Does seasonal change influence people's fragrance preferences?

In the northeast we are getting ready for the beautiful Autumn weather to be ushered in. It is a time for apple picking, pumpkins,  baking, pulling out your warm blankets and of course all those apple pies! Having been making soap for a while now I have started to notice something interesting, people are drawn to certain "types" of scents during different seasons. Now part of this is obviously due to advertisement, in the fall it is "everything pumpkin spice", in the warmer months it is "cool and refreshing, get ready for vacation".  The constant barrage of advertising  most definitely influences some but I think there is more to it, something very personal about which scents we choose and the season.

It is well known that scents are often times connected with memories, be they good or bad. We carry these sensory memories all our lives. When I sell my soaps in person I have noticed that in the fall and winter, people tend to buy soaps that have a much warmer scent, sandalwood, patchouli, anything pine, pumpkin spice (of course!) frosted cranberry etc. These are scents that may remind them of something from their childhood, the feeling of being inside more as the weather became colder and mom baking or cooking, the scent of home, a scent we wore going back to college after summer vacation etc. I call these my cold weather soaps. Conversely in the spring and summer the scents that sell are lighter. Citrus scented soaps like bergamot, lemon and tropical soaps like coconut or a sweet fruit combination. Maybe these soap scents  stir up memories of a vacation or just being more relaxed in the warmer months. These are my warm weather soaps.

Then there are scents that always sell, lavender and oatmeal milk and honey, they are both very calming gentle fragrances. I have included an interesting article on the power of scent. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200711/the-hidden-force-fragrance

I encourage everyone to pay attention to their nose, and really take in the scents all around you. Your sense of smell has so many layers to it that you don't realize it until you loose the ability to pick out the subtleties. The olfactory world may have more an influence on you than you think! Give it some love!

Gina💗

Buddleia or Butterfly Bush Flower in front of my house. It has such a sweet honey like fragrance.

Dried Chamomile flowers. Fragrant both dried and steeping in tea.

 

The Craft Fair, hearkening back to a time of direct barter.

I can remember as a child going to second hand stores with my mom, I was always fascinated with all the different things the shop owner had in their shop. As I got older I would love to go to craft fairs, it always reminded me of a little village were you could always find all this amazing stuff! The open air marketplace has been with us since we started trading. At first it was through barter then it evolved into exchanging money for goods.

There is something exciting and communal about craft fairs, artisans and crafters get together and meet their public. There is conversation, information exchanged, hands on interaction with the artisan's products and hopefully at the end of it all, a sale or two. There is something very basic and human about the whole thing. It hopefully brings happiness to the buyer and seller. I am including a link on how a group of crafters in Rhinebeck NY made a huge impact on how people viewed crafting. https://www.craftcouncil.org/magazine/article/rhinebeck-revolution

If you live in the Westchester, Putnam or Dutchess County NY area I will be at the following craft fairs for the fall of 2022;

• Kent Community Weekend Saturday, September 10, 2022 Kent Town Center, Kent Lakes
• Limar's Farm & Nursery Saturday, September 24, 2022 Lagrangeville, NY 
• Camp Herrlich October 15, 2022 Patterson, NY 
• St. James the Apostle School October 22, 2022 Carmel, NY

Hope you can attend these fabulous fairs! 

Gina 

Local craft fair summer 2022

What's so great about Handmade Soap and why should I buy yours?

 

Honey Maple Toddy Handmade Soap

That is a very good question. Our skin is the largest organ our body has, everyone's skin is different, what Handmade Soap can do is offer variety for all skin types without harmful additives. In essence it is getting back to basics, to a time before everything was mass produced.

As a result of my Italian heritage, I learned  from a very early age to "make everything from scratch". I learned to bake, cook etc. with basic ingredients, not only was the end result delicious, you always knew what you were eating. There was a certain joy in knowing, I created this and other people are enjoying it!

When I set out to make Handmade Soap, I knew I would use the melt and pour method. I researched which suppliers had the best soap bases and fragrances. I knew what I purchased had to be the best and had to be safe for my customers to use. That is why I only use soap bases that are SFIC brand. SFIC is an American company that has been in business for over 40 years. They use the finest ingredients and make their batches daily from SCRATCH! Please visit the link at the bottom of the page for their website, their story is quite an interesting one.

Next I had to find reputable fragrance suppliers, as with my soap bases it had to be only the best. That is why I only buy fragrances that are IFRA (International Fragrance Association) certified. IFRA  has been testing fragrances for more than 40 years to make sure they are safe for public use. Please visit the link at the bottom of the page for more details about what they do.

This is why I am so proud to share my products and why it gives me great joy to create them. Please stop by my ETSY shop or leave a comment, I always love to hear from you!  This week I will be posting some of the Craft Fairs I will be selling at if you live in the Putnam or Westchester NY area or Connecticut.💗

Gina 

Welcome to Musings About Soap

Hello and welcome! I am inspired by the coming of the changing of seasons and have been feverishly working on new fall soaps. Fall is always a wonderful time of year to get out and be adventurous. It is my favorite time of year to do craft fairs. I love meeting people, telling them about my soaps and how I make them and I also love meeting my fellow vendors.

 Nature has always been a source of inspiration for me. It is a big, beautiful world out there, and we need to find the time in our busy lives to stop and look at the wonder of it all. I draw a lot of my inspiration for my soaps from nature, trees, plants, flowers, etc. There are so many beautiful scents and colors all around us and there is something to suit everyone. 

What I hope to accomplish with this blog is to be informative and inspirational. I will share some wisdom, stories and hopefully foster a love of handmade soap in everyone! I would hope that my writings would inspire all of you to be adventurous, try something you've always wanted to and believe you can do it! I encourage comments and questions. I plan on posting frequently so please check back often!

These pictures were taken last Autumn and were some of my inspiration for my fall line of soaps. I can't wait to share some of my inspiration with you in the coming months, I hope you will join me on this adventure...

Gina

White Tea and Anjou Pear Handmade Soap

Apple Cider Handmade Soap

Big Sky

Pears at the orchard

The beautiful scent of an apple orchard