Hi everyone my name is Simon and i am an absolute newbie to lotions and potions and soaps in fact im a complete newbie to anything craft related but have quickley picked up a bit of a passion for it. I found this forum a month ago and i have been spending many a hour reading many of the informative posts, blogs etc etc, i have found lots of information on lots of topics on these boards and i have also been amazed at some of the products some of you make its all been very inspirational and i now know things that never even crossed my mind not so long ago!

I think it might be worth mentioning what started my interest in all things soapy well it was that kirsty's home made crimbo thingy on C4 Im sure as it only touched on the subject of soapmaking it was not very accurate in describing the art as it were but it certainly made me think ( i did not even know you could make your own products as looking at the back of some of them the list of ingredients is almost in a different language) Me and my wife liked the homemade crimbo idea and will probably do it all year for birthdays etc im lucky because she is one amazing cook.
However one aspect stood out more than others thats what lead me here along with an idea i had for promoting my business, im thinking about instead of the normal paper business card or flyer or whatever how about a soapy gift promoting my business ( the business is not linked to soap etc) Because i have never had anything like this posted to me and if i did i would certainley take note of who did. Perhaps some of you will let me know what you think i know it is likley to be costly but i have spent many a hard earned pound on other advertising in lots of different forms and never found anything to work that well because i have lots of competition all doing the same thing so im thinking outside of the box. This way if someone is impressed i may get some work out of it they may tell their friends/family as its something that dosent happen everyday and if not and they dont care or not interested its a gift they can keep and more importantly use, all these other corporate gifts i find just get thrown in the bin along with the paper forms of advertising
Im no stranger to the health and safety and insurances world im sure i would have to have said gift approved licenced etc etc its something my trade and yours has a lot of !
Along with this i am now looking at everything we have in our bathroom and thinking of ways that i could do it myself! and am looking at everything in the shops differently bearing in mind i have never been in a branch of L___ in my life last week my wife thought i was trying to chat up one of the ladies in there because i was asking so many questions about all the products !
Anyway i know its a few days late but heres wishing you all a good 2010 i will try and post when i can as i have no experience in the subjects but i can give a newcomers perspective and i will try to inform others about the mistakes and lessons i learn hopefully it will help someone in the future!

all the best Simon x

Welcome! I hope you enjoy the forum... are you going to try and make your own soaps to send out as gifts? I was approached by an online social media company do produce soaps for them in order to promote their company which I thought was a great idea ... until they realised they'd actually have to pay for them and that I wasn't going to give them away for free!!

I think it's a wonderful idea still and it's got a real personal touch.  Is your day to day business related in some fashion? It's just, a soap might be rather a random thing if say, you're a lawyer or something. 

Welcome Simon - that must be the longest introduction we've ever had!!

You'll find lots of help and info here - particularly if you make a few more posts when further boards will open up to you (plus more topics on the main site).

A Soap "Business Card" wouldn't be terribly expensive - obviously it would when compared with a printed card - but would stand out amongst keyrings and fridgemagnets etc.

Hello Simon -  welcome to the forum, and great to have another chap onboard!

Hi Simon
I hope as a newbie we can inspire you to have a go at making your own products. It's very rewarding and totally addictive.
Welcome to the forum, just yelp if you need a hand and someone's sure to help 

Hi Simon and welcome.

What has tweaked you interest, where would you like to start?

Eire

Hi Simon and welcome on board.
The soapy gift is a great idea.  I however, find that a biz card is also handy especially when standing in a queue at the post office.

Yup - when you look at all the run of the mill Corporate Gifts.

(although Sha's OH could print you off some Tshirts or "green" shopping bags)

Yeah, got a lovely soft printed tshirt. Too much chocolates means it is nicely folded away.

Welcome! 

Welcome Simon and thank you for the great intro, it was really nice to read    First of all, I have to say that your pic of Becky and yourself is just lovely.

I too think it is a really good idea (although I am not sure of the line of business you are in but I am sure there must be a connection for you between that and the soap biz cards).  You would need a safety assessment though (Scott's your man for that  ).

I am not experienced in making soaps (had a go though at most methods) but you are right, it is amazing to gaze at the remarkable creations of those that do.   

It is good to have you here and like EJ said, if you post a bit more, more boards will open up to you 

Again, a warm welcome 

Welcome Simon.

As a relatively new member on here I can say that this is the best forum I;ve been on - friendly, knowledgeable and everyone is more than willing to share their advice and offer tips.

AND, it is truely addictive - you'll spend a fortune on supplies as you try experiment, then order more because you get another set of creative ideas. It's a spendaholics dream hobby!

Enjoy

Welcome Simon

 

Welcome to the Fresholi forum Simon! 

Welcome Simon, you'll find a wealth of information on here and everyone is willing to share which is fab