Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements AMA, September 17th, 2017

Fran,
What about LTM makes it so special for you?

Woohoo!  Today's the day!  First off thanks for your time.  Next, what in the world ever possessed you to create the business you run?  Finally, as a westerner have you ever considered a sage soap?  Not the herb sage but western sage like that found in our deserts?

Hey Buddy!
Hmmmmmmmm...there really was no plan for our business, it all kind of took shape accidentally (organically). When we came on the scene there really were not many, if any, other artisans. I can think of maybe 3? So we were all kinda making it up as we went with zero role models in this new field.

I love that you called me a Westerner!!! truth be told, I am actually from The East Coast! We have been in Arizona for about 3.5 years now. I think that actually gives us an advantage to picking out "new to us" scents that are all around us, rather than being desensitized like the locals who grew up here.

Your question actually demonstrates a point I was trying to make earlier about how offering too many products can sometimes be a bad thing...meaning, we do offer a desert sage forward scent! it's called Solstice:

https://phoenixartisanaccoutrements.com/...zoin-resin

I encourage everyone to take some time, when you can, to explore our site...I'm certain you will discover things you never knew we did!

Great question Mr L!

Fran,
What about LTM makes it so special for you?

The scent just works for me.

To me, it creates this particular image of a vast desert landscape that is very fresh and open. It has an outward, uplifting quality that I find both energizing and grounding.

It's also unusual. It is common for scents to have easy comparisons. La Tierra Mojada is not a simple scent to describe or to compare with another that I have come across, IMO.

Hi Douglas and Fran, thanks for doing this AMA today, much appreciated. I've been using your products since back when you were HTGAM and I still have and use a few of those products as well as your current products. I'm a big fan of your bay rum and all the scents using bay as well as The Beach - that one's a beauty.

One thing I liked about those old soaps was the gigantic 5" tins. I just recently pressed the soap of one of your competitors who uses too small containers into an old 5" tin of yours and the rest was excellent. Question - why'd you stop using those jumbo tins and is there any chance you'd ever bring them back?

Thanks,
Marko

Hello Douglas and Fran,

Thank you for all the excellent products you make. That new Black Bot aftershave gel is pretty awesome I must say. No questions at this time, just wanted to thank you for the great products.

What are your plans with selling bar (body) soap? I know they sell out fast so do you plan to increase production or keep the focus on other products in your portfolio?

Thank you!

Hi Douglas and Fran, thanks for doing this AMA today, much appreciated.  I've been using your products since back when you were HTGAM and I still have and use a few of those products as well as your current products.  I'm a big fan of your bay rum and all the scents using bay as well as The Beach - that one's a beauty.  

One thing I liked about those old soaps was the gigantic 5" tins.  I just recently pressed the soap of one of your competitors who uses too small containers into an old 5" tin of yours and the rest was excellent.  Question - why'd you stop using those jumbo tins and is there any chance you'd ever bring them back?

Thanks,
Marko

Those big tins were great but they had some problems. One big issue was that they easily dent during shipping, or if they get dropped. They can also rust.

Also, some people actually commented that they were too large, were difficult to hold, and did not store easily on their shelves.

In any case, we decided to go with one size container and the 4" diameter plastic containers are great. They have eliminated the dents and rust issues and they really have helped us cut down on the amount of packing material we have to use since they do not need so much protection during shipping.

Also, making only one size of soap has allowed us to work more quickly = more time to develop new scents and products.

Hi Douglas and Fran, thanks for doing this AMA today, much appreciated.  I've been using your products since back when you were HTGAM and I still have and use a few of those products as well as your current products.  I'm a big fan of your bay rum and all the scents using bay as well as The Beach - that one's a beauty.  

One thing I liked about those old soaps was the gigantic 5" tins.  I just recently pressed the soap of one of your competitors who uses too small containers into an old 5" tin of yours and the rest was excellent.  Question - why'd you stop using those jumbo tins and is there any chance you'd ever bring them back?

Thanks,
Marko

Those big tins were great but they had some problems.  One big issue was that they easily dent during shipping, or if they get dropped.  They can also rust.  

Also, some people actually commented that they were too large, were difficult to hold, and did not store easily on their shelves.  

In any case, we decided to go with one size container and the 4" diameter plastic containers are great.  They have eliminated the dents and rust issues and they really have helped us cut down on the amount of packing material we have to use since they do not need so much protection during shipping.

Also, making only one size of soap has allowed us to work more quickly = more time to develop new scents and products.

Fair enough. I have heard some feedback about the metal tins getting banged up in transit and not just the big ones. I also can see where someone with hands not quite so big might have a problem - I'm 6'3' and can palm a basketball so not a problem - man, other people and their problems In any case, I'm glad I saved those big tins because I like them. I know some vendors offer empty tubs for sale, maybe empty 5" tubs might be an idea although I have no idea if anyone other than me likes them that big. Thanks.

Fran and Douglas, you now have seven scents certified in EU; first the soaps and I guess soon also the alcoholic splashes (based on the preliminary listings on GiftsAndCare.com ). Do you have any plan to increase the scent offering in EU?

Hey Marko,
Thanks for your continued support!

This question is perfect and ties in with the last question in regards to our "origin" (or, lack of a plan). When I first created Synergy, it was entirely for me, just me. Being a huge Bay Rum fan I was always on the quest for a Bay Rum shave soap, believe it or not, *NO ONE SOLD a bay rum artisan soap...unless you consider Colonel Conk artisan.

So I went to work on "the perfect shave soap". I asked friends living all around the country to send me water samples so I could experiment with getting it to perform in both hard and soft water. I also would take the temp of the water on the puck to record the "sweet spot" for lather production and lastly, but most importantly the Large Format Tin or delivery system. I thought for sure this would become industry standard! The combination of the tin and the soap is where the name Synergy actually comes from in fact. The large surface area made loading the brush nothing and saved soap. Rather than working down into the soap, you worked across. I never intended to offer a smaller size, hell I never intended to offer the soap even!

I sent a tin to Mantic and another to Leisureguy, they both asked when I was going to release it, Michael Ham told me I needed to! lol....So that happened and the rest is history, kinda.

But let me get back to Never wanting to offer a smaller size. As with most things I have learned, people just didn't get it. I would have to explain to folks who wanted samples that, that would defeat the point...you can't sample the "synergy" in a sample size. I offered 1/2 LB of soap for $15.95, but folks wanted a 3oz tin...sigh. So we created a smaller one, which made a selection of our customers happy. The Lg format never caught on and it was useless trying to explain the concept over and over, may have even made some people mad, lol.

The reason why we no longer offer the tins is partly due to what I just explained and that they were prone to dent. Also, if not properly cared for i.e. dried off, they could rust.

It's safe to say we will not be going back to the large tins, we tried and were happy to offer them when we did...I just don't think the world was ready, lolololol.

[*please correct me if I am wrong.]