i feel like ive blogged more in the last 4 months than i have in 4 years!!
i guess there have been a few positive changes for me personally since covid -- one being that im not so dang exhausted by the end of the day that i cant muster up the energy to blog :D
so, as i recently mentioned, our holiday/fall release is going to be quite a bit different than its been in the past. we actually made this decision last year due to small business saturday falling so late in the year -- and it does the same this year. so we knew already that we were going to be releasing our fall line differently than the years prior, however, we werent expecting it to have to change as much as we are planning now, thanks to covid.
we have a few ideas we are still discussing before setting solid plans ... but we know for certain we wont be doing our big one day small business saturday release. we also probably wont keep everything secret as we have done in the past.... because if covid doesnt change much from how it is currently, then we are expecting a lot of people to still want to stay home as much as possible and do a lot of ordering online. so, we plan to talk about the bars/products on our social media accounts and probably also start including some vlogging just so you guys can really get a good look at whats coming out. ... we arent sure exactly how we are going to do things, but we know for certain they will definitely be different than years prior.
i want to take a minute to address covid - you know, we really just dont know. its new, its always seeming to change, and either way -- whether you are scared of it or think its all hype.. i personally respect anyones view on it and think its a very personal thing, whether you choose to protect yourself with extreme measures, middle of the road, or not at all.
i can also tell you that personally i am really nervous about it .... as, not all of you know this but i have asthma pretty bad. ive been on all sorts of meds for it since i was 15, at one time i was on 5 different meds daily, constantly in the ER with breathing difficulty despite all those meds, etc... but over the years and because i am so cautious regarding it... i am down to only needing a rescue inhaler.. which, if someone with perfume or cologne on hugs me, or comes into the shop wearing strong scented perfume or cologne i always, always need to use it afterward. which, sucks. and if someone has a cat, forget it.. i cant even set foot into their house. .... anyhow, even as a baby most of my infections/colds were lung/bronchial issue type things... so because of covid being so new and unknown and seemingly targets the lungs ---- i have been a bit anxious about it. ive been really really careful guys. ive hardly gone anywhere in months, i was scared to open the shop back up at all... and i am extra nervous about holiday season. as, i need to be in my best form in order to pull off making all of the thousands of pounds of soap i need to make. plus, there are SO many people that depend on me!! all i keep thinking is -- if something happens to me? what is everyone going to do for their soap? laundry soap? lotion? etc lol so i feel this giant sense of responsibility to keep myself extra extra safe!
the reason im explaining all of that -- is because im not sure exactly how we are going to find a way to limit our holiday shopping crowd -- im not sure how we are going to set the store up, i dont know -- but we are tossing some ideas around about it all and i promise to keep you all updated as it starts coming together.
so, please keep an eye out for future blogs, as we will definitely do our best to keep you informed on how we plan to pull this season off. i can tell you this -- lol im already so excited about the first bar i am ( still) in the process of making that i cant wait to share it with you all! thats one of my favorite parts about our 4th quarter releases.... the amount of time i dedicate to the product coming out, i simply cant do all year round... so these tend to be some of the most fun for me to make. headache too, and difficult, lol but my mind just gets that freedom and at times overworked, but thats what it craves ;)
ive been taking step by step photos of the process of the first bar im releasing just in case we do decide to share all of that info -- this bar is actually a 3 step process thats taking 6 days to make. so, to put it into perspective, normally i can make a 200 lb batch of something in about 6 hours.. this, is less than 100 lbs and its taking me 6 days!! ha, but it'll be worth it! cant wait for you guys to hear all about it!
what scent do you think it is? what bars did you love from previous years? how would you guys feel about dad bod coming back? if bg quit making everything but three things, what would those three things be? :D im always curious what you guys like the most.... my top three would be original body oil, synchronicity and laundry soap.
alright guys, thanks for keeping up with what are are planning out -- we will be following up with all sorts from now until the end of the year so stay tuned! maddi will probably be taking over some of the blogging as i get my elbows deeper into the season.. but ill do my best to sit down for these little chats with ya!
until next,
-heidi