Valentine's Foot Rub for your Sweetie!

I'm speaking from experience, here--ahem--that using my lotion bar to give your sweetie a foot massage, is a lovely, sensual & romantic thing to do on a special day like today!

Also, found this in the March 2011 issue of Whole Living:

Why do my heels crack in winter?

Fissures are a severe form of dry skin. Cold air outside and dry heat inside allow water to escape faster than in the summer, says Neil Sadick, M.D., a dermatologiest in NYC. We may also neglect our feet when they're covered. To heal and prevent cracks, apply a heavy cream with shea butter or ointment with glycerine [OR MILK AND HONEY LOTION BAR WITH BEESWAX AND CALENDULA] right after a shower, and seal it in with socks.

I recommend you do this before bed so the lotion bar can soak in overnight; or apply as described, with sweetheart.

Introducing Nina!

Yesterday, President Obama called on American businesses to "Ask yourselves what you can do to hire American workers, to support the American economy, and to invest in this nation." Well it so happens, Milk and Honey is growing and hiring American workers! I am having the pleasure of employing two wonderful women, Nina and Elyzabeth to help not only with selling at Market, but actually making product, and learning about every aspect of production. Here is Nina's story:

"I imagine most of you readers have by now seen Milk and Honey’s booth at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. If so, you can recall the large crowd always surrounding it. Well about 3 years ago, I had to see for myself what all the fuss was about. I started with one of her lavender-rosemary soaps. It was more creamy and hydrating than any other bath product I’d tried. I had really no idea soap could be like that. The smell was heavenly. I felt genuinely pampered. It made my own little shower feel like a decedent spa. The yummy essential oils left a therapeutic perfume on my skin that was not over powering, but soothing and lasting. I was instantly hooked and it didn’t take me long to move onto the lotion bars.

"Daven took me under her wing last fall. We had been working at the Saturday and Tuesday Farmers’ Markets together for the last few years, and we’d built a sweet friendship. (I was the one selling the coffee and burritos and haggling with her 8-year-old son). I found myself to be natural sales person for Milk and Honey, due to my grand enthusiasm of the products. I started working the Tuesday markets for Daven and couldn’t wait to meet the goats and get into the lab.

"I have now been acquainted with all aspects of the business. The more I learn, the more my enthusiasm grows. Daven’s lab/office/home is where we spend most of our time. There, with her two kitties and two fabulous children. Usually with a fire going and the radio on, “fueled” as Daven would say by chocolate covered almonds. It’s a nurturing, fun, organized, and inspiring environment to work in. It’s sincerely a treat to work for such a together and conscientious proprietor. As Daven mentions in her mission statement, “the passion to create a meaningful life will inspire others to do the same.” I can say with pleasure that this has been achieved."

Beekeeping Classes from Steve Wall

My good friend and collaborator, Steve Wall (see post 12/16/10, "Reflections on Local") is offering beekeeping classes. This is the perfect time to start planning for spring bees. See below:

Dear Wannabeekeeper,

Thank you for showing interest in learning to keep bees and to Bee-ing Part Of The Global Solution. I've been keeping bees for 14 years and I still continue learning about bees and loving the whole process. This Spring, I will teach classes for beginning beekeepers.

These classes will take a fast-track approach to getting you into the hobby without a huge commitment of time and money. You will learn all you need to become an informed beekeeper by attending only one 5-hour class at $75 (other beekeeping classes require multiple classes and start at $300). If you so choose, you can also purchase the hives and bees that you will need from me at a discounted price for my class attendees. See the attached flier or my website, www.buckinbee.com, for more details about these classes and equipment.

Class Fee - $75 with a non-refundable $50-deposit to reserve your place in the class.
Make your check payable to Steve Wall and indicate your class date choice on the memo section of your check.
- Class size is limited, so please register early
Date/Time/Place - Sunday, April 3rd or Sunday, April 17th (choose one)
10 am - 3 pm (bring a lunch)
Held at La Mariposa Montessori School, 18 Puesta Del Sol in Santa Fe (just south of I25 off Old Pecos Trail)

Subjects covered will include:
• Pros and cons of both Langstroth hives and Top Bar hives.
• Establishing a bee colony
• Sustainable beekeeping methods
• Care and feeding of bees
• Bee Biology
• Hive Construction
• Swarm prevention and management
• Disease management
• Harvesting Techniques

I look forward to sharing the thrill of beekeeping with you.

Sincerely,

Steve Wall
Buckin' Beekeeper

"Alchemy, music, cooking and unadulterated joy . . . "

Great article about my friends at Agua de Flora in Hawaii. I make soaps for them from their custom blends, available for purchase on their website.

"Perfumery, as described by [Ashana] Morrow, is a combination of alchemy, music, cooking and unadulterated joy. Each component is considered on its own, but also in conjunction with others. A single note is just one part of a labyrinthine whole and with expertise and perhaps a little luck, they work together to create a complex harmony."

Read more (scroll down to heading "Scent from Above.")

Our First Investors!

Here we are in our finest fines to celebrate the first investment in Milk and Honey!

It all began at the ice rink, where I met and skated with Stephen almost daily at the lunch time session. Later, Stephen coached my son Simon during his first season in hockey. Then last Christmas, a mysterious package arrived for Simon containing a beginner's Dungeons and Dragons kit--from Stephen. He was then recruited to teach both Simon and Roan (and me . . . ) how to play D&D. . . which led to dinners at Janet and Stephen's on Sundays . . . which has led to their investing in my business!

This is a very momentous step for Milk and Honey; I am growing by leaps and bounds, with many exciting opportunities, ideas and plans. I have decided to conduct a "Friends and Family" investment offering to my, well, friends, family and loyal customers, with a particular focus on micro-investments (starting at $2500). My new business plan and feasibility study, as partially funded through my USDA grant, is almost complete. This plan will give investors a clear idea of where Milk and Honey is headed and why it is such a great opportunity to invest with us.

In the meantime, I did some major shopping: 250lbs of oils, 50 new mold trays, a gorgeous, custom-built storage unit for my inventory, & new full-color lotion bar labels for my tins. I have even been able to bring in two friends to begin to learn to make soap and help package product!

Not a moment too soon, as I am now in all four Whole Foods Markets in New Mexico, I will be attended a wholesale show April (the Oasis Show, Abq), and much more!

"Will your lotion bar help my cracked fingers?"

My customers ask me this every single Saturday in winter, and it's all I can do not to jump over the table, spin them around the dance floor, and say "Yes!"

Yes!

Yes! It will help soothe and heal your cracked fingers, and it will help prevent the cracks! Now, I'm not pushing a miracle here. It's just simple. Beeswax + almond oil + coconut oil softens and protects the skin enough to either prevent the cracks from happening, or enables your skin to recover and heal those cracks. Add in some calendula, which, while we can't legally say it is "healing"--it is an herb used to treat dry skin, rashes, itchiness, burns, etc--it's gotta help with the cracked fingers also. Now, you have to really rub in a concentration of lotion bar on your cracked spot--this is an emergency, after all--and then you can breathe with relief as those cracks heal up.

Give it a try!

Visiting Whole Foods

I have now visited three of the four Whole Foods Markets in New Mexico--my new "territory" for my soaps and lotions. Let me give a shout-out here to Margaret in Albuquerque (Indian School Plaza), Emmy & Amanda in Santa Fe (Cerrillos), and Karyn in Santa Fe (St. Francis). I haven't met with Rob yet (Albuquerque, Academy store), but all the signs indicate he will be awesome too. I just want to say, everyone is so nice, helpful, eager and interested. It has just been an incredibly positive experience. And this seems to be true regardless of which Whole Foods I visit! I took some time to meet John in the Whole Body department in Boulder (Pearl) --shout-out to him too--and he was just as cool.
Here's to Milk and Honey steppin' out! Happy New Year!