October's Winners and November's Gimme That! Giveaway

Gimme That Sugar Cloud™!!!

First of all, a big fat congratulations (and hug) to Donna C., Kelli C. and Lori D.- winners of last month's Bath Cloud giveaway.

This month's Gimme That! is our foaming sugar scrub - Sugar Cloud™!!! Thick, with just the right amount of fluffiness, you'll get a lot of scrubbing time before the sugar crystals dissolve. Three lucky ladies will each win a 4oz Sugar Cloud. Per Amy's suggestion, we're featuring CLC's top two best selling scents. The third and yet to be determined scent will be one from our 2008 collection.

Dark Pink™: From the Pink Parade Collection. The fun, sweet and oh-so girly scent we all know and love grows up to be one heck of a stunner! Sultry and mysterious, with a little bit of a dark side, this is a sexy blend of Pink Sugar, Egyptian Musk and lightly grazed by Vetiver. Pink Sugar greets the nose in all its sweet glory. We then pulled the musk background of Pink Sugar with the addition of Egyptian Musk. As the fragrance wears and evolves, it matures to a deeper, more sensual sniff, with Egyptian musk taking front and center to form the heart of the scent. This fragrance evolves from the sweet naivete of Pink Sugar to the sultry, "street cred" smarts of musk and vetiver. Created for the woman in charge who's lethally aware of her feminine wiles!

Walking on Moonbeams™: Shhh...don't make a sound. Angels sprinkle the scent of soft white florals, musk and baby powder to carry us to our most restful sleep. Guided by the light of the moon, they tiptoe on fluffy clouds made of the softest angel food cake with marshmallow frosting to spread this heavenly scent. This fragrance is an unexpected blend of comforting angel food cake laced with the powdery floral scent of Moonlit Rendezvous. Simple vanilla notes and an extra infusion of white floral blossoms lull is into the deepest slumber.

Congratulations again to Donna, Kelli and Lory! Make sure you're signed up for our newsletter to enter this month's drawing.

Thanks for reading and have the best day ever!

Crater Lake Company Creations ~ Exclusive Fragrance Blends

Hi! Just a quick reminder that the last day to enter for a free 4 oz jar of Bath Cloud is on Wednesday, October 31st. Winners will be announced on Thursday, November 1st.

We made a jar of Bath Cloud in each of the scents below to give you a sneak preview of the exclusive Crater Lake Company blends we'll be introducing when we re-open.

Speaking of blends, I'd like to hear your thoughts on mainly offering just CLC Creations (what we call our exclusive house blends). Of course, it goes without saying that I'll gladly scent a product in a single note fragrance or duplicate. If you want it, I probably have it and if not, I can probably get it or blend it for you! I just don't think I'll list a lot of non-CLC Creations in our Fragrance Bar. What do you think?

Okay so here are the Bath Cloud scents and their descriptions:


O Christmas Tea!™ Another CLC Creation ~ Limited Edition): The froth of the day has yet to start and in a couple of hours, your home will be filled with giddy squeals and laughter. For now, the presents sit unopened and the house is still quiet save for the whistling kettle. You pour yourself a mug of tea and savour this moment. O Christmas Tea is a joyful blend of white and black tea punctuated by tart cranberry and citrus exclamations. Add a touch of sweetness from a sugar cane swizzle stick and a bit of warmth from grated ginger and you've got yourself one delightful aroma that commemorates this holiday season.

Vanilla Lace Cupcakes™ (Another CLC Creation): If you suspend disbelief and envision the serendipitous combination of sweet vanilla cupcakes, smooth musk, heady jasmine and powdery lilac, then you've got yourself the beguiling fragrance of Vanilla Lace Cupcakes. Rich yet soft, indulgent yet refined, this is an absolutely gorgeous fragrance that begs to be sniffed - over and over again. Topnotes of lilac and jasmine folded into the richest cake batter lead the way to the sultriest musk and ends on a soft bed of wispy vanilla florals. Sweetly innoncent with a sophisticated edge, musk connoisseurs will approve and delight in this blend. For those who have been reluctant to try musk...consider this blend the start of your addiction.

I Love Yuzu™ (Another CLC Creation): Guaranteed to become a constant fixture in your fragrance wardrobe, this buoyant citrus medley is an absolute stunner. The undeniable zest and sweetness of yuzu supported by apple and grapefruit notes all rest against a fresh air accord. Inspired by a Japanese soft drink I had in Narita Airport, Japan. The drink was so gloriously fresh it made me forget about the 16-hour JFK-NRT flight I had just endured! Happy, sunny, sweet and fun wear this fragrance when you want to put an extra oomph in your step!

Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter to enter the drawing! Good luck and may you have the best day ever!

Gimme That! *October's Giveaway*

It's a soap! It's a cream! It's Bath Cloud!!!

Call this my excuse to make goodies even if we're closed!

This month's giveaway is a 4oz Bath Cloud to 3 lucky ladies drawn from our newsletter mailing list. We'll announce the winners on November 1st. From now until we re-open, I'll keep finding "excuses" to make more B&B goodies so we can have a giveaway a month.

Bath Cloud is Crater Lake Company's whipped bath cream that envelops your body in luxurious lather to get you clean and mmm smoooove!!! It has the consistency of very soft, whipped frosting and is deliciously scoopable.

The Bath Cloud pictured above is scented in Light Pink, a comforting blend of the creamiest vanilla caressed by Pink Fluff (our Pink Sugar dupe). I had left some Cloud in a bowl sitting on the counter while I went to take this picture and I hear, "Hey honey, can I eat the left over icing???"

Our Bath Clouds will now be colored and embellished with cute little sprinkles to make bath time even more fun.

Tip: Use Bath Cloud with a bath poof or scrubby mitts to exfoliate while you lather. You can also use Bath Cloud as a shaving cream, although I've found that on sensitive skin like mine, it's better to use non-lathering cream like our Shea-ving Cream.

To enter this month's drawing, please subscribe to our newsletter located on the top right hand corner of this blog.

Rule #2

Somehow, although this has always been our policy at CLC, it was never stated in our Policies Page. It is however in our FAQs, but I figured that since it's Rule #2 in our business (Rule #1 is the customer is always right – duh!), it warrants a prominent place in our Policies Page.

Rule #2: Once our turnaround time has reached its maximum of over 15 business days, we reserve the right to close our store in order to catch up. I think it’s only good business practice to define a maximum capacity for turnaround time and to implement a policy that’s fair to both customer and e-tailer. As a business owner, I know how important cash flow is. However, if positive cash flow comes at the expense of declining customer service, it’s a trade-off I’m not willing to make.

Look, far be it for me to preach e-tailer best practices; I’m the idiot who forgot to refund some pending orders remember? I’m just saying that personally, I cannot put a price tag on responsive and honest service because it speaks volumes about the business’ integrity and the people behind it. I can always purchase my supplies on credit. It wouldn't be right for me to over extend my customer's goodwill credit. Customer goodwill is earned the old-fashioned way – by providing stellar customer service and aligning the business’ operations with that of the customer’s interest.

I hope I didn’t sound too preachy. I know there are varying opinions regarding this topic. I simply wanted to state Crater Lake Company’s stance on this issue.

Thank you for your time.

And in other news – just a quick update on my search to find a new studio…My search is not going too well. My space and budget requirements are apparently a little too stringent, so I think I’m going to have to resort to Plan B. I’m holding out for a little longer though. Charlie said that there may be a larger space with plumbing that he can carve out into smaller units. There’s nothing available right now, but hopefully something will come up before the year’s over.

Can it core a apple?

And so the search for a workshop continues. I’ve come across some interesting characters as I search for a new home for CLC’s operations. Here’s an excerpt (as I remember it) of a recent phone conversation I had with the manager of a corporate park. Funny (or sad) thing is, it’s not too far off from all the other conversations I’ve had regarding my office space requirements.

Is my request for an office with a sink really that uncommon?

Ring, ring…

Manager: Yello!

Me: (tentatively) Hi is this So and So Industrial Park?

Manager: Yep. That’s us. How can I help?

(Okay, this guy has such a thick New Yawk accent I’m now picturing Rocky Balboa on the other end, half-expecting him to yell, “AAADDRIIIAAANN!!!” any minute now.)

Me: I saw that you have some space available. I’m looking for a space that’s around 600 square feet. Do you have any availability in this size?

Manager: Yeah, sure. We gotta few.

Me: Does it have a sink? (For all you Honeymooners fans…”Can it core a apple?”)

Manager: A what?

Me: A SINK! You know, to wash stuff in.

Manager: Like a bathroom? The bathrooms are down the hall.

Me: No I don’t need a private bathroom. Just a sink. Preferably a deep one.

Manager: Aw – lady you can’t use a sink as a bathroom you know what I mean?

Me: (What the !@#$!!! is this guy thinking?) Sir, I need a sink to wash our production tools in. We make customized bath and body products like lotions, soaps, perfumes…

Manager: Oh you make lotions like that Bath Works store I see in the malls?

Me: You mean Bath & Body Works? Not really, maybe a little kind of – only better (*ahem* if I must say so myselfJ)

Manager: So lemme get this straight. You need an office space with a sink in it?

Me: Yeah pretty much.

Manager: That’s it? No access to a loading dock or anything like that?

Me: Nuh-uh.

Manager: Well we don’t have any space like that, but lemme see what I can do.

Me: So will you be able to help me out?

Manager: Yeah, lemme see what I can do and I’ll call you back.

I’m waiting to hear back from Charlie to see if he can indeed retrofit a sink into an office. Pretty freakin’ funny!

I really hope this one works out. It’s close to home and right near my favourite Indian restaurant.

Once I find CLC’s new home, I’ll post some pictures.

Wish me luck!