It’s hard to believe that Christmas is almost here, especially since the weather has been so mild here in Northern Virginia. This has been a busy month here at Sweet Sophia, and thanks to all of you, a pretty successful month!

We had the great opportunity to participate in another local Christmas Craft Fair.  These fairs are a lot of work, but they are a lot of fun.  The best part about them is talking to people about honeybees and about how we make our products.  We also talked to a few high school students who are aspiring entrepreneurs with big ideas for their own futures.  Look for them on Shark Tank in the next few years!

We added a few new products in December and modified others.  Our Cracked Skin Balm has turned out to be a huge hit.  We added shea butter to the formula to enhance its anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties.  Also, based on your feedback, we have adjusted the formula on our Beeswax Hand and Body Cream to make it even more silky and smooth.  

Creamed Honey – This delicious treat comes in both our rich, amber wildflower honey and our cinnamon infused variety.  Many have asked us, “what is creamed honey?”  Well, creamed honey – also known as whipped honey, spun honey, churned honey, etc – is simply honey that is crystallized in a controlled manner.  It has the same flavor but is thick and spreadable with the texture of smooth peanut butter.  Whether you are trying to avoid sticky spills or looking for the perfect topper to toast or biscuits, you can’t go wrong with this!

Honey Infused Almond Butter – We are a peanut free house, so we substitute with other nut butters.  Almond butter is one of our favorites. This one is 100% natural with roasted almonds, honey, coconut oil, and just a pinch of salt, making a creamy, semi-sweet, and completely delicious spread.  For an added treat, add some Sweet Sophia Cinnamon Infused Creamed Honey…Nirvana is close at hand.  

Baker Street is a nod to a favorite literary character…not the chart-topping snoozer from Gerry Rafferty in the late 70’s.  Where Old Havana elicits thoughts of a beachfront sojourn with a fine tumbler of Cruzan on ice, Baker Steet takes you to an old London flat filled with books, maps, and at least one telescope.  The rich aroma of pipe tobacco accentuates the very nicely lathering addition to your soap collection!

Colorado Trail subtly calls out the Bohemian buried deep inside us all.  The beautiful colors remind me of Red Rock and the diverse geology along the Colorado Trail.  The fragrance is a soft Patchouli, and we have added finely chopped calendula blossoms to promote skin health.

Pineland is a throwback to the “Land of the Long Leaf Pine…a summer land where the sun doth shine.”  All Green Berets have been there and this soap is about that heritage.  Pineland has the fresh and fragrant scent of a pine forest (of course) and the exfoliating properties of fine pumice.  Viva la Pineland!

Earlier this month we received an email from a potential customer in the Netherlands interested in a very large order to fill his new store.  Alas, what often seems too good to be true usually is.  After some initial elation, we did a bit of due diligence and found out about an identical solicitation and subsequent scam!  The elaborate lengths that scammers go through to make a buck is impressive.  Imagine if they put that same energy to work in legit business!  Anyway, it was sort of validating that our small business made a blip on the scam circuit radar.  YAY for us!!!

The ladies are tucked in for the winter.  Honey bees don’t fly in temps under 50 deg F.  During the cold winter months, they gather in a cluster in the center of their hive and shiver to keep the colony warm.  These amazing little creatures will keep the internal hive temperature at 93 degrees all winter long.  All that shivering takes a lot of energy, so we made them large bricks of sugar to augment their own stores of pollen and honey. Since it’s supposed to be 70 on Christmas, I may go take a peek at the girls and see how they are doing.  

That’s all from us this year.  We have big plans for next year and beyond.  Of course, none of this would be possible if it weren’t for you.  Please keep those thoughts and suggestions coming.  We truly appreciate our patrons. 

From us here at Sweet Sophia, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Hannuka, Kwanza, or whatever you choose to celebrate.