What's New

  Today we received a gift box of cookies from one of our "weekly" customers. Thanks Darlin'

Recently, we hosted a Lipstick Color Challenge on our forum (mixupyourmakeup.com). Each of the 30 participants received an assortment of pre-colored, pre-finished lipstick bases as well as the tools and containers needed to formulate their own unique color blends. The idea behind the contest was to make it easy for people to just dig in and have fun with color. At the end of the contest, participants were invited to submit photos and the winners received gift certificates for our shop. The above link shows the winners of this part of the contest. But who were the real winners, really? Read the following to find why we think gathering around a microwave with a pile of lippies is good for the planet. "Ok we're done playing with our kit. There were 5 of us and we each made one formula as we did it as a family project, my boyfriend had such a good time, he made a couple extra for his mom to give her for Christmas . . . I about fell off my chair when he didn't stop at his ob...

Tomorrow I'm teaching my first class on how to press powders (eye shadows, blushes and so forth). Below is a little video showing my studio! I worked really hard to conceptualize this cosmetic process for the home cosmetic chemist and while I still have some loose ends, its gratifying to see it come together. Bottom Line: set deadlines (real ones like a class) and you'll accomplish more, even if it stresses you out!

For those who have interest in how this project is going forward, it looks like the Maker's Meet won't happen in September as I had hoped, but things are nonetheless moving forward! Our new deadline is November 15 th when I am scheduled to teach a class on making pressed powders and lipstick at thenovastudio .com . I have notified all participants that the class is both for them, as well as a rough draft of my program I am putting together for neighborhood youth. It's been a lot of fun to try to bring this one home. We ("we" meaning "the universe") are still very much in the innovation phase of Make Your Own Natural Color Cosmetics, so there is a lot of research which needs to be done. A lot of recipe writing and equipment getting and "best way to do this" figuring out. I am tackling this with my assistant, Lennye , in the stolen moments between running my business and sleeping. I used to try to tell her what I wanted done in a day, but i...

Long ago I learned to compartmentalize some of my small business owner activities so that they don't overwhelm. I order new supplies once a week (Wednesdays) and I don't even think about it in between. When bills come in, I immediately tuck them into my "pink folder". I only sort through and pay bills on Friday. I come in at 9:00 and leave at 6:00 and weekends are not for working. It's like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs . In life, we need to meet the physiological basics first (food, water, sleep, etc) before we concern ourselves with the "higher" needs. Similarly, I find that if my inventory is well stocked, my bills are paid, and my mind and body are refreshed by family and friends, then all the other stresses of owning my business are manageable. Even if I do work extra hours (not really that uncommon), at least I have made an agreement with myself that I don't have to, so staying is more of a pleasure than a stress. Do I accomplish everyth...

Recently I was contacted regarding the company 100% Pure and its patent pending for use of fruit, vegetable, flower and seed pigments for use in cosmetics. The concern was that if 100% Pure succeeds in their patent then it will negatively affect all natural cosmetic companies. The author requested that we call the examining attorney Tania Ashby at 571-270-1348 and that we write a formal complaint to the commissioner for patents The Commissioner for Patents PO Box 1450 Alexandria, VA 22313-1450 OK, I have passed the word along, now here is what I have thought about this over the years. 1) The folks at 100% Pure are based here in the Bay Area and I have talked with them as well as sold product to them. In particular, the female founder has taken a mineral makeup class from me when I taught years ago at thenovastudio .com. This in itself doesn't mean anything but I wanted to let you know that the people behind 100% Pure are just people. In some ways they are small, independe...

In 2008, Clorox Corp (based here in Oakland, CA) came out with a line of green cleaning products. More than 99% of the ingredients in their new GreenWorks line come from natural, non-petrochemical sources. The ingredients include: Water Alkyl Polyglucoside. This is a detergent surfactant made from coconut oil Ethanol SDA-3C. This is a dirt-dissolving solvent made from corn oil Glycerine. A solvent from corn oil Lemon oil. From Lemons, obviously, there for the fragrance Kathon, a preservative which is part of the 1% of the formula derived from petrochemicals. But it is biodegradable Milliken Liquitint Blue HP and Bright Yellow dyes. Also part of the 1% of the formula derived from petrochemicals. As you probably know, most commercial cleaners do not provide a full ingreidents list such as Clorox has done. If you want more information about a commercial cleaner, you can visit The Green Guide , an online publication of National Geographic. Hope these sites lead you to new ideas!...

Press Release August 11, 2009 Changes to the Mixing Pot Pigment Lady's Simple Pleasures purchased by TKB Trading It was 1996. EBAY and Craigslist were uncertain startups right along with Lori Schenkelberg's “Pigment Lady” and Kaila Westerman's “TKB Trading”. “We met in an AOL chat room,” explains Kaila. “What started out as a hobby for us, quickly became micro businesses. Our other chat room buddies included ElaineWhite (who had just published a book on soapmaking), Melody Upham (founder of Rainbow Meadows soapmaking supplies) and Linda Jines (founder of Sweetcakes Soapmaking and Candle Supplies). None of us would have imagined our futures unfolding as they did. At the time, we were simply trying to make soap.” The Pigment Lady was the first to offer repacked pigments and dyes to soap makers at an affordable price. In 1996, her son was just entering first grade; he is now entering college. “It's been a long journey which has been comprised of a lot of hard work, ...

Last month we took a day off to have a company outing. We took the ferry to San Francisco, then rented bikes and biked across the Golden Gate Bridge. Here are some photos. They should play as a slideshow automatically, just be patient!

My business is a simple one. It boils down to buying large quantities of interesting stuff, packing said stuff into smaller quantities and then shipping it out to people who have the time and energy to play with it. While it is gratifying to be part of my customers' creative cycle, the work is work. It's routine. I try to be very Zen, to see the task in front of me as meditation. But, during a recent "meditation" I calculated that I had been meditating for about 30,000 hours. Time to be enlightened! In our neighborhood, there is a laundromat, Woody's Laundry and Drapes. I've known Woody for several years. He immigrated from China and started this laundry our rather rundown part of town. Later, he added a cafe. In addition to growing his business, Woody touches the people of this neighborhood. He began to host "outdoor movies" free for the neighborhood. He signed up to host the National Night Out parties. Does the neighborhood love Wood...

This just in: Roses that are crushed micro fine and end up so powdery smooth you can use them as a face powder! We also got in a micro fine Coconut Powder. I chose these two particular powders because they do not have a strong odor (as some botanicals do), and between the two of them, we have the basic skin tones (pink from the rose and a yellow/brown from the coconut). As a result we can use them to make finishing veils or even foundations if we wished. We've started playing with them, and although the color payout isn't fabulous, they do offer some color. Here are some links to some recipes we have started with. More to come in our Recipe section. Rose Glee (a blush or finishing powder) Oil Control Primer Rose Lip Gloss Enjoy! Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC

As you may know, we have added a "customer review" function to our website. I would like to get the ball rolling on this and the best way is to get a lot of reviews up. Once there are a lot of reviews on the site, more people will be likely to put in their two cents, and hopefully everyone will benefit. So, here's what I'm proposing. For every review you post, between now and Sunday night (midnight) July 19, I will credit you $.75, up to a maximum of 26 reviews . This adds up to $19.50 which is equal to the amount of a minimum order of $16.50 plus first class shipping. Therefore, you could end up getting an order shipped to you completely free. Or, you can simply apply the gift certificate to any order you place, large or small. On Monday, July 20, I will issue gift certificates for the total of your credit. Now here are the all-important ground rules which we will enforce strictly, arbitrarily and without checking in with you first. Please do not participate in...

We are working on getting about 50 matte color blends up in our recipes section .

Like about a million other people, I am a newbie at Twitter.com . (Twitter is the moment-by-moment social networking site which turns blogs into a slough of primordial goo). When I read the tweets, I feel like I'm squeezed into the 14 Mission Trolley in San Francisco: hot, crowded, surrounded by strangers speaking a foreign language and trendsetters busily making plans on their cell phone. And out of it. In desperation , I recently twittered a plea for instructions and got a tweet back with a link to Twitter Etiquette . Amidst the suggestions at this link this one really struck me: The author suggests people keep their private conversation or their business and private lives separate by creating separate Twitter accounts. It probably sounds really obvious, but the original idea of Twitter seemed to blur the line and made me feel that whatever I shared went to business associate, lover and enemy all alike. For me, the suggestion boils down to setting up one twitter accoun...

"liar lips" "pink suspense" "blond venus" "first bite" "almost nude" This four minute video is both a drag queen makeup tutorial and a list of lipstick names. Get inspired. Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC www.tkbtrading.com

Did you know July 26th was Savvy Auntie Day? A day to celebrate neices, nephews, and godchildren. Conveniently, there is also a website for us ladies who love kids (that are not "our" kids). Savvyauntie.com . Savvyauntie started just one year ago (anniversary is July 9th). Let's give them a shout! Other women's oriented sites to visit: bettyconfidential.com : Geared to the professional woman in her 30's. Typical advertiser is Joffreys coffee from Seattle. DivineCaroline.com : Geared to social women who like to share problems and solutions. Typical advertiser is Nordstrom. Shine.Yahoo.com : Young and urban, Sex and the City on a budget. Typical advertiser: McDonalds. Wowowow.com : Geared to the brainy, sensible, doctorates among us. Typical advertiser is Tiffany's. Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC www.tkbtrading.com

Recently I attended a Green Expo in San Francisco and it was interesting to see the number of booths dedicated to various different enterprises. Surprising to me was the number of independent organic chocolatiers. Seems that hand crafted chocolate is just as dynamic an entreprenuerial industry as hand crafted soap, toiletries and cosmetics. Locally, we have several chocolatiers many of them quite large. San Francisco's Ghiradelli, of course, Berkeley's Sharfenberger, and then a bunch of others including a company you can find in between Pier One and Fisherman's Wharf, TCHO (pronounced Choh). Let's talk about TCHO. This American Life radio shows explains in episode #383: Origin Story how much we American's love a good entreprenuerial back story. That's why HP spent millions to recreate the garage that was used by Mr's Hewlette and Packard at the start of their company. And why Google, which started at Stanford University with lots of backing dollars,...

Say Bye-Bye to another cosmetic company with fascinating entreprenuerial roots. In 2010, the current owner of Max Factor will discontinue the product in the U.S. Max Factor was begun by Maximilian Faktorowicz in the early part of this century. His company became really famous during the golden age of Hollywood (1920's and 1930's), where his products were used and promoted by famous actresses such as Judy Garland and Claudette Colbert. Max Factor's list of innovations in the cosmetics industry is long, including the fact that he actually coined the term "Makeup" to describe making up ones face! But what really interests me is some of the interesting ideas the company had which might have life in them today as a kind of "retro return" to the somewhat greener roots of cosmetics: Nail "Polish" in which beige colored powder is sprinkled on the nails and buffed with chamois to give shine and some tint. This is nail polish without the toxic chem...

Last week we added a Recipes tab to our website. This week, and all through July we will be diligently adding recipes. Our first project has been to photograph and upload all the various nearly 100 color blends created by our customers in last year's Pop Mica Recipe Roundup. These will give everyone more ideas on how to work with the Pop Micas to create their own unique products. As we finish that project, we will turn our attention to more complex challenges such as foundation blends, how to make pressed powders and more. Our Recipes Section is probably the most exciting thing at TKB right now, so check it out often in July. Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC

I was away last week visiting my parents, who are in their 80's and assisting an uncle who is in a nursing home. For one week, my fingertips fell away from the pulse of ecommerce onto the frailer, paler, pulse of elderly wrists. When these people pass away, I will miss them; but this trip I was also struck by how much I will miss their modes of communication. For example, my dad loves to give me informative clippings. He gives them at the start of a visit, rifles through the manila folder for more at the end and mails them in thick packets in between, often with a handwritten note: "You probably already know this stuff. All's well here. Dad" Compare this with the communication I received from a 20-something customer. She had bought our kit and had a question but didn't know how to get hold of me, so she posted a query on our You Tube account. Repeat: This young woman had my kit and therefore also had my website URL and email address but she didn't kn...

My father is the ultimate plaque reader. As a child, we marked road trips not by miles but by plaques read. Those "off road" historical markers? The ones that you saw beat-up, kid-smeared green station wagons turning out for? The ones that you happily disregarded ? Yeah. We read 'em. No wonder then, that on Father's Day this year, I felt compelled to read a plaque. It was early evening outside the FM Smith Recreation Center in Oakland. I was the first to arrive for our Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council Meeting. Milling about the rec center was a handful of youth, in the distance the thump of a basketball and squeak of sneakers. Marijuana smoke wafted. Five minutes passed but none in my group had arrived yet and the center was still locked. I scanned the park trying to find the source of the smoke then noticed in the distance four life- sized mules covered in graffiti. Next to them, an equally graffiti-decorated plaque. I reluctantly made the trek. T...

I've had a week of color blending. Swatching colors across my forearm and fingers so many times during the day that my skin is a little raw. I just spent four hours "duping" a single color, and I am awed. That I get to have such a great job, that it took me so long, that I actually succeeded. Here's what I've learned so far: A single blend probably consists of no more than 5 elements. Start with the pigment base. To that add the hilite. To that add the main hue. Finish with the complementary tweaking to neutralize the hue. Wash, rinse, repeat. Take breaks between attempts. Keep notes and samples. Ask other people for feedback. Count Blessings. Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC

This just in! We now have Roly Poly Bottles! (Also known as plastic bottles with a rolling ball applicator and a white cap). For me, a Roly Poly is very retro. Reminds me of the 70's: summer, hanging out in the yard with a lemonade, a book, sunscreen and of course, roll-on watermelon flavored lipgloss. But of course they can also work for other neat things such as glitter (our microfine glitter works great). You can fill the tube with straight glitter or you can suspend the glitter in some kind of base such as a lotion, a lip gloss, castor oil. You choose. Hope you enjoy! Kaila Westerman

Recently, Lori Nova celebrated her birthday. In honor of this, let me introduce her to you. Lori runs The Nova Studio in Point Richmond, California. Her studio offers a variety of bath and body care classes, soap making intensives, and general art classes. Lots of friendly folks come to her classes over and over again. I've taken several classes at Lori's studio: Liquid Soapmaking, Coloring with Confidence, Natural Perfumery, Hot Process Soapmaking, Artist Trading Cards, Advanced Melt and Pour, to name a few. Whenever I'm bored, I check out her website to see if there is something new to catch my eye. Lori has won numerous awards for her decorative soaps, and has been a speaker at the Handcrafted Soap Guild annual gatherings more times than I can remember. Lori is very active in the soap making and natural bath and body care DIY community and a valued resource. Yea Lori!

This blog entry started out as a book review of a book I love, Eye Candy (Mason, Linda, New York, Watson-Guptill Publications, 2008, $14.95). The book is written by Linda Mason, a New York makeup artist for over 30 years. It is a collection of 55 eye shadow "looks" done up on regular clients, friends and family. Long story short: it's good. I say that the entry started as a book review but as I was writing, I remembered that Linda had put together a fun little promo video on it, and so I went to her site to find the link. And then I just got lost in her site. O-M-Double-G. I want to be Linda Mason. I think, if you are making your own cosmetics and are looking for inspiration, you might want to be her to. Enough of what I think, go to her site: lindamason.com . Spend the rest of your time browsing it. You will be inspired, I guarantee. Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC

If you want to make your own pressed-powder makeup, using just a few ingredients, you can! Pressed powders are less messy than loose ones, also their colors are more intense and they tend to have a little better staying power on the skin. To make a pressed powder, you will need: Some kind of powder to press (some blend that you have created for eye shadow, foundation or blush) A binder of some kind (recipes below) Something to press into (you can press into a small jar, or in to a compact or a cosmetic tin) Something to press with (you can use your thumbs, a coin, or something more sophisticated which you make up. Binder recipes can be very simple. Here are three: 2 parts dimethicone, 2 parts fractionated coconut oil, 1 part jojoba oil 1 part dimethicone, 1 part fractionated coconut oil 1 part dimethicone, 1 part jojoba oil, 2 parts alcohol. Simply shake the binder in a bottle and then either squeeze or spray it onto your loose powders. Then stir or mix together. I like to put ever...

Dimethicone is a kind of Silicone, which is made from petrochemicals. Dimethicone comes in different thicknesses. Our Dimethicone is a liquid, about the viscosity of canola oil. But it is not oily. It is odorless and has a silky feel as you rub it onto your skin. Dimethicone is popular because it is a great emollient (an emollient soften, soothes and protects the skin by acting as a barrier layer on the skin/hair, keeping the natural water/moisture from drying out). For this reason, you will often see dimethicone used in formulas for lotions, as well as hair care products. Usually, it is not more than 1% - 5% of the formula. Our color-cosmetic customers like to use Dimethicone for several projects: to make a makeup primer to turn their loose powder makeup into a "pressed powder" (see other blog post) to improve the slip, shine and feel of a lipstick or lip gloss Dimethicone does not dissolve in water and doesn't really like to dissolve in castor or jojoba oil, eit...

For 10 years, TKB Trading operated out of the first floor of a triplex in downtown Oakland (356 24th Street). Although we had a storefront, we never used it. So we are really happy to see our old space blossom into something new and different: SMITHS, a storefront project by crafter/artisan/artists Allison Smith . She has converted the studio into an intimate public space for "makers". Tonight's event is an a craft-action dye happening " Indigo Girls " which Brooklyn-based artis Travis Boyer has been performing since 12/08. Participants are invited to come and dye whatever they like in a natural fermentation indigo dye vat. According to the artist, "the process of dying marks the dyers; it stains our hands and customes but also facilitates profound illumination." It's happening tonight, and yes, I am "so there".

You may (or may not) have heard of Frankenlippies. The idea behind them is to make your own unique color of lipstick by slicing off bits of commercial lipstick you have on hand, melting them together and refashioning them into one brand new lipstick. We actually did a Frankenlippie contest back in 2008 using our products. You can view the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MadSj9ReZg8 . It's kind of a long video, so if you get bored, my feelings won't be hurt. Recently I was contacted by a woman who does Frankenpolishes. Here is here blog spot: http://drfrankenpolish.wordpress.com . Now this a fun link. It's fun to see all the colors she can create. So check her out for fun! Kaila Westerman TKB Trading, LLC

TKB's key employee is Van Nguyen. She is the shipping and packing supervisor for our company. Van grew up in Vietnam and dropped out of high school to support her family by selling fresh fruits on the streets of downtown Saigon. In her early 30's she emigrated to the USA to make a better life for herself. Because Van is distantly related by marriage to my husband, I hired her as soon as she arrived. She didn't speak a word of English but she was a hard worker. Over the years, we have celebrated many milestones as every semester she plugged away at the local community college, determined to be the first in her family to get a college degree. Today, eight years later, she has achieved her goal. We are proud of Van and lucky to have such a great role model in our lives.

In February, 2008, the date of my last post, my company was housed in the same 1500 square foot basement where we had been for the last 8 years. We were packed to the gills! Every day I was straddling inventory while answering phone calls and meanwhile tucking in my buttocks enough to let others squeeze by. I knew where I wanted to move and what the building would look like. I knew the neighborhood, the price, the size, the architecture. But of course I was much too busy to actually look for this new space, plus forget about all the paperwork required to apply for a real estate loan. But a girl could dream. And I did, over and over, it was my daily refrain. Then, one day completely out of the blue, two men knocked at our door. No one ever knocked at our door except the UPS driver and the Mail Carrier, so we opened it to these two angels with great suspicion. Apparently angels sometimes have a brokers licenses, because they took one look at my space, listened to my dream and h...