Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Digest

Thousands of bars later, soap maker still savors craft

By CHRISTINA COSDON, Times Correspondent
Published October 26, 2007

Shirley Crawford packs soaps for a Georgia bed and breakfast at her store Wednesday. "These are definitely done by hand," she says. "You can tell, especially by the crooked ones."
	[Edmund D. Fountain | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Edmund D. Fountain | Times] A sampler package of handmade soaps available at Two Palm Soaps in Dunedin. Owner Shirley Crawford makes all of her soaps herself in her store. She even allows customers to special order their own blend of scents.

DUNEDIN - Jamaican punch, cranberry orange, pumpkin spice and black raspberry vanilla.

They could be drinks. Or candles.

But these are just a few of the more than 100 different scented soaps handmade by Shirley Crawford, owner of the new Two Palm Soaps store.

She has been making soaps and lotions for a decade, ever since she discovered her itchy skin, rashes and irritations were caused by the detergents in factory soaps and cleansers.

"I read books, researched, studied, asked thousands of questions and finally learned how to produce a well-made, skin-nourishing soap with scads of creamy lather," she said.

When she put her first bar of soap under the faucet, "it bubbled and I was hooked," she said. "Several thousand bars later, I still get a thrill when I take a batch out of the mold.

"I think my joy is in deciding how many fragrances and color combinations I can possibly do. Some of my color combinations are astounding on purpose, and some I had no clue what was going on in the pot - peculiar things happen in the soap pot."

Crawford said she only makes real soap. She adds olive oil to give skin lots of moisture and mixes in coconut oil to provide lather and a bit of palm oil for hardening. She also adds dollops of shea, cocoa or mango butters, plus other enriching oils such as jojoba, avocado and apricot kernel.

Once made, the soaps are cut by hand and placed in her "soap nursery" for three to six weeks while the water evaporates from the bars. When ready, each bar is hand trimmed, polished and wrapped.

Crawford also makes face and body lotions, salt and sugar scrubs, soy candles, herbal masks, foot treatments, roll-on scents and linen sprays. The soaps sell for $6 each, and the other items range from $6.99 to $15.00.

Two Palm Soaps is at 1359 Main St. in the Country Boy Plaza. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. But Crawford said she often doesn't leave until 7:30 or 8 p.m.

"It depends on what process I have going," she said, "how creative I feel or how many customers I have." She also takes evening appointments for working customers.

For more information, call 727 647-09041 or visit www.twopalmsoaps.net.

New tire business delivers to customers

Terry Kaufmann of Palm Harbor has started a mobile tire business calledTires 2 U. Kaufmann orders and delivers tires to customers' homes or workplaces. With the assistance of his three technicians, he installs, rotates and balances them on-site.

Tires 2 U's 16-foot truck features Hunter Engineering service equipment for handling all types of performance tire and wheel combinations. Services also include repairing flats and filling tires with nitrogen to prolong their life.

"Tires 2 U technicians are capable of bringing the tire store to the customer's door," Kaufmann said.

A computer program manager, Kaufmann, his father and a brother were into drag racing back home in Burbank, Ill. As Kaufmann Racing, they raced in Illinois and neighboring states. They don't race anymore, but cars are still Kaufmann's passion and his hobby is restoring them.

For more information about Tires 2 U, call (727) 449-8473 or visit www.tires2u.biz.

Spencer International brings on manager

Dana L. Spoolstra has joined Spencer International Advisors Inc. as operations manager. She has 22 years of experience in banking and accounting.

She was a branch supervisor for 11 years and an administrative assistant in corporate lending for two years at AmSouth Bank in Clearwater. Most recently, she worked in accounting for First Lutheran Church and School in Clearwater. She is a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, N.C.

Spencer International Advisors, at 1401 S Fort Harrison Ave., Clearwater, is a fee-only registered investment adviser regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Creative Contractors chosen for project

Creative Contractors has been hired by Chancey Design Partnership, an architecture, planning and interior design firm, to build its new corporate headquarters in Tampa's historic landmark district.

The 22,000-square-foot building will be on Seventh Avenue and feature floor-to-ceiling windows, skylights, multiple conference rooms and offices, covered parking and outdoor patios.

Creative Contractors, a commercial construction firm at 620 Drew St., Clearwater, was established in 1974 by Alan Bomstein.

Business seminars, classes, assistance

Ten Steps to Starting Your Own Business will be presented by the Service Corps of Retired Executives from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdayat the Tarpon Springs Library, 138 E Lemon St. To sign up for the free program, call the library at (727) 943-4922.

Pinellas County Business Development Center, 13805 58th St. N, Suite 1-200, in the Icot Business Center near Largo. Programs are free and meet from noon to 2 p.m. To speak with a business counselor or register for classes and seminars, call (727) 453-7200.

How to Start a Business meets every Wednesday. The introductory workshop offers information on how to conduct feasibility studies and develop business plans, how to obtain licenses and permits to be a legal business in Pinellas County and more.

Understanding Entrepreneurship meets the first Thursday of each month. Find out if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur and discover the challenges and rewards of owning your own business. Evaluate your business acumen.

Understanding Accounting and Tax Procedures meets the second Thursday of each month. The seminar is designed to help small-business owners understand proper recordkeeping and accounting methods to satisfy federal and state requirements for taxes and payrolls.

Marketing Your Small Business meets the third Thursday of each month.

Financing Your Business meets the fourth Thursday of each month.

Business Assistance Center at the Palm Harbor Library, 2330 Nebraska Ave. Meets from 1 to 3 p.m. every Tuesday and also from 5 to 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month. For an appointment, call (727) 784-4287.

The center provides information on starting and growing a business in Pinellas County. Assistance includes business plan development, permitting, zoning, government-regulations information and more.

The business assistance specialist also provides information to assist local companies looking to export their products and foreign companies wanting to establish operations in Pinellas County.

News of businesses and businesspeople can be faxed to the Business Digest at 445-4119, e-mailed to cosdon@sptimes.com or mailed to Business Digest, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756. We are interested in new and unusual businesses, promotions, expansions, commercial sales and major new contracts. Photos can be mailed or e-mailed by jpeg file.

[Last modified October 25, 2007, 22:34:59]