The Information Soaper Highway

(Hello World)

We have just made a huge technological step forward at Barony Crafts.

We've had a wireless network for a while now so that I can use my laptop anywhere in the house which is great. However I've never been able to use it in my workshop as it is too far from the house - the signal was too weak.

Dave has now laid a network cable between the house and the workshop so I can finally access everything in the workshop too. This is great as it mean no more running back 'n' forth from the workshop to the house every time I need access to a file or order supplies on the internet AND... no more swapping of memory sticks (it's a nightmare trying to remember which one has the most up to date version of everything). This should improve productivity hugely, or so Dave tells me anyway! But the absolute best bit is being able to access my huge iTunes library while working, perhaps not quite so good for productivity!

Soundtrack to work at the moment: Alabama 3, White Lies, Muse & Carter Burwell's Twilight Score. Also really like Zero by Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs and In For The Kill by La Roux.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Bbrrrrrr! Minus 4.5 on the way home

from Gloagburn Farm Shop

The temperature reached -7.5 on the way out to our craft fairs today. There's a spot on our road on the way to Perth that's always the coldest. Dave clocked it at -7.5 (on the way to Edinburgh at 09:30) this morning and my in-car temp gauge read -6 at 10:15. Although the roads were scary slippy and covered in frost & ice the landscape was a wonderful sight. I didn't have time to stop on the way to take pics and it was getting dark on the way home so I stopped and took the picture above. It's all so Christmassy. The tune on the CD player is a mash-up of several recordings of White Christmas including Louie Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and The Supremes. Very Cool Yule.

This Weekend's Sales!

Barony Soap Logs waiting to be sliced and wrapped

This weekend Barony will be at the Arbroath Seafest (Saturday & Sunday) and The Fayre in the Square as part of the Crieff Highland Games celebrations (Saturday). I'll be at Crieff and Dave will be at Arbroath. The soap logs in the photo above will make 240 bars as well as 5 more logs setting that didn't make it in time for the photo. My task for today is to get them all wrapped, divided into two lots and packed ready for Saturday. What am I doing writting this blog? I should be in the workshop in a blur of activity.

Todays soundtrack to soapmaking

I'm a huge fan of Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and his dulcet tones will see me through the days work today. I think I will start with the newest album, The Slip, and work my way back through the albums. I've been a fan for nearly 20 years now, that makes me sound really old. I suppose the type of music you listen to through your teens stays with you. Dave is still a fan of Iron Maiden... nuf said! I often have to tell Dave 'I'm not naming a soap after any heavy metal bands'. His most recent suggestion was Back in Black for a blackcurrant bar, I mean, really, I don't know. In saying all that about Dave's soap naming, to his credit, he did come up with All Along The Foreshore for our Kelp soap. Many customers have commented on how the name takes them to a favourite beach, a romantic stroll. Dave then told me the name was a variation of All Along The Watchtower... by Jimi Hendrix/Bob Dylan. He wins.

from left to right: Lemongrass & Lime, Starry Starry Night, Sparkling Lemonade, Glittering Seas, Tea Tree Scrubbie and Pass The Soap, Sweet Pea!