LothAndVolta's Profile

Bio

We're Holly (Loth) and Lisa (Volta), and we make soap. Also salves and balms, bath salts, and other things. We've been making all-natural bath and body stuff for almost five years.

We work only with natural ingredients -- essential oils rather than synthetic fragrances, for instance. This is more because of personal preference and because we find the natural stuff more fun and challenging to work with than from any strictly principled stance against synthetics. The care and responsibility of the soapmaker matters a lot more in terms of the quality and safety of the product than whether she uses naturals or synthetics. We strive to take the greatest possible care.

WHAT DOES "NATURAL" MEAN?

We all know what natural means, right? Well ...

The truth is, it means different things to different soapmakers, and anyone can slap "natural" on their labels without supporting the claim in any way. If avoiding synthetics matters to you, here are some things to watch for:

- Ingredients. Does the product have a full ingredients list, including colorants? If not, view any "natural" claims with skepticism.
- Fragrance. "Fragrance" in an ingredients list means fragrance oil, which is synthetic, and usually petroleum-based. A natural product will be scented with essential oils, not synthetic fragrances.
- Vegan. Total absence of animal products does not make a product natural. It could be packed with synthetics and still be vegan.
- Color. A bright, crayon-y color generally cannot be achieved naturally. Natural colorants like clays and ground plant matter tend to produce earthy, muted colors.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR PROCESSES

All of our soap is made using the cold-process method, which means that it retains all its natural glycerin (as opposed to commercial soaps, which -- if they're soap at all, and not petroleum-based detergents -- often have their glycerin removed so that it can be sold as an industrial additive). Some of our soaps then go through a further process called rebatching (sometimes misleadingly called hand-milling), where we grate the soap and melt it on very low heat, so that we can add other ingredients that won't be harmed or consumed by the chemical reaction of saponification. All our face soaps are rebatched, so that the extra-nice ingredients we add remain whole in the bar to do their good work on your skin. We may go back and forth between rebatching and not rebatching a particular hand soap: the ingredients will be the same, but the appearance of the soap will change. Rebatched soap looks rougher and may contain visible pieces of white soap; un-rebatched soap looks more uniform and smooth.

WHOLESALE & CUSTOM

We wholesale. We also do bulk custom orders: regular or half-size bars for party gifts, Bed & Breakfast extras, gift baskets, etc. We can add your logo or message to our label. We also consign. Contact us for details.

SHIPPING INFO

Within the US, we ship First Class (<14 oz, or <4 bars of soap) or Priority (14 oz & more, or 4+ bars of soap).

We are happy to upgrade any order to Priority -- just ask in the "message to seller" when you check out, and please wait for a revised invoice before completing payment.

WE SHIP INTERNATIONALLY. Posted rates are for First Class International. If you wish to upgrade, please say so in the "message to seller" during checkout, and wait for a revised invoice before completing payment. Count on paying at least $20 in shipping for the next step up from First Class.

IF YOUR ETSY ADDRESS DOESN'T MATCH YOUR PAYPAL ADDRESS, we are not protected by PayPal's seller protection program (which covers our costs if the package goes missing and you need your money back). Therefore, if your Etsy address is different from your PayPal address (including gifts shipped to the recipient), we require that you purchase insurance ($1.65 domestic).

We generally ship on the business day after we receive your order. If we experience a delay of more than two business days, we will contact you.

GIFTS

We are delighted to giftwrap for you. Our wrap is colored tissue paper with white curling ribbon. The charge is $0.50 per item wrapped. Let us know in the "message to seller" what you would like wrapped. You may also want to check out our "three-fors / gifts" section for gift packages.

Please see the Shipping section on this page about shipping to addresses other than your PayPal address.

FEEDBACK

We leave feedback for buyers as soon as payment has cleared. We want our buyers to feel free to leave honest feedback without fearing that we are holding negative feedback over their heads. Unfortunately, this means that we leave feedback before we've gotten to know you, so it's a little impersonal -- sorry about that!

RETURNS & EXCHANGES

If something is wrong with your item, please send us a note, e-mail, or "convo" explaining the problem. We may ask that you return the item to us. We will gladly send you a replacement or refund your money, refund you for the return shipping, and offer you our most sincere apologies.

If you wish to exchange or return an item for some other reason, we're glad to do that, but we ask that you first return the original, unused item, and that you pay the shipping costs of the replacement.

WHO AM I TALKING TO?

We always identify ourselves in convos and e-mails. If we've forgotten and/or you're confused, just ask. In the past, Holly has done most of the Etsy communication, but Lisa is doing a lot more now.

BRICKS & MORTAR

You can find us at the following stores:

Connecticut

Betsy & Todo
699 Main Street
Watertown, CT

Oregon

Augurie
285 East 13th Avenue
Eugene, OR
http://augurietheindyshop.com/

Pennsylvania

The Black Cat
3424 Sansom Street
Philadelphia
http://www.blackcatshop.com/

The Curiosity Shoppe
529 South 4th Street
Philadelphia
http://www.pricester.com/WebSpace/thecuriosityshoppe/

VIX Emporium
5009 Baltimore Ave.
Philadelphia, PA
http://vixemporium.wordpress.com/

CANADA

Nomi
206 Main Street South
Newmarket, Ontario

PRESS

Philadelphia City Paper, "Holiday Gift Guide: Bath & Body"
http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2007/12/06/bath-and-body

The Storque, "Etsy Find: sweet and spicy, quite the balm"
http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/spotlight/article/etsy-find-spicy-and-sweet-quite-the-balm/337/

GoPhila, "Philly Exclusive Gifts"
http://www.gophila.com/Go/PressRoom/pressreleases/Philly_Exclusive_Gifts_112205.aspx

Born on February 7

Favorite Materials

research, essentialoils, experimentation, organicherbs, intelligence, sheabutter, conscience, avocadooil, imagination