I feel like something needs to be said about our current state of being. It feels like folks are spread out too thin nowadays. The world in which I once knew does not feel the same, and it's easy to stress with the uncertainty that surrounds us. I have some advise... Keep smiling! I'm not trying to make light of our current conditions, I'm simply offering a compassionate response to this everchanging world in which we live in. I will stop there.
I'm one of those people that when chaos surrounds me I dive deep into my work. Deeper and deeper I go until I'm so busy and wrapped up into something I don't have time to watch the news or spend too much time on social media platforms. When I do have down time it's spent studying the stacks of books on recent genealogy finds. Which by the way, I've hit a dead end for months. I feel like the only resolve will be to travel to Scotland and Ireland to research. That seems to be on hold for the time being, so my studying continues as I investigate the history of migration of my Scot-Irish relatives.
Meanwhile, this past week was the release date for Bittersweets two new lines. Each collection is very different from the other. Sunday morning is all about self care, while Safari Bain borrows inspiration from African Safari's and wilderness. The two scents are on opposite attractions too. Sunday morning has top notes of raspberry and vanilla, while Safari Bain lends its notes to sandalwood, cedar, and amber. In store...
That cup! It's a favorite now! In store...
The new glass propagating tubes for the wall, amazing! Great for our fiddle leaf fig starters! In store...
The Bittersweet collection of natural skincare continues to expand and grow. Folks ask me how do you decide on what type of skincare product to make. That's easy, it's always out of necessity. My skin always tells me what I should make! Sounds easy enough, right? I must confess it is fabulously rewarding to make skincare essentials that offer positive and productive results, but there's a lot of work that goes into researching the ingredient list that goes into each and every one. Over the years there have been numerous skincare trends come and go. They start out hot and then cool down over time. My philosophy when making these products is to always offer something that doesn't follow trends, but results. That means old school ingredients are sometimes used simply because they remain to be the best no matter what is trending. Ingredients like glycerin, lanolin, bees wax, and vitamin e, are considered tried and true and not only offer clean and natural, but bring amazing results!
It finally started to cool off a little, and I can't help but feel the fall bug! I started going through paperwork and clearing out some areas in our home. When you have a small business paperwork seems to accumulate quickly. There's taxes, more taxes, bills, expenses, reports, etc. Even though I've switched most of these trails of paper digitally it still seems to pile up. I'm guessing that a person should sort out and go through a little more often than this business owner does. In my line of work it's all about priorities. Some are more important than other's.
It's a blessing to have the honor of sorting for some twenty-four years. After awhile even if you don't know how to perform a task, you learn. I also believe that when you own a small business there are things you just aren't good at. Sometimes it's best to farm those tasks out to an expert. It will save you time and money in the long run. I used to do our taxes, and after a few years, I decided that this was not my thing. We know have accountants, and my life is sweeter since. Don't ever be afraid to admit that you're not good at something. You can practice till perfect, or you can delegate the chore to someone that is familiar with whatever that is.
I refinished our dining room table a few months ago. The table has been in my family for three generations! It still needs a couple more coats of varnish and sanding in between. Did you know that when you strip a piece and then begin to varnish that you should lightly sand in between? I learned this many years ago. Sanding between the coats of lacquer will make it smooth. Smooth is good!
We have a tiny pantry in our kitchen that we've made into a coffee bar. I hug metal hooks to hang the cups and we store our coffee spoons, coffee and coffee maker in the small pantry. I have a thing about coffee spoons! The round shape of the wooden spoons fascinate me! Now you know, it doesn't take much to fascinate me!
Bittersweet's fall is short and sweet. Since we're a manufacture we move quickly into holiday mode in November. We always release the start of our Holiday Soap on the third week of November, and continue offer two new soaps each week for six weeks. Believe it or not, I've already began holiday soap manufacturing! The four to six week curing time forces Bittersweet to be a few months ahead on everything. Retail in general is kind of like that too. Bittersweet has always referred to it as Summer is winter, and winter is spring... That's how we roll.
I can't help but feel that my grandmother Lucy would be proud of her soap making great granddaughter. I wish that she was still around so that we could share soap making stories. My aunt has shared a few of her stories, and I find them fascinating! Great Grandma Lucy made her soap in an old black kettle and stored her bricks of soap in a trunk and on the back porch. She used the valuable essential for cleaning her home, bathing, and laundry. Look at as zero waste before zero waste ideas existed. Personally, I believe she was a professional zero waste expert, as were most woman of her time. Times change, and I really believe that one get's overwhelmed with all of the choices we have nowadays. Not to mention, it's a challenge to know which one is good and which one is bad. Both are available to the consumer.
Keep Smiling.
Jill xo
