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From the PBSW Archives: Ferric f*cking ferrocyanide
Originally published July 21, 2011:Hold onto your hats, kiddos, this post is going to look an awful lot like a chemistry lesson… I had a bit of a disaster when testing out a new scent this week, & I thought you might enjoy seeing the hijinks that can occur when you don’t closely monitor your [...]
From the PBSW Archives: Miss Ada
Originally published June 27, 2011:This is a rather bittersweet edition of Scent Stories, as the blend it features is fading into what I hope is only a temporary dark period. Most of you remember the gnashing of teeth & rending of garments that accompanied my search for a vanilla fragrance oil to replace the one [...]
From the PBSW Archives: Adventures in Intellectual Property Rights, or Hey… That’s Mine!
Originally published July 11, 2011:One of the more frustrating aspects of being an artist/artisan/entrepreneur/writer/creator of cool stuff & putting your work out for the world to see is the knowledge that some day, someone will steal from you. Do something awesome, & eventually, someone else will want to do it, too. And until recent years, [...]
From the PBSW Archives: Duping scents, or How to Lose Your Mind in Five Steps or Less
Originally published April 14, 2011:As some of you may know, one of my primary suppliers for fragrances has closed up shop this year (well, sort of, but not really, but they may as well have). Since they announced their impending closure late last year, I’ve been working my way through the scents of theirs that [...]
From the PBSW Archives: Announcing: The Great Leap Forward
Originally published June 20, 2011:As many of you already know, I’ve been a slave to two mistresses since starting Paintbox Soapworks. For the past 6 years, I’ve been spending the bulk of my weekdays at my desk job, senior account manager for a database company in Chicago. When we moved back east a few years [...]
From the PBSW Archives: She Blinded Me With Science, or Is My Lotion Really Going to Give Me Cancer?
Originally published January 13, 2016: Working on a tiny midwinter update & doing some light reading ;) This article’s a few years old, but raises some interesting data regarding mineral oil-based moisturizers & tumor growth:Tumorigenic Effect of Some Commonly Used Moisturizing Creams when Applied Topically to UVB-Pretreated High-Risk MiceI dropped out of college after a year & [...]
From the PBSW Archives: So, What’s This Hot Process Thing?
Originally published February 1, 2012:As many of you know, I’ve been working on my hot process soap formula for the past few months. It’s finally ready to see the light of day, & I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve been asked a lot of questions during development, so here’s a quick Q&A to slightly demystify [...]
Upcoming Reformulations & Discontinuations
Okay, my little bees, there's the skinny: Every few years, the International Fragrance Association (IFRA) updates its standards for safe use, the benchmark of the fragrance industry. With each update, the industry recalibrates its practices to reflect the most recent research regarding component safety & acceptable usage rates. Trickling down, this means that my fragrance oil suppliers [...]
2017 PBSW Holiday Open House details!
It’s that time again! Please join me on Sunday, November 19th for Paintbox Soapworks’ EIGHTH annual Holiday Open House!Meet the woman behind your favorite scents & load in on soapy goodness without the cost or hassle of shipping! I’ll have the entire general catalog on hand, current & recent Limited Editions, great gift ideas for [...]
Soap & books & books & soap!
As a lot of you probably know, I LOVE BOOKS. LOVE. THEM. I also love authors! Especially authors who write awesome female characters having swashbuckling magical adventures Last year the amazing Tristan J. Tarwater & I teamed up to do a special soap in celebration of volume 1 of her fantasy series, Hen & Chick. [...]
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