WESTie Wednesday - featuring Just The Goods!

Welcome to WESTie Wednesday, where each week we better get to know a proud WEST member and their Etsy shop! Let's meet Milenna, of Just The Goods, who creates natural and affordable skin care products for everyone!

(source)

"The products are plant and mineral based, certified cruelty free, and recognized with Champion level status by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. I take ingredients very seriously and always clearly indicate which items are nut-free, gluten-free, unscented, etc. I also make a point of offering products that are gender neutral. And of course, I aim to keep products priced as affordably as possible. In fact, since my retailers mark up to reflect the costs associated with a bricks and mortar shop, I describe my rates I offer public wholesale =-)"

(source)

"I have an Etsy shop because its an ideal way to be encountered by people eager to discover and support unique items made by hand. I realize Etsy is a really large company itself, but as a forum for helping others connect with small scale makers, I think it's unparalleled."

(source)

"I've really enjoyed connecting with other Winnipeg makers through Etsy and WEST =-) I think we make an amazing team and I'm looking forward to everything we do together going forward =-) Thanks so much for inviting me tell you a lil' about what I do and why =-) =-)"

You can find Just The Goods on Facebook and Twitter

Feature Friday: The Soap Gallery

Japanese Cherry Blossom Handmade Soap

Hello, I'm Louise Vargas and I'm a skincare artisan. I love creating goodies for skin and it is even more fun for me if I can put an artsy, creative twist to it. Our household uses everything I make, from spa products, to household cleaning.

Our Etsy Shop is http://TheSoapGallery.etsy.com.

My joy is in telling people that all our products are made from scratch, that I know exactly what is in everything.

I have moderate chemical sensitivities from a past job and can no longer tolerate harsh detergents or cleaners which leave fumes. This led me, 12 years ago, into researching a gentler way to keep my skin hydrated and smooth.

Vintage Lovefest Soap - Patchouli with Calendula Petals

What is your most significant goal for the coming year?

We have a couple of goals for 2011. 2010 was dedicated to testing the market. People like us! We're going to expand our line to include handmade cosmetics and candles.

Our other goal is to organize things better. Time management, funding, etc. We're still "just starting" :)

Rosemary Citrus Soap

What are your thoughts on the crafting community in Winnipeg?

As a recent returnee to Winnipeg and first year doing craft shows, I've found the crafting community very warm and inviting for the most part, with few exceptions. The talent here is amazing!!

Chocolate SoGa Liquid Soap

What has been the most difficult thing about running an online business?

I'm not sure about everyone else, but the most difficult thing I've found about running an online business is that my stock is changing so constantly that it's hard to update my Etsy shop quick enough. I've found recently that using a small database to insert items (by cut and paste) seems to help.

Another issue is traffic. My items are sold olfactorially - people are attracted by our fresh scent choices initially, and then we invite them in to smell our sample sizes. Of course this cannot be done online easily. Our online sales come from our existing customer base.

Marrakesh SoGa Liquid Soap

What are your keys to success at craft shows?

We are consistently doing between 5-7x our booth fees at the shows this year and I believe what sets our items apart from others is our presentation. We dress up our tables to make our clients feel they are in a French Provincial bath and body boutique.

Our items are packaged using eco-friendly materials - and we make sure customers have plenty of choice - we always carry extra stock to replenish items as they sell.

Engaging people without seeming pushy makes for a very relaxed shopping experience as well.

__________

You can find out more about The Soap Gallery by clicking the links below:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSoapGallery
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TheSoapGallery
Artfire: http://TheSoapGallery.artfire.com/
Etsy: http://TheSoapGallery.etsy.com/

Last but not least ^^:
Website: http://www.soap-gallery.com/
Blog: http://www.soap-gallery.com/blog

Crafty Minions: The Handmade and Vintage Sale

Hi everyone!

In case you haven't heard yet, Aqua Books is organizing a very cool craft show scheduled to take place from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on August 14. A number of us have already been invited and booked our tables, but it looks like there is still room, so please do get in touch with Kelly (kelly@aquabooks.ca // 943-7555)  if you want to be involved.

The following information was snatched from the Facebook event page:

Not satisfied with merely taking on the worlds of literature, theatre, film, storytelling, and the world-famous Kelly Hughes Live! talk show, Aqua Books proudly announces our first foray into the wild and wonderful world of local handmade DIY craft.

Crafty Minions: The Handmade and Vintage sale will run at Aqua Books on Saturday, August 14, from 11:00am – 5:00pm. Admission is free.

Featuring Winnipeg's hottest established and emerging crafty superstars such as Dizzy Dame, Marathon 1981, Echo Creations, Just the Goods, Head in the Oven Creations, and more, all peddling their wares, this is a sale not to be missed. Banish all thoughts of rows and rows of crocheted slippers or washcloths or ponybead keychains...think, instead, vintage-inspired handmade dresses, leather and ribbon wrist corsets, funky jewelery made of vintage silverware, tiny ceramic apartment buildings and octopus tentacles, retro aprons hand-embroidered with sassy 80s pop lyrics, handmade natural skincare luxuries, wall-art created from bass strings and recycled children's books, silk-screened courier bags and babywear, weird and wonderful stuffed animal-ish creations of all sorts, and much more. This is the new world of gorgeous guerilla DIY craft, right here at Aqua Books.

It's never too early to begin your holiday shopping, it's never the wrong time to pick up something completely unique and beautiful for yourself, and it's always the right time to support local artisans and crafters, and maybe even become inspired yourself. 

The "at-a-glance" deetz are as follows:

Date:	Saturday, August 14, 2010
Time:	11:00am - 5:00pm
Location:	Aqua Books
Street:	274 Garry Street
City/Town:	Winnipeg, MB

It's going to  be a really fun day! Not only can you get your craft shoppin' on, but score tons of amazing books and magazines and eat at the very yummy Eat! Bistro. I know I'm excited.... whoooo! And, from the sounds of it, this might be the first of many future craft events. Kickin'!

Greetings from Just the Goods!

Hello everyone!

Although I've started meet a few of you through the Wrap Me Up craft sale in November and now, more recently, the egg hunt we starting to organize together, I thought I'd take a moment to introduce myself more formally since links to my Etsy page, etc., aren't in the side bar just yet ;-)

I'm a producer of handmade natural and cruelty-free cosmetic for everyone including shaving solids, body butter, foot cream, hand and body lotion, bath melts, roll on-fragrance, and so much more. Almost all of my items are vegan -- the only one that is not quite yet is my lip balm, but a vegan version is on its way! Creating new products is my favourite part of my practice, so I'm in “the lab” regularly with a view to expanding my line of products. For example, I’m almost done testing my new basic hold hair styling gel and I’m getting close to a deodorant stick I love! Yay!

The reason I started doing this was two-fold. First, the discomfort my partner was beginning to experience as a result of his growing chemical sensitivity alerted us to very real problems with the petro-chemical cosmetics industry. Second, the unfairly inflated prices of many natural products were starting to grate on us. Related to that was the unfair labelling practices of many companies, especially after being acquired by larger, multi-national corporations. Why were they including contested ingredients such as SLS or propylene-glycol in their formulations, but still calling them natural alternatives?  We figured we could either keep spending more and more and more toward finding better products, or I could start making our own. We chose the latter ;-)

Just the Goods is my effort to make healthy skin care and grooming alternatives available at an affordable price, making them more accessible to everyone. For more information, please visit http://justthegoods.etsy.com  or http://www.justthegoods.net for an even larger product listing.

Thanks for the opportunity to tell you more about what I do! I’m looking forward to meeting more W.E.S.T. Team Members and working together =-)

Best,
Milena