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It’s been a while since I have posted on the web – so much as changed for me and I really appreciate the patience of all the customers that have been so patient. I spent some time in Colorado this summer working with friends and family on several projects – one of them is beekeeping. When I originally started Botanical Earth, I used beeswax and offered honey scrubs, soaps and balms all using beeswax. As my clientele became more focused, many asked for vegan only products which I accommodated. While I tend to be a raw foodist (people do so like to put a category on things) I also love honeys and certain milks if harvested correctly and compassionately. It was easier to make Botanical Earth just vegan but recently I have been unhappy with my sources of candelilla wax and several other vegan sub ingredients, so am going to tell you about my honey fetish!
My mother (pictured below) is a beekeeper in Franktown Colorado and is my supplier for fresh, ethically harvested beeswax and honey for my products. Starting in the spring of 2011, I’ll join the beekeeping trend in my family. My step-father’s family from Switzerland who I grew up with were beekeepers so I have grown up eating all sorts of tasty treats with home harvested honey. Yes BE peeps, I love honey mead, honey cakes and honey in any form and I also love bees. I love when you can feel their little suckers tap away for the sugar on your hands – I have no fear of these little friends that are so vital to our food source. I was going to have my hives brought from Colorado this week as my mother had some she wanted me to take over but the State of Missouri requires permits and inspections, and it’s not the time of year to open up hives and have to checked….so come spring, I’ll have “the girls” with me here in Missouri. Did you know the bees you see flying around are all girls?
Well, just wanted everyone to know that our product line will be increasing, and the lip balms are going to contain beeswax from now on. For all my vegan customers, know that I love my partners in pollination and treat them with the utmost in care and respect. I, nor any member of my family, have EVER feed our bees High Fructose Corn Syrup as an over wintering food! Can you believe beekeepers do that?? It’s cheap and easy. I love my little bee friends and will not feed them petroleum process syrup ever – hey, there’s a reason I make sugar scrubs with Turbinado Sugar! My mom loves to come and pick up 50 lb bags to feed her bees. Natural sugar, natural bees, natural products.
Happy Fall everyone!
It’s close to the start of Spring and I am finally back to work. It’s been a long 5 months with having Botanical Earth closed. You won’t see all the products available right away as I am slowing bringing items back. Officially, the store will reopen on the 1st of May but I thought I would get started now to be in full swing by then.
The email problem has finally been fixed on the site so I should be receiving your emails consistently now, not the hit or miss prior.
Thanks for your continued support of handmade and independent business! As always I appreciate those that have stuck with me through this transition.
I love to go walking in the woods around 9 in the morning. By then I will have made the soap for the day, try to answer all the emails and set up the orders to pack up for the mail drop. It’s usually peaceful as all the neighbors have left for work and the birds are still chirpping
One of the flowers blooming right now are the spiderworts. I wildcraft these pretty blue flowers and use them in pocket mirrors and coasters. I think Spiderworts are so pretty and signal summer is on it’s way. They only bloom for about a month here so I have to make sure I enjoy them while they are here.
I know some of you are enjoying maybe a bit too much of a winter wonderland right now. While nothing is blooming outside, it helps that my rosemary plants are. A little spark of life with this super cold weather here in Missouri helps. In a few months the back field will be filled with calendula and chamomile blooms, but actually the pretty little bluish flowers of my rosemary plants are some of my favorites.
Here’s hope everyone has a happy, safe and healthy holiday season.
debra
I guess that could be an election mantra at this point in the economic world. For me it means something terribly different. For those that don’t know, I travel quite a bit and am not always the one running Botanical Earth. In the last couple of years, Botanical Earth has had some pretty great growth and pr and I no longer could keep up with it. I started the process of selling Botanical Earth in April to a couple. Staying on as “founder” sounded good enough for me but time changes and people don’t do what they say they are going to do…..to make a very long story short – I have Botanical Earth BACK
So – there’s some changes. My product line is VERY limited compare to previously. If you have been a customer of mine in the past and am looking for something, email me. I’ll list it if you have ordered it prior. I’m all about what works for my customers and me. No mass marketing , no wholesale – heck I even let my UPC drop after 5 years because I am tired of jumping to the tune of big stores. I want simple, quality handmade products for a wonderful, understanding, discriminating clientele. If I don’t feel like making it, I won’t.
There you have it. If I haven’t answered your email in the last 6 months - I am truly sorry. I thought I had people in place to cover the business – turns out I didn’t. It’s fun now again – new look, new products and no pressure – life is good.
debra
Does the site look a bit different? It’s a pretty radical change for botanical earth but one that’s been in the works for over a year. I truly wanted to practice more of what I believe – more indie business influence and better sustainability. There’s been so many people helping and the change is still on going. I’ll just highlight some of the major changes and talk more about each later in the weeks to come.
New Hosting Company – I moved Botanical Earth from YahooStores to a woman-owned, carbon-neutral hosting company. Acorn Host holds my beliefs of “conscious capitalism” and I can say their customer service and support is better than any hosting company I have ever been with in 7 years. While I lost SEO benefits and exposure by going with a smaller company, their policies and quality of service out weighs any marketing with the big hosting giant.
New Design – Our new looks was created by Purr Design. Lindsay took my ramblings and turned them into something I felt but never imagined. No more conforming to what an eco-friendly business should look like. If I see one more white, green and blue label, website or banner from a company claiming “natural” and their products are nothing but greenwashed synthetics, I ‘ll scream. Purr Design gave Botanical Earth the push it needed. I can’t say enough good things about my experience with this indie web designer.
New Packaging – You’ll notice more glass and less plastic in our packaging. While I used plastics to help reduce shipping costs, I read one too many studies that people don’t recycle plastic as much as they do glass. With flat rate shipping from USPS, I no longer feel that customers will be impacted with higher shipping by using heavier glass. Also you’ll notice a lot of bio-degradable clear bags made of organic corn starch to replace the plastic – so now with some orders, everything from our product, packaging and shipping materials will be bio-degradable or completely recycleable. New labeling is on the way too.
If you may have heard, our little town of Winfield Missouri was hit pretty hard with the flooding of the Mississippi River. While we are not personally effected, our neighbors are and I have been working with the Humane Society and the Food Pantry to help out.
So thanks for checking in on Botanical Earth – we’re still in business. The volume of business has increase so much that I had to make so changes in how I do business (thank you happy BE customers!) and needed some time to redesign our shop.
On Friday I’ll be packing up and travelling with my sister to Statesville, North Carolina. My grandmother, who inspired me to continue soapmaking, needs her house fixed while she is ill in Colorado – so why not drive 750 miles to paint and mow the yard? I love going there so it’s not a problem in the least. On Saturday we hope to go to the Asheville Farmers Market and I’ll have to post about that because there are several great soapmakers there I have heard.
On Sunday it’s a big trip to the cementary to see all the family…is that too morbid? I love ancestory/heritage things and find great peace going…it gives me a sense of place and belonging. There’s at least 4 generations just in one area. The desk I use in the shop was my great- great -grandfather’s that he used at the Mill he founded. I go to his grave and talk about business…actually some of my best ideas have come visiting – go figure.
Since I’m leaving, the shop will be closed Friday through at least Wednesday next week. You’ll be able to order, but nothing will ship until I return on the 12th of Sept.
