A New Era Begins

Tradition is important to me. Perhaps you have picked up on this in my writings. I have spent many years mourning the loss of traditions and family, and this grief over what I consider to be lost has only fueled my commitment to creating traditions with my daughter and husband. Several years ago, I decided to stop mourning the loss of what was and what would never be and put that energy into creating memories with my child. If I could not have the relationship I longed for with my mother, I would be the mother I always wanted/needed for my beautiful girl.

The holidays can be a particularly emotional time for me. Often, I keep my feelings of sadness, loss, and a bit of resentment to myself. This year, the days following Thanksgiving were particularly wrought with emotion. I can only describe it as "not feeling good in my head." Rather than sit and wallow in my sadness, I asked my daughter to join me for an impromptu shopping trip to a town about an hour from us. A change of scenery, time with my child, crowds of happy shoppers, holiday decorations, and a bit of retail therapy in the form of Christmas shopping were what I needed.

I believe I will make shopping on the Sunday after Thanksgiving a new tradition for The Bean and me. Our holiday traditions include watching our favorite holiday movies, baking cookies with GramBarb, decorating the house room by room, shopping for the perfect real Christmas tree, driving around looking at Christmas lights, and sleeping under the Christmas tree with The Bean before we put our presents under it. I look forward to each of these activities each and every year.

Since The Bean has been capable of forming and communicating her opinions, which began very early in life, she has demanded we get a real Christmas tree from our favorite tree lot. We used to go as a family to pick out a tree. However, once The Bean turned five, she and her dad would make an outing of it just the two of them. About two weeks before Christmas, they go Christmas shopping for mommy, go out to dinner for a daddy/daughter date, and then pick out the perfect Christmas tree. Despite many years of threatening to avoid the mess of a real tree and installing an artificial one, The Bean has won the battle of wills and gotten her real tree.

This year marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. Sigh. We will have an artificial tree for the first time in almost sixteen years. Our new artificial, nine-foot spruce will be delivered tomorrow. Why this break from tradition, you might ask. One simple answer: a boy. The Bean has a special friend who has been hanging around for quite some time now; by the looks of things, he will be around for a while. Sigh. This is the first time in her life I have seen my girl smitten with someone. She has liked boys in the past, but none were able to hold her attention like this one.

If I'm being transparent, I like this kid. I would think he was nice even if he wasn't holding my daughter's attention. He's polite, respectful, and friendly, with a very calm personality. Most importantly, he is very respectful and dotes on my girl. I have never been around kids who laugh as much as these two do. My friend Suzy-Q once observed the interactions between The Bibbed Wonder and myself, and she declared that he "cherishes" me. That is a good summation of our relationship. I can also say that I believe this young man "cherishes" my daughter. That makes my little heart happy. I am thrilled she is having such a positive experience with her first real boyfriend.

Although Pook-A-Dook, as we call him, is a great kid, he is rather frail. He's definitely not a farm boy. Pook-A-Dook is allergic to everything. I am not exaggerating. He is allergic to hay, grass, milk, medicines, flowers, and trees, especially pine trees. We can't even burn our favorite pine-scented candles when Pook-A-Dook is here. Because I like Pook-A-Dook, I make efforts to keep him comfortable. I keep Lactaid on hand so he doesn't react to my often dairy-filled meals. I keep his required allergy medicine on hand in case he reacts to something. I don't burn candles that I think he will react to. And now, I am breaking tradition and getting a fake tree.

As a mom, allowing someone to become deeply ingrained into our little world is an enormous trust. Trusting this young man with my daughter's safety and well-being is an even more significant step. If Pook-A-Dook were not such a good, trustworthy, level-headed, and intelligent kid, I would not allow my precious girl to ride in a car with him. Let's face it: I would have scared this kid off long ago by feeding him sour cream, cream cheese, and milk and insisting he go to the barn and feed the goats hay. I am not above biological warfare when it comes to the safety and well-being of my kid.

However, as is par for the course, The Bean has chosen who she hangs out with well. Although she keeps her circle tight, she has chosen to surround herself with kids I trust and approve of. Leave it to a boy to change a long-standing family tradition. Making this change from a real tree to an artificial tree is just the first of many concessions I know I must make to keep my girl happy and those she cares for happy. If Pook-A-Dook were not so important to her, I would feed him cheese fondue every night, burn pine candles, have multiple real trees in the house, and conveniently forget to buy allergy medicine and Lactaid. Pook-A-Dook is lucky I like him as much as I do. I jokingly remind him I always have options should he fall from favor. He's a good kid with a good sense of humor. He couldn't have survived this family if he had a poor sense of humor, for sure.

So, tomorrow night, we will begin a new era that includes a fake tree to keep one Pook-A-Dook safe, happy, and healthy. Much to my surprise and pleasure, Pook-A-Dook is willing to participate in all our other family traditions. He has chosen to bake cookies with GB and us on Saturday. I might even say he seems to be looking forward to it. We are happy to welcome Pook-A-Dook into our circle. Although I remain guarded in saying so, I like having him around. With teenagers, it's best not to get too attached. I get my little feelings hurt when someone I care for falls away and changes paths. Our family will welcome and enjoy time with him for as long as he is meant to walk along with us.

On this cold but sunny day, stay safe, be smart, make concessions for those you love, be willing to expand your circle, but do so with caution, enjoy the time you have with those you care for, make happy memories, and keep washing your hands.

Scaling

As our small farm-based business grows, we must make sensible changes to streamline efficiency and simplify tasks. However, deciding what changes to make, how to best utilize our hard-earned dollars, and how to find resources to meet our needs can be challenging. Neither The Bibbed Wonder nor I are experts at scaling a business. To be perfectly transparent, we aren't experts at anything. It is a learn-as-we-go, trial-and-error; even a blind squirrel gets a nut once-in-a-while approach to business success. When deciding how to scale our business efficiently, I wish my dad and father-in-law were here to consult.

Currently, we have a situation in the soap studio. We have used a hand press to stamp our logo onto our soap for the last five years. A hand press was an upgrade six years ago. Before the hand press, we used an acrylic stamp and a rubber mallet to stamp our logo onto our soap. We refer to the process of hand stamping with a rubber mallet as the tap-tap-tap method. With the hand press, we manually place each bar on the acrylic platform, pull a lever, and use brute strength to impress the stamp upon the soap bars. It goes faster than using a rubber mallet, but it is still time-consuming and labor-intensive.

The current situation is thus, the hand press, which was on its last leg, has finally died. With her Hulk-like approach to stamping, the Bean drove the last nail into the proverbial coffin and broke off the piece holding the stamp onto the press. I jest. We knew we were on borrowed time with the hand press, and The Bean just happened to be the one using it when it finally gave way. We are back to tap-tap-tapping our logo onto our soaps. Thank goodness, The Bean is young, strong, and doesn't mind repetitive action. Again, I jest. She is salty about being the one to use the rubber mallet.

So, now, we have a dilemma: how do we improve our process? This is where a degree in scaling a business would come in handy. We feel we have outgrown the hand press. However, there doesn't seem to be any middle ground regarding scaling or equipment for a small, handmade soap company. Our choices are a slightly more improved version of a hand press or huge, industrial commercial stampers that automate the entire process and cost way more than we are willing to spend. Personally, I don't want to run a soap factory. I also don't want to use a rubber mallet and give myself tennis elbow after stamping hundreds of bars of soap weekly.

We thought we had found a solution to our stamping issue a few months ago. We found a small company in Wisconsin that creates soap equipment for handmade soap businesses. It checked all the boxes for me. It is a small, privately owned business that is American-made and uses most American-made parts for its manufacturing. The customer service is good, communication is timely, and the stamper has good reviews. However, the drawback of being a one-person show is that when you face a personal crisis, you don't have anyone to fall back on for help. The gentleman who owns the business faces a family health crisis and does not have the time to build the stamper that we feel meets our needs. This stamper has a conveyor belt that feeds the soap bars into the stamper, provides consistent pressure that we can manually set, stamps the soap using an air compressor, moves the bar forward, feeds another one, and so on. Using this stamper, we could stamp an entire batch of soap in under a half hour. That would be a huge time saver. It took a few weeks for the gentleman to admit he could not fulfill our order, and he refunded our money.

Of course, we delayed purchasing a new stamper until we could no longer ignore the problem. Now we are back to tap-tap-tapping. Sigh. Purchasing a commercial stamper is not going to happen. First, it is not economically sound. I'm not even sure it would fit into our current studio. Secondly, going commercial is not where I see this business going. I like the creativity, hands-on approach, and perfectly imperfect approach to handmade items. I think going commercial would take away what makes us unique. Maybe I am wrong, short-sighted, or not a good business person. I don't see us going the way of big, industrial processing.

I also know that another hand press is not an option. We have outgrown it and require more time for other business-related activities. Let's face it: child labor is not an ethical option, and eventually, The Bean is going to unionize. Rotten kids. The only other in-between option we can find is an upgraded version of a hand press. The press we are considering uses an air compressor to apply consistent pressure to the stamp, but we have to feed the bars into the stamper individually and remove them by hand. It's not quite as efficient as the belt-fed stamper, but it should save us a fair amount of time. However, no one will develop tennis elbow from this press, and it will happen with the push of a button. That is an improvement.

The Bean is most excited about the new press. She informed us she would take over that job once the new stamper arrived. She will want to be the sole stamper until the novelty wears off, and then she will pass the job on to someone with less experience. This happens with all soap jobs: It is fun until it is not. By far, the most hated task in the soap studio is hand-stamping bags and boxes. The Bean is pushing us to spend the extra $1.20 per bag and order them pre-stamped. The Bibbed Wonder's response is, "What else are we going to do to keep teenagers out of trouble? The more time they have, the more they get into." I believe his parents took the same approach to cutting firewood. Having Eric cut firewood by hand was an annual activity that lasted year-round until he married and moved out. Much to his chagrin, the wood-burning stove was replaced with a pelletized burning stove not a month after we married. Papa Dale told him it was the only way to keep him tired and out of trouble. We really do become our parents. God help us.

We greatly anticipate the new stamper's arrival on Friday. Before we can use it, the Bibbed Wonder must do a few things. First, we must purchase a quiet air compressor and designate a new area for stamping. The little antique table we use doesn't provide a sturdy enough base. We will be in business once our new stamping area is set up. I am sure The Bean will make the acrylic stamp and rubber mallet disappear before the weekend ends. I'm also sure a new video demonstrating our new toy will be posted before the weekend ends. Sorry for the soap nerd info.

On this overcast Wednesday, stay safe, be smart, be efficient, do your best, and keep washing your hands.

Tuesday Spotlight: The Kid's Collection

Welcome to the Tuesday Spotlight, dear reader. Our soap family voted on this week's special, and our kid-inspired collection won. This week, everything that makes bath time fun is on sale. This week's special includes Cotton Candy, Duck Fart, Fairytale, Toasted Marshmallow, and the one and only Mean One. Stuff those stockings with helpful, healthful, and fun kid-inspired soaps and moisturizers.

We use our favorite soap recipe to create bath soaps that are fun, whimsical, and scented to impress even the most discerning children. Our soaps are made with skin-loving goat's milk, moisture-rich oils, and clean, chemical-free scents. Bathtime can be filled with good, clean fun. If you have a reluctant bather, adding fun soaps that smell great can entice even the most bath-resistant child to jump in the tub.

Just because kids inspire our soaps doesn't mean there is an age limit for who can enjoy them. Kids of all ages can enjoy and benefit from our soaps created with joy and love. So, whether you are eight or eighty, make bathtime fun. Each of our soaps comes individually wrapped in glassine bags and sealed with a fun-themed sticker, so you have one less stocking stuffer to wrap.

No promo code is needed to save 25% on all our kid-themed soaps and moisturizers. The savings will be applied at checkout. As always, orders of fifty dollars or more (after the discount has been applied) ship for free. Now is a great time to stock up on stocking stuffers and favorite scents or try something new. We continue to ship six days a week. Most orders ship out on the day the order is placed, if it is before noon. Below are the shipping deadlines posted by USPS. You still have time to order before the big day. However, please remember we have no control over what happens once your order leaves our studio. We do not offer express shipping.

USPS Ground Advantage service (2-5 business days): Dec. 18. First-Class Mail service (1–5 business days): Dec. 18. Priority Mail service (1-3 business days): Dec. 19. Priority Mail Express service (1-2 day delivery): Dec. 21.

On this warm but overcast December day, stay safe, be smart, enjoy the savings, stuff those stockings, and keep washing your hands.