In this issue:

Make Some Alabu Dollars - Or Real Dollars!
July 15 Price Increase
Lemongrass Soap
Free Shipping On Orders Over $99
Soap Of The Month - Basic Soap
Bonus Points
Alabu Farm
Featured Feedback

This month the weather has been hot, cold and everything in between. We have not experienced anything as extreme as the good people in the Midwest, but it has been exciting. Last week we had a tornado warning which is a rare occurrence in these parts, but we all pay attention since ten years ago we actually had 5 tornadoes rip through at once. That was May 31, 1998, it was a Sunday afternoon, and even though it destroyed 75 houses no one was seriously injured. It gave us all a lot to be thankful for.

Here is our update on our sick horse Fasci; since the first vet who came didn’t know what was wrong and just treated her for everything he could think of, we decided to get a second opinion. The next vet thought she had something similar to diabetes called insulin resistance. He suggested she needed to lose weight, (200 lbs!) and suggested a special low-carb grain and no grass. This means she needs to wear a muzzle during the day to drastically decrease the amount of grass she eats. We went to the feed store to buy the special grain. We had to laugh when we asked for the grain and the guy said “oh your horse is on the Adkins diet”. So she is losing weight, feeling good and glad to be back out with her friends. She does get to go without the muzzle at night and eat grass.

We hope you enjoy our newsletter.

July 15 Price Increase
Like every other business around the world, we've been experiencing higher costs (especially the price of oils and shipping related costs). The prices on all of the oils that we use have increased. Soap oils are very heavy, and need to be transported via a freight forwarder, which has also gotten much more expensive. We've done pretty well and haven't increased our prices in over a year and a half. We will increase our prices slightly on July 15th, though. Because you (our returning customers) have been so loyal to us we're giving you a little heads-up so you can place some last-minute orders before the price increase.

Baby Face Oil price increase
The price of the oil we use in our Baby Face oil has gone up by about 78%. We will sell our current stock based on our old prices. When it runs out there will be a significant price increase. We won’t be able to calculate it until we actually place the order. Many stores have decided not to carry or use this oil because of the price increase but we intend to carry it as long as customers want it.

Lemongrass Soap

We were introduced to Lemongrass last summer and love the strong citrus- like fragrance. Unlike citrus oils that fade very quickly Lemongrass has staying power. Although it sounds and smells like it could be a citrus, this oil actually comes from a grass primarily used in eastern cooking. Its bright fragrance is lemony, yet earthy, and an uplifting scent. The high citrus content makes it an effective insect repellent. It is great for all skin types, especially oily skin.

Free Shipping on Orders Over $99

We have been very happy with our free shipping over $60 offer and many people have taken advantage of it since we started offering it. After we crunched the numbers we discovered we were losing too much money on our shipping. We were disappointed because we knew many customers were using it. We were planning on dropping it all together but then it occurred to me in the middle of the night that we could still offer it on orders over $99 so that is what we have decided to do.

Soap of the Month

We have had many requests to have a soap of the month sale, giving folks an opportunity to try a featured soap at a reduced price.

This month we are featuring Our Basic Soap. This is the same unscented soap we have always sold. We have changed the name so it is not confused with our specialty unscented soaps like Baby Me and Sara’s. It will still have the unscented label until we run out of our current stock.

NOTE: Coupons and special offers do not apply to Soap of the Month items.

Bonus Points - What are they and how do you use them?

We have a Bonus Point program for our customers that place orders over the internet. Customers collect 1 bonus point for each dollar in product ordered. So a purchase of $50.00 worth of Alabu products will earn you 50 points. The redemption value of 20 points is $1.00. That is, for every 20 points you have, you can redeem them for $1.00 off of your order. A 100 point redemption would equal $5.00 off of your order. The bonus points are roughly equal to a 5% discount on each order once you have redeemed them.

How do you redeem your points? I am glad you asked. To redeem your points, first login to your Alabu account. After you are logged in, click on "Bonus Points" in the "Your Cart" section of the page. This will take you to the Bonus Points page. Read through the directions to gain a complete understanding of how the program works but in short, you click on the "Convert to a Gift Certificate" and convert your Bonus Points into a Gift Certificate that either you can use when checking out yourself or you can send it on as a gift to a family member or friend.

Alabu Farm
Some pictures from from around the farm.

Click on a picture to see a larger version.

Featured Feedback
We love hearing from our customers. We get a lot of notes each month and many we put up in our Testimonial section. We do not alter the notes that we get (other than the occasional spelling error or misplaced word). We thought it might be helpful to highlight one each month that we found particularly interesting.

Dear Alabu: I'm soooo loving your soap! My previous source for handmade goat milk soap evaporated into thin air a few years back. My internet search for a replacement turned up Alabu, among others I've tried. Your soaps are the best BY FAR of all I've sampled. I don't use any commercially made bar soap any more. My problem now is hanging on to Alabu bars. They make such wonderful spontaneous gifts that my stash keeps dwindling! Thanks for being there!
Mary R. - Danvers, IL

A reminder, we do offer free shipping on orders over $99.

Thank you for trusting us with your skin. We have been overwhelmed by all your continued interest and support. We are always trying to serve you better, please don’t hesitate to let us now how we’re doing and how we can better serve you. We take your trust seriously and intend to create the best natural products for your skin for you and your family. And as always if your ever in the neighborhood stop in and say hello to the goats.

Sincerely,

Maryclaire, Dean, & Hal

Make Some Alabu Dollars - Or Real Dollars!

Many of our customers have expressed an interest in being able to buy our products locally. We would love to give you that opportunity, but we need your help! If you know of a natural food store, gift shop, or other store that you think would like to carry Alabu, please, let us know! Just send as much information as you can to: (email address removed). The most useful infor-mation for us is: 

Store Name
Store Address
Store Telephone Number
Buyer's Name and Number
Website Address

If the store you recommend ends up purchasing from us, you'll get 100 Alabu Dollars or 50 bucks, your choice!

To see if there is already a store near you carrying Alabu. Checkout our store locator.

Alabu Blog

Our son Hal has started a new blog on his experiences in the family soap making adventure. You can check it out here .

Featured Products
Lavender Mint Soap
Soap Of The Month
Foot Care Spa

Gift Items
Gift Baskets
Gift Packs
Baby Gifts
All Gift Items
Shaving Soap
Mug & Brush
Deluxe Mug & Brush
Moisturizer
Lotion Sticks
All Products

Coupon Reminder

When redeeming your coupon be sure to enter the entire code including the word

"COUPON-"

All Alabu coupon codes are in the form

COUPON-xxxx-##

See Alabu news-letters from previous months.