Tea Tree Oil, More Uses for All Natural Products

We are always hearing interesting uses for our products, but this one takes the cake. One customer called to tout the benefits of our tea tree essential oil. Tea tree oil is known for it’s antiseptic properties and on the label we say it’s great to combine with lotion, bath water, or mouth wash to help with skin irritations and infections. But when folks call with testimonials, our ears perk up. This time was no exception. She called to say just a dab of tea tree oil instantly takes the itch out of mosquito bites (and prevents them as well).

And since it’s bathing suit season, we were especially interested to learn our tea tree oil, dabbed gently on the bikini area, soothes razor burn in that sensitive area. Try a 1 oz. jar of pure tea tree essential oil for only $6.50!

Got more testimonials? We’d love to hear them!

You wanted a SPF Lip Balm

Summer is here, and as we all know, skincare protection is very important. A few people have asked for a lip balm with SPF. I found an all natural recipe and whipped some up yesterday. Oh my goodness...what a creation!?! The creamy texture is great, but the super white color is just wrong. Wrong, I say!! We all had a good laugh, which helped ease the stress of a very long day!

Teona (my latest & greatest employee, shown here), and I made 1,200 bars of soap today, which partially explains the crazy dirty clothes and no makeup. Again, we had a really rough, exhausting day. Everything that could go wrong, did. I won't list all of our mishaps because we worked it out (and learned from them). Life is too short to stress, and being able to laugh at yourself is crucial. Lucky for me, I'm the owner of 50 of the world's ugliest lip balms, so why not wear them proudly?

We're all about the journey here at Good Fortune, and want to encourage everyone to keep trying new things and to never give up. Sometimes you hit a home run, and other times you make really white lip balm. The most important thing is that you stay in the game and don't take yourself too seriously.

Oh yeah, I've got free, ultra white, SPF lip balms to those who want to be cool like me. You just say the word!

inspirational lip balms with quotes

I'm constantly inspired by the people I meet and the world around me. I believe that "like attracts like", and the world brings beautiful spirits into my path. I recently had the pleasure of meeting two interesting women and store owners. Debra owns La Muse, gifts with purpose, and Valinda owns Art for the Soul. They were both drawn to my Good Fortune Soaps with spirit. You know? Our soaps with the inspiring gift/quote cards!

I think we can all agree that Good Fortune is the best soap ever, but what makes us truly special is that we are actively working to make the world a better place. So why stop with soap? Why not also add some fun quotes to lip balms they asked? Hummmm....good idea! So that's what I did, and I love them. I kept all four of our original lip balm flavors, but created new limited edition labels. The best part is we can create any custom lip balm label for any store, event, or person.

I hope you love the new quotes. They'll be available in a few weeks. Thank you everyone for helping me brainstorm ideas.

The Great Baggage Train

300 pounds of luggage divided by two feisty little girls equals a lot of odd looks and laughter. But the check-in lady was very patient, and the bags all came in at the exact right weight. On the plane, Jenn stormed up new ideas and we reflected on the week. It was no accident that we quickly made lifelong friends at the trade show, and it had little to do with Jenn’s Southern accent. The exhibitors and buyers we met were so encouraging: Good Fortune is young and strong and compassionate, like its owner. Jenn soaked up all the advice and wisdom she could from her new mentors, and they built her up and pushed her to continue challenging herself. Now as the follow-up and actual production starts, we at Good Fortune are pouring love and gratitude and hope into each order. We trust you’ll see all of it in our products.

A note from Jess: This week was quite a privilege for me. I got to witness firsthand the passion and drive that it takes to start your own business and then be successful with it. Jenn never stops thinking about how she can improve her product, how she can meet every customer’s needs, how she can expand to reach more people with good things. But her intensity is selfless: she sees every sale as divided between buying supplies and helping those who can’t help themselves. Jenn eats, sleeps, and breathes Good Fortune. And it was a challenge to me: what am I passionate about? And what is it that’s keeping me from pouring myself into other people? It wasn’t soap that drew people to our booth; it was a heart whose passion is serving that burns bright and clear.

**GF Vegas blogs written by Jess Snyder, freelance writer: jess.snyder@gmail.com

Work Hard, Play Harder

After a couple extra hours of sleep, Jenn repacked our four cargo suitcases. We had Burger King for lunchfast, and hit the pool for several hours where we met the funniest old British guys. We told them we were from Tennessee, and Jack said, “Tennessee! Memphis! Elvis is from Memphis!” Apparently, they were huge fans. We cleaned up (see the pictures for proof) and wandered down the strip again in search of dinner. Wolfgang Puck was charging $2 for a side of mustard, so we moved on to our original destination, Dos Caminos, the sexiest Mexican restaurant this side of the border. We explored the Venetian canal and caught the Treasure Island pirate show before calling it a night. The great baggage train pulled out early Thursday morning, and we needed our beauty sleep.

A Change of Plans

On our final day of the trade show, Jenn started the morning with a bang: “Today we’re selling lip balm. We’re selling it to vendors and exhibitors and buyers alike, with their logo or store name on the label.” Brilliant! And it sold! It was fun to watch someone’s face sharpen and their attention focus on you when you said, “We also have custom lip balms…” For dinner, we found one of Vegas’ legendary buffets: all-you-can-eat seafood for $16 each. Jenn thought she’d died and gone to pescadatarian heaven. We spend the evening at Fremont Street, the old Vegas strip with the 4 Queens and the Golden Nugget hotels. We introduced a couple friends to sweet tea vodka and caught the Fremont Street Experience – an incredible tunnel light show. It was a sweet ending to three days of sales, new friends, and fun. Wednesday was slated as girls’ day, and we did it up right.

**Check out Susan and Gordon Regert’s sweet art at Z Garden Party.

Care to Sample our Soap?

Good Fortune shipped almost 500 soap samples to Vegas, with Jenn’s story and mission attached to each one. By day 2 of the convention, we had only given away about 25 in exchange for business cards. Jenn had an idea (but that’s not surprising): Let’s give the soap to everyone, they’ll try it tonight, and come back tomorrow to buy more! We became soap Nazis, trailing after people in the aisles, little crackly packages in hand. And then, another idea! The bubble machine! The other vendors helped us set it up so the bubbles blew into the aisles and not directly into the carpet, and instantly Good Fortune was the favorite booth of young and old. Monday night, Jess became party planner and organized a dinner for 15 of the vendors at Firefly, a local tapas bar (which several of the men misheard as “topless” – the food made up for their disappointment). Then a trip down the strip to see the Bellagio fountain show, the Venetian hotel, and Bally’s moving sidewalk. Tuesday, Jenn woke up with a change of plans.

**Check Marty Kubicki’s firefly-like nightlights out at The Porcelain Garden.

Sell that Soap!

Sunday, day 2 of the Vegas trip, was day 1 of the American Craft Retail Expo (ACRE). The trade show was opened by an aged Marilyn Monroe (“This is Vegas…”). The aisles were never teeming with masses as we had imagined which was probably better in retrospect. We got to focus on one and two customers at a time, selling our products as handcrafted in the hills of Tennessee. Jenn’s sweet Southern accent delighted her customers to no end. Our first and only order of the day was large and encouraging, and then we were off to the ACRE poolside after-party at the Hilton. That night consisted of spoon games at dinner, cockroaches by moonlight, and driving a friend’s cargo van down the Vegas strip. Much better view than from a cab! Monday morning brought “Care to sample our soap, ma’am?”

**Check Fritz Renner’s cargo out at YardBirds.

Look Out, Las Vegas!

The Tennessee girls are here! We’re only three hours behind the rest of our world, but we’re catching up. Shortly after landing, we managed to get a free ride to the convention center, set up the booth (in a rockin’ three and a half hours), and head off to our hotel, the Stratosphere. The Tower Pizzeria fed us the best, freshest pizza we’ve had in years, and we had a successful reconnaissance to Trader Joe’s for snacks and drinks. So far, Vegas is a welcoming city – we’ve been befriended by plane buddies, taxi drivers, fellow artists, and men of all ages and nationalities. Ha! We’ve had a continuous peace of heart and are constantly aware of how blessed we are. Tomorrow: sell that soap!