Getting Sea-Inspired on the Cape

I just returned from a day trip to Cape Cod, the eastern "arm" of land in Massachusetts that is surrounded by water. For me, it is just a short 30 minute drive from Duxbury to the Sagamore Bridge and viola, I'm "on Cape" as the natives say. To drive the full length of the Cape takes about an hour and a half, with little to no traffic. In July it could take twice or triple the time.

But today was a perfect day, reminding me that summer really is just around the corner. Temperatures hovered in the mid-60's and there was not a cloud in the sky. I made a mental list of my favorite Cape things that I want to do this summer.

Cape Cod is known for its magnificent beaches and sand dunes. It's the perfect summer getaway, whether for a week or weekend (visit http://www.capecodchamber.org/) So on my list is a trip to the National Seashore in Chatham along with a stop in downtown Chatham for some great shopping.

This time of year resorts and gift shops are gearing up for a busy summer, stocking their displays with beach and island gifts and decor, including lots of our great handmade, sea-inspired bath and body gifts (shameless plug happening now... http://www.backporchsoap.com/). Brides-to-be from across the U.S. are finishing up their wedding plans for June-August summer weddings that are celebrated seaside up and down the Cape's coast. (If you are a beach bride or know one, be sure to check out our fabulous wedding favors on our site.)

There are so many great restaurants and bars on the Cape. My favorites include the Flying Bridge in Falmouth, Tomatoes in Sandwich, Horizons in Sandwich (spectacular view). If you're up for a splurge, check yourself into Chatham Bars Inn (http://www.chathambarsinn.com/) for a fantastic place to stay and pamper oneself.

Also on my list this year of favorite things to do on the Cape is to hop a short ferry ride from Hyannis or Woods Hole to Martha's Vineyard (http://www.mvy.com/) or Nantucket (http://www.nantucketchamber.org/), which are both beautiful islands and fun to explore. Martha's Vineyard is the larger of the two islands, and takes much longer to explore. But both offer great sites.

While on Nantucket, check out Best of the Beach. It's a fabulous store on Straight Wharf that carries most of our line.

Hope your travels take you to Cape Cod soon so you can find some treasures for yourself!

What Would You Put In Soap?

I just finished the spring Boston Gift Show, a wholesale show where gift shops, hotels and other businesses shop for products to resell. Every year there is a new product that I design (usually days before the show begins under the pressure to have something new and rockin'!) that quickly becomes a bestseller. This year was no exception.
This year's hot soap is a new custom image soap. The image in the soap is made from a new skin-safe material that stays in the soap for the life of the soap! Customers were having fun choosing what they wanted in these 5 oz. bars. Most popular were the words "Beach House." Also selling briskly were town names, quotes and taglines, as well as key destination images. In addition, there are six beautiful fragrances from which to choose.

I had so much fun designing the samples shown here in the picture. See my monogrammed soap? The map is of Martha's Vineyard, my Cape Cod friends love the blue lobster, and the photo in the back left is of Powder Point Bridge near where I live in Duxbury. The ideas are endless. Think business logo to wedding favors to house guests.
All you need to send is a logo or picture in jpeg format (the higher the resolution, the better). There is a minimum of 12 per design. Retail pricing is $8.00 per bar. Wholesale customers should inquire about pricing, etc. at www.backporchsoap.com/wholesale
For more information contact me at info@backporchsoap.com or visit http://www.backporchsoap.com/ and look for the Personalized Soap link.

my "meet and greet" at Whole Foods...

Last Saturday was my third "Local Vendor" day at Whole Foods in Hingham, Massachusetts. It's so much fun, because it means taking samples of my organic soaps and shea butters to hand out to customers and shamelessly promote my line (which, btw, is sold at this Hingham location).

I always end up meeting the nicest people, and it's fulfilling to me that I get to help customers with their dry skin dilemmas.

So I made two batches of my most popular organic oils soaps, Lavender & Spearmint and Almond & Shea Butter. Then I sliced them into perfect sample sizes, and packaged them up in nifty little bags with my logo.
I loaded up my Jeep with a few displays, the goodies, and headed out.

The parking lot was packed, needless to say since it was the day before Superbowl Sunday (we'll skip the sore loser Patriots comments here).

There were about 12 vendors, all food related except for me. There was a salad dressing vendor, Chilmark Dressing, also sampling. This is my new favorite dressing! I had to buy a bottle, and it really is delicious. Roasted sesame seeds give it a wonderful flavor and besides making salads extra scrumptious, it is delicious as a veggie dip or on a sandwich. Check them out at
http://www.chilmarkfoods.com/

Here's a picture of my table, which blends in nicely with the vegetable and chicken stocks behind it.

I handed out several hundreds of samples of soap and learned that a lot of Whole Foods buyers are restocking their shelves at home with sulfate and paraben free products (which mine all are). Sulfates are drying to skin, and parabens are chemical-based preservatives (there are natural ones such as Vitamin E and more) so check your labels.

I met so many nice people, and so many with dry skin! Everyone needed moisturizing. Good thing I was on hand with my 100% shea butters (quickly becoming my #1 selling product at Whole Foods).

Shea butter is an all-natural moisturizer full of vitamin E that helps heal dry skin, excema and psoriasis. It also has anti-inflammatory properties, which can help alleviate arthritis pain.

So now get yourself over to my website and buy some, will you? http://www.backporchsoap.com/