A Preview of Our Fall Treats!

It's the end of summer already! We hope you got the chance to head to the Eastern Shore and spend some time on the Bay. It is particularly glorious this time of year. Our favorite place is St. Micheal's for its rich landscape, but also because it is so close to Ocean City, Md. - a touristy - but fun - beach community.

School starts next week and we're focusing now on putting our market schedule together. We've got two new products coming.

First is our fabulous Body Polish. It will give your skin a healthy glow while nourishing and moisturizing the skin with our premium oils.

We will also be debuting our new lip balm collection. Luscious flavors to give as gifts, or as a special treat for yourself.

We're adding new soap scents, Mango (by popular request - we were listening!), Tea Tree and a special fall/holiday scent - Winter Mint - which will only be available starting in November and until the end of December.

Our final market schedule will be posted on our Facebook page and also here, of course, likely by the end of September. Shows will start in November. We hope to see you there!

Sun. Strawberries. And Soap!

The Sandy Spring Museum Strawberry Festival was fabulous, as always.

We were parked on the east side of the museum and were able the watch the kids at they engaged in all types of merriment, including the "Sticky Wall." That involved being wrapped in a velcro suit and hurled toward a velcro wall...where the kids "stuck." Hilariously funny. More than a few adults we chatted with quietly wished they could play.

The music was great and the smells from the grilled hot dog stand - where they hand cut and cooked THE most awesome french fries - were amazing.

What we loved most was seeing old friends and fans come to see us and grabbing up their Bay Soap goodies They were delighted to see our new products and just as happy to come back and find we still had their old favorites, like the Chesapeake, our classic lavender all-natural Soap Bar.

We dropped a few hints about what folks can expect from us in the fall. It's a little hush-hush, and all we can say is it will be lip-smacking fun.

Many thanks to everyone who purchased our new Body Butters! Fifty percent of the proceeds go to the Treatment and Learning Center in Rockville, Md. So far, we've made about $350! But we know we can do better!

On a a not so great note....our Web site is still down and we hope to have the bugs worked out soon. In the mean time,

we're constructing an alternate site that we hope to have up and working by the end of the week! So you can still stock up on the products you love....!

Hot...Hot...Hot....

We had a blast at the Washington National Cathedral Flower Mart. We met some great people! It was terrific meeting our Bay Soap fans and making new friends.

We got to the site on Friday, May 6 and opened the booth at 1o a.m. We were in Booth 54, in the front of the Cathedral. It was very windy. Very. But the Cathedral - a beautiful, majestic site - was awesome. The grounds were lovely. We were amazed there were no bugs. None. Nada. It was a bright sunny day.

My son Dakota and his friend Eric spent Saturday passing out our new product menus, and managed to bring in some new business. We called it our "Cute Kid Advertising." When things got slow, we sent them out again.

Our new products were a hit....our Lemon Sage and Ginger Hand and Foot Salve, the Ocean Breeze, Mango and Tea Tree Bath Salts, and our Shampoo Bars were fantastic sellers.


We gained a few new Facebook friends who joined us to find out our Product of the Day. It was pretty cool. They stood in our booth, "liked us" and got a free Bay Soap product.

You may notice we've rebranded ourselves (again!) and now have a sleeker, more inspiring look. Our logo is simpler and our colors more muted. The feedback at Flower Mart was A+! Everyone loved it.

Bay Soap of Maryland's next venue is the Fenton Street Market on May 28. We'll be there for four weeks. Then we'll move to the King Farm Market in Rockville. Come see us!

Spring.. Spring...Spring.....

Greetings Bay Soapers!

It is Spring and we’re marveling at the emergence of warm weather, a return to shorts and sandals and the desire to look good, feel good, and of course, smell great! Bay Soap of Maryland is definitely on the move this year. We have a lot going on.

First let us tell you about a cause that is near and dear to our soapy little hearts. The Treatment and Learning Center in Rockville is a non-profit organization based in Rockville, Md., that provides academic testing, tutoring and other services to children and adults. They do great work. We found that they genuinely care for their clients and work hard to help them overcome learning challenges. We applaud their work. But more than that, we decided to show the TLC staff how much we appreciate them.

Between May 1 and Aug. 31, 2011, we will be donating 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale of our new Body Butters, to TLC. You can purchase online at www.baysoapmd.com, or at any of our market events after May 10. It’s our way of giving back to the community and to an organization that is helping build the foundation of Montgomery County, and the State of Maryland. Bravo!

Next, our 2011 Spring Market Schedule is all done! Go to our Facebook page and click on “Notes” to see where we will be this year!

We’re returning to the Fenton Street Market in Silver Spring this year at its new location at Veterans’ Plaza. And we’re really excited to participate in the Washington National Cathedral Flower Mart on May 6 and 7, a tradition in the nation’s capitol. Perhaps First Lady Michele Obama will stop by and say hello! We can only hope!

We’re anxious to show off our new products – our expanded line of Bath Salts, our Herbal Hand and Foot Salve, and as mentioned before, our Body Butter. We are totally psyched! All-natural, and oh so yummy smelling!

We will be May 6 and 7, posting the link to our Product of the Day on our Facebook page. Visit us at our booth and ask for it (you have to tell us what it is!) and you get one free! So be sure to "like" us on Facebook and get your free product at the Flower Mart!

Fresh New Look. Just for You.

Welcome to our freshly re-launched Web site!

We're so excited because it brings exciting new products to the Bay Soap of Maryland family and allows easier navigation for customers and provides a more wonderful shopping experience!

It is brighter and fresher - farm house fresh, as we like to say.

We’re working with our Web photographer to get some great shots of our products that will make you, quite frankly, drool, along with fresh new eco-friendly packaging. So stay tuned for that.

Thanks so much to Orman Feres who’s been taking his legendary creativity to new heights in creating our site. He's the master of all things technology!

Also on the horizon is our iPhone/iPad app that will let you view and purchase gifts right from your mobile device. Ingenious, huh? No more forgetting mom's birthday...or your best friend's anniversary!

So take advantage of our holiday promotion - 25 percent off all soaps. And splurge on one of our other fine farm fresh Bay Soap products. Farm Fresh Hair. Farm Fresh Skin.

Our products are created in small batches in our Montgomery County, Md., soap studio, to ensure quality, hand-wrapped and shipped fresh.

Bay Soap of Maryland was started in 2006 under the name Chesapeake Bay Bath and Body by founder Kathy A. Gambrell. Gambrell, a Bethesda, Md., native is a political journalist, editor and former White House correspondent, who started soapmaking as a way to relieve stress.

What began as a hobby blossomed into a successful company that has provided products for BRAVO TV celebrity fitness trainer Jackie Warner’s SkyLab fitness boot camp clients, and Women For Hire CEO Tory Johnson’s Manhattan book signing, among other events.

Gambrell resides in Montgomery County, Md., with her son, Dakota – Bay Soap’s biggest fan.