Great Blog post on Why Girs Are Weird Blog featuring Happy Button Soap Co! & a free giveaway!

Hello my lovelies!

A great blog called Why Girls Are Weird did a great blog post on Happy Button Soap Co, which features an interview and a giveaway for a free full sized Lemon Curd & Coconut Cream scrub!

Check out the Blog post for more details in how to enter! 

Here's an excerpt of the post, featuring the interview:

"Where did you come up with the name for your shop?  I decided to call the shop "Happy Button Soap Company" as sort of a funny spin off of the nickname my husband calls me. He calls me "Button" (aww!). One day I said to him when I was making scrubs for myself in my kitchen, "You know, I like making soaps...Making soaps makes me a Happy Button!" and it just seemed like the perfect fit for a store name! From then on, I set up the shop, and it was suitable called "Happy Button Soap Co."

What or who are your inspirations?  My inspirations starting out, were definitely two major things: Growing up in New England, and specifically, FALL in New England. It's such a magical time of year, and there is always traditions, smells in the air, and feelings that just go so naturally with it. I wanted to capture these feelings and scents, as best I could with my first scent collection, called "Fall in New England Collection". The scents in this collection consist of: Autumn Harvest, which is the scent of falling leaves mingled with fresh baked pumpkin pie, County Fair, which is a carnival all wrapped up in a scrub; Buttery funnel cakes, cotton candy, and gooey caramel apples. There is also Vermont Pecan Pie, which is decadent pecan pie drizzled with rich Maple syrup as only Vermont can do, and finally Apple Butter & Caramel, which apple butter is something consistently found in just about any Country store in New England; homemade apple butter churned with warm delicious caramel.

I was also inspired by one of my favorite movies growing up as a child, The Labyrinth. I honestly don't know a single person my age (in my 30's! D'oh!) that hasn't seen this movie, and watched it when they were a kid. I created a collection of scents that are inspired by this movie. There is no affiliation to the Henson Company, just a fan! This collection is called the "Goblin City Collection", and features scents such as: The Missus, which was inspired by the little blue worm in the beginning of the labyrinth. This is the scent of Black Tea and White almond cake. The Next scent takes us down into the the Oubliette, which is a much more herbal scent; Oakmoss, Sage, Vanilla, and Sandalwood. Further on, we find ourselves lost in the Firey Forest (Fae Woods) which is scented with: Redwood, Cedar, Sage, and Blackberries. As Sarah continues on her journey to save her baby brother Toby, she falls prey to a poisoned peach and end up in a hallucination of a giant fantasy Masquerade ball. This is the scent of Juicy fresh peaches and sparkling pink sugar. At last, Sarah finally triumphs over the Evil Goblin King by saying the words, and wins back her baby brother just at the stroke of Thirteen O' Clock; this is the scent of victory, Fresh cut long-stem red roses, and bubbly champagne. For fans of this movie, this is a fun way to give it another sense of life!

What are 3 of your favorite items from your shop?  The Decadent Sugar Scrubs - These were a creation borne from my original blend sugar scrubs, and the idea of combining chocolate, as some high-end spas are now offering chocolate body treatments. One thing that always drives me up the wall, is when I buy a chocolate scented bath product, and it smells so artificial. I actually bought one from the Hershey Chocolate factory once, it was awful! Very few people can make chocolate scented items which smell very realistic. I had aspired to wanting the most realistic chocolate scent for my product, and I realized the sure fire only way to do that, was to actually melt down real semi-sweet dark chocolate. These scrubs far exceeded my expectations in what I had hoped to achieve, and lend the perfect balance between aromatherapy in the form of rich delicious chocolate scent, and also the exfoliation and cleaning power of the whipped soap/sugar it is blended with. Scents in this collection include: Chocolate covered strawberry (Date Night), Chocolate Mint (Grasshopper), Chocolate Lavender (Land of Nod), Chocolate coconut (Coconut Bliss) and pure un-adultered chocolate for those chocolate purists out there (Chocolate Heaven).

I also really love the Lip Butters - I am very picky when it comes to lip balm. I don't particularly enjoy the types that leave you feeling like you have a waxy coating on your lips. Instead, I created a lip balm that is made with moisturizing butters, and glides on smooth and well..."like Buttah!". I made these in four fun flavors: Peppermint Frosting, Red Velvet Cake, Gingersnap, and Butter Toffee Crunch.

Lastly, I really enjoy the Solid Perfumes - I created solid perfumes specifically in a twist up tube for easy application. No more sticking your fingers into a pot. Blended for unique scents that have a variety of different notes that I felt would appeal to the masses; or, if you want a fun example, the 4 female archetypes aka the 'Sex in the city' characters: The Samantha, the Charlotte, the Miranda, and the Carrie - I see Nazarene as a Samantha type scent - very sultry, resinous, sexy. Sacred is a Carrie type scent it's soft, sexy and feminine all at the same time. Arctic Maiden is a softer very clean scent, definitely a Charlotte. Lastly, Dragon Lady is a powerful sexy scent that exudes confidence and authority...Just like Miranda.

Nazarene: The scent of Frankincense, Myrrh, and Patchouli mingled with Orange blossoms and musk in the night air

Sacred: Nag Champa incense burning amongst freshly scattered Rose petals

Arctic Maiden: Frigid ocean air touched with electrically charged Ozone, Eucalyptus, musk, and Sandalwood

Dragon Lady: Dried wind blown leaves, smoky sandalwood, cedar, Nag Champa incense entwined with the resinous depth of Dragon's Blood

Where do you see yourself and your shop at this time next year?  I would like to think I will still be happily making and fulfilling orders for customers who have come to love my products. I am very thankful that I was able to embark on the journey of starting up my own bath and body business, and it warms my heart to imagine it growing far beyond where we are now. I have so many ideas - possibly new products, always new scents, contests, sales, etc! I was a consumer long before a shop owner, so I know how important it is to have solid customer service, and I love receiving customer feedback.

What is one piece of advice you would give to aspiring handmade shop owners?  I would say that it is important, before you open your shop, to have a game plan as to how you are going to operate, create a budget, and create goals for yourself, and for your business. Plan ahead as much as you can, as far as how often you will rotate scents, what sorts of products you will offer, how long will you TAT (turn around time be) will you be offering sales/discounts, would you consider wholesale...these are all questions you need to be aware of, as even if they are not an immediate concern, you should be prepared when/if that topic comes up, and how you are planning to handle it. Also, There is a fine line with Pricing - you want to make a profit, but you want to also remain competitive, especially when starting out. research other companies in your area of business, and make sure you are presenting yourself appropriately. Lastly, find an edge for your business that makes your business unique. Most importantly, if you are dreaming it, DO IT! and have fun with it."


Enjoy the blog post, and Goodluck on the Giveaway!!

xoxo
~Bree

Shipping (USPS) price increases, and some GOOD news.

Hi all,

I'm sure you've all heard about the USPS price increases that are effective starting today 1/23/12 - If you haven't, HERE is a link with some information.

How has this affected Happy Button Soap Co?

Well, I've had to adjust my shipping rates, which are still broken down into zones 1-8 for domestic Regional Rate shipping, in addition to the small and Medium flat rates...all shipping rates are calculated based on two things: Zip code, to determine your zone for regional rate, and also Dollar amount spent, which would determine the size box needed. The overall impact of the price increase was very minimal for all domestic shipping...less than a .50 cent increase...in some cases, only 10 or 15 cents. Not much to worry about.

I have already adjust the prices in paypal, so when you check out, the shipping rates are the new shipping rates.

Now, As I've had an ongoing problem with International shipping prices, this price increase REALLY made things worse...in some cases, as much as $3.00 More! I was very upset about this, so I have made a decision which I think, will be a WELCOME relief to those who are international, and would like to order, but don't want to pay the ridiculous prices - I've decided to accept International orders by EMAIL and to ship those orders in PADDED Flat Rate Envelopes. Yes, this is exactly what I have mentioned several times that I did not wish to do, BUT, I care about my customers more than some stupid price increase, that will make it less likely for them to want to order - so I've decided to offer this for INTERNATIONAL customers ONLY. The Domestic shipping is cheap enough, and most of my orders are coming from the USA, so I would prefer to keep the integrity of the boxes used for shipping in 90% of the orders. Since I receive very few international orders, this is only a small risk I am taking on, and one I feel will benefit them to order more product which would make the cost of shipping worth it. Down the line, it is still my hope to be able to offer First Class shipping through the post office.

The padded envelope shipping cost is:

$12.95 for Canada and Mexico, and $16.95 for anywhere else in the world (obviously excluding USA).

What will fit in a padded envelope:

• Up to 5 full size scrubs, a sample pack (included in every order) and some smaller items such as lip balms or solid perfumes. 

• Or  4 full size scrubs, and a shampoo and conditioner. 
• If you're not sure if it will fit - Just email me and ask :) I can make sure before you commit to the order.

So, international customers can email me at happybuttonsoap@gmail.com with your order request, and I will send an invoice with the padded envelope shipping cost.  Once payment is received, Order will be packed and shipped.

Again, this option is for International customers only!

(**USA customers ordering a single scrub will also receive the padded envelope, rather then a small flat rate box, due to the size of the scrubs containers which I had mentioned in a previous Facebook post: The low profile containers were out of stock, so I had to order the taller ones. They are still 8oz, as usual - Cost is still the same as small flat rate.)

I hope this Helps - Even though small flat rate also went up a bit, better to be able to order more products than what would typically be able to fit into a small flat rate box to make it worthwhile, at lease in my opinion!

Thanks for your understanding!

xoxo
~Bree

Happy Button Soap on the Sav Grace Blog!

Hello Everyone!

Check out Happy Button Soap Company on the Sav Grace Blog! Be Sure to Enter the Giveaway for the FREE Full -Sized Coconut Peach sugar scrub! Both Domestic and International folks can enter!


Enjoy!!
xoxo
~Bree

International Shipping - Further Clarification

Hi all!

I know there are some people still not happy with my international shipping option, since I ship priority vs. First Class mail. There are two major reasons why I just can’t do this at this time:

1.)    I print all shipping labels from home on my computer, and I schedule Pickups with USPS, so that gets rid of the need to go to the post office all togther…in doing it this way, The online label service only offers various means of Priority and express mail, but First class postage is not available. That would only be available thorough an actual postage scale, or at the post office directly. 

2.)    The reason I do not go to the post office and do all these this way, is that I have no employees that work for me…it’s just me, and Currently, I work full time during the day (M-F 9-5pm) at a Cancer research lab…so everything I do for HBSC, is completely on the side on evenings, vacation time, and my weekends. This leaves me virtually no time to run to the post office every time I need to ship something internationally, especially keeping true to my short TAT.

I really wish I could do more, and in the future, this could very well change! My hope for HBSC, is to build it up enough so that it can become a full time job…and at that point, I can make post office runs, and offer better shipping rates for internationals, etc…This IS the goal, but since only having been open for 3 months, I’m pretty happy with the progress I’ve made thus far, and just ask that my international folks don’t give up on me just yet! I know it’s still a ways off, and if you are reluctant to order because of the shipping rates, I completely understand…But, I just wanted to clarify why things are the way they are, and that it is my hope and goal that it will change in the future.

In the mean time, I can still issue invoices for anything I can possibly fit into a small flat rate box, which is the cheapest option right now. I’ve also mentioned before about padded envelopes, and why I do not wish to use them. The reason I do not like to do this for international shipments, is that if a product is damaged when it arrives, I will have people emailing me asking for replacements – this will cost me 2 products for the price of 1 every time this occurs; and obviously, once it leaves my hands, I wouldn’t have any control over how it is being handled during shipping, thus, my business could suffer for it. If I send it in a sturdy box, I am that much more confident it will arrive to you unscathed, and there is less risk of having to replace products due to damage.

I hope this helps clear things up a bit,

~Bree

xoxo

Leftover Christmas Sale! Winter Wonderland 10% off!

Hello!

Hurry and get 10% off any of the Leftover Christmas Scrubs in the Winter Wonderland Collection now while supplies last! This is your chance to grab your favorites until they come back next Christmas!

Use the code AFTERXMASSALE during Checkout

Have a great weekend!

~Bree
xoxo

Tropical Scents collection!

The new tropical scent collection is now live on the site! Get the same fabulous scents we have in our shea butter soaps now in Sugar scrubs, body lotion, shampoo & Conditioner!

Lemon Curd & Coconut Cream - this soap smells like the most decadent lemon Meringue pie, complete with buttery crust topped with a dollop of coconut cream...

Coconut peach - The ripest fresh peaches blended with creamy coconut















Orchids & Lilac - a very soft floral that has a fresh and beautiful scent. The Orchid is the main player, with the Lilac rounding out the background.

Also, I have listed some overstock shampoo and Conditioner samples from the previously offered sampler packs! They are $2.00 each, or if you use the code LOVEMYHAIR they are 6 for $10.00 - get them while you can! once they're gone, they're gone!















There is still a limited supply of the Winter Wonderland collection as well, once those sell out, they will not be restocked!