to see other four legged kids get rescued. In fact, 10% of Glynne's Soaps profits go to dalmatian rescue. There was food, (Paul’s Place Hot Dogs, which made us snicker since everybody there was a hot dog) music, and vendors. We had a great time meeting new people and selling some soap. I got a very good looking bandana from the Monty’s Home booth. We also spent some time talking with Karen from Dog Perils. Our booth was next to her's at Paw Jam in the spring, and she is from right here in Wilmington. She makes pants (well, she calls them Uh-Oh Bands") for male dogs with potty problems. We bought two for my brother George because he is getting old and sometime dribbles through the house. These pants will make us all happier! Plus, they come in lots of great designs so he can be almost as fashionable as I am in my bandana.
Here's a picture of us (with our new attire) with Momma (AKA Soapmaker)

We were a bit worried while packing up the night before that there would be too much rain for the outdoor event, but by Saturday morning, the skies were clear. It was a great day to take a bath outside. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to take my bath. I was too busy selling soap so others could get clean. By the end of the event I was exhausted. Thankfully I was able to nap on the ride home.

Thank you Dog Club of Wilmington for the great day.

The week ahead is busy too. We will be visiting some new shops that are interested in our soap and also checking in on some established places to see how sales are going. Sounds like the perfect job for the sales manager. Hopefully I’ll get to meet lots of folks while I’m out. And I’m sure there will be a trip to Aunt Kerry’s Pet Stop, which means I’ll get to visit my friends Roxy and Leo.

The other totally fun thing that happened on Saturday was that I signed up to take some Agility Classes. I’m sure I’ll be talking about what I’m learning, so stay tuned. In the mean time, don’t forget to get some soap for yourself and your pup on our website

Don’t forget, you can e-mail me anytime at Wrigley@glynnesoaps.com

Wrigley
Sales Manager

The average adult has 21 square feet of skin. Your skin is your body’s largest organ, and it is very good at absorbing most of what it comes into contact with. This includes any toxins that might be in the soaps, lotions and makeup that you are using. If you look at the ingredient list on the back of your store bought soap, you will probably see the following items.

SLS (Sodium Laurel Sulfate) – used to create foam and lather, can be an irritant

Lauric Acid – irritating to mucus membranes

Pentasodium pentetate - used as a water softener, emulsifier and dispersing ingredient in cosmetic cleansing creams, lotions and soaps, can be an eye irritant

Tetrasodium EDTA - synthetic preservative

Trisodium etidronate – a preservative and possible irritant

BHT - (butylhydroxytoluene) - synthetic antioxidant to keep oils in formula from going rancid, it has been linked to tumor formation and liver enlargement

Triclosan (or triclocarban) – this is found in most anti-bacterial soaps and is registered with the EPA as a pesticide. (It does kill the bacteria. All the bacteria, even the good stuff you need to stay healthy) Commercial manufacturers of anti-bacterial soaps will tell you that it is used at such low levels that it is not harmful, but it has been shown that Triclosan can be stored in your fat cells and it will soon reach a toxic level.

“A study at Virginia Tech discovered that products containing triclosan produced either chloroform or other chlorine byproducts when exposed to tap water.1 In fact, triclosan decomposes into chlorine byproducts in as little as one minute when exposed to chlorinated tap water at 100 degrees Fahrenheit.2 The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers the triclosan byproduct, chloroform, to be a probable human carcinogen that could cause cancer.” (www.bodyecology.com/07/09/20/avoid_dangerous_triclosan.php)

Another reason to stay away from commercial soaps is that most of them are not really soap. Look carefully at the label and you will see the words “beauty bar”, “cleansing bar”, “deodorant bar” or something similar. This is because these products are not soap. They are detergents.3 The glycerin that is a natural by-product of the soap making process is removed so it can be made into lotions and other products that can be sold for a higher profit. That natural glycerin is very moisturizing and when left in the soap, can keep your skin soft, reducing the need for lotions. Using a commercial detergent strips your skin of the natural moisturizing oils that your skin needs, leaving it dry and irritated.

So, the next time you are at the store buying soap, take a look at the ingredients and consider an all natural alternative that is much safer and better for your skin.

Visit our website at www.glynnesoaps.com to see our selection of all natural soaps. Our soaps contain no chemicals and are very gently and safe for your skin.

Jenn
soapmaker@glynnesoaps.com

References:
1 Gutierrez, David, "Antibacterial soap ingredient triclosan may be harmful to humans," 15 Mar 2007, NewsTarget.com. http://www.newstarget.com/021703.html
2 ibid
3 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-glycerin.htm

I don’t know about your area of the world, but here in Coastal North Carolina the season of bugs is upon us. There are times when it seems that nothing can be done except pull out the chemical bug spray. Unfortunately, the chemicals in most bug sprays are far more hazardous than some annoying biting and itching. DEET, for example, can cause skin rashes, lethargy, muscle spasms, nausea, and irritability. An extreme reaction can cause seizures and even death. This is because approximately 56% of the chemicals sprayed on your skin enter the blood stream.

There are natural ways to reduce the annoyance and biting caused by insects. There are essential oils that are good at repelling those nasty critters. These oils are citronella, eucalyptus, cedar wood, lemongrass, peppermint and lavender. They are all aromatic essential oils that are all natural and will diminish the biting and stinging.

Fortunately, Glynne’s Soaps has a soap that contains all these essential oils plus ravensara, which has been shown to be a natural antihistamine and can reduce the itching caused by bug bites. This soap also has a very pleasant aroma, in fact the different scents are more pronounced to different people. Some really smell the peppermint, others the eucalyptus, and others smell different aspects.

Another soap to consider is the Misty Mountain. This soap contains a refreshing blend of Eucalyptus and Tea Tree oils. The Eucalyptus properties help keep the bugs at bay, and the Tea Tree oil is a natural antiseptic which can keep down the itching and reduce any swelling and inflammation.

Both of these soaps are available on our website at www.glynnesoaps.com

*The all natural essential oils are not as powerful as the chemical bug sprays. If you have a condition where receiving a bite can be life threatening, please use what is recommended by your physician.