On  Boxing day Ramsbottom was hit with horrific weather which resulted in many home and businesses being flood, we were incredibly lucky that both our home and workshop were safe and dry.  However many people in our Town were flooded.  Having worked 7 days a week throughout the end of November and December we were soooooo looking forward to some time off over Christmas but having had Christmas day off when the floods happened Gregg has volunteered helping people clear the debris and rubbish from their homes and whilst I couldn't help physically I have set up the just giving page for the volunteer group.  If you have seen the local or national press coverage you will have seen just how powerful the flood water was with the footage of the waterside pub at Summerseat slipping into the river Irwell, a 200 piece of history gone!  As I type this the wind is blowing a gale outside and the rain is coming down, as Storm Frank hits us we can only hope that it is a little kinder to our Town and that we don't suffer tonight!

If you would like to give to the Ramsbottom Flood Fund  you can find the link here

https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/ramsbottomfloodfund

If you would like to apply for assistance from the fund then you can apply via the Business Group website here

http://www.visitramsbottom.org/floodinformation.html

This Saturday is small business Saturday and on Wednesday of this week we were contacted by BBC Lancashire Radio Station who asked would we be willing to talk on air about starting our own Business.  They had been passed our details by our stockist and friend Lucy from Hampers By Lucy.

I chatted before hand with Jackie the producer about our Business and what had led us to start turning what was once a hobby into our career and then it was time to go on air and talk to Brett.  Eek now I don't know about you but once I knew I was on there my brain and everything I had planned to say just went to mush... but Brett was really chatty and asked me questions which kept me going, on the subject of turning a hobby into a business well I guess  you could keep most business owners talking for quite some time on that subject it's like asking a new parent if their baby is sleeping through yet!  Most of us are so passionate about our businesses that once started we can't stop!  I told Brett that the idea of making our own bath products began many years ago, we have two little girls and both were total water babies they loved nothing more than being in the bath, unfortunately our youngest has quite severe eczema and so we couldn't ever use bubble baths or similar for her as they would trigger a skin reaction in her, that led us to looking into our own products and how to make them, working out what the product needed to have in and what we could leave out.  We found that for our little girl a bath bomb made with a splash of sweet almond oil would help to soothe and soften her skin and she didn't have a reaction to it which was fantastic as she could enjoy having a fun fizzy bathtime with her sister without the tears and soreness afterwards.  We began making products in our kitchen giving them to family and friends to be tested on and soon was making more and more.  We had some mishaps in those early days... I remember well the heart bathbombs which bloomed and ended up looking like mushrooms!  Over time we perfected not only the recipes but also the skills to make the products.  We decided to take the plunge and begin selling our goodies.  Whilst family and friends had tested them and we had used them for some time when you want to take the plunge from hobby to business you do of course have to get all of your legalities tied up and so we obtained all of the necessary certifications and registrations and then we began selling.  From those little beginings we now have a business which has grown from strength to strength and we love it as much today as we did back then.  There have been bumps along the way and even now we can have a batch of bath bombs which suddenly decide they won't behave... did I mention our imperfects section on the website?  but in the whole we love love love what we do and are excited about the new products that we are bringing to you in 2016.

We have lots of plans for next year, already Ramsbottom Soap Co is stocked in lots of independent shops up and down the Country but we want to grow on this more and we have plans on taking our retail site foward to, we have more workshops planned for children and adults to spread the knowledge on how to make your own bath products and it's thanks to you our lovely customers that we can do this :)

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