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I saw an article about how some guy hooked carpets which were portraits of big CEO's and then sold them for 1,000's of dollars. My dad is a carpet-hooker and thought he'd try the scaled-down, little CEO version worth . . . what, ten bucks? Here I am, in carpet. Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC www.tkbtrading.com

I'm lucky to live a stone's throw from Oakland's Koreatown , and I always enjoy shopping there -- especially when on the hunt for soap molds. I found two possibilities in my last expedition I wanted to share with you. This first one is called a " Kimchi Cutter". Kimchi is spicy, pickled cabbage eaten in Korean cuisine. But for soapmakers this cutter makes a smart little loaf mold. It measures about 11" long, 6" wide and 3" deep. It's especially nice because it comes with a lid and the cutting device stores flat inside the lid, making the whole thing very compact and perhaps a good way to transport loaf soaps to and from a craft show. At the store it cost me $9.99. Google Kimchi Cutter to find one of your own. This next find looks like a kind of jello mold. Sorry I can't be specific about company brand or name of product, the entire package is in Japanese. For $4.99 I got three small loaf style molds: a half round, a square and a wavy bo...

Financier Warren Buffet says that he always tries to go to bed at night a little smarter than when he woke up earlier that day. If you are having a hard time accomplishing that goal today, let me help by introducing you to pen turning . Did you know that there are people dedicated to the hobby of handmaking pens by turning them on a lathe? I didn't until I was contacted by a man named David who asked permission to link to my website so that other pen turners could purchase our colorants for their projects. Here is David's educational link with photos: MasterdCrafts (p.s., note the TKB Trading liquid colors in use!) Kaila

Yesterday, I was contacted by the Toni Payne Element5 Mineral Makeup . She asked me to let you know about her company: that it exists, that it specializes in mineral makeup for women of color. Also, that she has an online shop called Tonipayneonline.com . I am dutifully reporting said facts. I can't comment on Toni's products as I've never seen them (although I imagine they are wonderful, since she is clearly a creative and energetic business woman). Instead I'd like to comment on what strikes me about Toni's "body of work" as a businesswoman. First, I applaud Toni for branding her own name. A little 'who is' searching shows Toni has several websites. A fashion site called hotntrendy.com was created in 2003 (reseller of a variety of fashion products), Element5 was created in 2005 (focus on makeup) and tonipayneonline was created in 2006 (kind of a blend of the two). Not only did Toni establish her brand with tonipayneonline, she also uses her name...

A greying friend recently asked about this topic and I googled up a great article on the subject written by Laurie Berger of the Vegetarian Times in 1998. Here is the hyperlink -- which includes references -- my quick summary follows below: Hair color to dye for: the good, the bad and the ugly on natural cover-ups - natural hair dyes Studies have linked hair coloring to cancer (! women who dye their hair have a 50% greater risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma). Several "natural" hair dyes are now available off the shelf (! Natural hair dyes account for 10% of the annual $1.25 billion hair dye market). Be forewarned: "natural" is a word without any legal meaning in this industry. A self-claimed natural dye can be just as toxic as your off-the-shelf chemical stuffed Clairol (made from coal tar dyes). But natural dyes which are safer than the coal-tar-dyes are quite effective and a National Cancer Institute spokersperson says: "Based on what we now ...

Just finished reading this book and have already passed it along to my mother. Now I'm passing it along to you. Title: Kabul Beauty School. An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil Author: Deborah Rodriguez and Kristin Ohlson Publisher: Random House, April, 10, 2007 Available in: Hardcover, 288 pages, approximately $24.95 Also available as an ebook for $17.95 . Coming out in paperback in late December. Deborah Rodriguez, a free-spirited Midwestern hair dresser travels to Afghanistan to "do good" and discovers her talent lies in teaching Afghan women to open their own beauty salons. The book is an easy, fast read. Be prepared experience two emotions: depression and inspiration. You are likely to feel upset by the tales of life behind the veil. Deborah's stories aren't "theoretical" -- they are about students and friends she cares for deeply. And you will care about them too,...

We happily welcome Indie Beauty Network members to our blog. We think you will especially enjoy: Our educational video snippets which instruct on how to make cosmetics; Several interesting link-to's about other successful independent beauty businesses such as yours. Even more interesting links for resources on growing your internet business. Don't forget to visit our website , and consider clicking here to join our mailing list. Welcome! Kaila Westerman p.s. You don't know what the Indie Beauty Network is???? Learn More here .

The video snippet shows how easy it is to blend colors in a 3x4 zip lock bag, and an easy way to fill an eyeshadow jar when you are finished.

I know the URL name is obnoxious, but I have never forgotten this website. Not just because of the obnoxious name, but because I found the information at the site very useful. Whether you intend to sell something online or you are a potential purchaser, this webpage opens your eyes to the psychology of the one-page sales pitch. The site is a tongue-in-cheek example of how you get someone to "click here" and buy a product from you. Read and be educated! The URL? www.clickhereyouidiot.com .

The person making these lipsticks had never seen nor used a lipstick mold before in her life. With minimal instruction, she was able to make professional-looking lipstick!

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by a vivacious young woman who was a producer for a TV show. She just loved my products and thought we were perfect for her show! How Thrilling! Of course, after a bit of probing and confusion, I realized that she was selling me something. Her company would produce, edit and air an informercial on my products and in exchange I would pay them money and hopefully reap the rewards. I decided to pass, primarily because our company does not have a finished retail product (we sell bulk ingredients, not finished cosmetics). Another reason I passed was because I had heard stories, some good and some bad, about the value of such investments. Here we are a couple of months later and I just saw an informercial for mineral makeup which I believe was produced by the very same company I said "no" to. I think the video is interesting, the product being promoted (Naked Cosmetics) intriguing and I think it will probably prove to have been a good i...

We here at TKB are handling loose powders all the time and I want to take a moment to remind everyone that constantly inhaling powders is not good for your health. If you have suddenly found yourself in the business of making cosmetics, please take a moment to remind yourself of the following: There are people in this world who are particularly sensitive to dust or who have lung disorders which limit lung capacity. It is therefore a good idea to remind your customers that loose powder cosmetics are an inhalation irritant. Become serious about what you are doing to protect your health, and the health of those around you. Most of the powders we sell are not particularly hazardous, however any regular exposure to loose powder is simply a bad idea. Please: Wear a respirator. We offer "casual" dust masks for casual use, but you need something more industrial grade if you are handling powder on a regular basis. Wear latex or rubber gloves. This serves the dual purpose of kee...

OK, I am going to "Pay It Forward" and tell you about one of the neatest free online tools I've ever run across. If you are working on your website yourself, and you are on a budget, I highly recommend the free Website Development Training Center founded by J. Walker. She offers online courses in SEO (Search Engine Optimization), as well as other things such as marking, website development, digital photography . . . She'll put you through your paces and you'll need to make a time commitment to get through it, but you'll learn stuff for sure. It is absolutely 100% free, and there are no "catches" whatsoever. I took a couple of the classes and I was never inundated with anything but useful information. No sales pitches, no junk mail, no nothing. She really is the real deal. Like me! Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC If you enjoyed this post and you also have need for pigments, cosmetic and craft supplies, visit our company online at www.tkbtrading....

If you have an online business, you may be considering what is called " Pay Per Click " (PPC) advertising. All the big search engines offer them: Google, Yahoo, Ask . . . A couple of years ago, I signed up tkbtrading.com for a pay-per-click program with Google. I gave it a monthly budget that I felt was reasonable, set up my keywords, and . . . several years and several thousand dollars later . . . Does it work? Does it not work? Like many, many other harried small business owners: I really only have a vague idea. I know that it could work, but I'm not sure if it is paying for itself or not. I recently read two articles written by Ilana DeBare in the San Francisco Chronicle which made me sit up and take notice. The one that most caught my eye is hyperlinked here . The companion article is here . Here's the summary: Ilana compares two owners of gourmet chocolate businesses. Both sign up for PPC advertising with completely different results. One company spent $3,000 o...

TKB Trading has been in business for long enough to go through different cycles of growth and change. I started in 1994 in my basement with a couple of old back-to-the-land articles from dusty magazines from the 1970's (I was trying to learn soapmaking) and permission from my family to start a business of my own. Up through 2001, my company experienced amazing growth. This growth was directly tied to the internet revolution (dot-com explosion). We eventually took on about 4,000 square feet of space and I had several people working for me. Because the internet was still somewhat in its infancy, my customers tended to call on the phone a lot. We commonly received 100 phone calls a day, and we were shipping like crazy. On the face of it, my business could have been written up in one of those entrepreneur magazines because our sales growth was mind-blowing and we were doing lots of creative and interesting things (books, tv shows, trade shows, etc). But there was a problem: I wa...