12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 1: Seattle Sundries

Welcome to the first day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway!  Starting today and for the next 12 days, a featured artist or crafter will be giving away a FREE GIFT to one of our lucky readers who has left a comment, so make sure you visit and comment each day.

On the first day of Christmas, Meylah is happy to introduce Anne Sylte Bloom of Seattle Sundries, handcrafted soaps.  We first met Anne at a local EtsyRain event and we were immediately impressed with her handcrafted soaps and the clever packaging.  Here’s a little bit about Anne and Seattle Sundries.

Meylah:  Anne, how did you get started with soapmaking? 
Anne:  I learned how to make cold-process soap in the early 1990s. Soapmaking is appealing to me because it’s the perfect mix of practicality and creativity. I’ve always loved knowing how the objects that I use every day are made, and that is a large part of what spurred me to try soapmaking.

Meylah:  We love the product names of your soaps, what is the inspiration behind the names and how do you come up with such clever names?
Anne:  Each soap was ‘born’ in a different way. Many of them were made with a particular person in mind: Manly Man Soap was made for my Dad who is a very manly cattle rancher. Fish Tale Soap was made for my Mom…not so much because she likes fishing, but because she loves anise and black licorice and has spent lots of time traveling in Greece, which is a big part of the ‘story’ in the soap description.  Some of the soap concepts came into being because I found a great image that I wanted to use (like the Gender Neutral Soap), and so I built a theme around that.  In some cases (like the Hard Working Hand Soap) I started with the concept and then had to find or create just the right image and name, and then choose essential oils and ingredients that fit the theme.  The names and descriptions are all the result of lots of time playing with wording, laughing out loud to myself, and making my friends and family vote on names, images and scent combinations. Each variety of soap spends months in the idea phase before it becomes a product available to customers.

Meylah:  We see that you have a Seattle Sundries website as well as a Seattle Sundries Etsy store.  What advice would you give to newcomers that want to set up an online store for their handmade products?
Anne:  I value both of my websites for very different reasons. My Etsy site was my introduction to selling online and it has been very good to me. Etsy has a great reputation and gets lots of online traffic, which is invaluable. I also love the personal connections, both with customers and other crafters, that I have made through Etsy. I am active in my local Etsy street team (EtsyRain) and can’t say enough good things about that group of folks!  My business website allows me to convey a personal style and company image in a way that a uniform online marketplace like Etsy can’t. I also like that I am the only soap seller there…obviously. The process of designing (with Megan Glover of Defined by Eye) the website has been both fun and very informative. We continue to tweak things regularly. I have learned lots about web traffic, search engine optimization, e-commerce and business in general as a result of my company website.  My advice would be to start with an online marketplace like Etsy or 1000Markets. It’s easy to get your feet wet and begin learning about how to market & photograph your products, without being completely overwhelmed. For many products and sellers, those online venues will be all you need and want. For others, an ‘expansion’ to a company website might provide more opportunities down the road.

Meylah:  Do you use any social media to promote your business such as Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr?
Anne:  I rely on viral marketing almost exclusively, through Facebook & Flickr, and I try to read and post in blogs regularly. It’s amazing how many people can ‘stumble’ across you that way.

Meylah:  What challenges have you found while trying to sell your soap online versus at shows?  What successes?
Anne:  The thing I like about fairs is that I sell (usually) a lot all at once. It’s a more concentrated level of work and energy expended, but I USUALLY walk away feeling like it was worth my time. Sometimes fairs can be extremely frustrating because you have to pay for your space (often a LOT), spend lots of time building up your stock of merchandise, spend time and money planning and setting up your display, spend time actually working the fair, and then spend time packing everything back up and going home. To some degree, your at the mercy of whoever did the promotion for the show and how many perspective customers they were able to bring in the door. Sometimes it’s just not worth it, either from a financial standpoint, or a time expenditure one. I always like the customer contact and the feedback that I get is very valuable, but I try to limit my fairs to 4-5 a year, total.  Online sales require a daily commitment to printing receipts, packing and mailing products. My daily time spent on sales still adds up to less than the time that I spend doing fairs. I have not yet crossed the line where I have made more money from online sales than at fairs, though, so ask me this question again at a later date!

Meylah:  On your blog, it mentions that you are a teacher.  What do you teach?  Do you teach classes in soapmaking?
Anne:  I do enjoy teaching soapmaking classes occasionally (TeachStreet.com), although I don’t have a regular venue, so they tend to happen only when I feel that there’s a critical mass of interested students. I’m always available to come to a person’s home or location that they’ve arranged, to teach small classes of 10-15 people. The teaching that I referred to on my blog is middle school ESL (English as a Second Language), which I happily taught for a number of years before my kids were born. I’m still a certified public school teacher and plan to go back to the classroom once my youngest is in kindergarten…unless I’m the head of a vast soapmaking empire, of course.

Meylah:  What do you do when you’re not making soap? 
Anne:  I do all of the other things that the business entails: product photos; design packaging; design, print and cut promotional material; design & build display elements; keep the financial records in order; try to remember to file taxes and update various licenses on time; marketing; establish wholesale accounts; explore new markets for future growth; and develop new products.  I also raise my three kids (with the help of my husband), play the bagpipes with Elliott Bay Pipe Band, lead a 4H club, garden, sew, cook & and fantasize about going on vacation.

Thank you Anne!  Today, she is giving away 2 FREE bars of her handcrafted soap (1 Sasquatch Soap and 1 Gender Neutral Soap) to one person selected for the best comment.  They make great Christmas gifts so if you don't win, still be sure and visit Anne and Seattle Sundries for some of the best handcrafted soap around!