We had an awesome Sunday at Patchwork Festival this past weekend despite the intense hot sun. I have the oh so lovely farmers tan to prove it. The weather was goregous with a capital "G" and we especially enjoyed meeting so many soap enthusiasts. (I think I love Long Beach.) If you are one of the people that picked up some SUPERFAT soaps, then we're talking about you. As always at Patchwork shows, lots of truly talented designers there and beautiful works. My space was right next to another amazing children's clothing designer of Little Wellies, some of the most fabulous little girls clothes I've seen anywhere. All in all, a really nice crowd on a great day. Well done Nicole and Delilah. No rest for the weary on to Santa Ana...

Most people don't realize that there are actually different kinds of shea butter on the market found in finished beauty and skin care products as well as raw materials used by crafters and soap makers. The usual response is positive. Everyone knows that shea butter is good, or thinks it is but there's more to the story. Ultrarefined shea butter is the equivalent of sliced white bread or bleached flour; no real health benefits or food value other than its carbs. We only use natural shea butter in our soaps. It costs more but what's tragic about ultrarefined shea butter is that all of the nutrients are zapped from it from bleaching, cleaning and filtering. Core vitamins A, E, and F are lost in this process and while it retains its moisturization properties, the natural healing properties have been diminished and it's likely had added preservatives added to it for this reason. So check your labels and see what your product says about its shea butter, if anything.