Collaboration Women Wednesday Blog Hop - Week 7

Welcome to Creation|Collaboration's 7th Women Wednesday blog roll, hosted by Beads & More by Lois, Soaperstar and Plans and Presents

Creation|Collaboration was set up by eight women, all existing friends, who run small businesses from their homes. We have started Women Wednesday blog roll to link up with other women in business, spread the word about Creation|Collaboration and basically just have fun visiting all of your interesting blogs!

Join in each week and you could be the following weeks blog feature. Every Thursday we will use Randomness software to pick someone from that weeks blog hop and announce who will be the next blog feature.

Heres how you can join in with Collaboration Women Wednesday:

• Link up your blog name and URL to your Women Wednesday blog post using the McKLinky below (you only need to add on one blog to be seen on all of the McKLinky blog roll's) Please note that it's for blogs only and not links to your websites or shops.
• Follow our Creation|Collaboration blog and the hostesses listed in the first 3 slots.
• Grab our Women Wednesday button and feature it on your blog or Women Wednesday blog post.
• Follow and comment saying you're from Women Wednesday on as many blogs as you likes listed in the McKlinky box.
• Follow back any new followers from Women Wednesday!

It's that easy and a fun way to discover new and interesting blogs and us women at Creation|Collaboration get to meet other women in business!

Last week Michelle Wyatt from Melusine Soap was picked to be our 2nd Blog Hop Feature!

Michelle is a lovely soaper based in Somerset, she handcrafts all of her Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) - free, glycerin soaps at home, she sells them online and at fairs. Read more to find out more about Melusine Soap!

 

We asked Michelle 5 questions so we could find out more about her and her business.

1. Tell us more about yourself and your business.

Hello, my name is Michelle, I live in the beautiful county of Somerset and I'm a mum to my 1 year old daughter, Mathilda. I've been making glycerine soaps for about 10 months now.  It started off as a little hobby to do while I was on maternity leave, making soaps as gifts for friends and family and then it just snowballed from there!  I was very fortunate to be subject to a random act of kindness from a lady I met through a soap making forum and she basically helped pay for my Safety Assessment for me to start selling soaps to customers.  From then on I've been gradually building up my collection, which is heavily inspired by my surroundings, nature and folklore.  I also set up a shop on Folksy and I had my first ever craft fair at the beginning of May.  It went so well that it helped me to decide to not return to my 9-5, well-paid job as a buyer for a helicopter manufacturer, and to focus on bringing up my daughter and making and selling soaps from home!

2. What do you love most about having your own business?

I love the creativity.  That is definitely my favourite part as there's nothing more satisfying then creating something beautiful that people also enjoy and get pleasure from.  I also love belonging to such a lovely community of fellow crafters.  Virtually everyone I've met, either on Twitter, social networking sites, or at craft fairs, have been very supportive and helpful, which is something I never noticed while working for a large company.

3. What would you like to change?

I have a list as long as my arm at the moment regarding things I'd like to change!  My business has only just started, and I'm completely learning everything from scratch.  My main priority at the moment is to clarify my brand and my logo, it's something that has been put on the back burner for far too long while I've been busy experimenting with soap making!  I'll then be working on a website which I aim to be up and running by the end of the year.

4. What do you love most about blogging?

I'm also very new to blogging, but I'm enjoying it very much.  It's a very important part of networking and I love how it can be great exposure for my business and I'm enjoying the the Folksy Friday and Creation Collaboration Women Wednesday blog hops.  Again it's like being part of a great community of crafters, who all support and learn from each other.  Taking part in blog hops means that I can meet even more crafters and keep my finger on the pulse.

5. What is your most favourite item you have made?

I'm very proud of my Oats, Milk and Somerset Honey soap.  It took a lot of planning because I really wanted to make something using local produce and to try and make it unique in some way as Oat, Milk and Honey soaps are very popular among other soapers.  It was interesting to make because it involved several different ingredients and techniques (including the bubble wrap technique to create a honeycomb effect for the honey layer) so I felt like it tested the skills I had developed over the last few months.  It's a popular seller at local craft fairs and was even ordered by someone in Alabama recently, which was an amazing complement to me and my work!

Thank you Michelle for being part of the blog hop and feature.

Buy Melusine Soaps through her Folksy Shop

You can catch Melusine Soap on Facebook

If you would like to be featured next week, make sure you join in on this weeks blog hop!