Fresh Bet Bits, Claire Burke Original Memories, Home Fragrance Product Updates and Commentary

I am sad to report that the Claire Burke Original and Apple Jack Warmer Refills have experienced another delay. On December 3rd I spoke with Mark who told me he expected 5000 to arrive at their warehouse within one week. Today I checked with them to find out if our shipments had left the warehouse.

Mark tells me the warmer refills have arrived from Portugal but are now being held by Canadian Customs for inspection. This apparently can take as long as 2 weeks because this is the first time this supplier has imported into Canada. What rotten timing! Now that Claire Burke has shut down their US warehouse to be moved from Upstate NY to Canada, there is no way we can have these to our customers by Christmas.

The new Canadian warehouse will resume shipments on January 2nd. By then, the warmer refills should be in stock. This means we probably will not get these prior to January 7th. UGGHHH…

If we can all muddle along through the last of these shortages in January, hopefully things will improve with Claire Burke as we move into February. Again, our sincere apologies for the delay.

We were all so pleased last Spring when Claire Burke brought back Wisteria. This was a highly requested fragrance from 10 yrs ago that was loved by those who enjoy a spring floral scent.

I have seen this happen before when they bring a fragrance back; often folks just don’t buy it up like they say they will and before you know it, they have dropped the fragrance again. This is what has happened with Wisteria which has now been officially discontinued again.

Sheer Vanilla has been around for 2-3 years and because it wasn’t a vigorous seller, it has also been discontinued.

Mocha Silk is also officially retired now. When I spoke with Mark this week, I inquired about the new Pomegranate Plum that was supposed to be available this Fall. He tells me it will indeed be released for Fall of 2008.

I have attempted to stock up on some of these items. However, the Factory rarely gives us much notice and often these items are already depleted by the time they tell us they are dropping them. So, if you love any of these scents, stock up now because soon they will all be gone!

As we all do more shopping on the internet, you realize what a wonderful convenience it can become with high gas prices and personal time at such a premium. Plus, the other night as we were watching the news, I realized how much safer it is to shop from home vs. driving to the Mall these days. Criminals seem to frequent the malls during the Holiday season preying on distracted shoppers…it’s simply awful.

Anyway, this is just a quick post to let you know that all orders received by December 13th can be shipped via regular UPS or FedEx ground and arrive in time for Christmas. If you live on the West Coast, after the 14th you will need to chose UPS 3-Day Select to be sure your shipment arrives on time.

After Tuesday the 18th, if you live on the East Coast, you should choose UPS 3-day Select. Or, if it’s easier, just call us and we’ll be happy to make sure your package arrives on time.

Remember we are not allowed to air freight any pressurized sprays like TC Aerosols or Claire Burke Vapourri. This DOT restriction also applies to flammables like Lampourri or Greenleaf Diffuser Oils.

TC is a wonderful company to represent. They are constantly creating new products and fragrances to retain their innovative edge. This week they sent us their new Sugar Cookie T-Cell refill, so I am testing it in my kitchen now.

Jerry and Sarah tell me they have now released the following new air freshener refills:

750362 (Microburst 3000), and 750365 (Microburst 9000) Raspberry Green Tea

750363 (Microburst 3000), and 750366 (Microburst 9000) Cucumber Melon

750364 (Microburst 3000), and 750367 (Microburst 9000) Herbal Garden

I will be ordering these soon along with the new Sugar Cookie T-Cell refill. We should have these available on our website for order within the next one to two weeks.

Well, it’s been a real roller coaster ride for the past few months with Claire Burke and Vitabath availability. The Factory has been through a tough 4 months this year; however, things ARE getting better!

This week I called Mark to get the official lowdown on shortages and here is what he tells me:

* Vitabath Gelee gallons are arriving today at the warehouse. We should receive our orders by December 14th.
* Claire Burke Original and Apple Jack Warmer Refills are due this week. We expect to receive our stock by December 17th.
* Original Lampourri Oil will not be available until late January 2008 at best. Apparently there was a crop problem with Patchouli that has caused this delay.
* Apple Jack Simmer Oil will not be available until sometime in January.

In case you missed a previous blog, Claire Burke has discontinued production of all Refresher Oil Sprays. For 2008, standard refresher oil (non-spray format) will now be included only in bagged potpourri. The Factory is already out of Original refresher oil sprays, as are we at Freshbet.

The factory warehouse will be relocating during the last half of December. This means after December 18th, we will not be receiving any shipments until the first week of January. We are looking forward to receiving plug-in warmer refills in Christmas Memories and Oh Christmas Tree scents in early January.

Original and Apple Jack Vapourri 2-pack specials WILL once again be offered this year. Typically these are available in early January; however, this year they should arrive by late January. This is your once a year chance to stock up on Original Vapourri because you get 2 cans for $15.00 - a savings of $5.00. Freshbet has already placed a large order for these so you can be assured we will have them FIRST!

I am also working with Mark regarding Original refresher oils, so stay tuned and cross your fingers!

As always, if you have questions, please be sure to email Bet. I want to once again thank everyone for their incredible patience and graciousness as we all muddle along through these shortages. Personally, I am just grateful that someone bought this fine old company and will be keeping it alive for all of us to enjoy for years to come!

Please know we will be shipping all of your backorders just as soon as our stock arrives. We will be including a FREE sachet for your patience.

The Fresh Bet ladies wish everyone a very wonderful Christmas this year with health, prosperity and safety for all!

We have lots of gentlemen customers at the Fresh Bet website. In the past we have only been able to offer the Zen for Men bodycare line. We are now pleased to announce that we have just added the Caswell-Massey line for Gents.

Caswell-Massey is “America’s Oldest Perfumer” established in 1752. They are America’s 4th oldest continuing company having been established in Newport, Rhode Island in 1752. This year they are celebrating their 254th Anniversary!

Caswell-Massey has a wonderful history that encompasses fragrances worn by such luminaries as Presidents George Washington and John Kennedy, the Eisenhower Family for the White House and other noteworthy Hollywood Celebrities like John Barrymore and Cole Porter. These are sophisticated gents who found many of the Caswell-Massey scents to their liking.

We are starting out with: Greenbriar, Jockey Club, Newport, Number Six and Sandalwood. We have soaps, body wash, lotion, after shave balm, shave cream and cologne.

Caswell-Massey products have a deep sense of history and authenticity with quality being their top focus. They use only the finest perfume grade oils to scent their products and there are no synthetic shortcuts. Only the purest, natural botanicals are utilized and they do not utilize animal testing. These are truly luxury items for those who use only the very best toiletries.

Click here for Caswell-Massey.

A few weeks ago, Wade & I were down at the store when a gent came in to look for some men’s care products. He was clearly a sophisticated professional who was searching for upscale skin care. We’ve always had a small selection in this area and it became clear to me that we needed to do something about that right away!

I started researching upscale men’s lines and we decided to add two fine lines to our Fresh Bet offering: Roger & Gallet and Caswell-Massey. It only seemed logical to me that we should go to the Atlanta Mart to sniff these new items in person before we ordered. So, I dragged Wade down to Atlanta as my official men’s product line buyer. I am pleased to report that we now have 2 lovely new men’s lines in stock just in time for the Holiday gift-giving season.

Roger & Gallet of Paris is imported from France with elegant and beautiful packaging. We are starting with 3 of their unisex fragrances and 2 of their Men’s fragrances. All of these are best sellers and the price points are fair enough for such luxury items.

For the gents we have: L’Homme and L’Homme Essential.

Their best selling scent and also their oldest is called: Jean Marie Farina. This scent is used by both men and women alike.

Their next best selling scent is Vetyver. We also opted to add their line called: Bouquet Imperial which my husband liked and the packaging is Orange so this works well for us here in Clemson. We are starting out with basics in Cologne, Soap, Bodywash, Lotion and a few gents hair products.

Click here for Roger & Gallet.

Our Rep has just informed me that the Enchanted Meadow Factory has decided to drop their Chai line of Zen for Men. This is sad news for us because Chai has become a best seller with our clientele and is also loved by the ladies as well.

We will attempt to stock up on this scent for winter, but when the Factory inventory is depleted there will be no more. So, if you love the Enchanted Meadow Chai scent, stock up now!

We have just been notified that the Claire Burke Factory has decided to discontinue all Refresher Oil Sprays. Apparently they are already sold out on Original and there will be no more. They still have Applejack, Wisteria, Citrus Blush, Sheer Vanilla and The Sea so we will attempt to stock up on these before they are entirely depleted.

Several weeks ago they informed us they have discontinued production of the large deluxe size bag of Potpourri which was 3.0 dry quarts. Now with this change to the refresher oils, it would seem they will be coming out with all Potpourri including one refresher oil. In other words, we can no longer offer Refresher Oil as a separate item.

Throughout the next few months we will probably see a new size potpourri being offered with the refresher oil to replace the existing 1.6 quart small bag and 3 qt large bag. I will continue to ask them to consider bringing back an individual refresher oil that is not in spray format.

This past July while attending the Gift Show, I had a chance to meet Rebecca; who is the co-owner of Sonoma Lavender. She told me that heat wraps and spa booties were some of her most popular items. I had seen them in their catalog before, but wasn’t sure about offering them.

Well, I came home and thought about it for awhile and decided we should give it a go. So, we now have quite a bit of new Sonoma items for your spa at home personal time this winter. Sonoma also introduced their new scent: Sonoma Spice - absolutely fabulous dahling!

We have always offered the Sonoma Lavender because Lavender is such a personal favorite of mine. The Sonoma Eucalyptus was their 2nd scent they released a few years ago and it has definitely been picking up in popularity. Many companies just don’t offer Eucalyptus and the Sonoma is all natural…win-win!

Now their new Spice is beautifully presented in rust and purple colors with some of my personal faves: cinnamon, cloves, lemon and rosemary. (I just adore Rosemary!).

Kayce and I have been busy adding all the new Spa Plush heat wraps, neck pillows, spa booties and sachets-by-the-yard to the website for the past week. All of these plush spa beauties are made from rich fabrics that just make you want to run your hand across them and savor the softness of their touch. Beautiful colors in elegant greens, Vibrant Purple & Rust and of course soothing lavender colors in various embroidered or dot patterns.

My mother Norah, used a neck pillow as she got older to help naturally relieve neck aches. She would pop it in the microwave briefly and then lay in her lounger with her neck pillow late in the afternoon. This sage green color was Norah’s favorite!

Personally I love the Purple and Rust colors. Winter will soon be here; so grab a pair of these fabulous spa booties to warm up cold and aching feet:

Last, but not least, consider these fun heated pets for your inner child:

We have Lou the Lavender Teddy Bear, Spunky the Spice Monkey, Lulu the Lavender Poodle, Lil the Lavender Bunny and Lovey the Lavender Lamb. These fun heated pets look great and they are functional aromatherapy when heated in the microwave to release their fragrant blends.