10th ave. soapworks

I've recently teamed up with Danielle of Meadow Ridge Alpacas , a fellow vendor at my local farmer's market...my soaps with her alpaca fiber.  I can already tell it's going to be a great partnership. The idea of felted soaps was a new one for both of us but it seemed logical given our products.  So we turned to our good friend, YouTube.  After watching lots of videos, I gave it a try.   It was a Goldilocks kind of project--the first one was too thick, the second was too thin, but my third, fourth, and fifth attempts were just right .  It's a strange concept, the idea of turning a mass of soft fibers into a scrubby, felt washcloth attached right to the soap.  But it really works! I love the color variations of the natural alpaca fiber.  But of course, I can never leave well enough alone, so my next project will be learning how to dye the fibers to add a splash of pretty color.  (Because we all know prettier soap gets you cleaner.) The m...

Every two years in late September my town of Monroe, WI, celebrates Cheese Days.  Regular life comes to a halt as all attention is focused on the festival, celebrating the heritage of the area with all things Swiss-- polka, alphorns, beer, and copious quantities of cheese.  And it is a Big Deal; the population grows from 10,000 to over 200,000. Happily, most of the action occurs within walking distance of my house. (Ha!  As if there would be any place to park a car anyway!) Since it occurs over the weekend, there is, of course, a farmer's market.  It's moved a few blocks from its regular spot on the downtown square, but there is no lack of customers.  After the craziness of getting all the market vendors and their wares squeezed in and set up, I enjoy the excitement of the change of pace, meeting people from all over, and the party atmosphere. So what makes a party in Wisconsin?  Beer and cheese.  (Well, bratwurst, too, but I have to draw the li...

Last spring, I had the idea of creating a soap that represented some of the variety in my town's farmer's market.  The more I looked around, the more overwhelming the possible combinations--herbs, vegetables, dairy, fruits, even fats.  I could come up with a new combination every week as I looked around.  Maybe it was because my choices kept changing that I never settled on a set of ingredients and just did it. Dehydrated ground pumpkin--it makes a wonderful addition to angel food cake I recently narrowed down some of the abundance into my first version.  It may be March, but with the snow of the last two days (and still falling as I write), fresh vegetables are just a dream of the future.  So I used honey, dehydrated pumpkin and egg--all from the market--and dried kale.  (I used my own kale in this batch, not because it wasn't available in abundance at the market last summer, but I really couldn't justify buying anyone else's with a dozen fru...

sharing my tent with another vendor, YarnThings So what makes a farmer's market unique? First, of course, are the customers, who want to be more educated about the products they buy than the typical shopper at a craft show.  They ask questions about ingredients, suggest local ingredient sources and over the course of the six month season, are very regular shoppers.  They are often a source of information, inspiration, and even friendship. Then there are my fellow vendors.  Without them, how would I have learned to make perfect raised doughnuts or thin crust vegetable pizza?  Learned what to do with a banana squash or discovered so many uses for kale?  Enjoyed my weekly brownie, courtesy of Karen, the bakery lady?  With whom would I swap jokes and stories during slow times?  It makes filling online orders at home seem very lonely indeed. And of course, the weather.  It can be a tricky thing, but oh! the suspense it brings to ever...

So what have I been up to these past 9+ months?  It's been a whirlwind! But some highlights on the soapy side of things: I was elected manager of a farmer's market last winter.  With the responsibilities have come some unique opportunities.  In February I was included in a front page article on the market in my local newspaper, including a picture of me making soap.  I'm not used to soaping for an audience, much less for a photographer snapping pictures like I was a big deal.  But thanks to a reliable recipe (and no on-the-fly experimentation for once!) everything went perfectly. Not exactly typical of my soaping sessions.... I'm obsessive about wearing safety glasses.  And I'd like to think my hair usually looks better. ;) A few months later I was asked (or more specifically, told, prodded, cajoled, dang-near forced) to be on a local radio station's community events program.  I arrived feeling decently prepared, I thought, with a half dozen or...

My first summer vending at my local farmer's market ended a couple of weeks ago.  And it was an adventure!  Besides being fun, and profitable, it was also educational: While I've thought the recent encouragement of "shopping locally" was a good and even obvious concept, being immersed in it over the summer gave me a new perspective and appreciation for a very old tradition...a practice that should never have changed.  Through the market, I was introduced to another locally-owned business--a really lovely store-- Wild Flower Collectibles , who asked to carry my soaps.  I love supporting people, not businesses, if that makes sense. At a farmer's market, I can talk to the people from my own community that make and/or grow what they sell.  They have a knowledge and passion for their work that is non-existant in a retail store. And I learned so much besides this. I swapped recipes, gardening tips, heirloom bean...

I thrive on creative challenges--most of the time.  However, I tend to greet display decisions with the same enthusiasm that I muster to organize income taxes or to go to the doctor. But on the spur of the moment, in utter desperation, I came up with a way to display a wide array of soaps so they are easy to see. I dug through the Mister's scrap piles and found 5 chunks of wood that were vaguely similar.  I stacked them and wrapped a piece of fabric around the lumber. Voila.  Instant display.  It has proven so handy that I'm still using it for the farmer's market this summer.  I screwed the stacks together so it's easy to tote around.  I'm not looking at it as a long-term display, just until I get a fancy one, once I decide exactly what I want.  That means I'll probably be using it for years. Is this an original idea for a quick display?  It probably isn't, but I thought it was a touch of gen...

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...

Monroe-- The day dawned overcast and cool this past Wednesday, leading residents of the small Midwest town to conclude there was little chance the weather report was right.  It wouldn't reach the forecasted high of 100 degrees and the weatherman would have to cough up a free umbrella to a viewer for flubbing on his "4 degree guarantee." Amy, owner of 10th Ave. Soapworks and vendor at the local farmer's market, enjoyed the early morning hours out in her garden.  The morning went so smoothly that she even had time to make up a batch of soap and try out her latest lip balm flavor, pina colada, before packing up for the market.  For the first time since June, she expected to enjoy a farmer's market day that was less than 100 degrees.  As she toted boxes of soapy delights to her car, she noticed the temperature had risen dramatically during the noon hour.  Our enthusiastic saleswoman re...