A Girl Before Her Time: Olive Oyl

Olive Oyl was a girl before her Time.  While she and Popeye were busy entertaining all the kids and grownups alike, few people really appreciated her namesake or would have ever predicted that it would became such a household staple years later.   This week, as you probably already guessed,  the soapmaking ingredient I am featuring is olive oil.  Some soapmakers (since ancient times) have made soap using olive oil without the addition of any other oils. Castile Soap is one such example. Thousands of years later, it is still one of the primary ingredients in a cold-processed batch of soap. 

Nearly all of my soaps have at least a little olive oil in them; some of my recipes have upwards of 40%.  Olive oil is known for making a mild and moisturizing bar of soap.  It is very kind to your skin.  I usually add some other oils or butters so my soap will have a bit more hardness than a purely olive oil soap would yield.  This gives me the benefit of the moisturizing properties without sacrificing how I think a bar of soap should feel in my hand.  

  Olive oil comes from olives (surprising, huh?) which grow on a tree.  I might add that an olive tree is extremely hardy and lives for several hundred years.  It has a wide and deep root system so it is able to survive droughts really well. (a good thing in the Mideast and Mediterranean)  The oil also has a pretty long shelf life and is not likely to be ravaged by humidity or pests.  So it's not at all surprising that the area has used olive oil in many ways including food, but also for religious rituals (anointing kings and priests)  as fuel for lamps, in medicines, soapmaking, and skin care products.                 

We didn't use olive oil in my home growing up.  I hate to admit it, but this southern girl had most of her chicken fried in Crisco, and any oil in the house was usually just a generic vegetable oil. Of course, there are lots more choices today and more access to information about health benefits of foods of all kinds.  If you are like me, you have picked up your bottle of olive oil at the store, not completely sure what the difference was between the various kinds, but pretty sure that extra-virgin was healthier than regular virgin  both of which were healthier than those without the "virgin" label.  Here's a brief look at where these labels actually come from.  

First,  olives are crushed, or pressed and ground into a paste.  The oil from the initial pressing is removed and labeled "virgin" olive oil.  Then, it is tested. 

      A.   If its free oleic acid level is less than 1% and it has a perfect taste when tested (not sure I would want this job) then it is given the distinction of extra-virgin.  

  B.  But if either the free oleic acid is too high (but not higher than 3.3%) or the taste doesn't meet standards, it is called  virgin olive oil.  

        C. If the acidic level is too high or the taste too strong, olive oil can be refined with chemicals to adjust   

             those factors.  When some of this refined oil is added to some regular virgin, they label it Grade A or Pure Olive Oil.  

     D.Now, back to that paste and pit and skin and whatever else, back in the press.It is called pomace.    

          Pomace still has some oil left in it, so chemicals like Hexane are added along with some heat to  

              extract whatever's left.  This oil is not suitable for cooking, but skin care folks don't mind putting it in their soaps and lotions.  Not sure I agree.  

Here's one type of ancient olive press utilizing the power of  their beasts.  

                          NOW FOR SOME OLIVE OIL TRIVIA

1. Homer called olive oil liquid gold.

2. In ancient Greece, athletes ritually rubbed it all over their bodies

3. The English word for oil is derived from Anglo-Fr. olie Latin oleum and Greek elaion.  Wow!  there are a lot of different types of oil, but olives got the generic term named after them.  

4.  Olive trees thrive next to the ocean and are not affected by high salt water concentration (unlike most other plants)                                                                                           

Impressions: First Show

Me at my first booth. Yippee!

 This weekend was my first show Rockin' Around the Holiday Bazaar in Round Rock TX.  We got there at 6 am to start setting up, thinking we had all the time in the world.  But, really, after we had it all just the way we wanted it, there was only about 30 minutes left until we were supposed to be ready to sell.  I was glad that 2 sweet ladies were vendors next to ours.  By the end of the day, I was pooped.  Of course, part of my exhaustion was because I had stayed up until 1:30 finishing round soap labels which didn't arrive on time, and have still not made it to my house as I type this.  My style is usually an "all ducks in a row" mentality, but this couldn't be helped and we survived.

Soaps in lined fabric sacks
I was hoping to sell a lot of these soaps wrapped in hand sewn lined fabric sacks.
Everyone liked them, but most people were buying for themselves Saturday, and were not
shopping for Christmas. So that was somewhat disappointing. I think I may have pushed the bargain soap too much also.  A lot of customers pawed over the more expensive bars and then decided
to buy a discounted bar instead.  Who knows.  It may lead to more business down the road though. 

Sampler Stack

 I was really happy with how these Sampler Stacks turned out.
You get 6 different soaps to try, and I threw in a Plain Jane for fun.

Loofah Soaps--The Bestseller--hands down

I'm not sure why these sold so well, but they did.  Everyone thought the
Loofah soaps were cool.  I am making some more of these before Christmas for sure.

The main line

Final Impressions:  The overall traffic was a bit disappointing. Seasoned crafters will all laugh at me, but I was truly fantasizing about selling out.  It seems silly now, but I did hope it would happen.  The vendors who attended this show last year, said the crowd was way down.  I'm not sure if the weather (which was nice and warm, though windy) played a role in that at all, but I definitely think it took away from the Christmas shopping atmosphere.  I made back about 4 times my booth fee, which was probably better than most vendors there.  So it was by all definitions a successful show,even if my naive expectations fell to the wayside.  But I think it really was the perfect show for a first timer like myself.  I was able to practice talking to people about my soap while getting a feel for the way a show operates without being overwhelmed.  I also started my first mailing list and am hoping some of my business from the show will end up being repeat customers. And now it's time to start thinking about doing another show.  It seems like high traffic shows are definitely the way to go.  Now, off to list a few more items on etsy.    

Rock 'n' Roll

 I am so excited; this coming Saturday, I will be selling my soap at my very first craft show.  Pampered Puffin will be heading down to Round Rock, TX to Rockin Around the Holiday Bazaar.  I think I shall go crazy if I spend another second preparing for this show.  Besides all the soaping, there have been packaging issues to figure out, a table display to plan, business cards, a stamp,  and signage to design.  Sewing projects galore. Lots and lots of work.  I am hoping it will all pay off.  And being a "list" person, I have more lists than I can keep up with.  Perhaps I need a list of all my lists. I am so thankful for all the people who have helped me get ready.  My husband Clint has done nearly all of the computer design for me as well as wheeling and dealing with China for stickers and Staples for printing. My Mom has given her sewing expertise and hours of time. I could not have done these sewing projects without her.

 Here is a pic of my lovely Mom who helped tremendously with all the sewing to help me get ready for the show.  As a bonus, I got to spend wonderful time with my Mom.  We sewed a muslin table skirt with pleats that fastens to the table with velcro (way beyond my limited seamstress abilities) I haven't taken a picture yet, but will post some show pictures next week.  And we made close to a hundred fabric sacks to package some of the soap.  Above you can see a few of the sacks spread out on the table during our assembly line production. And to the left, all done, a sack with Plain Jane, unscented castile.  

 This pic gives you an idea of how my cigar band turned out.  Soaps that are not packaged in fabric sacks will be wrapped in one of these.  I love the artwork done by good friends of ours, Bruce and Terri Bennett from Colorado. Bruce is an artist and came up with the drawing in pastels; Terri spent hours in photoshop-designing, editing and proofing. As a team, they are amazing.

And here is a box of soap still waiting to be packaged.  The honey oatmeal soap is currently my favorite soap,  and I happen to have a whole batch that is going to be discounted at the show because it heated up a bit too much and has flaws in the top layer.  (It's still wonderful soap, and I'm secretly hoping some of these bars are left after the show so I can use them) So if you're planning to be in the Austin area this weekend, stop by and check us out.  We'll be in booth 22.

The Pampered Puffin is Born

Today is an exciting day. I have finally made the step to declare my DBA (Doing Business As) name and applied for a state tax id #. I guess that makes it official. The Pampered Puffin is born. As part of the overall picture, I have decided after a 2 year hiatus to start blogging again. My new blog will feature a collection of my current soap projects, any other crafty projects I decide to take on, as well as daily personal musings that most likely will include happenings involving my 3 wonderful children. My first Craft fair will most likely be in mid-October (more details to come) and I'm hoping get lots of experience during the busy holiday season.