As we approach Father's Day I'm so grateful for the men in my life. They come in all shapes and sizes, all ages and colors. Variety is the spice of life and I find that's very true for me on a personal level, business level and life level. I've got some amazing men in my life who are my biggest cheerleaders and push me out of my comfort zone. They support my crazy ideas, they brainstorm with me, they inspire me to think outside the box...of soap and of life.
They don't let me give up when it's slow or the going gets tough....and they are the inspiration behind half of what I do.
You know I don't blog much, I wait for inspiration to hit. (This is gonna be a long one). Things have been terribly slow during the past four months but I soldier on (and drink a ton of coffee)..... however things have been busy here at Little Cabin Soaps making things for the guys. My dad has a crazy good handlebar mustache and thus my brother was inpsired to grow one. These two guys have been my sound of reason, my springboards for new things, my calm down and take a deep breath guys....they've both seen me fired up and know how to bring me back to Earth. I love them deeply. I utterly respect them. I love them both with all of my heart and would go to the ends of the Earth for them. They are family, and I am lucky to have them in my family. Yeah that's it....family. Family looks different for everyone...and the men in my family are amazing.
Working from home the past several months my brother, Tye, ended up with a full beard and bitchin' handlebar mustache. He has inspired some CRAZY projects....ghost pepper soap, Christmas sled building together, me using a nail gun (he's a good teacher because clearly I survived that) and the dragon egg soap sets? That's Tye. The Wonka set and boxes? Tye. My badass brother built those silicone molds by hand for the dragon eggs....what an adventure that was!!! He's a wood worker in his spare time and now has a garden beyond belief....
The newest batch of Wicked Hot Pepper soap has two awesome dudes involved- my brother wanting hot soap (don't ask) because of all the fresh peppers fro his garden. Chef Tony, a great friend from Cafe 25:35 suggested and provided The Source, a hot pepper capsaicin culinary concentrate, to use as the best chance for heat. AND WE HAVE HEAT folks! Three of us have tested "Wicked" and reviews range from coughing ("like tear gas went off in the shower") to not feeling a lot of heat to hot hot hot skin for ten minutes post shower. Now the great debate----to sell it or not to sell it. We shall see.
Something you may not know is that I'm behind The Perfect Man Club. My business partner, Santos Vasquez, is a beekeeper with Sun Tan Honey Farm. A few years ago we joined forces, I began using his honey and beeswax for Little Cabin Soaps. He decided to grow a beard one day (because you can do that in one day).... and with lots of meetings, recipe tests and more meetings The Perfect Man Club was born. We make beard oil, beard balm and soap for men. I manufacture and he pushes, sells and stocks the shops. I never in a million years thought I'd be making beard products!!! He has pushed me so FAR out of my comfort zone, made me think about the hard things, taught me branding, social media, all about bees... but more than that he's pushed me to grow as a person. As we continue on our beard and guy product journey I am grateful for every tear, every brainstorm, every text, every idea tossed around. He is an amazing business partner, an amazing dad and husband to his family and an amazing man. I am lucky to consider him family, working together for years on this we've had tears, great ideas, arguments, suggestions and disagreements....all the things family goes through. Santos? Yeah he's my family.
If you watch the FB lives and crazy videos you know I've been working with Lone Star Olive Ranch on beard oil made with their bourbon barreled olive oil. Batches are curing made with their grassy vibrant regular olive oil. I'm excited to see where this goes, they are new to merch and I adore partnering with other local smalls. I love to see others take off and find their lane, even when it means shifting gears. As long as your foot is on the gas - keep going.
So with all of this - I wish you all a wonderful June, a delightful Father's Day --- celebrate the men in your life. Not just your dads or the dads to your kids. But the men who surround you wherever you go. Your brothers, you friends, your dads, your husbands, your neighbors, your partners, your sons. My hat goes off to the men in my life. I deeply thank them all , I love them with every fiber of my being and I am better for having them in my world.