Happy New Year with Labels of Love
Posted: 03/01/2013 Filed under: Craft, Knitting, Soak Fragrances, SWLL, SWpromotions 2 CommentsHappy New Year Soak friends!
We are all well rested from our break over the holidays and are settling back into our routines at the office. The chocolates are being rationed for mid-morning tea breaks and we are bundled up in new hats and mitts. Good thing, as Toronto has been hit with a fair amount of snow over the last week. It isn’t as much snow as some places, but there is certainly no denying that winter has arrived.
One of the best things about coming back from the holidays this year is hearing from customers who gave or recieved Soakboxes in the last few weeks. It is such a great gift!
January is an exciting time for knitters. Suddenly the knitting list has shortened, the calendar has opened up, and we can knit for ourselves. Provided of course that the knitter in question finished all the gifts that need to be made! I know of at least one member of our office who gave 1 fingerless mitten and a card that said “IOU: one fingerless mitten”. Ahem.
So unlike our local knitter, there is suddenly time to knit for the most important person in your life: YOU! To celebrate our favourite knitters, we are running a promotion for everyone who didn’t find a Soakbox under their trees this year. If you buy a Soakbox online from us in the month of January, you will receive a pack of Labels of Love as well. There is no code, no extra work to be done. Simply place your order and we will do the rest!
Happy New Year, from all of us here at Soak!
Happy Holidays!
Posted: 25/12/2012 Filed under: SWmain Leave a commentHappy Holidays and Happy New Year, from all of us here at Soak Wash!
Weekly Affirmation: Easy
Posted: 20/12/2012 Filed under: SWmain Leave a commentEvery Thursday we post a comment, tweet, email or secret message we’ve received from one of our Soakworthy customers (stores, fans, consumers, friends). Sometimes, on a rough day, it’s really helpful to read an inspiring message from someone in our community. Someone who appreciates what we do. Someone who is as passionate about Soak as we are. We appreciate all the love that comes our way. Really we do.
Another great post from twitter this week, this time from Sheri (@skaro964).
“Thank you so much for making @soakwash. It is 100% easier to use than other products I have used. #FanMail”
Soakbox Knit-A-Long: Holiday Shopping
Posted: 17/12/2012 Filed under: SWmain Leave a commentOver the next few weeks we are running a knit-a-long for the four patterns in our Soakboxes. We will be posting detailed information on each of the patterns as well as fun things you can do with your Soakboxes for yourself, as a gift and as a group. You can order a kit from us directly, just click on the link on the right, or you can ask for it by name from your local yarn store. May your hands be soft, fibers fresh and nails match your knits!
We sent out lots of orders in the last few weeks. It was so much fun to see where all your orders went off to. We are all looking forward to a little time off over the holidays, and to a new start in the new year. Our website will still be live, however orders placed between December 23rd and January 1st will ship on January 2nd.
If you are looking for some Soakboxes or other Soak products, but missed the shipping deadline, have no fear! We wholesale Soak around the world, so why not check and see if a shop near you has any stock. We put together a list of shops that recently ordered Soakboxes from us. Are any of them near you?
Canada
Australia
Europe
Online
United States
Sifu Design Studio & Fine Yarns
Weekly Affirmation: 50 Scarves
Posted: 13/12/2012 Filed under: SWmain Leave a commentEvery Thursday we post a comment, tweet, email or secret message we’ve received from one of our Soakworthy customers (stores, fans, consumers, friends). Sometimes, on a rough day, it’s really helpful to read an inspiring message from someone in our community. Someone who appreciates what we do. Someone who is as passionate about Soak as we are. We appreciate all the love that comes our way. Really we do.
We found some Soak Wash love on Twitter last week! Sounds like a big job!
@Scarvesilove
I have about 50 vintage silk scarves to handwash today! I love to use @soakwash 🙂
Soakbox Knit-A-Long: Q & A
Posted: 11/12/2012 Filed under: SWmain Leave a commentOver the next few weeks we are running a knit-a-long for the four patterns in our Soakboxes. We will be posting detailed information on each of the patterns as well as fun things you can do with your Soakboxes for yourself, as a gift and as a group. You can order a kit from us directly, just click on the link on the right, or you can ask for it by name from your local yarn store. May your hands be soft, fibers fresh and nails match your knits!
Question: I ordered the Cuff Au Lait kit, and the yarn is purple while everything else is brown. Is it supposed to be that way?
Answer: Yes, and no. The yarn for Cuff Au Lait is an eggplant sort of colour. All of the yarns in our Soakboxes come from Lorna’s Laces, who dye by hand in small batches. This means that the colours are all semi-solids with variations in tone and colour. It also means that there is a greater margin for what a colour will look like from batch to batch compared to commercially dyed yarns. Sometimes we get a batch that is more brown, sometimes it is more purple. We have worked with Lorna’s Laces and all of the yarn that comes to us has been approved by them as being within their acceptable range for a colour. The wonderful thing about this is that no two skeins are exactly alike, so each mitt that gets made is one of a kind!
Question: What was the inspiration for each pattern?
Answer: Fiona Ellis tells us all about her pattern influences for the Soakboxes on our Ravelry forum.
“I designed each pattern to go with the “mood” for each colourway. Fun & flirty for the aquae (Lace Kelly), evening elegance for the dark red (Clark Cable), demure and ultra feminine for the pale pink (Double Pointe Pink), everyday throw ‘em on with your jeans for the brown (Cuff au Lait)…”
Question: Should I be worried about knitting the whole mitt out of one ball? What if I need more?
Answer: You should have no problem knitting a whole pair of mitts out of the yarn provided! Clark Cable is the only pattern where we didn’t have a lot of extra yarn, so make sure to check your gauge to make sure it isn’t too loose. Loose gauge will take up more yarn, and so would run a greater risk of running out. These four colours are exclusive to Soak, so the only way to get them is in the kits.
Question: I love the scent of the Soak products in my box! Where can I get more/see what other products and scents you offer?
Answer: We have a fully stocked online shop where you can check out all our products. We also have a store locator with a list of stockists from around the world so that you can see if there is a shop local to you that carries Soak.
P.S. Don’t forget that our online promotion for free shipping within continental US and Canada ends on Tuesday December 11 at midnight! This is also your last chance for pre-holiday orders!
Question: I have more questions about Soakboxes and I want to see what everyone else is doing, where can I find more information?
Answer: You can always ask us here in the comments, or by email. The best place to go is probably the Ravelry group. Fiona Ellis and Natalie Selles (our resident knitting wiz) check the forum frequently for knitting and other questions. We love to hear what you are doing with your kits all along the way. Come and join us!
Weekly Affirmation: City of Craft
Posted: 07/12/2012 Filed under: SWmain Leave a commentEvery Thursday we post a comment, tweet, email or secret message we’ve received from one of our Soakworthy customers (stores, fans, consumers, friends). Sometimes, on a rough day, it’s really helpful to read an inspiring message from someone in our community. Someone who appreciates what we do. Someone who is as passionate about Soak as we are. We appreciate all the love that comes our way. Really we do.
If you are looking for something to do this weekend in Toronto, you should check out City of Craft! It is a great craft show with lots of local talent. The Workroom will have some Soakboxes there if you are looking to pick one up!
Becky is one of the organizers of City of Craft. She sent us this email a few weeks ago. Sad to hear that you ran out!
“Wanna know something? I thought of you constantly on my trip to Germany last month. I ran out of Soak and realized how essential it is to me when I travel. And you can quote me on that!
Becky”
p.s. Don’t forget that our free shipping event for continental US and Canada runs until December 11. That’s next week! Get your orders in!
Questions
Posted: 04/12/2012 Filed under: SWmain 2 CommentsWe are going to be doing a Questions and Answers post next week for our Soakboxes. Do you have any questions you would like answered? Leave a note in the comments and we will do our best to answer it!
Soakbox Knit-A-Long: Matching Knits and Nails
Posted: 03/12/2012 Filed under: Design, Knitting, SWmain, SWsoak 1 CommentOver the next few weeks we are running a knit-a-long for the four patterns in our Soakboxes. We will be posting detailed information on each of the patterns as well as fun things you can do with your Soakboxes for yourself, as a gift and as a group. You can order a kit from us directly, just click on the link on the right, or you can ask for it by name from your local yarn store. May your hands be soft, fibers fresh and nails match your knits!
We have seen a few posts floating around talking about matching knits to nails over the last few months. Naturally we thought it was high time for us to put out our own list of favourite nail trends and matching knits!
I fell in love with these simple rainbow fingerless mitts by Elise Dupont quite a while ago. The pattern is available in french from the online magazine In The Loops, or as an english as a ravelry download. They are such a great showcase for little bits of colour. Similarly, the rainbow French Tips that Jennifer of Fab Fatale posted are a great way to push the nail trend without committing to something too complicated. 
How cute is the Honors Geometry cowl by Katie Canavan?! The colour combinations for this are endless. I love how it looks in the bright colours, but wouldn’t it look fabulous in neutrals as well? The triangle look is a perfect match for the triangle nail tutorial I found. It’s not in English, but the photos are very clear on how to get the triangle effect. 
The tagline for these nails was Aztec, but I think most knitters agree that they look more like a colourwork sweater! These nails are certainly something to aspire to, I can’t imagine the patience required, but they do look like a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun looking at different colour combinations of Ann Weaver’s Oranje cardican on Ravelry. In the end I went with her original sweater from the pattern photos. The pop of orange is so much fun.
Of course, nail polish is only the beginning of things you can do on your nails. Nail decals are a fun alternative to having high detail without the worry of making a mistake. They go on like temporary tattoos. It would be so much fun to pair Natalie Selles’ Oh Deer! mittens with these deer decals from JsUtopia. There a lots of decal options out there, so the pairing options are endless. 
The ombre trend has been all over recently. Knitting and nails are only the tip of the iceberg. I love this simple cardigan by Tanis Lavallee. I love how Julie’s Ombre moves from brown to red, and would look great with almost any combination of colours. 
Of course we have to include something about Soakboxes as well! A solid nail matched with a solid yarn is an easy and fun way to get matchy. It’s also the easiest to change almost as often as you change your mittens.
Do you have any favourite nail and knitting combinations? Share them in the comments!
P.S. Don’t forget, we’ve still got free shipping going on for continental US and Canada until December 11! Order your Soak products today!
Weekly Affirmation: Dirty Dainties
Posted: 27/11/2012 Filed under: SWmain Leave a commentEvery Thursday we post a comment, tweet, email or secret message we’ve received from one of our Soakworthy customers (stores, fans, consumers, friends). Sometimes, on a rough day, it’s really helpful to read an inspiring message from someone in our community. Someone who appreciates what we do. Someone who is as passionate about Soak as we are. We appreciate all the love that comes our way. Really we do.
Here at Soak we know how exhausting a tradeshow can be. We totally understand how Mickey felt over the summer after a long day of set up. Thanks for the review Mickey!
“I was at a trade show when this was launched. It was a hot, dusty day for set up and we got dirty down to our undies. We were given samples and went back to our rooms to rest and take showers. I put Soak in the hotel sink to wash the dainties…and stared in disbelief as I washed the clothes! Clean!!!This is a great product! I use it for my hand wash only garments as well as my knits.”
Did you know that you can find Soak at Sears Canada stores and The Shopping Channel? We found this review of Soak on The Shopping Channel website. It is great to hear that people are finding our products though a variety of venues. If you order from either of those companies, don’t forget to leave a review! We will be going back to The Shopping Channel after the holidays with new sets in January. In the mean time, don’t forget that we have free shipping on our site until December 11!
soakworthy.com 