Travelling Mini-soaks
Posted: 21/01/2011 Filed under: Design, Travel | Tags: mini-soaks Leave a commentWe constantly get emails and praise from our customers about how mini-soaks have become a must bring item on their travels. The little single use packets are great in hotel rooms to wash hosiery, swim wear, blouses, or almost any garment for that matter. I’ve also heard stories of people bringing them on road trips, or when back packing because it allows them to pack light an easily wash their outfits without a washing machine or a large amount of water. I wanted to share some of the great photos that I’ve received from our world travellers. Did Soak go with you on your latest trip? Send me your photos and fun vacation stories.
Mini-soaks by a fountain in the Rathaus in Basel, Switzerland
A menu in Strasbourg, France
On a ship on the Rhine.
Luzern, Switzerland
Citrus strapped to a bicycle on a Canal in Amsterdam.
Celebration mini-soaks in China.
Send your Soak success stories and photos to ngoc@soakwash.com.
Welcome to 2011.
Posted: 10/01/2011 Filed under: Travel | Tags: 365 photos, dragon's den, photography 2 CommentsAuthor: Ngoc
Did you make any resolutions this year? Interestingly the majority of people give up on their resolutions by mid-February and though most know that this happens, year after year, they will continue to make new resolutions (or reattempt old ones). I heard that people continue to do this because it feels good to make goals. In those few minutes when you are committing to make changes or better yourself, you invision the ‘new you’ and how your life will change due to these resolutions. These images of your ‘better life’ are enough of a reward for us that we will continue to make resolutions even if we know we are destined to fail at them. For those of you who have been successful at accomplishing your resolutions, please give us some of your tips.
One of my resolutions was to make better use of my camera. That brings us to the 365 project.
We’ve decided that our photography skills need some sprucing up. What better way to do that than to just get out there and start shooting? We’ve committed to participating in the 365 project, a photo for every day of the year. Not only is it a great way to make yourself pick up the camera, but it also helps to capture memories and document our year. We’ll be posting them on our Flickr account and we’ll post a mosaic of some of our favourites on this blog every now and then. Here are a few from the first week of 2011. 
Dragons’ Den
That’s right. We’ll be appearing on Dragons’ Den for the second time. Tune in to CBC on Wed Jan 12, 2011 at 8pm. Send us your thoughts and comments after the show. Here is the video from when we were on last time.
Tradeshows
We’ve been at The Needle Arts National Assocation tradeshow all weekend where we officially launched our newest product, Heel, with great success. If you plan on attending Vogue Knitting Live in New York City, make sure you stop by our booth to say hi. Here’s a video of us setting up at TNNA over the weekend.
DIY gift vouchers/coupons
Posted: 21/12/2010 Filed under: Craft, Design | Tags: DIY, homemade coupons 1 CommentAuthor: Ngoc
Homemade coupons are a great inexpensive and thoughtful gift idea. Jacqueline is the creative one in the office and has often wowed us with her fun craft ideas. If you’re stuck on a last-minute holiday gift, or perhaps you’d like to plan ahead for Valentines day or for a birthday, perhaps take a page from Jacqueline’s book and gift one of these cute DIY coupons.
Traditional cardstock coupons
Adding a few fun touches can give your paper coupons just what they need to really make a visual impact.
Tips:
- Using scrapbooking paper and stickers are a quick and easy way give your coupons a clean and stylish look.
- Think of what you want each coupon to offer in advance. Printing them out on a printer instead of handwriting will give it a more professional look.
- When choosing your paper, keep in mind what color scheme you’d like to have and pick designs and colors that complement each other.
- To keep track of which coupons have been redeemed, each one has a line that the gift giver can sign after each redemption.
The paper used here was based Amy Butler’s designs.
Finish by putting them all in a nice envelope, dressed with the recipient’s name.
Laser cut cardboard vouchers
Jacqueline visited Karen at The Workroom when she made these great cardboard vouchers. An Epilog laser cutter was used to engrave these fun messages and cut out the letters.
Tips:
- To keep track of which vouchers have been redeemed, Jacqueline included two holes on each card and tied a small ribbon beside a hole that says ‘undone’. Every time the recipient claims another voucher, the ribbon is moved to the hole that says ‘done’.
- Punching a hole in the corner of each voucher allows you to hold them all together using a paper or binder ring. You could also hold them together with a pretty ribbon.
Buttons
Jacqueline also visited Karen for these fun button coupons. Look around your local craft shops to find somewhere that rents out a circle cutter and button press. You can also buy button making kits if you can’t find one to rent.
Tips:
- Jacqueline took a circular embroidery frame and put fun fabric in it to give a base for the buttons to be pinned to.
- Using two different types of fabrics will allow you to keep track of which buttons have already been redeemed. Start with all the buttons on one side, move to the other side as they are used.
- You can use magazine images, wrapping paper, or other fun colourful paper to make some decorative buttons to add some variety and color.
- Be creative. Add related images as background to the text to make the buttons more visually pleasing.
Here are a few of my personal favourites. I tried to redeem the male model button. It unfortunately was just a decorative one. At least I tried.
The ice cream button on the other hand was not decorative. Yum!
Did you make any fun homemade gifts this season? I’d love to hear your ideas or send us your photos of the finished gift.
We hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday.
Our Card Tree.
Posted: 14/12/2010 Filed under: Craft, Design | Tags: Soak office, thank-you cards Leave a commentSeason’s Greetings. Happy Holidays. Thank-you. Keep Knitting. These are a few of the wonderful cards we’ve received lately from our friends, family and customers. We love when a fun card or letter shows up in our mail box. After we’ve all had a chance to look at the card, we proudly display it on our card tree.
I wanted to point out two especially fun cards that we’ve recently received.
The first is is a great group photo from the Men’s Fall knitting retreat. They sent us a very kind thank-you letter for our goodie bag contribution. Look at all those wonderful smiling faces!
The second card that we thought was especially fun was from Clara Parkes and her knitting retreaters. They all signed the thank-you card. How thoughtful!
Every year, I have every intention of making fun holiday cards for all my friends and family. I always tell myself that I have plenty of time and then the next thing I know, it’s the middle of December and I have yet to grab any craft supplies. One fun card idea we saw this year was the use of knitted squares to create knit prints on cards. I didn’t make one so I don’t have a photo to show you but the basic idea is to knit a square with an interesting design, use a roller or brush to paint a thin layer of paint on the square and press it on the front of a blank card. It should leave a pretty knitted design on the paper when you remove the square.
If you are feeling crafty, and decide to try this tecnique out, send us a photo of the finished results.
101 things to do with Soak – 039 Finishing touches
Posted: 30/11/2010 Filed under: Uses for Soak | Tags: 101, holidays Leave a commentTomorrow marks the first day of December. For a lot of families, that means it’s time to put out the decorations and pull out your holiday shopping list. Why not include a Soak gift to add the finishing touch to your gifts this season?
For our knitting friends, we know you all have the best of intentions, but even for the fastest knitter, there have been times when we’ve had to give someone their unfinished gift on knitting needles. How about giving them a tub of Heel with their sock IOU. Or a bottle of Soak for them to take care of that sweater when you finally manage to finish it.
How about those of you who are giving away a finished quilt that you have lovingly laboured over for hours? Giving a bottle of Soak and a little instruction sheet to will help keep the quilt looking great for longer.
Does your holiday tradition include filling up stockings? How about Heel for the jogger, sock knitter, mall walker, or yoga enthusiest in your family?
Do you know a new mommy? How about some dye-free, fragrance-free, biodegrable Scentless Soak to wash baby clothes?
Scentless Soak is also great for your loved ones that have sensitive skin or are sensitive to fragrances.
Do you know a world traveller? Travel packs and mini-soaks are great for washing clothes in their hotel sink.
Read our other 101 uses for Soak posts for other fun items that you can wash with Soak.
Remember to place your online order within the next week to ensure that they are delivered before the 25th.
If you get a new winter jacket or boots this season, please consider donating your old winter wear to be reused by others in your community.
Heels, hand-knit socks, and photo shoots.
Posted: 16/11/2010 Filed under: Craft, Design, Knitting | Tags: Foot cream, Heel, Kate Atherley, photography, photoshoot, soak 5 CommentsAuthor: Ngoc
I’m fascinated by photography and lighting. I find photo shoots extremely interesting and just the other week, I was able to go to another photo shoot for our newest product, Heel – foot cream for feet worthy of hand-knit socks. 
I am always impressed by the whole process and the beautiful results that we get. The above photograph was professionally taken by Jessica, our wonderful photographer. The following images are from my camera as I documented our day. 
The day started off with a quick brainstorming session of different pose ideas so that Jessica could get an idea of how to set up the backdrop and what lighting we would need. We then tried on some of the hand-knit socks that were designed and made by Kate Atherley, a Toronto based knitter, designer and teacher. I never understood the fascination/obsession with hand-knit socks until that morning. They were beautiful and comfortable and hugged my feet in this way that only hand-knit socks can. Some of our Heel labels will feature Kate’s beautiful socks. If you are thinking of a fun gift idea for your favourite knitter, why not pair a tub of Heel with the accompanying sock pattern? Visit Kate’s online store for her designs. 
Esther and I were the lucky feet models for the day. After a few hours of tippy toes, pointing, and stretching, I have gained a new appreciation for feet models. I don’t know whether my feet and toes are just terribly out of shape or what, but after holding a pose for 10 mins with slight movements, I started to get cramps galore. As we looked at the images appearing on the computer screen, it was fascinating to see how the slightest movement in the toes or the smallest change in the direction that your feet were pointing could completely change the feel and attitude of the image. 
I am always impressed by a beautiful photograph and am constantly asking for tips and advice on how to improve my own photography skills. I find that once in a while, I’ll fluke into a decent photo. I am still striving to take that one photograph that I am proud enough to display on my wall but alas, nothing as of yet.
Here are a few of the tips that I’ve gathered along the way.
1. Welcome to the wonderful world of digital. Just snap away. For every wonderful photo you see, that person probably took 90 mediocre ones. Take a lot of photos. Look at them and figure out what you did wrong, what you like about them, and what you should do differently next time.
2. Catch the light. When photographing people, spin them around and look at their eyes. Stop spinning them once the eyes catch the light.
3. Photos don’t always need to be artistically beautiful. They are about capturing your memories and emotions. A photo might not be impressive to anyone else, but if it brings you back to a wonderful moment or invokes certain wonderful emotions in you, then it’s a good photograph.
4. A good camera and a good lens doesn’t equal a good photograph. I’ve seen people take wonderful photographs with their camera phones. There is so much more to photography than just the equipment.
5. If you’re new to the SLR world, take the time to learn about ISO, aperture, and shutter speeds. Don’t waste a perfectly wonderful camera by only shooting on auto. Try manual. It will open up a wonderful new world.
Do you have any fun photography tips? Please share, I’d love to hear them.
Soak Holiday Party
Posted: 16/11/2010 Filed under: Design | Tags: holiday, newsletter 1 Comment
You’re Invited!
Join us for our annual Friends and Family party. Let’s kick off the holiday season with some snacks, friends, Soak and a little bit of holiday shopping.
Date: Thurs. Nov. 18, 2010.
Time: 2-8 pm
Where: The Soak office: 2465 Cawthra Road Unit 124 Mississauga, ON
Phone: 905.270.7625.
Why: Because it’s nice to have an excuse to eat cake.
Like last year, we ask that you bring a non-perishable good with you to donate to the food bank. We’ll have small holiday treats as our way of saying thank-you.
Not in the area but would like to gift Soak this holiday? Is your bottle running low? Could your family use a Carrie or Phil? How about some Heel foot cream to sooth those tired feet? Visit our online store for the solution to all these problems.
Do you have a fun Soak story? Did Soak save your favourite sweater? Did your grandmother’s veil get a second life? Do you use it to wash your child’s hockey equipment? We always love hearing stories from loyal Soak users. Send us your photos and stories for our blog to Ngoc@soakwash.com.
101 things to do with Soak | 038 Halloween costumes
Posted: 09/11/2010 Filed under: Craft, Uses for Soak | Tags: 101, halloween costumes, hand washing, soak wash, soakwash, wash Leave a commentAuthor: Ngoc
Lions, goblins, princesses and super heroes. These are a few of the interesting characters that you may have seen roaming the streets a week and a half ago (or perhaps you were one of those interesting characters).
If your house is anything like mine, then you’ll have an endless supply of single sized chocolate bars, chips and jujubes. Discounted candy after Halloween gets me every time. I am also notorious for not taking down decorations once the occasion has passed (this is reinforced by the ‘Season’s Greetings’ banner that still hangs in my mom’s house from the time I wanted to decorate in Gr. 10. Let’s just say I’ve finished highschool… and University… and that banner still hangs. It’s a running joke now amongst my friends).
I digress, let’s get back to the topic at hand. If you have kids or you chose to dress up yourself, I’m sure you have a crumpled up costume either thrown into your laundry basket or in the corner of a room somewhere. It’s been a week and a half, it’s time to wash and put it away for either next year or to be donated to your local Goodwill shop for someone else to enjoy. Or maybe you have a toddler at home that loves being a princess or superman more than just 1 out of the 365 days of the year. Or perhaps, you had on a slightly risky costume (a mistress Claus? Wonder women?) that may be pleasing to your partner on days other than Halloween. Either way, it needs to be washed.
Many of the store-bought costumes aren’t made to the highest quality and may not survive a trip in your washing machine. A lot of the time you will see costumes with lace, satin, nylon, sequins and other fun materials, that need extra care. A nice gentle wash in Soak is exactly what your costume needs.
Washing your Halloween costume
- Check the label of your costume for care instructions. A general rule is, if it can get wet, then it can be wash with Soak.
- Make sure you take out any left over candy that may have found its way into the pockets. If your costume was battery powered, make sure you remove the batteries and the hardware.
- Fill up your sink with cool water, add some Soak.
- Put your costume in to soak for 15 mins.
- Give it a gentle squeeze to remove excess water. Roll in a towel to remove more excess water.
- And as always, hang or lay flat to dry.
I also made a Where’s Waldo costume this year. Can you do me a favour? If you have young kids in the house, can you ask them if they know who Waldo is? I walked by a boy who looked about 12 and he looked at me with zero recognition of who I was dressed up as. Do kids still look at Where’s Waldo books? Has Waldo gone the way of cassette tapes?
I love home-made costumes and would love to see your wonderful craftmanship. Send your photos to ngoc@soakwash.com.
101 things to do with Soak | 037 The walking cast
Posted: 26/10/2010 Filed under: health, Uses for Soak | Tags: 101, cast, hand washing, soak wash, soakwash, wash Leave a commentAuthor: Ngoc
Our ankles have been having a bad summer here at the Soak office.
A few months ago, just as the weather was warming up, Chris showed up to work with a broken ankle. Since it is illegal to drive with a cast, Jacqueline graciously acted as Chris’s chauffeur, driving her to and from work, and on small errands for a good 2 months.
Chris was just absolutely ecstatic when the 2 months was up, and she could walk around in her walking cast without crutches, and drive herself wherever her heart desired. Jacqueline’s duties as a chauffeur were finally over. But as luck (or bad luck?) would have it, shortly after, Jacqueline limped into our office with a defeated look and tells us that she too has broken her ankle.
Crafty Jacqueline decided to spruce up her cast with racing stripes, and pretty fabric straps.
She had thought that when Chris said, “I owe you one for driving me” that her favor would be repaid in the form of a delicious meal. Never would she have guessed that her favor would be repaid in the form of a chauffeur. How ironic.
Now whenever we have visitors to the office and they hear our ankle stories, they always look at me and jokingly say “looks like your next”, where I then let out a very nervous laugh and quickly look around for some wood to knock on.
If you’ve ever worn one of these walking casts, then you will be familiar with that indescribable odor that builds up after wearing one of these. Imagine walking around all day with your leg wrapped in foam, in the middle of the summer. Needless to say, the cast is often drenched in sweat by the days end. Luckily for Jacqueline and Chris, (and for me too!), we work in an office where Soak is readily available.
How to: wash your walking cast.
The foam in the walking cast is hand-washable, and you can wipe down the hard exterior shell with a gentle detergent. It is best to do it in the evening before you go to bed so the cast has time to dry overnight.
- Remove the foam piece from the exterior.
- Fill a basin/sink with water and some Soak.
- Leave the foam in to Soak for about 15 mins. Give it a dunk every once in a while if it is floating.
- Gently squeeze out the excess water, then press between a towel to absorb the rest of the excess water.
- Hang to dry or lay flat on a drying rack.
- Take a soft cloth, dip it in some water and Soak and gently wipe the hard shell of the cast.
If you find yourself in the situation where you have to wear one of these, I wish you luck and hope that you recover quickly!
How to: Block a hat
Posted: 21/10/2010 Filed under: videos | Tags: blocking, hand washing, how to, Jacqueline Sava, Knitting, soak wash, soakwash, Video, wash 2 CommentsWe were tweeted by one of our friendly customers who had just finished knitting her very first hat and had no idea how to block it. We thought that answering her question would be a great way to start off what we hope to be a series of helpful videos about caring for the items you cherish most.
If you have any questions, requests or suggestions for videos, we’d love to hear them! Send your thoughts to ngoc@soakwash.com.
soakworthy.com 