In August of 2012, the HSCG wrote a Citizen Petition to the FDA – Department of Health & Human Services, regarding the use of a PO Box in the place of a street address on a cosmetic label. We did this mainly for the safety of the small businesses that make up the handcrafted soap and cosmetic industry as many … Read More
Member Benefits: Use ‘em, Don’t Lose ‘em
Are you getting the most out of your membership? Sure, we advocate for the entire handcrafted soap and cosmetic industry and we offer some pretty killer insurance to professional US and Canadian members as well as a not-to-be-missed yearly conference. But if you’re just here for the conferences or the insurance, you’re missing out on so much more. As we … Read More
Behind the Scenes: Constructing HSCG’s How-To Library
If you follow us here on the blog (or Facebook or Twitter, you faithful stalker, you) or were lucky enough to join us in Tucson earlier this year for our 17th annual conference, then you may remember hearing about a project we’ve been working on for the soap and cosmetic-making community. One super important part of the Guild’s mission is … Read More
A Million Little Pieces (of Soap)
Have you ever found yourself cursing over unevenly cut soap samples? Ingenious soapmaker member Leanne Laboy has just the trick. Looking for a way to manage the different soap weights she needed to cut, inspiration struck her from the shelves of a kitchen store. Leanne found that a wire cutter used to shave off slices of butter “can cut straight … Read More
Soap Angel Investors
Angel investors are a well-known concept in Silicon Valley, where their deep pockets help start up cash-strapped businesses. Have you ever heard, however, of the soap angel concept? Photo by Flickr member Paul Esson. Used under a Creative Commons License. Soapmakers are a generous bunch, as the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild has witnessed many times over. This past week, … Read More
Member Spotlight: Shepherd’s Soap Sushi
“‘I get so tired of looking at soap all day long,’ said no soapmaker ever” as the meme goes. Here at the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild, we tend to agree. We recently spotted these sushi soaps out on the HSMG Facebook page and had to know how they came about. “These were for a young teen’s birthday party,” explains Deb Petersen … Read More
2013 Conference Speaker Sneak Peek
Are you joining us in Raleigh next May for the 16th annual HSMG Annual Conference? Let us tempt you with a sneak peek at some of the amazing speakers you will see at the 2013 conference: Discover the joys of working with pourable silicon to make your own, custom molds with Amanda Griffin of Lovin Soap in her session: Make … Read More
Member Spotlight: Alabu Skin Care
Recently, we caught up with Alabu Skin Care founder Maryclaire Mayes. Alabu, a soapmaking and natural products company based in Mechanicville, NY, has been an HSMG member since 2001. Says Maryclaire, “I wanted to be part of a professional group that supported handcrafted soapmakers”. Making soap fits so well into Maryclaire’s lifestyle that it’s hard to believe it took a … Read More
Back to (Soap) School
Welcome to September. The days are slowly shortening, summer’s gradually winding down, and school is back in session, which makes this a perfect time to ponder continuing your education. You don’t have to stop learning just because your formal schooling has ended. In fact, many soapmakers don’t discover their passion until well after primary and secondary schooling is a distant … Read More
Espresso Yourself
Coffee has a venerable history in the soapmaking world. In another edition of nearly wordless Wednesday, we’re bringing you some of our members’ coffee-inspired soaps. Settle in with a cup of joe (or your favorite non-coffee beverage) and check out these beauties: Customers love Green Cow Studio’s kitchen soap so much, they introduced Bar o’ Joe, a coffee and sea … Read More