Oh Canada!

Happy Canada Day to all our wonderful Canadian customers!

I had the pleasure of visiting Vancouver for 2 days prior to our cruise to Alaska and it's true what they say...Canadians are just the nicest people ever!

My favourite things about Canada (in no particular order):

1. Of course, the people. So nice. So very, very nice.


2. Their obsession about anything hockey.


3. Vancouver airport. As some of you know, I have this thing about airports and Vancouver is one of the nicest ones I've seen.


4. LUSH! My new found friend Monica from our cruise has a friend who's the manager of the Lush factory. If I had time, I would've definitely taken her up on her offer to tour the Lush factory.


5. Tim Horton's. O.M.G.

I'm definitely going back. Soon. Definitely soon.

And it's not even summer yet...

The weather in NY has been crazy. I think the weather man said we've had rain 19 out of 22 days. By this time of year, I'm used to highs in the mid-80s, 85% humidity, tank tops and flip-flops. Lately, I've been digging out the clothes I wore in my recent trip to Alaska. The suitcase is still out and this is where I've been fishing for lightweight sweaters & hoodies.

I guess it's why I'm already thinking about CLC's Fall Fragrance lineup. See, there is a silver lining to all this! Of course, included in the season's lineup is our Halloween issue. It's always a hit, but last year took the cake. We had such a great response to our Scary Movies Collection so we're going to bring it back along with some new sniffs for H09.

We'll do another round of rotation before the release of our Fall lineup though. I'll be bringing back some of your old favourites. I'm also open to suggestions as to what fragrances should make a reprise so please drop me a line.

Thanks so much for your continued support of CLC. Most orders made during our opening weekend have been completed so you should get a notification soon and then a Click & Ship notice from USPS. TAT is now at 8 to 10 business days, but as it stands now, we're a day or 2 below the low end of the range.

I keep telling myself that I should post more often and the page in my notebook dedicated to blog topics is completely filled up - front and back. My next few posts will cover my recent trip to Alaska, what's (been?) in the works at CLC and something about "La Tua Cantante;) >>> (readers of the popular Twilight saga should know what I'm talking about non?)

Scent Description Pages Not Loading

Hi! Just a quick update to let you all know that we're pretty much ready to go over here except for the new scent description pages. With my rudimentary html skills, I cannot for the life of me figure out what the meaning of the error message is that I'm getting. As my designer says, I know just enough to be dangerous.

So I wielded my html programming skillz and broke the page. I've already sent out my HELP! e-mail so I'm just waiting to hear back. I'm hoping that we'll be ready to go with all the new fragrances and products by either Tuesday, June 9th or Wednesday, June 10th.

Sorry for the delay. I know there are a few who are anxiously waiting for us to open (hi Julie ;)) and we'll do so as soon as I've fixed the bug.

It's 9:30 p.m. on Sunday and I've GOT to do some laundry.

Update on 20% off Coupon and other housekeeping stuff

Hi! Sorry for being out of touch for so long. I had mentioned in our newsletter that we were going to be closed for business during the Memorial Day week, but I forget that some customers may not be subscribers. I should have posted a brief update on my blog as well. At any rate, access to the web is spotty where I am so I apologize that we are not immediately responding to your e-mails.

I'll be back in NY by Sunday, June 1st and I'll try to answer the rest of the e-mails then.

We have not sent out the 20% off coupon code because our store is only offering the sampler right now. Please note that you will receive an e-mail from us by Monday, June 1st with your personal coupon code (which will be your last name). If you don't receive an e-mail by Wednesday, June 2nd, please check your spam box and/or e-mail me to get your code. The code will be sent to the e-mail account designated in your CLC profile.

Again, I apologize for not posting an update on my blog. I try to curtail the number of newsletters we send out because I know how it can be extremely annoying. I apologize if this was interpreted as a lack of customer communication.

To summarize: We'll be back to answering e-mails at lightening fast speed by Monday June 1st and we'll be issuing the 20% off coupon codes as well. The store will re-open with our full line of products, including the shower moisturizer that you've been raving about, during that week. This is the first time we're implementing our rotating Fragrance Bar so expect to see 2 new collections up and the return of the Tooth Sweet Collection from last Summer.

Thanks and see you on the 1st!

Grab-n-Go Summer Sampler Now Available

Summer 2009 Sampler

I think this is my favourite sampler to date. For starters, it contains 2 brand new products that I'm absolutely crazy about and second, it's wonderfully convenient because all the goodies in this sampler have multiple purposes. As always, we're showcasing some of the new scents in our upcoming Summer collection release. My favourite of the bunch? Tokyo Rose inspired by this gorgeous floral arrangement I happened by while in...yup you guessed it...Tokyo. The arrangement was sitting on a front desk counter and as I walked by it, I came across the most unique aroma. Interspersed amongst the roses were young bamboo shoots, lemongrass leaves and a bunch of other blossoms and blooms. So what you get is a mingling of rose's sweet and heady scent with uplifting notes of green bamboo and lemongrass. It truly is a remarkable fragrance and I'm really quite proud of the blend.

Win your sampler

Okay, I'm in a bind. I haven't come up with a name for our in-shower moisturizer and shaving cream. Customers who purchase a sampler are eligible to win their purchase by suggesting a name for this product. Please note that this contest is only open to those who purchase a sampler as I'd like the suggestions to come from first-hand use of the product. I think the name will be more accurate that way.

Submit your suggestions via e-mail to sharonn (at) craterlakecompany (dot) com or by commenting on this blog.

20% off coupon code

We're including a 20% off coupon good towards a future CLC order with each sampler.

Shipping discount

We've capped our shipping to $4.95 for all domestic orders regardless of size. International customers enjoy 10% off our standard shipping fees. However, please note that only 1 sampler can fit in a flat rate envelope so if your order contains multiple sets, you will be charged an additional fee accordingly (but still at a 10% discount.)

Memorial Holiday Schedule

We're finishing up the last of the orders and expect to be done by this weekend or early next week. We'll be shipping out samplers hopefully by this weekend into mid-next week. Although our store will be open to accept orders, we will not be processing orders starting from Thursday, May 21st till Sunday May 31st. We have a good number of sets ready to go and I will continue to monitor demand and make more accordingly. So if I'm calculating this correctly, the TAT for the samplers will be about 7 to 9 business days between Thursday, May 21st and Sunday, May 1st. We'll resume order fulfillment and processing on Monday, June 1st.

I'll write more about our 2 brand new products in the next entry.

And the winner is...

Drumroll please...

Kristy S. of Highland, IL! 200 CLC points couldn't have gone to a more addicted, er...I mean deserving customer. Actually, the points were supposed to go to someone else, but the original winner didn't respond to claim the prize so I had to pick another winner. I guess it was meant for Kristy to win the prize after all.

Sunday May 10th...

is not only Mother's Day, but also the day we take down our Fragrance Bar. Actually, we'll probably leave the FBar up for a bit longer - till we launch our Summer 2009 scents, but we will be removing the Add To Cart button on all our products. I've thought about just taking the scent menu drop down box, but I wouldn't put it past someone to order anyway and write their scent choices at checkout! Hey - CLC only caters to the smartest and wittiest women! Where there's a will and a credit card, there's a way, I say.

We'll then be putting our popular Summer Sampler up for sale some time the week of May 11th.

Thanks for reading!

What I'm Loving Right Now...

My friend Debra of Flying Needle Gallery is one of the most creative people I know. Her online store is chock full of the most beautiful creations in cloth I have ever seen. She truly has an eye for picking out patterns and coordinating colors. Me? I'm glad I'm not a man because there is no way in the world I could coordinate a Thomas Pink shirt with a Brooks Brothers tie. I have no eye for matching colors and patterns. I'm surprised I match my left foot to my left shoe and my right foot to my right shoe - AND have both shoes match! Heeyyy!

So here's what I'm loving from Debra's store. Her new skull & crossbones set is so Ed Hardy and will make the season's perfect accessory since I'm so fond of wearing head scarves/bandanas in the summer. Yes, she has them listed as napkins on her website, but she's assured me that she has plenty of material left to make my bandanas.

I'm also loving this new product we'll be launching in the summer. The idea for this product has been rattling around in my head for over a year now. The beginning of this year, I finally found the time to work on the recipe, test, tweak the formula, test some more and tweak some more. The idea came to me when my friend told me that she doesn't moisturize after a shower. What? You don't moisturize after a bath or shower? What is this atrocity and injustice to all mankind that you speak of I ask? Apparently, she doesn't moisturize because one - she doesn't have the time and two - especially in the summer, she hates putting anything greasy on her body. So here' s my answer to my friend Lais' laziness - er, dilemna. An in shower moisturizer that has the most amazing texture and luxurious application. A light rinse later and your skin is left moisture-kissed, but not greasy and silky smooth. I'm really loving this stuff. Oh and bonus! It works beautifully as a shaving cream too. It's thick enough to cushion the razor's glide and holds the hair upright for a closer shave, but still rinses clean off the blade. This and another new product (which I'll discuss in my next entry) will be featured in our next sampler.

And saving the best for last, I love what I do because I do it for the most amazing and thoughtful women. I get these thoughtful checkout notes and it really makes my day. Instead of going straight to checkout, you gals actually write little thank you notes and greetings. I get postcards from far-flung places. Baby pictures (I'm an adopted aunt to a lot of future CLC customers). Handmade cards. It's amazing to be blessed this way so I just wanted to thank you for the generosity in your kindness.