Woo Hoo! We did it!

It has been one long haul to get to the stage of being able to finally launch our business, we had a great opportunity to perform a Soft Launch at One Tree Hill, Sorrento Restaurant in Auckland last month. We were privilged to be asked by Anne and Fiona to be a guest exhibitor at their Auckland Conference for Well In Touch - CHI Farouk Systems Ltd.

We had three weeks to prepare for the launch, and what a three weeks they were! We had candles to make, soaps to make and get curing, promotional material to design and get printed, branding and product labels designed and printed. We have some serious thankyou's to mention here! Without several key players pulling all the stops out we just would not have got this over the line. Thanks must go to firstly Ellie from 22designs Limited, Ellie was the designer for our logo and packaging, she managed to get our first prototypes designed and printed for us to take to the UK in June for photography whilst we were out there. Tracy from Ellevus Ltd in the UK, then picked up the baton whilst we were with her, to complete our website - the website is still a work in progress - but we love it! Tracy has been with Cathy and I from the very beginning of our business concept, and with me personally for the last decade of our careers.

Ellie also was due to have her baby on the 30th July, so we knew we were up against the timeline of Ellies finishing for maternity leave to get any more designs completed. In stepped the grand maestro Tilly from Deep Green Sea Limited - Tilly has worked up a storm and had the non-enviable task of having to pick up the concepts of another designer and run with them to ensure our product lines looked all identical, with new product designs being introduced at the very last minute. Tilly has been incredible, and worked on numerous occasions late into the night and all through weekends to ensure we had our showcase ready to rock for the 23rd July. Tilly, how can we ever repay you!

Tilly then introduced Stephen from Print House Limited in Hamilton, Steve had the shortest timelines ever, and he managed to turn everything around for us - nothing short of a complete miracle. Ray from Gravitas (Hamilton) also produced several items for our showcase day, and had produced our original candles wraps for the UK tour.

The only point of sale item we didn't us on the day was our banner - it is a beauty and we look forward to using it on our next occasion. We are hoping to take our wares back out to market in September.

We had a little set back on the 13th July, with a major operation looming for the 30th July, when I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, so this added a whole new level of stress on being able to showcase for the 23rd, but nothing was going to get in the way of GinTea and Lime Ltd going live!

We didn't know what to expect on the day, but were absolutly thrilled with how our stand looked. We had not had the opportunity to bring all of our products together prior to the day - not always ideal but I can assure you all that it couldn't have looked any better under the circumstances. Cathy and I stayed at Novotel the night before, as we really didn't fancy a start at the crack of dawn from Pukekohe to get to Sorrento with plenty of time to spare. A couple of very nice Hendricks were consumed the night before!

7.30am saw us unloading the car (just how much stock did we bring?!), then the exciting task of bringing together our display. We were overwhelmed with how fantastic it all looked.

Underneath this table were a great number of boxes of soaps and candles, but we were prepared for anything on the day.

Plus we knew with what was looming on the 30th July, there would be no chance of us being able to really prepare too much more stock.

All we really needed was one more additional week, the very finest details were not quite completed, which added to the stress of the final couple of days/nights.

Cathy then took ill on the Thursday, and it felt as if the wheels were beginning to fall off our little bus. But she rallied and we piled the car high on Sunday night and off we trekked up the motorway.

That Gin was so well deserved and earnt that night.

There are several things we will do differntly next time around, but for a first attempt we were absolutely over the moon. We had some wonderful feedback from the audience on the day, and also made some sales. The candles were the winner on the day, but we were completely shocked at just how many people had no idea what a Soy Melt was. I can feel some educating coming up over the forthcoming weeks/months.

We didn't have time to get our bath bombs made for the day, nor our diffusers, however it is always good to keep the product line live and interesting. We did manage to finalise our recipe for our bath bombs two days beore the event - and they are fantastic! We have had reports back on how they fizz, bubble and spin for up to 7mins. This is pretty good in the bath bomb fizzing world - just in case you wondered.

We look forward to bringing you more delights in your area over the next few months, we fully intend going on tour around the Central North Island, so keep a check on our site and blog to see what we are up to next.

Cathy and I feeling very proud on the day - Bev on the left, Cathy on the right.

Our very latest soap in the NA:KED range which haven't even hit the website yet - these are gorgeous, and are exactly as they sound. Bars of soaps that have nothing other than pure natural ingredients, botanicals and colourants in them. Every NA:KED bar has a unique story that introduces you to them, you should have one of each for your collection.

A must have for any discerning artisan soap purchaser.

Our trestle table and devine delights in all their glory. We showcased Limited Edition products on the day - which were very popular, especially he Pineapple Lump Candles - mmmmm. Yes, they really are as good as they sound!

We look forward to bringing GinTea and Lime to your part of the country very soon.

Love B & C xx

Sometimes, isn't it great to look back at where you have been; so you can appreciate the journey and the achievements you have reached along the way.

I am incredibly lucky to be working with my best friend. She is funny, hard working, incredibly clever and much more organised than me. We make an amazing team and our business is just the best place to be.

But it has taken us decades to be able to finally work together and live our dream. Sometimes, life just gets in the way doesn't it?

This morning I was sitting on the deck of our Soap Studio overlooking the stunning hills where we live and work. I couldn't have felt more happy and proud of our achievements. But goodness me the journey has been long and tricky at times.

I was born in New Zealand, like Cathy. However as a young girl I found my feet were itching and I set off in search of adventure around the world. I started off in the UK. And ended up staying there for 27 years. Finding a couple of husbands, a gorgeous son and daughter on the way. My life in the corporate world meant long hours filled with traffic jams, frustrations and sheer hard work. As much as I loved the pace and the challenges, I often thought of Cathy and wished we could live our dream of working together.

Whilst over in the UK I battled, and survived, a serious illness and suffered from very dry skin. At that very point, my passion for holistic, natural products and relaxing fragrances took a firmer hold. I know this was what I needed to do and Cathy and I discussed our plans once more.

Not being the sort of girl given to fanciful dreams I knew I had to make it a reality as I got older. When the time was right (following a friendly divorce and a not so friendly departure from a large corporate body) I knew I had to go home to New Zealand. 2014 saw me winging my way back to the motherland and into the arms of my family, friends and a new man (he didn't just land! We did work on it over many months!)

Very quickly Cathy and I found we still harboured the same dream and with the love and support of the men and families in our life, GinTea & Lime was born and is now growing with all the enthusiasm of wild mint. And I love it.

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