News Blog

March 2024

Craft Shows & Farmers Markets

Spring/Summer Scents

March will be a quiet month for soap making! Due to a scheduled surgery, I will not be able to attend any craft shows or farmers markets in the month of March. You can find more details about this on my IG & FB posts. However, I will still be taking online orders from both my website and Etsy shop. 

Spring is almost here! I can feel it in the air. A few new scents available now, but I will have a bigger selection in the coming months so stay tuned! 

February 2024

Winter Farmers Markets

Etsy Shop

Craft Shows/Events

February Winter Market Dates:

Northampton Winter Farmers Market February 10th & February 24th from 10-2pm. This market is located inside the Northampton, MA Senior Center. 

Chicopee Winter Farmers Market February 1st, 15th & the 29th. This market is located at the River Mills Senior Center, and it open to the public from 3-6pm. 

We have officially launched out Etsy Shop! We encourage you to utilize both platforms and leave feedback/reviews. We are trying to gain a bigger customer base and Etsy can help market my shop and drive new traffic. You can see out Etsy Shop HERE.

Craft Shows/Pop Up Events:

February 10th – Quaboag Craft Fair from 9am-3pm located at the Quaboag Regional Highschool in Warren, MA. 

February 11th – Drunken Rabbit Brewing Pop Up Event from 1-4pm located in South Hadley, MA.

January 2024

2023 Recap

Winter Farmers Markets

Year-End Clearence

2024 Soap Giveaway

Wow! What a year… 2023 was probably my busiest year to date. Having quit my corporate job at the beginning of the year, I was able to focus more on my soap making. I could spend more time on the little things like branding, and display.  I was able to attend many more craft shows, farmers markets and pop-up events. This, I think was my biggest success. Meeting new people, customers, other crafters and small businesses, learning and tweaking. I am grateful for all of you that found Mack Soaps in the year 2023 and hope you will continue to follow me on my soap journey! 

Winter Farmers Markets kicked off in December. You can fine us at the Chicopee Winter Market January 11th and January 25th from 3-6pm. Located at the Senior Center in Chicopee, MA. We will also be at the Northampton Winter Farmers Markets on December 30th, January 13th, January 27th, and February 10th from 10-2pm. This market is located inside the Northampton, MA Senior Center. 

We are having a year-end clearance on products that we will not be taking into the new year. These products were made for either the holidays or extra craft shows. Things like lip balm and bath bombs will not be offered regularly in the coming year and we have revamped our website to showcase our new line of soaps. 

Another year, another giveaway! Our yearly soap giveaway contest will begin at 12:01 EST January 1st. 

December 2023

Craft Shows

Winter Farmers Markets

Product shift

Pricing

Our final craft show will be at Church In The Acres on Saturday December 2nd from 9-3pm. It is located in Springfield, MA 

Winter Farmers Markets will kick off in December. You can fine us at the Chicopee Winter Market starting December 7th from 3-6pm every other Thursday. Located at the Senior Center in Chicopee, MA. We will also be at the Northampton Winter Farmers Markets on December 30th, January 13th, February 10th, March 9th & March 23rd from 10-2pm. This market is located inside the Northampton, MA Senior Center. 

A few things to note for 2024. We will be making a product shift and no longer carrying Beard Care products. This will include Beard Balm, Beard Oil & Beard Soap. This is for a couple reasons but mostly it is not financially worth my efforts to keep these products on my inventory for only a handful of users. We will be focusing more on just soap for the coming year. That being said, we want you to know that there will still be plenty of options for soap, in both masculine and feminine scents, with everything in between!

Lastly, pricing. You may see a slight increase in pricing due to the shifting economy and that the cost of supplies that has gone up again, quite drastically. We hate to raise our prices and we want to offer you a great product at a reasonable price, but we also need to maintain our cost coverage and overhead. This will be monitored and adjusted accordingly. 

November 2023

Craft Shows

Holiday Scents

New Products

You can find us at any of these November craft shows and events listed below!

  • St. Stanislaus School in Chicopee, MA November 4th from 9-3pm. 
  • Moonlight Magic located in Shelburne Falls, MA Friday November 24th from 3-9pm. This is a BIG holiday shopping event.
  • The Old Deerfield Holiday Sampler November 18th from 9-5pm & November 19th from 10-4pm. Located at the Better Living Building on the Big E grounds, Springfield, MA. 
  • MillWorks Makers & Art Market November 24th & 25th from 10-4. Located in Shelburne Falls, MA. This event coincides with Moonlight Magic and there will be a shuttle running from the two events on Friday November 24th. 

Our Holiday Collection is now available! To include a returning best seller, The Holiday GRINCH! Be sure to grab one before they are gone, they tend to go pretty quickly. Our other Holiday scents include Peppermint Patty, Under the Mistletoe, Home For Christmas & Balsam Lavender. Enjoy! 

We are excited to announce, back by popular demand, our Lip Balm will make a return for the winter season! It should be available online mid-November! 

October 2023

October Events

Farmers Markets

New Products

For the month of October, you can find us at these local events listed below. 

  • Ludlow Community Market Sept 30th & Oct 1st from 11-3pm. This is a free event put on by the Ludlow Cultural Council. Over 70 vendors and it will be held at Memorial Park, 11 East St. Ludlow, MA. 
  • Showcase South Hadley Sunday October 8th from 12-5pm and will be held at the Fred Smith Park next door to the Firehouse Museum in South Hadley, MA
  • Crafts For Christ Monday October 9th from 9-3pm, held at the Second Baptist Church in South Hadley, MA
  • Pine Valley Manor from 9-3pm located at 281 Chauncey Walker St. Route 21 Belchertown, MA
  • Hampden’s Fall Fest October 21st from 12-5pm. It will be held at the Thornton W. Burgess School. 85 Wilbraham Rd, Hampden, MA
  • Oh My Gourd! Craft Fair October 29th from 12-5pm. 50 Payson Ave, Easthampton, MA

Farmers Market season is coming to an end! Our last market for South Hadley will be Wednesday October 11th from 2-6pm. Our last market for Chicopee will be on Thursday October 26th from 1-6pm. There may be potential for some winter farmers markets, but we will post them here if so. 

Super excited to announce we will be adding Beard Oil back to our selection of products for the Holiday Season. It will be available October 1st in a variety of scents. We will also have several new soaps available including a handful of new Beard & Body soaps.

September 2023

 

September Craft Fairs

Holiday Scents

Chicopee Market

Retail Locations

Mill Valley Market Craft Fair September 9th 11am-4pm located at 102 Mill Valley Rd. Hadley, MA. This is a charity event for Leukemia Awareness put on by Bay State Hospital. 

September 16th you can find us at the Ware Center Meeting House Annual Fall Fair. It is from 10am-3pm and held at 295 Belchertown Rd. Ware, MA

September 23rd from 9am-3pm St. Paul’s Episcopal Fall Festival located at 485 Appleton St. Holyoke, MA.

Ludlow Community Market Sept 30th & Oct 1st from 11-3pm. This is a free event put on by the Ludlow Cultural Council. Over 70 vendors and it will be held at Memorial Park, 11 East St. Ludlow, MA. 

Holiday soaps are underway! We will have a Christmas collection available starting November 1st. To include four holiday scented soaps along with our best seller during the holidays, the Grinch! We are making an abundant amount this year in hopes that we don’t sell out as quickly as past years. 

We have been officially added to every week at the Chicopee Fresh Farmers Market in Chicopee, MA. It is held Thursdays from 1-6pm. Previously we were in a rotation and not able to attend every single week, so we are excited to finish out the season with them. Every Thursday until October 26th, 2023. 

If you’re looking for a retail location to find our soaps, you can check at any of the following locations. Check back as we are always adding new stores!

  • A.W. Browns Pet and Garden – East Longmeadow, MA
  • The Growth Co. – Enfield, CT  
  • Schubert Provisions – Braintree, MA

 August 2023

 

Upcoming Events

New Retail Location

Fall Scents

We have some fall events coming up over the next couple of months. You can find us at the Ludlow Community Market Sept 30th & Oct 1st from 11-3pm. We will also be at the Holiday Sampler Craft Fair, found in The Better Living Center in Springfield, MA November 18th & 19th. 

A new retail location is opening up very soon in Braintree, MA. You can find a selection of our soaps at Schubert Provisions. A small, locally owned health food store. 

We have already started working on our fall collection of soaps. We will be adding them to the website in September. Also, if you have been waiting for our Christmas collection, that just means we are only a couple months away! 

July 2023

 

Farmers Markets

Wholesale Orders

New Scents/Selection

Custom Orders

It’s Farmers Market season! We will be at the South Hadley Farmers Market every Wednesday from 2-6pm, through October 11th.  It is located at Buttery Brook Park in South Hadley, MA. On Occasion you may see us at the Chicopee Fresh Farmers Market in Chicopee, MA, Thursdays from 1-6pm. We are waiting on a bigger location so more vendors can be added to this farmers market. 

Wholesale orders are always welcome and are priced on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the size of the order, we can discuss wholesale discounts. Please contact us for further information if you are interested in buying wholesale. 

Right now, we are trying our best to offer 6 new scents each month. As we get closer to the holidays our focus will begin to shift and we will offer less new scents each month. Those scents will carry us into the holiday season. Once we get into fall, you will start seeing new scents again geared towards the holidays. 

Custom orders are always welcome! We can do all types of custom orders for any event you may be having. Please contact us for further information if you are interested in a custom order.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

June 2023

 

PRIDE Month!

The Trevor Project

South Hadley Farmers Market

Bone Up Brewing Market

It’s PRIDE MONTH! We will have Rainbow Pride and Trans Pride soaps for sale throughout the entire month of June, while supplies last!  They will be $10 each and we will be donating $2 from each pride soap sale to The Trevor Project to help LGBTQ youth. 

The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ young people seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S. Their trained counselors connect with LGBTQ young people 24/7, 365 days a year. Our donation will help The Trevor Project continue to provide crucial services for LGBTQ youth. 

It’s Farmers Market season! We will be at the South Hadley Farmers Market every Wednesday from 2-6pm, through October 11th.  It is located at Buttery Brook Park in South Hadley, MA.

Mark your calendars! June 24th from 2-6pm we will be at the Bone Up Brewing Pop-Up Market event. We will have a selection of our soaps available plus an exclusive BEER SOAP made with beer from the Bone Up Brewing Company! You will only be able to purchase this exclusive beer soap at this event. It is located at Bone Up Brewing 38 Norman St, Everett, MA

May 2023

 

Now Vegan

New Labels & Prices

Farmers Market

Another Retail Location

We are excited to announce that all of our soaps are now 100% VEGAN! We have moved away from using animal fats in our soap and have cleared our shelves of that inventory. We replaced our animal fats with plant-based ingredients! 

Another big announcement, our labels and prices have changed! AGAIN, you ask?! Yes, but now they are much prettier and they are all the same price! We have stopped using the Wildflower Seed Paper that we used to wrap our soap in. It was becoming costly and unfortunately, not as sustainable as we would like to see here at Mack Soaps. In doing so, we were able to lower the prices of our soap bars to all the same price. Yay! 

It’s Farmers Market season! We are happy to announce that we will be vending at the South Hadley Farmers Market, May 24th-October 11th, Wednesdays from 2-6pm.  It will be located at Buttery Brook Park in South Hadley, MA.

We now have another retail location for you to pick up soap from! It’s the perfect time of year to visit The Growth Company in Enfield, CT. A flower shop and garden center with all kinds of flowers, plants and lawn & garden ordainments! You can find a selection of our soap bars right inside the flower shop. 

April 2023

 

New Retail Location

Update on Subscription Boxes

New Scents

Custom Orders

We are pleased to announce that we have partnered with A.W. Browns Garden & Pet Supply Store in East Longmeadow, MA! You can find a selection of our soaps available there. 

Unfortunately, we had to put a hold on our subscription boxes due to an issue with reoccurring payments. There is a compatibility issue with the current version of the plug in we were using. We are actively searching for a better version to continue to provide this feature. Thank you for your patience! 

As always, new scents will be available each month while we continue to work throughout the year. 

We want to remind you that we are available for commissions on new and custom orders! Thinking of planning a party or having an event that warrants favors?! Let’s work together to find what works best for your event and provide your guests with beautiful soap favors! After all, we are coming into wedding season!

March 2023

 

Craft Fair

Updates

New Soaps

Subscription Boxes

We will be attending the 24th Old Deerfield Craft Fair in West Springfield, MA on March 4th & 5th, 2023. We will have some exclusive craft fair pricing, some new scents and a drawing to win free soap! If you are in the area swing by and check it out.

We’re working on getting into some local garden supply stores and co-ops in the area. So, if you live in western Massachusetts, you may be seeing some of our stuff in stores soon!

New soaps coming to the website this month, including our TDOV soap which will be available mid-March and bring awareness and visibility to the community.

Lastly, our subscription boxes are a great way to try new scents each month and save a little money! The subscription boxes are slightly discounted, come with a free sample and ship for FREE!

February 2023

 

Welcome

Updates

Soap Giveaway

Impact of the Pandemic

Price Increase

 

To get us started, we want to say welcome to Mack Soaps online store! We are so excited to be up and running again, making all kinds of smell goods. 

We have updated our website in a few different ways, but hopefully to provide a better shopping experience to our customers. As you can see, we have added quite a few new products and brought back some of the fan favorite items and best sellers! 

Our 2023 soap giveaway will be live on February 12th-18th, giving you the chance to win free soap for a YEAR! 

Now finally, let’s talk about price increases and how the pandemic has affected most of the country. There is no denying that Covid has put strain on many people and businesses.

To be specific to soap making, our cost for supplies and shipping has increased by almost double. It’s outrageous! Unfortunately, we had no choice but to increase prices to meet and cover more of our cost.

To try and help with this, we are now offering free shipping for all orders $50 or more. Speaking of which USPS has also increased their shipping prices for 2023, but we will not be increasing ours.