IBN Success Spotlight on
TJ Currey of Caerlon Gardens Luxury Soap
June 4, 2001
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Introduction To Caerlon Gardens Luxury Soap
TJ
Currey of Caerlon Gardens Luxury Soap is one of
the newest members of IBN. TJ, a former medical transcriptionist, runs Caerlon Gardens
from her offices in Snoqualmie, Washington
USA. She manufactures mainly handmade soaps from scratch, along with other
handmade products like massage oil, body shimmer, herbal hand butter and
wand perfumes.
TJ describes her first venture into the handmade toiletries world in December 1999 as "a major disaster." That was when she attempted to rebatch (melt and then remold) Dove soap and add her own color and scent to it. When that didn't work, she moved on to making melt-and-pour soaps. "While the M&P soap was pretty," says TJ, "I just didn't feel it was doing anything for my skin, and I missed not having any real bubble-producing action in the soap." In August 2000, TJ joined an online newsgroup and met someone who lived near her who made handmade soap using the hot-process method. The two arranged to meet, and TJ was hooked immediately. "I felt a thrill that I had never experienced before with any of my hobbies. I felt I could honestly enjoy making and developing soap without it becoming a drag or feeling like 'work.' I was right! I drew on my alternative-medicine transcription background, which enabled me to invent some beneficial skincare recipes.
From Avid Hobbyist to Small Business Owner
In late 2000, TJ's husband earned a substantial raise, and they made a conscious decision that TJ would quit doing medical transcription and work at Caerlon Gardens full time. They have taken out no loans to start the business and TJ is the only employee at this point in time. TJ has grown her business so far by word of mouth which takes a lot of patience she says. Even though TJ has just started her business, she looks forward to grossing twice as much this year as last, and is happy to say "My customer base keeps expanding, and people keep coming back for more, so I'm obviously doing something right."
TJ says that the toughest part of running her business is the challenge presented in the sales area. Says TJ, "I have great writing skills so am very aggressive about getting sales via the Internet when I have the opportunity to write down my thoughts and am not immediately put on the spot. I need to grow in the area of real-time verbal skills, however. While I have never let an opportunity pass me by, I really have to struggle to come up with words 'off the cuff.'" TJ says that the most enjoyable thing about her business is developing new recipes and listening to customers tell her how much her soaps have helped their skin. She also enjoys the feeling she gets as she watches a customer admire freshly made soap as it is first unmolded.
Another challenge for TJ is seeing all of the things she does
in her business as part of the business itself. "Sometimes, it's hard
to quantify whether everything I do is actually part of the business because
it's so much fun," says TJ. "I spend time making soap, shipping
orders, thinking up new product ideas, ordering new ingredients online,
contemplating the next Soap of the Month scent, discontinuing a product or
revamping it, etc. But it sometimes doesn't feel
like work because I'm having such a good time with it!"
Caerlon's
Best Selling Soaps & Future Plans
TJ makes two handmade soaps that are neck-and-neck favorites. The first is Changing Tides, a woman's soap with phytoestrogen properties. The second is The Bees Knees, an oatmeal, coconut milk, and honey bar. TJ chooses uplifting scents for her soaps, and while she does not always use essential oils exclusively, she has found that high grade fragrance oils can lift the mind and spirit as well as essential oils can. TJ is hoping to expand her line of soaps into community gift shops, but finds it difficult to juggle expansion plans when she is so busy keeping up with orders. Says TJ, "It is hard to admit that you can't do it alone, and begin to take steps toward new opportunities."
TJ's Advice To New Handmade Beauty Businesses
TJ's friendly advice to new handmade toiletries makers is to take the time to learn the craft before selling any items to the public. Says TJ, "There are a lot of fly-by-night Web sites and 'wannabe soap makers' out there who take short-cuts, blindly using other people's recipes without developing their own, failing to understand the properties of the oils they are using and the effects they can have on the skin, and feeding into the wild expectation that all they need to learn can be found on the Internet. They do nothing to make sure the information they are receiving is accurate. My advice is to learn the craft first. Read books, go shopping for handcrafted soap or toiletries from others and read the ingredient lists. Use the products and see if they work well on your skin. If they don't, try to figure out why. Learn what ingredients work well on the skin, and what can be done to make products even better? I ask myself these questions whenever I am preparing a new recipe!"
Benefits of IBN Membership
TJ is one of the newest IBN members and is looking forward to the benefits of networking and "gaining a better perspective on the business itself without "soaping herself into a bubble." "That is, says TJ, "I don't want to become so busy with my work that I'm not paying attention to the current trends and new ideas in the marketplace," says TJ.
You won't be disappointed, TJ! One of the best things about IBN membership is the news and information we pass along to members who are starving for information that can help them grow their businesses. And the networking and camaraderie ... well, they are second to none!!
TJ and Caerlon can be contacted at mulder@halcyon.com and through the Caerlon Gardens Web site at www.cgsoap.com.
