Open House Review

I wanted to wait until I had conducted both of my open house dates before I posted -- just to get an overall view.

Well, the two Open Houses did not have the turnout I had hoped and had planned for, but they were still fun. Yes, I did spend more money on them than I made in return, but a few more people were able to experience what Urban Botanic was all about, they had a lot of fun (I sure did!), and I'm hoping they spread the word and maybe book a workshop in the future. I also had a couple of people who let me know they couldn't come, but were interested in perhaps attending a workshop in the future.

The first workshop was at my house. Only one of my friends and her nine-year-old daughter came, but we did have fun. It was wonderful to visit. The daughter created a yummy scent to put into a bubble bath and really liked the creative process. She won a U.B. warmer in the raffle drawing I did (even with only two people, I did it), but my friend will be the primary user and they purchased 3 unopened oils that I had in stock to use with the warmer.

The second workshop was at my parents' house (thank you Mom and Dad!). My aunt and cousin came! :-) While my cousin's two girls played, we got down to experimenting. I love finding out what scents others like -- they open my eyes (and nose!) to scents that I hadn't thought to like or even combine. My aunt created something right away that she liked -- I did, too -- with White Tea and Fig, then put it in a lotion. She continued to experiment with combinations after that just for fun. My cousin tried several combinations, looking for a "clean" scent to put in a shower gel. I believe she ended up with a combination of Green Tea, Pine and Lilac -- it was a lovely mix, I remember, and one that I wouldn't have thought to do.

My aunt won the drawing for the warmer, which was perfect as that was what she was interested in and was thinking of purchasing. She did purchase one oil to use in it.

-- My little note: I cannot believe how one or two drops of the oils into the warmers fill the room with scent! Those little oil bottles will last so long! What a cost savings from candles. I love candles, too, and love the ambiance, but the oil warmer from Urban Botanic is so easy to use. --

I love seeing my aunt and cousin, and my son had a good time playing with them after he and his grandpa came home. I'm sure we will get together to create again either just as a family or in a workshop setting.

As I was cleaning up and putting my oils away, I talked my dad into smelling some of the scents in the Spicy family. He has worn "Old Spice" for years, so when he smelled the Allspice U.B. Fragrance Oil, he decided to try mixing it with Asian Spice. A few drops later, he liked it. While refusing to allow me to put his creation into one of the unscented products for him, he dipped his finger into the mix he'd done and rubbed it on his neck, jaw and hand. Now, those oils are concentrated and a little goes a long way -- especially when not mixed in a product. Dad no doubt still smelled like his creation this morning! I loved that my dad, a very "manly man," even had a bit of fun creating. :-)

So even though the Open Houses didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, I'm glad I did them. I love seeing my family and friends. Plus, I got to play a bit, too.

I'm going to be creating a sample fragrance to put into goody bags for the upcoming Portland Crave Party on December 5th. I'm excited that 100 or so women will hopefully find out about Urban Botanic.

Little by Little

I just spoke on the telephone to a friend that I hadn't talked to for awhile. While our husbands speak every so often, she and I just don't. Maybe we're just not telephone people? She has a 21 month old daughter, and I have a 5 1/2 year old son, so we seem to be busy with "mom" duties when the guys are talking. Last night, my husband handed the phone over to me after talking to his friend for awhile as the wife, my friend, wanted to speak to me. I had seen a photo of her and her daughter in the newspaper just that day, so was excited to chat. The photo was at an independent toy store in her town near ours, and accompanied an article about the toy store.

During the early part of our conversation, I asked for her email as I am so much more of an email person and she and I just don't see each other as much as we used to when we were single. She, in turn, asked for mine. I gave her my personal email, but mentioned I had another that was connected to my new business, Urban Botanic. She was at her computer, so she immediately pulled up my website and asked questions. She was interested in making a scent for her niece as a birthday gift. The niece had just turned 13 years old and she hadn't yet purchased a gift.

Long story short, I'm going to visit her tomorrow afternoon for her to create a scent for her niece! She may even do one for herself. She's also interested in talking about having a workshop.

What I love about Urban Botanic is that it sells itself even without someone "seeing" the product. The concept of creating something unique -- actually hands-on creating -- is so cool! While I wanted to let my friend know about my new business as I was excited, I had no intention of overloading and pressuring her for a workshop during our conversation (we continued our conversation last night talking about jobs, schools, and life in general).

Little by little, I will build this business. I've only had my kit for about a month... I need patience and shouldn't expect to have tremendous success all at once. Little by little, the word will get out and it will grow.