Teach Soap

I am totally hooked on soap making. I made my first batch in July and just made my 15th batch. Needless to say, there is soap everywhere. I have no intention of selling but do want to share with family and friends. I was planning on giving pretty baskets of soap to everyone for Christmas. Over the past month I have given 18 of these people soap to try and asked them to tell me what they think. So far 4 have told me they really like my soap. From the rest I have heard nothing. 3 have said they haven't used it yet. Does this sound like I should forget the gift baskets or have any of you experienced this. Maybe I am expecting too much because I am so into this soap making.

That's up to you, but if I don't hear back from a tester, they get no more soap til they do.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Whenever I test a new recipe and want feedback, I make sure that the tester knows the soap needs to be used within a certain time period and for at least 5-7 days. Then I have them fill out a short questionnaire about the soap: appearance, scent (if any), lather amount & quality, etc. Whatever you want to know about that soap-ask specific questions or you'll just get answers like "it was nice." LOL. They also know that I won't be letting them test anymore soap if they don't provide the feedback.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

18 is a lot. Did they actually say they wanted to test it? Or did you just offer it and they took it? I have specific people in mind to test out my future stuff. People that will for sure give me feed and actually give me honest feedback without worrying about hurting my feelings, even if it's brutal.

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"Effective questioning brings insight which fuels curiosity which cultivates wisdom"

I have a very good friend and coworker that I would gift a bar of soap from time to time. She would always thank me and tell me how much she liked the packaging, fragrance, color or design. Then about 11/2 years after giving her soap she came to work one day and said how great my soaps were on her skin. Then I went to her house for a party and there in her powder room is a big collection of my soaps. They look very pretty.... I told I would feel better if she used them, but I am sure there are many that are being used as decore. There are times when I think I should put them in a brown paper wrapper so they just get used.
I am like you, do not sell. There are times when I wonder what I am going to do with all my soaps, then my dtr will call and say they are on their last bar- hint-hint. That is what she said today and of course I grabbed a dozen bars off the shelves and will send them out to her next week.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!

I used to send some of my soap to other soap makers back when I started out. That way I actually got honest feedback on the good and bad of the recipe. Right now I'm testing soap for a newbie and giving her my honest feedback.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

My family say they have enough soap to last them at least 10 years. And they're all getting more for Christmas too!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Heather that is my mother and sister (they live together). They get 1-2 bars from each batch I make. If I want to see how a scent has held up... I visit them. There is a high percentage they still have one of the bars left.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

My daughter just let me know she needs more soap. It took her a year to use up all the soap I gave her last time!

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I think I may have given this thread the wrong heading. I wasn't looking for in depth feed back from the people I gave the soap to. These were the people that I planned to give Christmas baskets of soap to. I would have been happy to hear " I really liked that bar of soap" or " Wow! That soap really has some great bubbles" or even "I loved that fragrance". It was the total indifference that floored me. This soap is so much better than what I can buy that I thought most everyone would be excited to try it. Now I'm wondering if they would rather have a tin of cookies.


MaryLou

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

Here's a thought. This year make some baskets of soaps and some of treats, allow them to choose which they would rather have... then you will get a true picture of what their preferences are. When I give a gift I have learnt not to expect a WoW! or a mention of thanks. That way when I do get one it is very special and it seems that when I stopped "expecting" them they came more often ???

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

I've found that handmade gifts don't seem to get the same appreciation from a lot of people that we'd think it would. Since most people don't know how soap is made to begin with, they're not able to appreciate the hard work that went into it.

I've had the same "non-reaction" when giving my B & B gifts and even some of my crocheted items. I once spent a week making a gorgeous (to me anyway) hooded scarf made from hand painted alpaca yarn for a good friend. When I gave it to her, she said, "Oh, a scarf....um thanks I guess."

I used to have the same non-reaction to my soaps & stuff at first. I found out a lot of the people that I had been giving them to weren't actually using them. They had them out as decoration or air fresheners. It took a few times for me to give them soap before they started using them and began to appreciate them.

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Genny