I’ve had quite a busy week! If you haven’t heard already, a local newspaper (The Schenectady Gazette) recently featured Alabu Soap on the front page of the Business section. It was a great article actually, I’d say it was the best article in Alabu history. You can read this article here.
Around here a newspaper article is big news. It seems like everyone reads the local paper. So, like I said, I’ve been very busy. Of course both my Dad and myself were still recovering from the flu the Sunday the article was printed, but that didn’t stop the inpour of orders. We received over 100 phone calls on Sunday alone! We have two phone lines, and both were ringing off the hook. We also packed over 80 orders placed through the website. The mailman was pretty happy to see us on Monday (he is compensated for each package he picks up).
Just in case we weren’t busy enough, over 30 people came to visit our shop during our Monday hours. Now, because the majority of our business comes through the website, we started offering store hours for our local customers. So, normally our Mondays might see one or two people. Thirty was a bit of a challenge for our “parking arrangement”. We were certainly happy to see everyone though, and made a lot of new friends including a few local shops.
For those of you who do live in the Capital Region, I’m sure our local retailers would love to see you! Honest Weights has carried our products since October, but Wild Thyme Whole Food & Tea, The Green Grocer, Silver & Stones, Down to Earth, and The Open Door Bookstore have all recently started carrying Alabu Products due to the buzz over the newspaper article. If your interested, here is a complete list of local stores. If you aren’t already familiar with our Store Locator, it’s a pretty neat tool. Just type in your zip-code and click search. You will see a listing of stores in your area that carry Alabu’s all-natural products, along with their hours and contact information.
So, as the driveway recovers from all the traffic, and there are still many orders to pack, I can easily say that I am looking forward to the weekend!
H.M.
I am thrilled to know that Alabu is growing so well. I have ‘known’ Maryclaire through QFlea and another handcrafters forum and now New York Crafters for several years and due to a recent skin problem have started trying out her products for myself. I have not used regular soap in years because it is so drying but Alabu isn’t at all drying. Maryclaire has definitely found her niche and I am very pleased.
Thats great news! Love to see you guys growing like crazy! Good luck with all the traffic.