The Workroom at City of Craft

Posted: 17/04/2013 | Author: soak | Filed under: Craft, SWevents, SWmain | Leave a comment

One of our favourite local Toronto events are the City of Craft shows. I could not be happier that they have decided to start doing a Spring show on April 20, in addition to their usual Winter one!

Our local sewing shop, The Workroom, is going to have a booth. They are going to be selling Soakboxes and Soak in both 3oz and 14oz bottles. They have all 5 scents, so this is a great opportunity to check out the our new Yuzu in person.

The Workroom will also have a number of products by local artists, such as these super cute Kiriki Press Embroidery Kits, Uppercase Magazine and sewing patterns by Victory Patterns.

Here we grow again!

Posted: 19/02/2013 | Author: soak | Filed under: Business, Design, SW101, SWCP, SWCustomerContributions, SWeco, SWevents, SWHeel, SWhowto, SWLL, SWmain, SWpress, SWProducts, SWpromotions, SWsoak, SWstores, Uses for Soak | 2 Comments

We are hiring. You may have seen our teaser post on Facebook, or heard it through the grapevine. We are growing and we need you!
Job Title: Central Intelligence, a.k.a. office support, customer expert, assistant to everyone.

At Soak Wash Inc., we develop and market leading products for laundry and skin care. Soak, our primary product, is modern care for the laundry you love. Our office environment is fun, fast-paced and friendly. The role of Central Intelligence will be filled be someone who is always on top of business. They are the hub of information on customer needs, Soak production and inventory.

We’re looking for a candidate that can gracefully manage the administrative and book-keeping functions of our fun-spirited fast-paced office and (no pressure) interact positively with customers, suppliers and current employees. The ideal candidate will have an interest in customer service (a positive, professional and outgoing personality) as well as a desire to grow with the organization.

This position is part-time. 3 days per week. M, W, Th. at our lovely Mississauga office.

Ongoing duties include:
• General office support, with attention to detail
• Provide exceptional customer service for current and new customers
• Meticulous database management for customers and orders
• Basic bookkeeping including A/R, A/P, collections, invoicing, etc. using QuickBooks software (a must for the job)
• Salesforce.com data entry
• Overseeing consumer orders
• Preparing expense reports
• Shipping and customs documentation for inbound/ outbound freight
• Preparing orders for shipping
• Overseeing the flow of the office and its supplies
• Greeting couriers, customers and callers with grace

Must-haves:
• Excellent working experience with QuickBooks
• Excellent working experience with Microsoft Office, Acrobat
• Ability to multitask with grace and ease
• Strong English written and verbal skills
• High level of attention to detail
• Independent working habits

Wishful thinking:
• French language skills (or another second language)
• Experience in sales or customer service
• An interest in knitting, quilting and/ or fashion
• Experience with shipping software, brokers or the likes
• The keen ability and interest to work on other office/ warehouse tasks as needed

Please visit our website soakwash.com to learn about our company and products before applying for the position. We are all as passionate about our products as we are our jobs. If filled by the perfect candidate, this position has the potential to evolve into full-time employment.

Please submit CV with a letter of intent outlining how both your experience and personality are ideal for our fast-paced, fun, growing environment. Please also include your favorite thing about Soak.

We appreciate your interest in this position, however, only the candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Send intent to: hireme@soakwash.com No phone calls, please.

Thank you for choosing Soak. Have a lovely day.

Yarn Pop and Soak at Stitches West

Posted: 13/02/2013 | Author: soak | Filed under: Knitting, Soak Stockists, Soak Worthy People, SWevents, SWsoak, SWstores, tradeshow, Travel | Leave a comment

There are so many knitting and lingerie events around North America, it is hard to keep up! We have a few that we do regularly and we love seeing everyone at those shows. We are super excited that even though we won’t be there personally, Soak still has a presence at many events, marketplaces and tradeshows thanks to our distributors, Louet and Bryson, as well as many independant retailers as well.

Soak will be officially taking up a corner of the Top Shelf Totes, booth number 1140 at Stitches West, February 21-24. We met Lori a few times over the last few months and fell in love with her sewn project bags.

Lori will have the full range of Soak products, including our brand new Yuzu scent and Elvis Paisley Soakbox. This will be Yuzu’s first appearance in a marketplace, we are so excited for you all to see it and smell it.

YarnPop5

Yarn Pop has matched up some of her prints with Soak labels to make perfect little gifts. I think that a little knitting bag is the only thing that is missing from a Soakbox! Top Shelf Totes are all fully lined with a large tooth zipper, so they are very sturdy. You can feed your yarn through the grommets in the side so that there is no worry of the yarn getting into a tangly mess inside your purse.

These would also be wonderful for non knitters as a toiletrie bag with some Soak and Handmaid. They look ready to go on an adventure together.

YarnPop4

Thank-you so much for hosting us Lori! We wish we could be there as well.

YarnPop3

Free Shipping!

Posted: 26/11/2012 | Author: soak | Filed under: Business, Craft, Knitting, SWevents, SWmain, SWpromotions | Leave a comment

We would usually have a Soakbox post here, but we are interrupting our schedule to tell you about something very exciting that will certainly help with Soakbox knitting. We are offering free shipping to Canada and the continental US starting today until December 11. All orders received by us by midnight on December 11 will be shipped out to you in time for Christmas.

From Soakboxes to minisoaks, we’ve got lots of choices. Don’t forget to check last weeks gift guide if you are stuck for ideas!

If you are looking to order your Soakboxes or other Soak products in person, you can check out the list of retailers on our website to see which shops near you carry our products.

Weekly Affirmation | meet Melissa

Posted: 01/03/2012 | Author: soak | Filed under: Business, Craft, Knitting, Soak Worthy People, SWevents, SWmain, SWpress, SWpromotions | Tags: Knitting, ravelry, soak, soakworthy, twitter | Leave a comment

Every 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.

“@Jacqueline_Soak I just bought a new bra and they wanted me to buy their lingerie wash. I declined since I had a big bottle of Soak at home.”

Thanks for the twitter love Melissa. This is one of Melissa’s lovely designs called Lily’s Lilies.

Melissa, knitwear designer: Soakworthy.

Wanna see my forklift?

Posted: 12/12/2011 | Author: soak | Filed under: Business, Craft, SWevents | Leave a comment

From Maker to Making a Living

Posted: 16/08/2011 | Author: soak | Filed under: Business, Craft, Design, school, SWevents, SWpress | 2 Comments

Do you ever feel like your entrepreneurial skills are not up to par with your creative instinct? Do you wish there had been just one business class at art school? Are you facing more questions than answers related to your craft business? Our very own Jacqueline Sava has the solutions for you.

From Maker to Making a Living is a workshop series designed to guide craftspeople through the process of understanding, designing and building their individual businesses. Led by maker and award winning business leader Jacqueline Sava, attendees will be guided through an eight-part series of lectures, exercises and activities focused on the development of their own craft-based business practices.

The knowledge and skills obtained in these workshops will allow makers to successfully balance their personal craft philosophies with the realities of marketing, selling and profiting from their businesses. At the end of the workshop series, each craftsperson will have a custom plan to ensure a successful transition from where they are to where they want to be, and balance their personal craft philosophy with the realities of marketing, selling and profiting from business.

WHEN: From Maker to Making a Living will take place as eight evening sessions between 6:30 – 8:30 pm on the following dates, in Toronto, ON Canada:
• Monday, October 3: Myth busting. Making money is okay.
• Tuesday, October 4: Options. Exploring without losing your soul.
• Tuesday, October 11: Personal branding. Understanding your purpose.
• Wednesday, October 12: Business goals. Defining a vision.
• Monday, October 17: Costing per product. Am I really making money?
• Tuesday, October 18: Costing in general. All the other expenses.
• Monday, October 24: Selling. Wholesale, retail, pricing, and all that jazz.
• Tuesday, October 25: Charting the course. Deciding which way to go.

To register for this course, visit the Ontario Crafts Council website here.

CurveNY 2011

Posted: 11/08/2011 | Author: soak | Filed under: Business, lingerie, SWevents, tradeshow | Leave a comment

After spending 5 days in Portland, Chris and I boarded a plane to meet Jacqueline in New York City.

: These great ruffle panties are from our friends at Lavit

I’m usually the behind the scenes person that handles all the logistics for tradeshows so it was nice to attend and meet many of the faces that I only knew through email correspondance. I stepped into the showroom and was surrounded by the most beautiful and luxurious lingerie. You know, the kind that you save up to buy that will make your partner’s jaw hit the ground. I actually aquired a few new pieces that I’ll talk about in a later post.

Lacey was formally introduced to all of our lingerie stores and she was an instant hit. Our customers couldn’t wait to add her to their store collection.

: Lacey at the Soak booth

While walking around and taking in all that New York has to offer, Jacqueline and Chris stumbled across this great vintage shop full of clothes, purses and shoes. Of course it wouldn’t be a complete New York trip without trying on a pair or two of beautiful shoes.

While on the topic of pretty shoes, I wanted to share some great whites ones that we saw at Lille Boutique in Portland.

This lingerie boutique was very minimal in their selection but every item looked like it was carefully hand picked and beautiful .

All in all, it was a very successful and fun week but boy was I ever happy to sleep in my own bed again.

Sock Summit 2011

Posted: 05/08/2011 | Author: soak | Filed under: Business, Knitting, SWevents, tradeshow | Leave a comment

Chris and I are finally home after a long week of beautiful yarns, delicious donuts, and friendly people. I think I will have to add Portland to my list cities that I love. The weather was great, the transit system was efficient, and their downtown had great restaurants, cute shops, great food carts and one giant book store.

We saw people carrying these bright pink boxes around and heard that you can’t go to Portland without having a VooDoo donut. I choose the maple bacon which actually have a full strip of bacon on top of it. As we walked along the river, we noticed that there was a beer festival being held and stopped in to look around. We met some sheep that were about to get sheared. Look at that face! We saw a lot of beautiful yarns. The Sincere Sheep is a company that uses all natural dyes to create these beautiful colours. We’ll talk more about them in a later post.Hundreds of people showed up to participate in the super secret flash mob dance incorporating colourful skeins of yarn! Here’s the youtube video of the dance courtesy of ‘knittinglikecrazy’ Along with all the yarns, there were also great embellishments including these cute buttons from Jennie the Potter. There were lots of great pairs of hand knit socks! And of course it wouldn’t be a knitting show without some yarn bombing. We had a great time and can’t wait until next year! Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth to say hi.

TNNA Columbus 2011

Posted: 15/06/2011 | Author: soak | Filed under: Business, Knitting, SWevents | Leave a comment

TNNA is always a great trade show. I particularly love the Columbus show. With the North Market for excellent lunches, Jeni’s ice cream, Pam’s popcorn and On Paper stationery store just down the road, what’s not to love?

There is always something weird and wonderful happening after show hours at the Hyatt bar. Sadly we missed the night that Amy Singer played her ukulele and everyone sang like they were sitting around a campfire. Happily we didn’t miss the night that Alisha pulled a taxidermy grizzly bear head out of her suitcase and proceeded to knit a massive ‘bear skin rug’. That bear became famous at the show. Everyone wanted to take a picture with it.