We're Moving!

Not far.  Not far at all.  Just 9 1/2 blocks.  Yeah, really, it's just 9 1/2 blocks, into the town next door and a much nicer house.

Part of what's wonderful is that the new place has a huge kitchen, which will make it easier for us to cook and bake (both of which we'd neglected in our current tiny kitchen with no counter space) and to make our soap and other products.  So see, you benefit too!  Like how I play that?

We're getting the keys early, this weekend, in fact, so we get to move gradually, which is nice.

On the other hand... packing.  Packing is the bane of my existence.  Why is it that we have packed a ton of stuff, have piles of boxes stashed in the garage, and still it looks like nothing's actually been done because our house is still completely full of stuff?  How does that happen?  Do possessions reproduce when you're not looking?  There's really something wrong with this picture.

At any rate, as of September 1, you'll see a new return address on your Reef Botanicals packages.  In the interim, we'll do our best to keep service as seamless as possible, and our fingers crossed that we don't run out of any stock before we can make some more.

Wish us good travels!

Win a Poem!

Remember when I told you about my friend Mel, the author and poet who wrote those terrific poems for my nephews?  Well, she's running a poem giveaway!

(This is not the poem to be won, it will be a custom poem that is the prize.)

The details are here.

The prize is valued at up to $100, and would be great for yourself, or as a gift for a wedding, shower, new baby, bar mitzvah, or any other big event.

Go check her out, and good luck winning!

I'm 40

As of 12:12 a.m. today, in fact (as I write this statement, it's 11:56 p.m., which means by the time I publish this post, it'll be a day later).  For a landmark birthday like this, I did a lot of celebrating!

On Saturday, Eric and I went to Mystic, CT for the day, leaving NJ early in the morning, and getting back late at night.  We had a blast at the aquarium, where I got to feed stingrays for the very first time.

The great thing about the Mystic Aquarium is how close you can get to the exhibits.

Is it me, or are jellyfish just wrong?  No, really, where are the parts?  Aside from body and tentacles... where's the brain?  And if there's no brain, what sends the messages do the tentacles to move and sting?  And then there's the fact that they look so mushy and vulnerable, but they're actually dangerous.  Wrong, I tell you.

The funniest thing, though, were these two sea lions.  Hysterical!  I got video...

After we left the aquarium, we headed for Old Mystic Village, where we had a terrific lunch and walked around the shops.

Then we went to Mystic Seaport itself, where we watched some great demonstrations.  And asked another tourist to take this shot of us.

Then, we had dinner at S&P Oyster House, and watched the ships pass through the drawbridge there.  It's not often you're actually at a drawbridge when it's being lifted.

On Sunday, we met with my family early in the morning for my birthday and the birthday of my brother-in-law.  His birthday actually was on Sunday, while mine was today.  There's nothing like ice cream cake for breakfast.  And I got the best gifts!  My parents got me a series of massages at this spa, and I used the first one yesterday - Raindrop Therapy.  The massage therapist used nine different essential oils during the treatment, and it was absolute heaven.

My sister and brother-in-law, though, they got me this!

I've never had a sewing machine before, but I've wanted one for years.  I haven't actually used one since 8th grade home economics, when I made a pillow shaped like a cupcake, so I'm in the process of reading the manual.  I'm so excited!  From my 7 month old nephew, I got a gift bag of spools of thread and a bag of all sorts of nifty decorative buttons!  There was also a note that he wants me to make him things.  Of course I will!

Later in the morning, Eric and I met up with our friends, as well as my sis, brother-in-law, and nephew, to go to the Turtle Back Zoo.

We finished there with perfect timing, as just as we left the sky turned black with an impending storm!  From there, we went to play mini golf at Monster Golf - all indoors, and all lit by blacklight, with everything reflecting in UV.  It was great fun!  Then, it was off to dinner.  One of my friends, knowing me so well, gave me a gift card to Michael's for my birthday.  Today, I went shopping, and used it to buy these:

I'm so excited!  The one on the left has instructions for creating the absolute cutest stuffed animals, to accommodate my nephew's request.  And the book on the right, the one about revamping t-shirts into new clothes or other items intrigued me... you'll see why in a fun upcoming blog post.  (This is what we call foreshadowing, folks.)

So not only will you be seeing new soap here, not only will you be seeing awesome featured artists and blogs, but you'll be seeing my non-soap creations as well!  Heck, I'll even post in-progress shots, so you can see how I do things.

Today, on my actual birthday, Eric took me to WD-50, a restaurant owned by Wylie Dufresne.  If you've watched Top Chef, you might know who he is.  Dinner was amazing.  And just to be an attention-hound for a moment, I have to tell you Eric got me the sweetest gifts!  For starters, there was this box of Godiva chocolates.

To go with it, this tin of rare white tea, my absolute favorite!

And then, to go with the tea, this Lenox tea set!

The nifty thing about this, aside from the fact that it's Lenox, and really pretty, is that it's stackable.  When not in use, the teapot sits on the teacup and fits into it, forming one pretty sculpture.  How great is that?

My birthday week has been amazing!

Artist Spotlight: Part Twenty-Nine

Another blast from the past this week!  We've got Jennifer Mewes of Mewes Mountain Arts.

She's been really busy, so it's a great idea to feature her again and let you know what's been going on with her.  Not only is she a great artist, but on her blog, in addition to information about her own art and the wonderful art of others, she posts a weekly bible study.  Heck, reading her blog, I even learned about Uilleann pipes!

Plus, she's got both a Handmade Artists shop and an Etsy shop.  In them, you can find great pieces like this Jealous Heart bracelet, named after that great clasp.

Or this great Leap Frog bracelet, which also plays into my love of chainmaille.

I also love these great silver plate and pearl earrings.

Definitely check her out!

The Words of Others

I decided today that I'd share some of the emails and private messages that we've gotten regarding our products.  I won't bother repeating here the messages you can see on the Reef Botanicals Facebook page, since you can just go there to read them, so these are just private messages we've received.

So... here goes...

"The shaving soap is the BOMB.  Been using crappy razors ... and using them way past when they should've been tossed ... and NOT ONE NICK since I started out using that stuff.  Still have to use conditioner even with your shampoo, but my hair is ridiculously thick and coarse.  BUT ... I got my hair colored right before you sent my package.  I only shampoo about once a week because ... it fades my color like CRAZY and I want to keep the red as long as possible.  So I've used your shampoo about 4x now.  I'm used to seeing the water turn a pinky color when I rinse shampoo out ... and with your shampoo?  NO PINK.  NONE.  Not even on the VERY FIRST WASH after the color.  I am AMAZED.  I'm a hairdresser's kid ... I've used only the very 'best stuff' on the market my entire life.  I've been coloring my hair since I was 14 years old.  And that's NEVER EVER happened."

~Lacey, Oklahoma

"I've been using [Reef Botanicals] shampoo since March.  Still use conditioner and I think that's because it's colored 'cause my hair is fine and short, but I just love it.  Will never go back to anything else and I'm an ex-hairdresser.

On another note I just started using Purity for cleaning [face painting] sponges and man does it rock.  If you aren't using it on your sponges you are surely missing out.  It's great."

~Nora, Texas

"I really do like the Purity.  The dry skin I was having issues with on my hands and the other spots like elbows and feet, has completely eased off.  It works great on our hair too - no tangles!"

"Both mom and I are using Purity soap for our hair.  I don't need to use conditioner either, if I use shampoo I HAVE to use conditioner to get a comb through my short hair!  Works great for us."

~Shannon, Canada

"I got a grease stain on the front of a favorite t-shirt months ago.  Washed it and washed it, pre-soaked it, tried a couple different cleaning sprays, nothing worked.  So I relegated it to wearing around the house.  When I got home from my last gig, the Purity did such a good job on my sponges and brushes that I got to thinking.  What about my t-shirt?  I pulled it out of the laundry basket, wet the bar of soap, and gave the stain a good rubbing.  I let it sit overnight and then washed it in hot water with my regular detergent the next day.  Ta da!  Stain's gone and I get to wear my shirt in public again.

All hail Larissa, Goddess of Clean!"

~Nancy, Virginia

"My order of soaps arrived yesterday.  Thank you for such great service.

As I told you, I was hesitant to try any kind of soap on my face because my skin is so dry and the climate here only adds to it.  Well, I tried the oatmeal honey soap on my face last night and WOW, it was fantastic.  My skin was actually softer afterwards and not dry at all!  I am delighted.  Why don't all soap manufacturers leave out the drying crap?  This is wonderful and I am sold."

~Joan, Arizona

"So, since I spent the whole day decluttering stuff ... I decided to reward myself with a nice, long warm bath scented with  my favorite oils, and finished with [Reef Botanical]'s sham-soap and lemon-sugar scrub.  I SMELL SO GOOD, and I FEEL SO GOOD!  My skin is like velvet.  :)"

~Cindy, Minnesota

"Just wanted to let you know I received my soap and I love it.

The packaging was very nice.  The Cool as a Cuke is my favorite.  Very nice lather, almost no fragrance, and it leaves my hands really soft.  Cleans up the face paint REALLY well on my fingers.  The lavender is nice too, but doesn't seem to lather as well. ... still, very nice and perfect for my guest bath.

I'm sure myself and my family will purchase more.  We love homemade products that are part of the solution for this Earth AND are made by small Mom and Pop businesses here in the USA.  You and Eric have done well.

~Laurie, California

"Today was my husband's birthday and I gave him the shaving products I bought from you.  He loves them, especially the soap!  He says it's the best lathering soap he's ever had, and he's had some expensive stuff before.  Just wanted to let you know.  I'm sure I'll be ordering again!"

~Teresa, North Carolina

Under Construction

If you try to go to Reef Botanicals, you'll see that we're under construction right now.  However, you can still buy Reef Botanicals products at our Handmade Artists' Shop, so don't let that stop you!  Be sure to contact me regarding your order with regard to combined shipping.

Although the HAF Shop program does not allow for automatic combined shipping, we retain our policy of flat rate $5 shipping to all locations in the U.S. for all orders, no matter how large!

Come shop!

Artist Spotlight: Part Twenty-Eight

The artist you get to meet this week is Linda, who calls herself Raedawn on the Handmade Artists Forum.  Her store name, though, is Dreams and Echoes.

Currently hailing from Lowell, MA, Raedawn makes jewelry the same way she has always made visual art - with attention and joy.  Each piece, therefore, is one of a kind and has its own unique character.

She grew up most of her life in Maryland, but sabbaticals in Oregon, Ontario, and Silver City, NM had definite influences on her work.  Her jewelry now includes themes that are primal/mythic, romantic, decorative, contemporary and Southwestern.

Raedawn's beading journey began after working for years as a visual artist, and you can see the influence.  Her visual art had evolved over time into work that was highly symbolic and grounded in archetypal and symbolic imagery, and her beadwork led her to explore the same themes.

Raedawn's jewelry has been sold in several emporiums in Maryland and shown in many galleries in New Mexico in Oregon, but if you want to buy it, you need look no further than her Handmade Artists shop or the Etsy shop.

She's also still active as a visual artist, as is shown by her ACEO drawings.  What's an ACEO?  I didn't know either, 'til I saw her talking about them.  ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions, and Originals, and are more or less artist trading cards.  They're miniature works of art that you can carry with you, basically the size of a baseball card.

These colored pencil mini-drawings are two from a collection of four of Raedawn's rather poetic ACEOs about the four sacred elements, fire, water, earth, and air.  The left, of course is fire and the right is water.  Both depict the Axis Mundi, the "still turning point," the point just before creation began, where all things are possible.

In her jewelry, she's equally poetic.  She loves to combine seemingly disparate elements, like semi-precious stones with glass, large chunky nuggets with Swarovski crystals, coral and bone with sterling silver accents.

She says she's never met a bead she didn't like, and in the context of her jewelry, at least, neither have I.

She considers her jewelry making to be a journey, and has offered to take you along with her.

To join her, be sure to read her blog, where you'll learn all sorts of terrific things about Raedawn, her art, and her wares.