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Why We Support Local Businesses and Non-profits

Every once in a while, we get a chance to talk about why and how we support local businesses. Mostly, it’s to folks from out of town or those interested in having us switch to their company. I would like the chance to spend a moment explaining our reasons in a bit more detail about what it is we do locally because I can’t always while we’re out at an event! There’s a couple of reasons that are most important to us and I really wanted to spotlight them as part of our blog also.

We buy local ingredients or materials whenever possible because we can usually have the chance to see them first hand before purchasing. I can actually pick them up, view them, or smell them as needed before we commit it to soap. We like having the chance to see the place where it was grown or harvested, forged or crafted as much as possible. You can see if the shops are clean, the owners friendly and honest, other customers are happy, or if it is a place you should avoid working with. It also feels good to see the person you hand your money to, and know that it goes to support their family or further their business. We also like to promote local crafters, businesses, or events we like as often as possible to help spread the word about them. Lastly, there is just something awesome about being able to see something handmade in front of you! Why wouldn’t you support your local community?

We also like to give to charities and non-profits locally as much as possible. We like to donate our time as a family in addition to fundraising for them through our company. We have found that our preference is to go work hands on with the group, such as food drives, sorting items in donation drives, and helping work in an animal shelter, because they have had such a more long lasting impact on our children. However, there are some others we help financially as that is what works best for them. It also feels good to be able to see the results of your hard work make an impact in your community right in front of your own eyes. Our children have very fond memories of some of our local projects and we have made lasting connections with many of the people we’ve met along the way.

I hope that this post answers more questions some of you have had about how our company handles a few of our buying and giving choices. We hope that more people can do the same in their areas and would love hearing about your thoughts. Have a favorite store, events, craftsman, or show we need to know about? You can find us this weekend at Fenske’s Country Store to talk to us directly, email, or comment below or on Facebook. We are officially collecting food items for a HCC Food Pantry and will also gladly take your donations for them this weekend while we’re there. Fenske’s will be open on Saturday from 10-5pm and Sunday from 11-4pm. I am updating our show schedule this weekend and should have more information for those of you who were waiting to have it posted. We should be able to give you an idea of where to find us in person for at least the next three to four months. That may be just a quick Facebook post though as I’ve had a lot less time to blog lately between being a soap-making workaholic and parent, as many people can relate. Also, yes, I’m working on fixing those pictures in the shopping cart again! Have a great holiday season everyone!

Happy Washing!

Dorothy

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Where to find us in March

I kept waiting on posting this until I could get a few more dates confirmed but I realized that might take too long. Patience is still one of those virtues I’m working on, I admit. 🙂 As of today, we are confirmed to be at these markets in March. I’ll save the April dates posting until I get more confirmations on them. Mark your calendars and come have a little fun with us!

Saturday, March 16th, 10-2pm
Donna’s Market
FM 529 & Barker Cypress in Houston, TX

Friday, March 22nd, 6-9pm
Klein Oaks High School Spring Fling Carnival
(Fundraising Carnival for Northampton Elementary)
6404 Root Road, Spring, TX

Happy Washing!
Dorothy

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Website update

I’m still lurking on the website here today trying to get it fixed again.  We managed to get the pictures loaded again for those of you who had missed the chance to see the Little Stinkers.  Hope they make you laugh a little this weekend.  I had forgotten to mention in that post that those gift sets are actually for a good cause too!  We are donating $1.50 for every gift bag sold to Cypress Assistance Ministries (CAM) for this year’s holiday donation.  This applies to all gift bags sold between November 1st thru December 20th, 2012.  We like to help those in need in our local community during the year and we have worked with CAM previously.  CAM is a local group who runs a food pantry in addition to providing resume help, job searching, and financial counseling assistance to those in need.  You can learn more about this non-profit at their website http://cypressassistanceministries.com/

I will be continuing to work on the site as you are visiting this weekend.  I just got an update that now the colors seem to be possessed so I must be off to fix them.  Hope your weekend is well and I will post again soon with next installment of our recent projects.  No, it’s not as goofy as Little Stinkers, I swear.

Happy Washing!

Dorothy