New Digs!

We are moving our workshop to a new space in Pawtucket, Rhode Island!

Starting September 3rd, our official new headquarters will be at 560 Mineral Spring Avenue. More details to follow (and pictures, too!). Very exciting!

Pimped Out Soap Workshop!

Stella Marie has made her full transition to Providence. Behold!


Here is the basement before we tore up the carpeting, cleared out the clutter and painted the walls and floor. Note: Very outdated.


After! Plenty of storage, nice and bright! A much more functional space. Jere painted the Stella Marie logo on the wall. He did a really good job :)

A big girl shelving unit for soap storage!

So much easier! The soaps are very happy.

What soapmaking area is complete without ye ole Fight Club poster? The movie that made soapmaking cool.

It's a little self-indulgent, but I just had to paint flames on my stick blender.

When I need a rest, I can just mosey over to the other side of the basement and take a break next to my Pixies quilt, made by my friend, Kara.


And speaking of the Pixies ... Here Comes Your Soap makes it's debut! Kiwi scented. Glittery dust on top:


Bad Brains soap pictures to come!

We Made It!

At long last, we have arrived and (almost fully) unpacked. The basement has undergone a huge renovation for the soap workshop. I am writing from our backyard at the moment (stealing internet access from someone's wireless network). We won't have full access until Thursday. I will post lots of pictures, including the Bad Brains and Pixies soaps! And Stella Marie news, too!

Sorry for the spotty posts, folks. More very soon!

Closing Is Tomorrow!

Our closing is scheduled for tomorrow morning. We've got all of our ducks in a row, but I would be kidding you if I said that the processes has been without stress. Cause it hasn't been! Lots of surprises at the last minute.

We'll be cracking open the bubbly tomorrow afternoon! And soon, Stella Marie will have a brand new home!

Our New Home (this time for real)!

BIZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

This week, I am going to be quite a soap-a-holic, wiping the sweat off my brow until Saturday morning. I've got several soap batches to make as well as batches of other Stella Marie products. Signage needs to be prepared and needless panic and anxiety will need to be quieted. When, oh, when will I be able to shake this day job?

So, I've picked a great time to begin filming the instructional hot process soapmaking video for The Soap Bar. That's right, folks, I'm going all out! You will get to see me as a real talking person. You've been warned. I'm getting the raw footage tonight and I'm hoping to finesse the mofo this week/early next week.

In house news - the deal is ON! We are hoping to close on August 14th or thereabouts. We can't wait to get the heck in there!

A New House

We went out yesterday and viewed about 6 homes. We put an offer in today on one of them! It's a very sweet Colonial, a block from Roger Williams Park in Providence. I am going to be very careful this time, however - don't want to get too attached!

This home is in impeccable condition in an ethnically-diverse neighborhood. The bathroom has a vintage ribbon tiled floor! Very cute backyard with a patio and a garage. Private and shady :)

Stella Marie would move into the basement - after a weekend of ripping up 1970's carpeting and applying fresh paint to the floor and wood-paneled walls. There is a utility sink down there, too, so soap can be truly separate from the food kitchen.

Here we go again!

Sad House News

Well, the house deal we had in place didn't pan out. The seller was not willing to budge on repairs that were major safety concerns. We even agreed to split some of the cost with him, but he was not flexible. We decided to back out, knowing that the market is still very good for buyers right now. It's hard to let go of something you have your heart set on, but we were already spending so much before moving in, we thought that it wasn't worth it in the end. The good news is that we were able to get our deposit back in full, as what we were asking the seller to do was pretty serious. Also, our agent is very familiar with our needs now, so I think the process should be a bit quicker moving ahead.

Since we backed out, we've found a number of awesome listings and we are excited about looking at new places. Some of these homes are in mint condition, which is great because we can take our savings and use it toward decorating or even leave it in the bank!

In soap news, I've been unable to make any for a week or so. It's been unbearably hot. The last batch I made was very difficult to remove from the mold due to heat/humidity. It's going to have to go straight into the refrigerator from the crockpot - at least until this heat wave is over. I've got plenty of soaping to do for the ArtBeat Festival - and I've promised a hot process tutorial for Joanna :)

I've got a question for you all: Can anyone recommend a good program for creating html emails/e-newsletters? I'm looking for an easy-to-use program that won't set me back a lot of bucks. Any suggestions would be very welcome!

Lastly ... how long is Etsy supposed to be down? I've not been able to access their site in a couple of days.

Possible New Digs

I've been caught up in house hunting, preparing for a spa party next week and the NBA finals, which is the main reason for my spotty posting. If all goes well, Stella Marie will have a new home in August, in the greater Providence area. This is very exciting, because I will be able to devote the entire lower level of the house to the soap workshop. And there is a second kitchen (it's an in-law suite), so I can keep it separate from the food area.

The house needs some work - I won't kid ya. But, it's mainly cosmetic. The bones of the home are good and the important things are in place. There will be many painting and tiling projects ahead!

I also have a few product announcements to make by early next week.