Home from the 2013 HSCG Conference in Raleigh North Carolina and getting myself back on Pacific time!  The conference was once again a great success!  What an experience being in one room with 350 soapers!  I had so much fun meeting and visiting with some I have known and some soapers I had just met.  Lovely people soapers!

My favorite parts of this convention were when Amanda  Griffin demonstrated her peacock swirl soap.  Ruth Esteves Sirona  Springs    demonstrated making and decorating cupcake soaps. There were milk soap demos like 2012 and marketing classes and an especially interesting class on improving your web placement.  We saw a wonderful shampoo made and learned about colorants.  I was able to take an early class making liquid soap which was enlightening.  All of the parts were my favorite to be clear!

Our keynote speaker the first day, whose name escapes me at the moment was wonderful.  Ann I'll find your link and add it when I do.  Very worth while taking a peak at ourselves and  our products and moving it right along to the next level!!!  Jet lag here and foggy memory.  My notes are on a UPS truck headed my way soon!  There were so many give always that I didn't have room in my suitcase.  UPS was on scene to box up all the free samples goodies and books we bought. 

There were motivational speakers, speakers from across the pond from the UK!  Oh and Professor Kevin Dunn of Caveman Chemistry fame  once again bowled us over with a new lecture.  It was so cool I learned  how to balance a molecule and understand partially how soap is made by it's individual components by the positive and negative charges attracting in the soup to make soap.  Dr. McSoapy ( his new soaping nick name)  is everyone's favorite presenter!

Did I mention that two evening our sponsors Wholesale Supplies Plus and Essential Depot hosted parties for dinner.  WSP had lovely dinner and a game show where the audience was divided into teams.  It was really fun until myself and one of my teamates Erica were put up on stage with 8 other representatives of the 5 other teams for a play off and a slew of fun and off beat questions.  Dinner the second night hosted by Essential Depot was an English Fete complete with kidney pie and bangers!  I kid you not and the most delicious sliced cheeses were so unique!  This wonderful spread was followed by carnival games using soaping supplies as game pieces.  Quite fun both evenings.  I hope they sell loads of supplies!

One of my entries in the Soapers Showcase was selected by my peers as an award winner!  Tthere were 5 or 6 tables of soaps to look at oogle and touch!  From these tables several awards were given.  My m and p soap turquoise and pink won in the m and p appearance category.  Pretty surprised as I'm mostly an olive oil and butter goodies cold process girl.

These soaps were entered into the Best Packaging Category.  The round box mid left edge of the photo was the winner and the soaper Yuli was from Shanghai!  I sat next to her in a cupcake class and she was so sweet to visit with.  She showed me photos on her I phone of her store front and her lovely cupcake soaps!

One of my soaps is here with the soap of a friend.  The winning soap in this Best Appearance Cold Process is third down from the middle of the photo. It looks like a flower garden in cp.

Here is my entry for Best Packaging it is economical simple and that is it.  It should be placed vertically but hey that is how I like to put it on my market table.   The parchment is translucent so some of the color comes thru and the top of the soap is protected some as the paper is stiff and cut a touch larger than the soap is.

Sharon from Platypus Dreams an Australian soaper was with us this year.  What a sweetie  and it was so fun to visit with her.  I adore her soap cakes.  She had two beautiful entries!~  They look yummy and smell yummy too!

The cupcake soap here is made of mandp isn't that amazing(sorry not the greatest photo)  was entered by the Stephenson crew.  Jaime gave a wonder presentation and history of his company Stephensons Personal Care.  The company started in the mid 1800's primarily to wash sheep wool!  Around the mid 50's the company needed to reinvent it's self and so we now have people soap and body supplies from them!

Here is the soap I entered in the m&p category that was selected for a major award!  2013 Best Appearance mandp.  At the awards ceremony and the closing dinner each of the award winners were called forward and given a beautiful certificate!  The nuances of glitter, salt and shimmering iridescence color does not photograph that well, but you get the idea.

I hope you all get to attend next years conference 2014 Tuscon Arizona with lovely surrounding mountains outstanding restaurants and oh yes a Frank Lloyd Wright home I would love to tour.