Open!

Have you heard the news!?! The website is now open. Check it out!
http://loveleesoaps.com

Meeting

Let me begin by saying that this post has been on my mind tons! I am the person that writes about 100 post it notes and to do lists daily. Lately every one of them has said blog and I am finally going to mark that task off.

I had my Skype meeting with Jessika at Oh My! and it was AMAZING! 
I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to meet with her!!  


We shared tons of laughs and I learned so many great tips. Jessika really opened my eyes to new ideas that I never really thought about. Plus I got to met her adorable daughters. :)

First we talked about my brand new logo, the behind the scenes things being worked on, and the exciting grand opening that is coming up quick!

We talked about the new blog that I am having made to match the site. I have never blogged very much but it is something that I definitely want to do more often once the new site it up. She mentioned the importance of sourcing and crediting others work when blogging. There was also some talk about the idea of me doing how to tutorials. Doesn't that sound like so much fun!? I already have ideas floating around that I want to share. If you have anything that you would like to see feel free to leave them in the comments.

The next topic that we talked about is pitching my products. This is also something I really want to do. Jessika had some great tips that I must share.

-Always address the person by name.

-Make the editor feel loved. ♥

-Generally photos are looked at first and they must be editorial worthy.

-Never include an attachment!

-Follow bloggers & editors on Twitter and build and personal relationship.

-Send samples for them to see your product up close

We also disscussed wholesale and she had some advice. Right now my wholesale is set up for wholesalers to get a discount when a certain amount of items is purchased. Jessika told me that wholesalers look for a line sheet. It makes ordering much more professional and organized. I am planning on switching over to a line sheet as soon as possible. If you have a lookbook you and also use that as a wholesale catalog. Simply add your line sheet and speical note to wholesale customers. 

Updates

 

Sneak peek of surprise packages that will be free every order on grand opening day!

Stickers that I have been putting everywhere!! ☺

 and my new awesome mouse pad and pen!!! 

About

Hey everyone!

Things have been super busy behind the scenes with photography, about page, meetings, site design, and preparation. I thought I would take a momment to fill everyone in and share a little sneak peek of how the site is coming along. We are set to launch sometime during the first week of April. There will be so much fun stuff going on for the grand opening! I can't wait!

The first thing that I wanted to share was the about page that Dewi Faulkner made. Dewi did an AMAZING job and I could not be more happy with the final result.

Soap. Quick, what did you just think of when you read that plain little unassuming word just now? Too much pressure? No problem, let’s try one more time: soap.
I’m guessing images of white or perhaps pale mint green bars floated across your periphery. Perhaps you even got a little crazy and conjured images of the liquid variety: the gelatinous squish of hand soap or the multi-hued bubbles of a kitchen sink full of suds.
But what if I told you that soap could evoke the salty-caramel aromas of a beach boardwalk on a summer day, the snap of a pickle, or the comfort of a hot bowl of mac-n-cheese — the perfect after-school snack on a chilly afternoon.
Sound crazy? Well maybe it is, a little. But here at LoveLeeSoaps, we believe that those little collections of suds and fragrances we use to get our bodies clean every day don’t have to be pedestrian or mundane — they can be more than unassuming rectangles of nothingness.
The only thing that equals our unparalleled commitment to redecorating your daily clean-machine routine is our unparalleled commitment to high standards. Each LoveLeeSoaps creation begins with only the best soap bases and fragrance oils. And while you may find birdies, robots and all manner of whimsy in your soap dish, we promise that if you stick to LoveLeeSoaps, what you’ll never find is sodium lauryl sulfate or other harsh foaming agents.
And because that bath or shower is not complete until you’re soft, smooth, and fully moisturized, LoveLeeSoaps also offers a delicious array of whipped body butters.
So whether you’re pampering yourself or putting together the best birthday, hostess, bridal or baby shower gift ever, look no further than LoveLeeSoaps for some good, clean fun. LoveLeeSoaps: putting the splash back in bath time.

The next thing that I wanted to share is a photography sample from Jennifer Way 

How cute do the donut soaps look in the little box!?

Photo by Jennifer Way

Seriously! How fun is this!? I have more to share if you can handle it. :)

This is a sneak peek from the main page of the site. I love how everything is coming along. Lauren Hardage  took everything that I wanted for the site and came up with a brilliant design. I could not believe my eyes when she first sent it over.

That is all for now! My next post will be a breakdown from my Skype meeting with Jessika Hepburn from Oh My! Handmade Goodness. 

I am thankful that I got the chance to meet up with her. She helped answer all my questions & opened my eyes to so much!

p.s  If you haven't already every Thursday on twitter from 1-2EST using the hashtag #omhg join a community of amazing people meet to chat about handmade, craft, life, business, and much more!

Logo!

Today is the big day! I received that very special email with the final logo design and a few extra cuties that I could not resist.

Lets start with the logo first. I could not be more happy with the way it came out. It has everything that I ever wanted included. It is fun, bright, colorful, whimsical and even has ♥♥♥♥.

I chose the final colors red, blue, yellow, and green because they all have a special meaning behind them. They are also complementary which is a plus. I chose red as the main color because is represents love and goes along with the company name. The yellow is for cheer and happiness. Blue is of course for water and bath time. Last but not least the green is for balance and growth. Something that I hope LoveLeeSoaps will always continue to do. The whole logo design process and working Tracy Bishop was a blast! I went to college for graphic design so being the client is definitely an eye opening experience for me. I always tried to imagine how the process worked so it is interesting seeing it all unfold.

Are you ready!? Here it is!

Now on to the cutest little LoveLeeSoaps mascot team that you will ever see! Originally I wanted to have a face in the center of the heart on the logo. After much thought I decided to leave it off. But they were to cute to pass up. I decided on four final designs with cute little facial expressions. How adorable are they???

Tomorrow I have my first Skype call with the fabulous Jessika from Oh My! Handmade Goodness
I will definitely be putting together post soon after with the details on how is goes. I am so excited/nervous! :)

Everything is definitely full speed ahead from here!

Create

Well hello!

It has been while! I have been behind the scenes filling out tons of different information on logo, website, color, photography, style, and lots more. It has been a lot of fun I must say. Most people say that they don't enjoy this part of the process but I really do have fun with it. Part of it might be because I went to school for graphic design so I have all these ideas running through my head and I can finally release them. Other than than that the next thing coming up is the first draft of the logo design. I have been dreaming of what my company logo would eventually look like since day 1 so you can imagine how anxious I am to see what the fabulous Tracy Bishop will create.

Work

Taking advantage is definitely something that I am doing. I have been working hard pulling information and getting everything together for my brand new business look! I am so excited to share with everyone all of the new different things once they come together. 

Inspiration-Day 2

Fonts!

The past few days I have looked at what seems like a million different fonts. It is so much fun searching and searching for the perfect look! I have been having a great time finding inspiration on different things that will help my business image. I have a good idea of what I want my logo font to look like. Out of all the fonts I viewed my favorites pretty much all came out looking alike. I especially like fonts that look like handwriting. 

Here is what I have narrowed it down to. 

Which one is you favorite?

Improvement

Packaging! Packaging! Packaging! 

Over the years my packaging has changed so much. I feel that it is slowly improving but there is definitely a lot more that can be done until it is just right. Below you will see how the banana and coconut body butter labels have changed over time. I like the current font but in the future I would like to add more colors. I feel that the labels look a little boring and could use some more design to them.

 Here are a few examples of the way my soaps are currently packaged. Although they are different you can see from the photos that I use a circle label on each of them. Soaps either come packaged in clear bags that are tied with a matching ribbon, shrink wrapped, or placed in various different designed printed bags. I really like the soaps that have an additional hand stamped label that goes along with the item inside. I feel it gives off a great handmade look and catches your eye.

The third set of photos are a way to see a bunch of different styles and the way they come packaged. What I am hoping to change most about my soaps appearance are the labels. I would really like to see more color added on all of them like I mentioned on the body butter and an overall improved professional look. I would like them all to be consistent and fun.

I have started gathering some photos on my Pinterest page of inspiring packaging. If you have any ideas and suggestions I would love to hear! http://pinterest.com/leeanaprovan/packaging/

Business Cards!

Here is an image of business cards that I had made in the past. For the future I would like to have cards that match my company. I like how these cards have a lot of color but before reading the name you don't even know what kind of company they are advertising. I would like to perhaps have my *new* logo on the front. I want to be sure that the final design looks fitting for both boys and girls since I offer products for both.

Thank you! ♥

With my packages I always like to include a thank you note. Just a little something to let you know that I care about your purchase. I have never really had a set design that I use and it is usually something pretty random. Sometimes it will go with each holiday and I will use a little snowman, pumpkin, or heart. When the holidays are not near I have used cupcakes, ice cream, different foods, and just plain paper. In the future I would like to have a consistent look that I am writing the little notes on. I like the idea of having them printed with a typed note to make them look professional and match my business look. 

 

**To get a closer look feel free to click on the images and have them zoomed in.**

Inspiration-Day 1

Here and there I am going to start posting inspirational photos that I like and feel fit into LoveLeeSoaps. 

These will help with projects along the way and bring everything together.

You can also follow along on my Pinterest page where I will be collecting even more images.

If you find anything similar that fits in I would love to see!

Enjoy!

♥

Logo Inspiration

http://pinterest.com/leeanaprovan/inspiration/

Etsy Banner Inspiration

Celebration time!

I can't believe I am actually posting this video. 

The camera shut off but the the celebration definitely did not end! 

 

 I got an email today from the lovely Jessika & Arianne including all the information needed to get started. Every time I see an email in my inbox from them it is super exciting. I have to take a moment to breathe and then open it up. In the next few days I will be going through tons of ideas that I have collected over the years and find some inspiration for my brand. This is like the best homework I have ever been given! I will be sure to post here a few of my favorites along the way. If you have anything or come across something that you feel fits in with LoveLeeSoaps style I would love your feedback!