Profile: Our Liquid Castile Soap
Castile soap is a name used for olive oil based soaps which historically originated from Castile, Spain more than 500 years ago. We’ve formulated a recipe in the spirit of those traditional olive oil soaps with a creamy, luxurious lather that leaves skin feeling smooth and refreshed. Our liquid soap is pure and simple, crafted from scratch with completely whole, natural, and organic ingredients. While it may seem too nice to use on anything but your body, you can wash just about anything! We use this soap not only with our bath scrubbies, but for our dishes, our counter tops and floors, and for hand-washing clothes! Oh, and a little bit goes a long way.
To make the soap we start off by producing a soap paste using olive oil, coconut oil and castor oil which we combine with potassium hydroxide. All three plant oils soften and attract external moisture to your skin, additionally the coconut and castor oils are responsible for a stable and creamy lather. We then dilute the paste and neutralize it with citric acid, then scent it with a little bit of essential oils. We only use essential oils derived through steam distillation.
(paste, photograph courtesy of herbalnatures.com)
As with all Meow Meow Tweet products, we wanted to package the liquid soap in something that was sustainable but also user-friendly and attractive. We had been using plastic bottles for awhile with the intention to switch to glass and create a refill option. Well, here you have the first step, our new glass bottles, complete with dancing cats!
The cap is recyclable aluminum with a small plastic orifice reducer set into the top. The orifice reducer makes the bottle into a “shaker” so you shake the soap out into your hand or scrubby. We have found that the soap lasts longer with this top, it’s less plastic than other caps and pumps, and it’s fun to use!
Currently on rotation:
Lavender Lemongrass
Tea Tree & Rosemary
Grapefruit Mint
Cedar & Clary Sage
Eucalyptus Lavender
Find them EXCLUSIVELY at The One Well and on our website
Stay tuned for refill options!
Shopping List for V-day, and by that we mean…
…the Vegan Valentine’s Shop-Up! We’re going to be vending this Sunday from 12 to 6 pm at the Shop-Up, our favorite NYC market. Why is it our favorite? Because we get to eat a bunch of good food, stock up on sweets, and sell to like-minded folks, that’s why! Stuff we’re bringing this weekend:
Muscle Soak (see below… NOT on our website, it’s like a body oil version of tiger balm)
Liquid Castile Soap in five scents
ALL bar soaps, including the our seasonal Ginger Beer Shampoo Bar
Deodorant Cream, Cocoa Skin Cream & Herbal Body Oils
And our Facial Repair Kits
Our personal shopping list:
Peanutella by lovely Sarah from Woodside Bakehouse
Teas, Tinctures & Toiletries by our friend Raganella
Beautiful Stationary for your Sweet by Pepperpress
Anything baked by Champs Bakery
Mac & Cheese by Electric Blue Bakery
not to mention all of the new vendors!
LOGO-mania!
We are arriving at our two and a half-year anniversary as the collaborative soap-making, botanical-slugging, deodorant-sniffing: Meow Meow Tweet. From the beginning we approached our branding as an overall aesthetic sensibility derived from our drawing style and subject matter. People know us as the “cat soap folks” and we’re totally cool with that, because aside from the many other things we do, we are that.
Up until now, we were hesitant about developing our brand through a logo, because we didn’t want to lose the fun of our multifarious imagery. So, it was with some surprise that 2012 rolled around and in our “old age” we decided to introduce a logo into our company.
We met Sarah Hallacher through her design first. The creator of the hilarious and absurd Vegan Shop-Up posters, she is also an artist, interactive designer, cook and member of a rad video collective. We met with Sarah in Tompkins Square Park with a bit of trepidation, as we had never brought a third party into our collaboration before. After an epic conversation, we were convinced that not only was she the perfect person to work with on the logo, but she is pretty damn cool too. Double plus!
She approached the design of our logo holistically as a representation of our diverse collaboration, as well as those things we bring into the world. Check out her process here.
We especially love this part of her thought process:
“Meow Meow Tweet is run by two brilliant artists, musicians & makers who collaborate together to create beautiful songs, installations, videos and more. Much like “meow meow tweet” is a conversation between two animals, Tara and Jeff’s life together is a conversation between two artists. This visual identity expresses who they are as a team, and plays on the animal illustrations found on their packaging.”
And of course, the final result,
Thank you Sarah!
Shopping Responsibly.
I don’t Christmas shop. At all. I’m just not into it. I don’t give or expect gifts at Christmas time, and I don’t feel guilty about it. My family, friends and partner know this about me. If I am given a gift, I am appreciative and I say thank you and I feel good. Ultimately, my biggest concern for the holiday season is making sure I carve out enough time to relax with my family and eat tasty food. In a time when the search for a bargain is tragically important to some, I find myself thoughtful about our collective shopping practices.
That being said, I’m not writing this to encourage anyone to forgoe the holidays (that would be counter-productive to my own business), rather I am writing to urge you to shop responsibily. Three things to consider for your Holiday shopping:
LOCAL & SMALL
This means in your neighborhood or in your country. It also means that the company is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. This means that they need your support. This also means that your money is being fed directly back into your community.
HANDMADE
This means someone made it with their own mitts. The item is usually the product of an evolving process of someone skilled to do what they do. It is an object invested with that skill, which consists of years of research, practice and attention.
SUSTAINABLE
This means objects made in harmony with the planet and it’s inhabitants. Many times shopping locally (without shipping and with only your feet, bicycle or public transportation to carry you) and shopping handmade produces this effect. You may also consider what the item you are buying is made with and for. Not to mention, what it is packaged or wrapped in. You might also consider doing an action for someone or donating to a charitable organization.
I know that I may be preaching to the choir when it comes to this stuff, but for those that haven’t thought about it, I hope you will consider. Thank you and happy times!
A few resources:
Markets of New York, New York Holiday Market Guide 2011
Etsy have you heard of it? :)
Treehugger, Green Gift Guide
Love Thy Neighbor
One of the reasons that we started Meow Meow Tweet was to bring a small bit of positivity into our community by finding a way to meet the practical needs and desires of those around us. While we love soap, we are also greatly inspired by a movement of urban homesteaders that grow window and/or rooftop gardens, keep worm bins in their tiny kitchens and make the things that we’ve previously relied on unknown producers for. Needless to say, we were and remain somewhat idealistic about what a simple bar of soap or red wiggler can do.
Something especially inspiring is how people come together to pool their resources and their respective skills to make business and life better for all of us. Evidence of this can be seen at unique events that bring dissimilar but friendly vendors together, like the Vegan Shop-Up or pop-ups organized by Brooklyn Dry Goods and the like. We admire the New-New etsy crew, for their commitment to collectivity, a sure-fire way of getting shit done and being noticed. Krrb.com promotes neighborly living, commerce and sharing in-person. We also appreciate people who teach their craft, promote others, or provide advice; sharing knowledge is one of the best (r)evolutionary acts. Five great women come to mind: Liz Neves from Raganella, vermicomposter Amanda Matles, Megan Paska from Brooklyn Homesteader, Rena Tom’s retail strategies and of course Karen Seiger of Markets of New York.
However dreamy we may be, one thing has shown itself to be as pervasive in this community driven movement as anywhere, and it’s why this blog post came about. Bad mouthing and competitiveness. While for the most part we try to keep the company of folks that are supportive, inspired and positive- there are instances where we find ourselves in circumstances where a “disgruntled/threatened business” will criticize and belittle the goods, even practices of another small-timer. We’re not against competition- no way! We believe in it as a motivating and propelling force, however, we think that it can have a positive or negative role, and we opt for the former.
Often this kind of treatment is given to those that run a business which shares similar products or services and thereby clientele. However, while we may be categorically alike, we are all characteristically different. So why not get along? For every person making something there are hundreds if not thousands of people out there ready and characteristically fitted to consume that something. So let’s be supportive of one another. In my mind, if we’re all working toward a more ethical and sustainable future, we should feel good about consumers that make the decision to support us, whether or not they’re specifically clicking your shopping cart. If we’re really here for the ethics of it all and not the dollar signs, we want our community to support the way of life that we’re all creating and not just what we are making.
So this is my quiet and somewhat innocuous call to arms. Stop bad-mouthing one another, support the work of your fellow maker because they are in it with you. If they do well, ultimately, we all do well. Whatever shortcomings encountered in your business is ultimately on you; so don’t scapegoat someone else because of their success. After all, we all entered the marketplace with ideals that existed before making our first sale; the marketplace is merely the conduit for promoting and supporting those ideals. And for those of you out there that have spread the good word about someone else, thank you, you’re why we do this.
CUSTOM-ized
This summer, we had the distinct pleasure to work with two lovely couples on custom wedding favors. We made small half bars for each of their guests with special wrapping that fit the aesthetic and feel of their weddings. These sorts of projects are always fun and inspiring to us, thank you to both couples for a fantastic custom experience. Many happy returns!
BLITHE & MATT
For Blithe & Matt we made a Rosemary, Thyme and Lavender soap with a cornmeal scrub. In their ceremony, B & M included a passage about herbal lore as a way of talking about family, commitment and love. It was awesome to have our soap align with that detail of their wedding. The soap was wrapped in hand printed vellum with artwork by Devlin Shea and was tied with twine and a little wooden tag that Jeff made. Since the wedding was outdoors in the dead of summer, we also made small bug repellent candles for every table and our organic bug spray was circulated at the reception.
KATIE & JOHN
When Katie and John approached us they knew what scent they wanted because they were already lovers of our Fennel Orange soap. John is also an artist, so he designed the wallpaper-like repeat pattern for the vellum wrapper and the small ribbon-like banner that would be printed on the parchment cigar wrapper. The design included flowers from their respective home states.
Email info@meowmeowtweet.com for more information about custom soaps and candles. We do custom artwork and packaging to fit the details of your special event.
New! Cocoa Cream
A light, gentle and creamy moisturizer, perfect for seasonally dry skin and daily use. This cream was formulated to soak into your skin quickly without a greasy residue. Made purely of unrefined cocoa butter, virgin coconut oil and hempseed oil, it smells naturally of chocolate and coconut with no additional scent. With no added waxes or water, it won’t clog your pores. Apply freely to your face or over your entire body!
Seasonal Scent: Clementhyme
Clementine Thyme & Almond
Welcome the cool weather and citrus season with this luscious blend of sweet, tart clementine and the earthy, warm scent of thyme. Almond meal is a light exfoliant in this extra moisturizing shea butter soap.
BEER SHAMPOO BAR: New scent, New package
Beer soap with Wild Verbena & Clary Sage
With a rich lather and it’s sweet and spicy scent, this shampoo bar is perfect for crisp autumn days. Still the same recipe, our beer soap was formulated to nourish, condition and detangle hair, but feel free to use it on your whole body too!
Chickadees in Cape Cod, MA
