Dark Chocolate, Spiced Coffee, DreamTime and Tangy Lavender are all curing as we speak, and they’ll be nestled in their muslin bags in a weeks’ time.

Oh—Happy Merdeka Day to all Malaysians. Let’s all channel our energies towards bringing real, positive change in our country. One baby step at a time. Don’t hold back.

Not too long ago I had the chance to exercise my beliefs in fair business. Basically I had someone who wanted to buy the custom-made soap I made for another customer, asking me to keep it hush-hush. I had to give a firm No as my answer. Here are some of my thoughts.

Firstly, my policy is to never release the formulations for my clients’ custom orders. I guarantee this.

Secondly, your private and personal affairs will have no bearing on my business decisions. I know this may come across as a bit harsh, but in reality this protects both your interests and mine. Can’t afford to pay for such a large order? That’s alright. Just start with a smaller quantity first to make sure your cashflow stays healthy. The deeper discounts that come with larger orders will only be of use to you if you manage your moolah properly and stay in business.

Thirdly, I’m not out to make a quick buck. Even though I may have stock left over from a custom order, I will not release it for sale just to recoup my costs. One of my business processes involves keeping some soap from each batch for record purposes, and I may use one or two for myself. But I will never sell them off to anyone else.

Fourthly, all these decisions stem from my desire to stay as transparent and honest with you. If you were to deal with someone who would do things behind another person’s back for your sake, chances are you’ll receive the same treatment eventually. I am NOT that kind of person.

Lastly, I can’t think of any other way to be able to earn your trust in me as a business partner, even if it means openly disagreeing with you, or challenging your request.

In all this I never intentionally want to offend anyone. I’m not upset. Ethics can get pretty grey sometimes (think: cloning humans, vegetarianism etc), but I just hope that what I do is the right thing.

Alright, I simply have to share with you another track from Paul Dateh. I’m so impressed with this guy’s musicianship! Hope this peps up your Monday. To all Malaysians, enjoy your Merdeka-eve Monday!

But can you imagine what our world would be like, if it weren’t for the few great individuals who doggedly turned their dreams into reality?

Have a think about that.

For myself, I’ve decided that I’m going to set aside one solid hour every day devoted solely to dreaming—about anything really. Like how different the world could be once my dad’s project takes off and its adoption becomes widespread. What my children will be like when they grow up, and what part I can play to help them find their own feet to become responsible, productive citizens. Or how I’m going to kit out my very own soap studio.

If don’t already do this, then I strongly encourage you to try and make a habit out of it. When you were small, chances are your imagination ran wild—because that is just what children do—and remember how nothing was impossible then. Don’t lose that ability. You’ll be amazed what you’ll be capable of.

I think I’ve just come across the sexiest man alive (Paul on the violin, I mean). Please excuse me while I sigh the rest of my Monday away…

These will be ready in the final week of August. And I’m not through with this round of production yet! There are still more to come. I’m trying my bestest to keep up with production, scheduling a batch every 2-3 days. It’s hectic but there’s no denying I’m enjoying the challenge. With the new wholesale orders (and lovely new customers, hello there!) coming in, I’m making adjustments to my estimations of what to make, how much and when.

So I do apologise if you were thinking of getting soap this week—could you hold out for another week or two? All I have at the moment are the 30g sample-sized soaps for the Sampler Pack of 3. If you’d like to go ahead and place your order, please do—I’ll reserve your soap for you and will advise on the earliest date I can have them delivered to you.

At the root of all this excitement and activity is the fact that you have played a tremendous role in supporting what I do. Thank you for your affinity towards my all-natural soap, and you can be sure that I’ll always have the best of interest at heart for your skin’s wellbeing. I’m grateful and humbled.

Just e-mail me with your choice of samples and I’ll pack them up for you in a jiffy. Hope you’ll find this useful! Purchase the sample pack here.

Hope you enjoy this particular rendition. Happy Monday everyone!

• Breakfast Bar (August 2nd)
• Clarity (August 3rd)
• Dark Chocolate (August 4th)
• DreamTime (July 27th)
• Goats Milk and Honey (August 7th)
• Goats Milk and Patchouli (July 31st)
• Spiced Coffee (August 11th)
• Summer Fizz (July 29th)

(Psst—Tangy Lavender is Done! )

And while I don’t have recorded evidence (yet) of it, I’m very proud to say that he can sing the chorus really well, high notes and all. The first time he did that was maybe about 2 weeks back and I was taken completely by surprise. I could have slid off my seat and rolled right onto the tarmac—I was reduced to a puddle of sappy, happy goo.

Happy Monday everyone.