The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: plumseverywhere on August 22, 2013, 10:26:01 am

Title: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: plumseverywhere on August 22, 2013, 10:26:01 am
Demand is outstripping current supply for soap with whole sale orders rolling in as well as online personal customers etc so we've finally decided to stop talking about it and get on with converting part of our coach house into a soap making base  :)
Its victorian, with the usual 2 floors (accessed by internal ladder although we currently have an external ladder for shifting boxes through the door!) and is thick with dust, spiders, cobwebs etc but also full of potential.
The girls are having the upstairs as a den, the left hand door will remain my hay and feed store and the right hand door/side is my work place.
Work commenced 3 days ago, soon the Victoria plums will be ready though so we'll have to stop. I expect to 'move in' by October (hopefully before)  Means I can have my work set up ready at any time rather than having to wait for the kitchen to be free, drag everything in...etc but also means I can bulk order my oils and have space to store them  :thumbsup:       
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: happygolucky on August 22, 2013, 10:57:54 am
Brilliant, I bet you wished you had done it before....its exciting and going to look fantastic, love doing stuff like that :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: aess35 on August 22, 2013, 11:25:49 am
Good luck..a friend of mine owns the Ochil Soap Company and she started off in her kitchen with little children around too then onto her garage..there's a great demand for products that have no artificial ingredients.  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: Fleecewife on August 22, 2013, 11:34:26 am
Your coach house is my dream outhouse  :love:
 
It looks as if the clean-up is of pretty superficial stuff and you have some willing workers there  :thumbsup:
 
It's amazing having watched your little business take off and grow - you are an inspiration to smallholders everywhere  :goat: :goat: :goat: :excited:
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: plumseverywhere on August 22, 2013, 12:01:55 pm
Well, its just sat there half full of hay and half full of junk! We've discussed it before and then put it on a back burner but seems that Goats milk soap is more popular than I ever dreamt it could be and we need to start being serious about it now! Its given OH and I a great opportunity to work together at building something within the smallholding and we are really enjoying it now  :)
I had a look at your friends site Aess - its lovely - my next step it to have our website 'done' professionally the photographer is coming after school holidays to replace my basic pics with proper ones! Like I said, we really didn't expect a business to come out of this - it was only ever making a few bars of soap to go with wine for families xmas pressies but fate had other ideas  ;D
Now...can anyone recommend a good coffee maker and the perfect way to eradicate dust!!
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: Anke on August 22, 2013, 12:27:21 pm
Wow, how brilliant is that going to be! I am envious, we have no outbuildings (except for what we build ourselves from scratch) as ours was a building plot plus field.
 
Maybe that way you will also regard your business much more seriously - after all working from the family kitchen is always causing problems with trying to cook dinner while there is still other stuff all over the dining table...
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: Alistair on August 22, 2013, 12:42:34 pm
Plums, Jura f90 (or the equivalent) that's what I have, pour beans in top, put cup underneath subtlety top lit in blue light of course, press button, out comes coffee, you can also programme it for different grinds and volumes and conect it to the internet (why?) but I don't bother

I've got a nespresso in my shop, which is good but the pods are expensive and I've got a dualit machine but that's a fiddle and messy, cost wise, think the nespresso was about £100, the dualit about £125 and the Jura about £1200 when it was new (must've been mad)

I've also got a jar of Nescafé espresso which was a couple of quid

(I only drink tea)
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: ZaktheLad on August 22, 2013, 12:49:04 pm
Well done  :thumbsup:  :trophy:
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: plumseverywhere on August 22, 2013, 01:20:14 pm
Thank you for the coffee machine recommendations, Alistair - intrigued by plugging one into the internet. must research that one  ;)   Was tempted by a Tassimo but the pods are so pricey (!) and to be honest I was just being silly and wanting one that could also make hot chocolate...
OH has of course asked why the coffee machine is higher on the list than other 'essentials' such as fridge, something to melt oils, storage etc...he was even so cheeky to ask if I was going to be sneaking into the soap kitchen with a book to kick my heels up instead of working....cheeky?!
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: Mammyshaz on August 22, 2013, 01:33:13 pm
Having to expand your little family business isn't a bad complaint at all  :excited:  :thumbsup:  :excited: well done, a big congratulations  :hug:

I envy that building, it is lovely. Shouldn't take much to sort and a great place to work from.  Hope a lovely log burner is on the list along with the coffee maker  ;)
Look forward tomseeing some piccies of the finished workshop  :excited:
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: TheGirlsMum on August 22, 2013, 02:29:56 pm
What a fantastic space.....and great news that you are expanding
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: mowhaugh on August 22, 2013, 04:17:49 pm
That's really exciting, well done on your business being such a success.
Title: .
Post by: RUSTYME on August 22, 2013, 04:24:36 pm
Lol , yep , great to hear you are expanding plums !
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: Lesley Silvester on August 22, 2013, 10:34:38 pm
It's going to be great. I'll be able to inspect next time I visit.  ;D


There is certainly something about going somewhere different to work. I could always get more marking/preparation/writing done when I went into my study than when I tried to work anywhere else int eh house.
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: aess35 on August 22, 2013, 10:45:23 pm
 ;D you should contact Fiona at the Ochil Soap Company to see if there are tips or pitfalls to avoid in taking the business beyond the kitchen..she's really nice, she's my 2 girls Godmother.  :thumbsup: Angela
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: benkt on August 22, 2013, 11:57:34 pm
Great idea - we built a 'clubhouse' for the members at the community farm last winter as a space to do the preserves, cheese, tea, coffee and lunches and its been wonderful to have our kitchen back to ourselves again after two years of having farm and house completely intertwined. Its also interesting to see how changes in space affect the way you feel - I now spend much more time in a 'farm frame of mind' -even though the new building is only ten feet from the back door. It does also make you realise how much time is 'work time', like tonight I've just got back in from a cheese making session in the clubhouse - which was 'work', but when it was done in our kitchen it felt like 'hobby time'.

P.S. The original online coffee machine: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/qsf/coffee.html (http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/qsf/coffee.html)
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: john and helen on August 23, 2013, 08:40:06 am
way to go Plumbs..its going to look great  :thumbsup: and would imagine be easier for you :fc:
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: Padge on August 23, 2013, 09:07:48 am
I have serious outbuilding envy :-[ ...lol looking good Plums   wish you the best :sunshine:
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: plumseverywhere on August 23, 2013, 09:33:40 am
;D you should contact Fiona at the Ochil Soap Company to see if there are tips or pitfalls to avoid in taking the business beyond the kitchen..she's really nice, she's my 2 girls Godmother.  :thumbsup: Angela

I may well do that  :thumbsup:  I share her stance on palm oil (or rather NO palm oil!)

I agree with you Ben - making soap in the kitchen has not only been a faff at times but I hope this way I will get more into the work mindset that is just not possible in the room where I also have to make the kids tea and have spent hours propping up cupboards with friends while we knock back the plum wine  ;)
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: happygolucky on August 23, 2013, 11:27:02 pm
wow, we are next to the Ochils, I wonder if I know Fiona.....my daughter also would help put you in touch with people etc, she likes your soap very much buy the way and thinks its underpriced for the quality!! :bouquet:
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: Min on August 24, 2013, 10:49:10 am
How awesome! Best of luck with it. Very inspiring for wannabees like me.  ;D
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: plumseverywhere on August 24, 2013, 02:28:18 pm
Haha! I spoke to your daughter a few days back, Happy go lucky - she was asking about which cosmetic assessor I use  :)  She is lovely and her compliments are gratefully received.

Been out today and picked up some gorgeous glass jars to put all my dry ingredients and flower petals, lavender buds etc in, a new stick blender, some distressed 'bath' type decorations and...a coffee maker!  As you can tell I have been somewhat distracted from the hard graft/cleaning element and more taken by the interior design bit  ;D
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: aess35 on August 24, 2013, 02:40:12 pm
wow, we are next to the Ochils, I wonder if I know Fiona.....my daughter also would help put you in touch with people etc, she likes your soap very much buy the way and thinks its underpriced for the quality!! :bouquet:

The last time I new she was living in Tillicoultry..kids go to Dollar Academy.  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: katie on August 24, 2013, 09:02:08 pm
It's going to be brilliant! I love all the glass jars.
Being out of the kitchen will make all the difference.
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: plumseverywhere on August 24, 2013, 09:25:02 pm
haha, can't believe how many likes my glass jars got on FB Katie! made me relieved that I'm not the only one that finds flower petals and buds in jars strangely gorgeous  ;D
You'll have to pop up when its up and running, you can try out my new coffee machine  ;)
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: HesterF on August 24, 2013, 10:41:01 pm
Missed the boat on seconding a Jura coffee machine - we have one and it's great. Even my Italian friend is prepared to leave her personal coffee maker at home because she now accepts ours is great (although I'm no coffee drinker myself but even I can press a button to produce a cup of coffee for friends

Exciting new project too - just been reading the Country Smallholder article too. All looks amazing - and your girls looks so helpful compared with my less than enthusiastic helpers.

H
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: happygolucky on August 26, 2013, 02:17:40 pm
Quote
Haha! I spoke to your daughter a few days back, Happy go lucky - she was asking about which cosmetic assessor I use  (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/Smileys/default/smiley.gif)  She is lovely and her compliments are gratefully received.
Amanda knows her stuff and did some conservation work in Indonesia when she was a teenager!!
I love the idea of an old pharmacy look, lots of little wooden draws and beautiful glass jars full of colourful stuff! I am excited for you....
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: plumseverywhere on August 26, 2013, 04:11:03 pm
Just been out there now for a few hours - window glossed, few decos up on the walls, bin installed  ;D  Just need to transfer stock out there and its actually ready to roll any day!
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: lachlanandmarcus on August 26, 2013, 04:41:41 pm
Ooh we need more photos!


Feel like we are sort of all involved in the great project  :excited:  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: plumseverywhere on August 26, 2013, 04:52:25 pm
OK - heres a few more  ;)  Be sure to let me know when I start boring you all though  ;D

Here is the upstairs (kids 'den')  plus the jars that Sandy was talking about
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: happygolucky on August 26, 2013, 05:05:24 pm
 :thumbsup:
Title: Re: My new soap kitchen (to be)
Post by: Bumblebear on August 28, 2013, 01:05:37 am
What a fabulous space  :thumbsup: exciting a times  :excited: