So Many New Things!

First, my rosemary mint soap was reviewed by Wickedly Chic! Go check out the review here. Thanks so much to them for their great review.

Second, school started. So I'm back to work reading, writing memos, going to classes, and working in the ever-exciting library. Woo! This semester I'm taking business planning, which I hope will help me write a business plan and do other necessary things to get my business off the ground. And here's my newest soap: Lemongrass Sage soap!

Finally, the Etsy Green and Clean Guild is having a trunk show at the etsy labs this Friday. This Friday! See a couple posts down for more information. This isn't an event to be missed. (and if you can't make it, indulge in a few soap samples below!)

I think I need to take some classes

My mom has been taking web design courses like Flash and Dreamweaver, and she's already a Photoshop pro...and I need these skills, too! Running a business and doing all of the design work, production, PR, etc. can be exhausting...which is not helped by the fact that not only are my graphics skills less than mediocre, but I'm also very slow at it. Arg. Maybe my mother can teach me a few things the next time I trek back to NY.
Here are the latest bits to put in promo materials...black and white and color options. Yeah...I'll keep working on them...but at least I'm starting to understand GIMP.

I drove all over the New Hampshire portion of the upper valley of the Connecticut River today, through tons of tiny towns and forests and mountains to visit selectman and tax maps as part of my internship. I headed back to the office, just south of Hanover, NH, and as I headed down the side road to the office...a bear walked right in front of me. This may be another thing that is exciting to no one but me, but I've never seen a wild bear before. It was one of those things where I didn't trust my eyes for a few seconds. But it was adorable, and it looked around as it came out of the brush on the side of the road, then loped across to the other side, presumably to get a drink from the creek down in the ravine on the other side of the road. My mom is still holding out for a moose siting, but I'm happy finding a bear (however, I'd feel a lot better if it wasn't getting so close to cars/areas habitated by people as I know how freaked out people get about large animals, and I'd like to see the bears survive. practice tolerance!)

Etsy Green and Clean Guild in NYC!

Meet awesome etsy sellers who specialize in natural bath and body products! Wooo!

I'm done moving!

The Fuzzy Bunny is now located above ground! It's about time I had some natural light. The new Fuzzy Bunny world headquarters have enough space for a girl and her rabbit to live, as well as generous space for the creation of yarn and soap. I'll take photographs of the workspace once I actually have it organized, but for now, here's a floorplan:
My landlord has done a great job of remodeling the place...note the curved hallway/bathroom. It's so spectacular and roomy and bright! I don't know if I'll ever get over it. I may have to be pried from the location in a year when I know I'll be moving again...when I'll graduate and have to get a 'real' job. But for now, I'll enjoy it, and hopefully use my extra space to create.

Introducing: The Fluffy Bunny

We all knew I couldn't go very long without a rabbit, and at the end of the academic year someone emailed me looking for someone to adopt a rabbit. Of course I couldn't say no...so here she is: Lenni the rabbit. She was born in August 2006, she's a very social mini lop who constantly gets herself into trouble, and her hobbies include eating entire packets of seeds, climbing furniture, and mumbling as she hops*. I'm hoping that once we're completely moved into the new place that I can adopt a rescue rabbit and together they can rule the place. I so need a bunny cam...

*Before you all think I'm crazy, rabbits really do mumble sometimes. It sort of sounds like they have creaky bones, but it's an actual noise they make.

Exhaustion.

I had all sorts of dreams about how laid back and relaxing this summer was going to be, but instead it's the exact opposite. I'm moving, doing a full time internship at a land trust, working a work-study job at school, studying for the MPRE, still working on painting and installing things in the place I'm moving into, and in the middle of buying a car. Not to mention trying to keep my etsy store stocked...while people keep buying everything! Granted, I'm not complaining about the sales, that's exciting, I just need to figure out how to produce enough to grow, but maintain sanity at the same time. And find time to sleep.

It's my exciting new bedroom closet, freshly painted!

I made the news!

OK, well it was really just the front page of ETSY (thanks to darlene123 for picking my soap set for her treasury), but I still feel special. And, it meant that I immediately sold the soap set that was featured. I'm finally down to the last bar of soap made with my old recipe and my new soap is slowly seeping into my store. Now, I just need to make enough to keep up with the demand, both online and off...

And I'm Back!

It's been a long time, and it's definitely time to start posting again. So many new things to mention! I'll be reviewed by Wickedly Chic at the end of August, I'll be mentioned in an article in the Bejeezus zine, and my soap and lip balm (and wallets are coming soon!) can now be found at All Things Art on Main Street in Canandaigua, NY (where I grew up). More info to come on the above mentioned items, and I'll link to them where possible. In the meantime, here are photos from the new soap line and a couple of custom made duct tape wallets:

My little fuzzy bunny is gone.

Mr. George arrived at my door on January 19, 2004. He was little and nosy and adorable.

He ran lengths of the Baltimore apartment, he chased possessed cats named Robert, and he lounged. Of course, everyone who met him fell in love with him because of his supreme cuteness and his unique personality, and people requested his presence for Easter. He was his own man, and was only to be pet on his own terms.

It was in Baltimore that we learned of George's love of yogurt treats. He would go in his cage if he heard his box of treats rattle, he would jump up on top of his cage to find his box of treats, and he would knock the box off of his cage, spill treats everywhere, and eat as many as he could before anyone could pick up the spilled treats. But he still always looked so innocent, even when he knew he was doing something he shouldn't have been...

George went through AmeriCorps with me. He visited the school I worked in and let little kids pet him. And then, in August of 2005, we moved to Vermont to go to law school. George still went to school, even in Vermont. He showed off his long ears and long back legs to demonstrate his rabbitly adaptations. And of course everyone in Vermont loved him, too.

In Vermont, George found that he preferred lounging on human furniture. He also ventured outside to play in the grass and helped me garden all summer long.

George spent his time rearranging the apartment and causing a general ruckus while I spent my time in class, and he helped me study by hopping up next to me and sitting directly on top of my books so I could pet him. He broadened his tastes to include watermelon, cherries, and mesclun mix (he was clearly a trendy rabbit, as he preferred the locally grown, organic mesclun mix).

In October 2006 the vet found an abcess. George had a couple surgeries and took loads of medicine for the next few months. He was a good sport and remained his mischievous little self throughout, but the vets couldn't do anything more and it became obvious that his abcess was causing him pain and made it hard for him to eat. So, on March 7, 2007, Mr. George took some good drugs that made him drift off into sleep.

I will miss him bunches, but I know I was lucky for knowing such an awesome fuzzy rabbit man.