Skip to main content

When a latte meets a stain stick

So...have you been waiting impatiently to hear about my farmer's market experience this week?  What predicaments could possibly top last week's?

Well, it was all rather anticlimatic.  The repaired tent didn't budge a bit, the temperature didn't climb higher than 95 and I had my largest sales of the entire summer.  So sorry to disappoint you all.  There was one incident, however, that made the day memorable.  A woman carrying a gorgeous iced latte topped with whipped cream had a sad accident while trying to juggle it, her wallet, and some lotion. The puddle of latte missed all my soaps and products, but still made a substantial mess.  Had I been any decent sort of salesman, I would have snatched up a bar of laundry soap and started a sales pitch for them as the handiest, dandiest stain sticks ever.  But since I'm not and didn't even think of it until hours later, I just assured her that she had caused no real damage and that it would be fine after a washing.

Still, the poor dear was mortified. I embarrased her further when I had to hunt her down at the other end of the market to give her the lotion she had purchased and left at my table in the excitement. 

I forgot about the coffee-stained cloth until the following day.  What a perfect scenario to confirm one of my favorite products!  I dug the white cotton sheet out of my market box, wet the splotches, and rubbed it down with the bar.  No stain has ever smelled so delicious.

Ever the quick thinker, I snapped a picture of the fabric midway through my spot treatment.  And this is only part of the stain, since the cloth had been folded in half.
Immediately after rubbing it on, I put it in the washer, and added a cup of my homemade laundry detergent, (made of the same laundry soap, grated and melted, boosted with some borax and washing soda.)

And here it is on the line.  There is nary a hint of the latte and no bleach was necessary!  And now my tablecloth will be my farmer's market laundry soap demo.  Want some of your very own? Click right here.

Comments

  1. GREAT story - Amy, can you set up a pictorial flyer (as you did here with the progressive pictures) and display it at the Market - and use as a hand-out for more of your products?????

    ((HUGS))!
    Grandmother Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
  2. Can your products be mailed to Australia? I sooooooo want to try some!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I thought of that, GC! Pictures tell so much....Hugs to you, too!

    Of course they can, S.S.Inc! And you reminded me that I owe you an email or two....xxx

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great endorsement for your product! I think Carolyn's suggestion to use this story as a testimonial is brilliant! :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soaping with Madder

I know that any color added to soap can morph into a surprise, but there is an added element of unknown when using botanicals to color my soap.  Some people jump out of planes or ski off mountains, but this is how I live on the edge these days.  Hmm.  If I weren't having so much fun, I'd be embarrassed. I recently had my first go with madder.  So....whatsa madder?  It's a root--the root of the madder. Ahem. (I love puns...) I infused 8 oz. of olive oil with 2 t. madder root powder for almost a week.  This amount worked out to be 20% of the oils in my batch. I wanted something in the way of embeds to add visual interest.   I dearly love my soap balls but I don't want to over do a good thing.  I've recently done square-shaped embeds, so this time I cut a bar of white soap into slices. I panicked a little that it wouldn't get dark enough--it was kind of a dusty peach--so I added 1/4 t. dried powder right before pouring. Madder powd...

Loofah--from vine to soap

If you've followed my blog for a long time, you've already seen a post on one of my favorite things to grow--loofah, but I think it's time for another one.  People are often surprised when they learn that loofahs are grown.  No, a loofah isn't a sea sponge, but the mature "skeleton" of a zucchini-like plant.  Everyone knows they are good for the bath but they also make great natural pan scrubbers in the kitchen.  They are so popular that I have to remember to tuck away any that I want to keep myself. I raise three or four plants every year.  Like a zucchini or a cucumber, it likes to spread out with little regard to another plant's personal space.  Here is last year's crop. Early in the summer, the loofahs remained neatly on the trellis: But then they wandered over to the basil: Cozied among the tomatillos: And hung out with the butternut squash: Harvest time was a regular treasure hunt.  But I ended up with about 20 loofahs fr...

Soap Challenge--Dandelion Swirl

This Great Cakes challenge started off, well, challenging for me.  I had internet problems (a lack of it) and something went rather tragic in my attempt to cobble together a recipe without access to my online lye calculator crutch or a good saponification chart.  Obviously, I need to work on this skill, since my first batch of soap is still not firm enough to cut.  I've seen firmer marshmallow cream.  I'm estimating that I'll be able to cut it in a week or two or maybe three. The top came out pretty, though, didn't it? Sigh.  I wonder what the inside looks like. On to batch number 2.  I went for a winter/snowy theme this time, scented with BB's Fresh Snow fragrance. I made a small 6-bar batch.  I kept noticing that my divider (a dollar store cutting mat) didn't stay in the center but kept migrating toward the edge with every pour.  I was concerned that it would ruin the design, but it held well enough. I know this challenge was all abo...