| This is my interview from Maple Street Creations just as she wrote to me! “I first started making soaps back in 2000 my youngest child was little He had allergies so we looked online and found a great recipe and it worked great! I have such sensitive skin that I tried it for myself. I no longer broke out in hives from using soap as I had with store brand soap.Since 1991 I have been doing juried craft shows and trade shows. I do on average 20 shows per year. I love meeting new crafters and seeing my old friends at other shows. I also sell on etsy, I do home shows, I have sell on twitter, bonazale, face book, I have a high school website add, I drop business cards at banks, in the mail, I sell wholesale to local shops in MA and ME and RI. I also sell at farmers markets in 8 towns in MA during the summer and fall.Currently I am unemployed.Up until October of last year I worked 40 hours a week. I am the mom of two children one in middle school and one in college. I’ve been married for 19 years. While working I was also make soap and sell so I was working on average 60 hours or more a week.In January of every year I start making 30-40 pounds of soap each week to start curing for the upcoming June show’s. I sell and make about 3,000 bars per year! Very time consuming, but like I always say I wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t enjoying it. We don’t make much $ on labor of soap making. You get more pleasure out of making a customer happy I believe. My favorite product in my shop currently is my bath teas, my new orange dreamsicle candle, and favorite is my froggy soap. My best seller for adults is the lavender or cherry almond soap.  On hard day’s I keep going for knowing I will profit at my shows, maybe not so much online in the winter which is tough. I know that I can relax making soaps, and heating pads. It’s therapeutic for me to see people smile when they first pick up the soap to smell it. I love when men especially ask for honeysuckle soap and they say it reminds them of their mom’s. Very rewarding I always say oh maybe I will stop making soap, but after 10 years it is an addiction. Thanks |
Here is Ellie’s Etsy Address;http://www.etsy.com/shop/maplestreetcreations go check out her store. I have been incredibly pleased with what I have found there.
Thanks,
Karen
