Dear Maven - Scentmate

Dear Maven,

I love my new ScentMateTM but my favorite fragrance is not available in Home Fragrance Oil. Can I use Diffuser Oil or Linen Scent with my ScentMate?


Well aren’t you so crafty! While I do appreciate your resourcefulness, the truth is that the Linen Scent and Diffuser Oils are not as concentrated as the Home Fragrance Oils, so you won’t be getting the highest quality fragrance experience using them on the ScentMate as when the Home Fragrance Oils are used.

All products are different and we make sure each product works the best with the fragrance products it’s intended for. I do have some good news for you though…look for brand new Home Fragrance Oil choices in the new Holiday 2010 catalog!

Always By-the-Book,

Maven

Dear Maven is a column in our monthly demonstrator’s newsletters. I have not written any of these articles, but am sharing them here for your information.

Tips for Packing Light

In keeping with the recent travel tips theme, here is an article written by my friend, and current travel companion, Sharon.

Dear Maven - Bath Soak and Body Oil?

Dear Maven,

I have many customers who love the EMERGE™ Renew Your Soul™ Bath Soak and use it as a basic body oil. Is it safe to use it this way or should it only be used as a specified?

Great question. Lucky for us, Gold Canyon has some pretty gifted people on staff (not unlike myself) who can answer just these types of questions so you can rest assured you and your customers are using our products appropriately.

For the answer to your question, I went straight to the top of our R & D food chain to our resident R & D Manager. (She wears a lab coat, so I think she’s legit). She explained that EMERGE Renew Your Soul Bath Soak can in fact be used as a basic body oil. Her only suggestion is to give the bottle a good vigorous shake before using it this way so the ingredients can be mixed together for the optimal EMERGE experience.

I wanted to share some comments from other Demonstrators about just how much they or their customers are enjoying not only the Bath Soak, but other EMERGE products as well. You may gain a new appreciation for a product you haven’t tried yourself yet or a remedy you can share with your customers, family and friends. At the very least, reading about the renewing properties of EMERGE will likely make you want to take a little time to unwind with your favorite EMERGE products – even if you’ve already done that a couple of times today like me.

“The Start Fresh™ Hand Soap is the best, along with the Grains of Truth™ Hand Scrub and Raise Your Hand Silk™.”

- Deb Mill, Sioux Falls, SD

“Customers say the EMERGE Renew Your Soul Bath Soak is absolutely wonderful and relaxing.”

- Lou Dihuzic, Grand Junction, CO

“The Raise Your Hand Silk is great. Customers love how non-greasy it is and how it makes their hands soft.”

- Dorothy Kelly, San Diego, CA

“Since I work with second graders, I am constantly washing my hands. They would crack and bleed on my knuckles in the winter. The Raise Your Hand Silk and Grains of Truth™ Hand Scrub have cured that problem.”

- Jane Stratton, Hillsboro, OH

“I love the EMERGE Raise Your Hand Silk. I am a stocker for a grocery store and my hands break out from cardboard and this has healed my hands.”

- Barb Kipp, Grand Junction, CO
Dear Maven is a column in our monthly demonstrator’s newsletters. I have not written any of these articles, but am sharing them here for your information.

Taming the Overpacking Beast

Like many, I’ve a tendency to overpack. I guess I was a good Girl Scout, since I like to be prepared…just a bit too much, though. I’ve gotten better over the last few years, which I think can be attributed to the increased traveling. Since January 2008 I’ve traveled to Philly, Anaheim, Denver, Chicago, San Antonio, Boston and D.C. I’ve gone to Detroit area several times, but that hardly counts, since I almost always stayed with family. There were also a few other little trips in there, but, again, they hardly count as I often stayed with friends or family.

One of the things mom, Sharon and I have talked about is what to take on this trip. Here are three tips for overcoming the overpacking beast.

Travel Tips – What to Pack

• Check for laundry service at or near your hotel. If there is, and you don’t mind spending a bit of time or money, you can pack fewer outfits. Usually I don’t opt for this, as I want to take in as much as I can, but if you are pressed for space in your suitcase, it’s a great idea. This is especially true as airlines charge more for fewer pieces of luggage per person.
• Check the weather – especially if you have never been to your destination before! If you know what to expect weatherwise, it is much easier to pack only what you will need. Checking the weather forecast is such a simple thing to do now. When I went to Canada as a child, I remember something that an employee at the hotel we stayed told me. The trip was to Niagara Falls and Toronto, and, if I am remembering correctly, during the late summer. The employee remarked about how many travelers came to Toronto area with parkas, skis and other winter accessories and clothing…regardless of the time of year. While I joke with Sharon that she lives in the Frozen Wastelands not all of Canada is frigid, and especially not in late summer.
• Check the toiletries. Sharing a room with another person or few? Who needs three different tubes of toothpaste when one will do? Talk with your fellow travelers and see what items you can share. It’s amazing how much space small toiletries can take up in your suitcase.

Fall Customer Incentive - Win Prizes!

Check out the Wish List Giveaway!

MIA alert

I’ll be kind of MIA over the next few weeks, though I am scheduling posts for while I’m away.

See, I’m going on a little road trip. I’ll drop off the puppy boy in Michigan and pick up my mom. Then we will cross over the bridge in Detroit and head into Canada, picking up my good friend Sharon in London, Ontario. The three of us have a week of travelling fun planned.

I won’t be online much, since I’ll be in a different country. While I might pay a bit extra for international calling and texting while I’m there, I don’t plan to pay for international data. So…no posting via my beloved iPhone. Sharon will have her laptop, so I might have to bug her a bit to let me use it from time to time. ;p

Over the past week or so, I’ve talked with my mom several times about the trip. What to take. What are we going to do. How to handle money.

That last one is something that I don’t give nearly as much thought to when I usually travel, as all of my overnight traveling has been in the US. The only time I’ve gone to another country and stayed more than a few hours was a trip to Canada when I was 9. Yeah. I didn’t even think of money then.

And on that note, here are a couple of travel tips.

International Travel Tips – Money Matters:

• If traveling to a different county – like Canada (yes, Canada is a different country from USA, even if it doesn’t seem like it at times.) – it’s a good idea to contact your bank and/or credit card companies. Let them know that you may be using your account(s) while traveling and the dates of travel. They should note this information in your record so your transactions won’t be flagged as suspicious activity.
• While you are talking to your financial institutions of choice, ask about rates for ATM and credit transactions. This can vary from institution to institution. The national bank that I use charges 2.25% for international credit transactions and $3.50 for international ATM transactions. The local bank is only 1% and $2.50 respectively. Guess which account I plan to use the most.

Millions of Peaches...Peaches for me (not you)

It is with a heavy heart I am writing this message. Actually, it is more like an extremely ticked off heart. Why? Because someone took Every. Single. Peach. from our tree.

Yes. You read that correctly. There are no more peaches on our tree. When I went to work on Tuesday morning, I picked eight or nine peaches from the tree to share with my coworkers. At that time there were still at least two dozen peaches still on the branches as well as a couple on the ground.

Fast forward to Wednesday morning, when I left for work. I pulled down the driveway and stopped to pick a couple peaches to have for breakfast. I looked at the tree and noticed it seemed bare. Granted, we had some storms the night before. Perhaps the wind knocked the peaches to the ground? I checked the ground. There was only one peach – mostly gone, showing the pit, really. That was all.

What. The. Hell.

To whomever took all the peaches from the tree in my front yard: I hope you get sick on them. I’ve some lovely tomatoes, peppers and herbs in the back yard. Want to trespass there and pick them before I can use them? Just like the peaches, they are uncertified organic and very delicious.

Asshats.

I < 3 my Librarian

Hey, library users! Do you have a librarian that you adore? If so, enter her (or him) in the I Love My Librarian contest! The deadline is September 20.

Dear Maven - Linen Spray

Dear Maven,

Is it safe to spray Gold Canyon’s Linen Scent on wet clothes before putting them in the dryer? What about ironing? Will it discolor the fabric?

I’m no detective, but it sounds like you may have had a traumatic experience with applying another fabric ‘freshener’ that caused unpleasant side effects for your favorite cardigan in the past. Am I right?

Well I’ve been there, and I’ve got good news for you! Other than the facts that they smell like heaven and can be used in so many other ways, another amazing feature of our Linen Scents is that they should be safe to use on clothes before putting them in the dryer.

I’ll let you in on a little secret – I actually use the spray on both dry and wet clothing. If I’m in a pinch and a little behind on laundry (which is pretty much the norm for me), I particularly like to spray one of our wonderful Linen Scent fragrances on dry clothes and throw them in the dryer for a quick freshening to get smoke or cooking odors out quickly. However, because fabrics and dyes vary, please note that it is always prudent to test a small inconspicuous area of the clothing first. Better safe than sorry!

You can also spray your clothes and then iron, but again, since fabrics vary, it is highly recommended that you test a small area of the garment first. Another important tip is to use your Linen Scent only on washable fabrics – never on dry clean only clothing. Last of all, never put Linen Scent inside your iron, as this is not the intended use for your iron and could potentially cause its mechanics to deteriorate over time.

For complete information regarding Gold Canyon’s Linen Scent or any other fabulous Suddenly Scented^® products we have to offer, be sure to check with your Gold Canyon demonstrator.

Dear Maven is a column in our monthly demonstrator’s newsletters. I have not written any of these articles, but am sharing them here for your information.