HSGC 2015 Conference
Last week both Shannon and I attended the HSCG 2015 Conference. The event was held at The Westin in Indianapolis, Indiana April 17-20. While it was Natures Garden’s second year attending the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild Conference, this was the first time Shannon and I were lucky enough to be there. I just have to say…WHAT A BLAST! We truly had the most amazing time and will remember it always.
Once we arrived, we anxiously prepared our booth….and yes, we brought a sniffy sample of each of our 828 fragrance oils! We even debuted 13
brand new fragrances including Yummy Gummy, Apple Happy Camper Candy, and Sugary Lollipop; along with many others. Our booth even had a candy theme to go right along with the new fragrances. Our display was complete with bubblegum, rock candy, lollipops, and M&Ms!
The HSCG 2015 Conference was packed full of good times and memories. Natures Garden hosted a Caribbean themed welcoming party on the very first night. We excitedly wore our sparkly scented shoes and beautiful Caribbean style dresses and made our way to the party! This was our first opportunity to meet many of our amazingly talented customers and new friends! It truly meant the world to us to see not only guests from across the country, but the world. It was a great feeling to finally be able to put faces to the names of so many of the wonderful people we have talked to.
As the weekend continued, we had many visitors at our booth. We even had a chance to see some of the projects they have created using our products! Our customers have made some fabulous soaps! We had a chance to receive feedback on favorite scents and products, as well as suggestions for new ones. Some of their favorites soap scents are fragrance oils like Blue Hawaiian, Bite Me, The Perfect Man, and NG Aqua Di Gio Type.
The HSCG 2015 Conference offered crafters and business owners a chance to attend a variety of classes and listen to several speakers. In addition, we were able to attend meet and greets, luncheons, and super fun parties each night. It was an absolutely fabulous experience.
On the final night we attended an awards banquet. This banquet recognized many soapmakers
who had entered their creations in a contest. Each HSCG 2015 Conference attendee was given the opportunity to vote on each category throughout the weekend. Some of the categories included Something Different, Best Packaging, Best MP Scent, and Best CP/HP Scent; just to name a few. At the awards banquet, they also announced the location for the HSCG 2017 Conference…..VEGAS BABY!!! Yes, it’s two years away, however the 2016 HSCG Conference will be held in Tampa, Florida and its location was announced at last year’s soap conference. For those who are interested, the 2016 HSCG conference in Tampa will be May 19-21.
We would like to thank everyone who attended the conference, as well as the staff members and volunteers from the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild for all of your support. It was so very nice to meet each and every one of you. If you didn’t attend this year, we highly recommend coming to next year’s event. You will not regret it! We had the time of our lives and enjoyed the laughs and have made some amazing memories.
