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Join the General Strike: January 30, 2026
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Indian Summer, Sleepy Lagoon, & Listening When Folks Say "Hey..."
Alright, my little windfall peaches, let's talk about Indian Summer. I mentioned during the Weenie launch madness that this would be the last year I will be offering that PBSW OG blend, & here's the skinny:On a practical level, I am at the bottom of the bottle of my favorite, long-discontinued blackberry single note, & [...]

The Black Hound of Holiday Madness
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! While the turkey is defrosting & the pies are being planned, let's talk about what's undoubtedly on a lot of people's minds this week: Black Friday!The long & the short of it is this:No, there will be no gobsmackingly huge Black Friday discounts, sales, or coupon codes at PBSW. There never are.If [...]

The Table is Always There: Real Talk with Lucy Bellwood
One of the absolute best perks of MakerLife(tm) is getting to meet other amazing Makers, & one of my favorite is the incandescent Lucy Bellwood, adventure cartoonist, part time Muppet, & overall spectacular human being. Lucy & I sat down for a real & rambling chat a few weeks ago about Benedictine labor, code switching, from-not-of syndrome, [...]
From the PBSW Archives: 20K Gold, or How I Sold a Truly Ridiculous Amount of Soap on Etsy, or The Part Where She Bangs on the Table A Lot
Originally published July 25, 2015: Well, kids, here it is, the day I hit 20 THOUSAND sales in my Etsy shop! What. The. HECK. When I opened my shop 5 1/2 years ago, I never expected to sell more than a few bars of soap, let alone quit my day job & build an empire. But, thanks to some major [...]
From the PBSW Archives: Ready to leave Etsy for your own website? Don't quit...until you watch this video.
Originally published September 25, 2017:
From the PBSW Archives: Hanging out with How I Pinch a Penny!
Originally published September 23, 2014:My friend Sarah, the tireless force of nature behind How I Pinch a Penny, invited me to her couch to talk all things Etsy, self employment, micro business and more! Check out two smart women talking shop & working the jazz hands!
From the PBSW Archives: Selling out without selling out
Originally published September 3, 2014:So hey, I just wanted to publicly thank everyone for what is amounting to a a batshit INSANE opening week to the 2014 Weenie season. Seriously, that’s a whole lot of soap, & I am incredibly grateful for your enthusiasm & support!I also wanted to apologize for the speed at which [...]
From the PBSW Archives: A word on FDA regulations, or Why I Can’t Cure Your Pentapox…
Originally published June 14, 2012:Buckle in, kids, this post’s a heavy one…Some of you may remember my venting a bit on Twitter a few weeks ago about trying to help a fellow seller navigate the waters of FDA regulations. Ultimately, it was wasted effort – the seller in question decided to ignore my advice – [...]
From the PBSW Archives: We got Green!
Originally published April 27, 2012:The weather gods were more than kind last weekend, making this year’s Go Green in the City festival a bright, sunny success! This was my first public festival, and I owe a ton of thanks to my tireless friends & family who helped me set up & stay calm… Matt & [...]
Recent Posts
- Join the General Strike: January 30, 2026
- Indian Summer, Sleepy Lagoon, & Listening When Folks Say "Hey..."
- The Black Hound of Holiday Madness
- The Table is Always There: Real Talk with Lucy Bellwood
- From the PBSW Archives: 20K Gold, or How I Sold a Truly Ridiculous Amount of Soap on Etsy, or The Part Where She Bangs on the Table A Lot
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