In this issue:

Buy Alabu Locally
Spa Basket Winner!
Lemongrass Soap
Free shipping on orders over $99
Soap Of The Month - Bay Rum
Goodbye Tiger
Bonus Points
Alabu Farm
Featured Feedback

We were away for a week at “The Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild” annual conference in Vermont. It was great to get away even though the schedule was hectic, but it is always good to be home again. The conference was informative and it was fun to meet other soap makers. We had the pleasure of hosting Kevin Dunn and his wife Peggy at our home and little soap shop the weekend before the soap conference. Kevin teaches Chemistry at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and wrote a book titled Caveman Chemistry; he has a weird way of making chemistry understandable, relevant and a lot less scary. He wrote a chapter on soapmaking and was invited to talk about soap making Chemistry about 5 years ago and has been invited back every year since. From that experience he has developed a keen curiosity about everything soap and loves to problem solve all the mysteries of soapmaking. His workshop at the conference made me wish I had a teacher like him when I was in school. It was a delight to meet both him and his wife .

We came home to bad news about one of our cats and now one of our horses is sick too. She is getting lots of attention but misses being out in the pasture with her buddies. I actually think the goats miss her the most. She seems to be on the mend and I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and write to you.

We hope you enjoy our newsletter

Spa Basket Winner!

We thought it would be fun to have the goats pick the winner for the Spa Basket that Kris made. I had thought the curious boys would be the first to pick the winner, but no.

They were the first to come over to see what we were doing but it was the herd leader Allie, that actually had the courage to pick the winner from the pile.

 So Allie picked Faith B. of Riverton, WY . to be our Spa basket winner. Our congratulations to Faith and we hope you enjoy your little bit of pampering Spa treatment compliments of Kris and Alabu and of course Allie the goat.

Now if you thought that was fun, we are more than happy to take suggestions on what to do for our next customer appreciation give away. Our dog Chia has already volunteered to pick the winner for us!  Congratulations Faith and Thank you Kris!

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, but 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 citral 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 Bay Rum in honor of Father's Day which is June 15th .

Bay Rum is cologne made using oil extracted from the leaves of the West Indian bay tree. The bay rum leaves are also so deliciously aromatic that their fragrance can dominate whole sections of forest and walking through these areas can be a heady experience

Bay Rum used to be the fragrance of choice for men but now there are so many fragrances to choose from it is all but forgotten. In the early 1900's to about 1950, Bay Rum was an extremely popular man's cologne and aftershave. It was so popular that at all the best barber shops, a haircut or shave was not considered complete until a liberal application of Bay Rum was applied.  It was not uncommon in high schools for the delightful fragrance of bay rum cologne to permeate the classroom where young men treated shaving as a matter of coming of age. So if you are looking for an old fashioned manly scent now is your time to give Bay Rum a try.

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

Goodbye Tiger

I think Dean lost his best friend earlier this month.  Our cat Tiger and Dean have always had an understanding; he was Dean's cat.  At night he would sleep on his lap and Dean would end up asking me or the kids to do this or that as he did not want to get up and disturb Tiger. If Dean was in a room you could usually look around and find Tiger.  He usually sat on his desk early in the morning as Dean worked on the computer. Dean basically looked after and spoiled him for his 13 years on this earth. Tiger has been a frequent subject in the newsletter pictures either taking long walks with us or guarding his water dish; which he wanted full and liked to put both feet in while he drank. He didn't seem like himself and we took him to the vet.  As we called  their office to check on him their reports were more and more discouraging.  When we went in to see him it was clear he was not going to get better. He lay almost lifeless on the exam table.  But when Dean picked him up and sat with him he seemed so content to lay his head in Dean's hand. Even so it was obvious to all of us that he was suffering with no hope for recovery and we stayed with him while he was put to sleep. While we were sad that he spent his last days at the vet; it was comforting to know that he was a loved cat and he seemed to sense that at the end.  We all miss our goofy cat Tiger as he had a way of endearing himself to all who met him.

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:
My family and I have been using your soaps for about 2 weeks and they are truly the BEST! My skin feels and looks so much better. My children and my husband have also noticed the difference. They love the scents and gentleness of the product. My youngest son and I seem to be allergic to most commercial gels and soaps out there. After using your product, we discovered our skin did not itch or break out in a rash. We're hooked and won't use anything else. By the way, I love your web site. It is so easy to place orders. The soaps I received were very well packaged too. Thank you.
Lisette - Naples, FL

A reminder, we do offer free shipping on orders over $100.

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

Buy Local!

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

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.