Customer Creation: Reunion Favors

One of our clever customers created individual custom labels for the lollipops she ordered to bring to a school reunion:

Photo from our customer, L.C. - thanks!

Each label was unique and evoked a different shared memory from her classmates' school days. I think they look fantastic, and I hope this inspires you!

If you have event photos you'd like us to share, you can contact us at thischarmingcandy [at] gmail.com anytime. We love showing others the cool things that you do!

Customer Creation: Anniversary Party Display

One of our regular customers recently celebrated her wedding anniversary in style, which included lollipop favors in Honey Jasmine (a.k.a. the Sweetheart) and Cinnamon Cherry (a.k.a. Red Hot Love) flavors*. We're always thrilled when customers share their event photos with us! I hope it inspires some of you when putting together your own party displays... Check out these simple, beautiful decorative bowls and vases:

We always welcome your photos and would love to feature them here; you can reach us at thischarmingcandy [at] gmail.com - thanks again to E.S. for sharing these!

*This duo is seasonally available around Valentine's Day

More Flower + Sugar

Flower + Sugar is our collaboration with Sweet Anthem Handmade perfumes. We've created three coordinating experiences to celebrate summertime, in the form of lollipops and sheer lip shimmers.  The first set, Champagne + Rose, is already available at the Sweet Anthem shop and for delivery in Seattle via Zaarly.

Blackberry + Hibiscus and Quince + Honeysuckle are getting ready to debut next month at Seattle's largest indie craft show, Urban Craft Uprising. Here's a peek from Sweet Anthem's Instagram feed:

Lollipops and sheer lip shimmers, by Flower + Sugar

I've personally been wearing the Blackberry + Hibiscus lip shimmer almost every day. It's delightful - the scent's awesome, obviously. The shea and olive butter formula is wonderfully moisturizing, and the hint of shimmer layers nicely over a matte lipstick or provides a hint of shine on its own.

Etsy #craftparty!

Yesterday was the 4th annual Etsy Craft Party, in celebration of the anniversary of Etsy's founding! In Seattle, the Ugly Baby and LaRu shop hosted the festivities this year from their location on Western Ave in the Pike Place Market. 

Despite the (what else?) soggy Seattle conditions, and my own introvert attack, I just had to attend all the fun and celebrate with the community... 

Rosalie, co-owner of Ugly Baby and LaRu shop, makes an excellent face for the camera

Come make crafts with us!

I used a wooden heart, chunky silver glitter and dolphin-shaped
stickers to make... whatever this is! Charming, yes?

Wonderful soggy sidewalk chalk art someone made.

No trip to Pike Place Market in June is complete
without snagging a sweetpea bouquet...

ahem... or TWO bouquets for a mere $5 woo hoo!

Marja of Glass Elements snapped this pic of me with my flowers :-)

For way more awesome stuff from Seattle and from all the Etsy Craft Parties, check the hashtags #craftparty and #seattlecraftparty on Twitter and from Instagram on your phone!

Bad Acid Trip

One of the most frustrating and challenging aspects of making hard candy that's both delicious and beautiful is when those goals are actually in conflict. It doesn't happen very often, thank goodness.

A compliment we enjoy is being told that our lollipops don't seem as sweet as a kid's lollipop. We work to make unusual flavor combinations that cut down the perceived sweetness. Sometimes that happens naturally, as in Hazelnut Coffee, where both flavors have a natural slight bitterness to them. Using sel de mer gives our Salted Caramel lollipops a wonderful salty flavor and texture that balances the sweetness.

In most of our fruit-based flavors, we add acids that naturally occur in fruits to heighten the fruitiness and reduce the perceived sweetness. Where we run into complications is in the coloring. In our experience, colors in the blue and purple range get their butts kicked by the acid, which turns them into unwanted hues. Check it out: I mixed up 3 bowls with a little sugar water and added a few different colors.

BEFORE: Electric Purple, Regal Purple and Violet gel paste colors from Americolor

Same three colors AFTER adding acid
They've turned sickly gray or become more blue

This even happened to me a long time ago with a peachy color. It's why I always test colors and flavors together, and why sometimes certain combinations just don't work out. Life can be hard in the lollipop mines!

A Re-org!

Orange. Yellow, Turquoise and Purple lollipop labels

New customers often ask me for recommendations, and I usually answer with a question such as, "Do you like fruity flavors? Sweet flavors? Something a bit more savory?" Those corresponded pretty well with the Fruit Basket, Celebration Time and Spice Rack flavors. The existing Adventure and Breakfast flavors were a little harder to match with specific flavor profiles.

In thinking about and preparing to transition from a digital, sheet-based printing process to a flexographic, roll-based one, I took the opportunity to consolidate and simplify the way we organize and group our flavors. The new grouping feels a lot more customer-friendly to me, and I'm curious if you agree. The *'ed flavors are the ones that are new to that color family.

Fruity flavors = yellow labels

1. Guava Colada
2. Pineapple Heaven
3. Sweetened Grapefruit*
4. Tart Pluot*
5. Triple Berry
6. Watermelon Basil

Sweet, Kid-friendly flavors = turquoise labels

1. Birthday Cake
2. Blueberry Muffin*
3. Bubble Gum
4. Pistachio Marshmallow*
5. Root Beer Float

Sophisticated, Culinary flavors = orange labels

1. Black Pepper Melon*
2. Cherries Jubilee*
3. Hazelnut Coffee*
4. Rosemary Lemonade
5. Salted Caramel
6. Tangerine Clove
7. Vanilla Cardamom

Fragrant, Aromatic flavors = Flower + Sugar = purple labels

1. Blackberry + Hibiscus
2. Champagne + Rose
3. Quince + Honeysuckle

It'll take a little while to phase in the new colors for the seven flavors that have been updated from another color. You'll continue to see the old labels on Charm School Dropouts and bags of our hexagonal gems for a while.

Sweetened Grapefruit gets a change of clothing this year

We'd love to hear your thoughts on the new system. I hope it simplifies and better communicates This Charming Candy's approach to flavor development!