Weekly affirmation: Local Love

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.

Earlier this week we received this heartwarming note from Lori McMurray:

 

Hi there!

Just a note to tell you that I love your product!

We got some when we bought some bras at Secrets From Your Sister.  Then when we were running low I was very happy to find it at the Cloverdale Sewing Centre — I live in Etobicoke.

And I was delighted to find out it is Canadian!

Thanks for making it!

 

Lori McMurray

 

That’s correct Lori! We are proudly a Canadian company. Thanks for your great email!

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Weekly affirmation: Colour Co-ordination

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.

This week we look to twitter for some love:

soak

Of course, Austen isn’t the only one who likes to co-ordinate her knits! If you’re also a fan, be sure to check out our new Heel Soakboxes. Along with a gorgeous sock pattern by Fiona Ellis and a skein of delicious Lorna’s Laces Shephard Sock yarn comes matching Essie nail polish, Soak and Heel!

Here at Soak we’re always proud to show off a new project but when our nails match our knits, we can’t resist!

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Weekly Affirmation: Costuming with Soak

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.

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Our friend Virginia from the Boston based shop Gather Here is currently doing some costuming for the film industry. We have had a lot of fun keeping up with her finds on twitter and instagram, as well as her uses for Soak products at work!

“Wrapping costumes this morning. Using @soakwash for the vintage undergarments. http://instagr.am/p/WUVvnqTF7-/

“After 14 hours shopping for clothes I need to testify that @soakwash #handmaid is awesome. Handling fiber really does a number on my hands”


Here we grow again!

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. Soak front 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

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.

YarnPop1

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.

YarnPop2 

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.

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

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Weekly Affirmation: Nautilus Rescue

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.


The great thing about the internet is being able to follow along with people’s projects (and emergencies!) as they happen. Yesterday we got a desperate tweet from June of @planetjune.

“Oh no! I got blue ink on my yellow (crocheted) Nautilus! Hoping @soakwash can perform a magic rescue… #amigurumicatastrophe”

We waited with fingers crossed to hear if the ink would come out. Sure enough, there was another tweet an hour or so later.

“My amigurumi Nautilus is now damp, but all the ink came out and he smells lovely (I used @soakwash in Aquae, appropriately). Phew!”

Phew indeed! We are so glad to hear that the toy was not ruined. Thank-you for including us!


Soft Launch

There are many definitions of a Soft Launch. Today it’s the unoffical announcement of our new scent, Yuzu and our new Soakbox, Elvis Paisley.

Yes, it’s a bit crazy to use this format for such exciting news, but sometimes, that’s just how it goes. The official launch will be the week of February 11th, where you’ll get more details on what we are up to than you could ever hope for. Until then, here’s the long and short of our exciting accomplishments.

Yuzu Collection

First: Yuzu. It’s the scent you’ve been waiting for. It’s so lovely it’s a bit silly. It is a kiss of tart citrus + crushed eucalyptus. It is currently available in our 3oz Soak bottles and 3oz Handmaid. It’ll be showing at TNNA this weekend, and on our website for sale (wholesale and retail) in the next week or so.

Yuzu Twosome
Second: You may notice Yuzu’s unique and lovely label. It’s the first in our upcoming series of designer labels. This label collection (yes, all 8 tiny bottles have different labels) is designed by the lovely and talented traditional fine art printmaker, and a turncoat commercial textile designer Lizzy House. Collectible, indeed.

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Third: Yuzu appears in our newest Soakbox, Elvis Paisley. Once again, we’ve got a lovely custom color by Lorna’s Laces and a beautiful pattern designed by Fiona Ellis. We’re telling you this because in hours, we fly to The National Needle Arts Tradeshow in Long Beach where images, tweets and posts about these new products will surface and spread like, well, like new Soak scents do.

Here’s a sneak peek at the products. Between flights, set up and tradeshow time, we’ll do our best to get these products up and online sooner than later.

If you are a Soak retailer or would like to be, email chris@soakwash.com to order any of these products. If you are looking to shop, ask for them at your favorite yarn shop, bra fitting boutique or visit our website. The products won’t go live for a bit (sorry) and the Soakboxes won’t ship until mid-March, when they ship to lovely yarn stores around the world.

Watch in the coming weeks for more details on all the tiny fragments of exciting news we’ve shared today. We wanted you to hear about the excitement from us first. Enjoy as it all unfolds! And thanks again for choosing Soak. We are forever appreciative of the love you’ve shown for our products. It’s truly Soakworthy.


Happy New Year with Labels of Love

Happy 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.

Soakbox Promo

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!


Soakbox Knit-A-Long: Matching Knits and Nails

Over 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.  Rainbow

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.  TrianglesThe 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.
Sweater

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. Deer

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. ombre

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.

Double Pointe Pink

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: Smelling Nice

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.


We got this great email through our contact us email (contact@soakwash.com). Thanks Luke, it’s always best when knits smell nice!

Just wanted to say thank you for making my pile of finished objects smell so nice.
Respect,
Luke