One year ago today, Gratitude Perfume had not yet claimed its name, nor did it exist! and Lotion Hearts, (then called stones), had just come to exist in their first form. This has been a year of so many firsts and as I look back, it's really moving to see all that came through me and all the love, time and dollars people have given to these beautiful little venture. I joke about Be Wyld Child (BWC) being "The little company that could". And it did. We made it one year. Be Wyld Child is one year old! :)
This photo is from the market this weekend. A wonderful maker friend of our's Lauren, snapped it when people rushed over after hearing us talking to customers. It was a bit wyld there for a moment!!
This has been a year of so many firsts! First lotion hearts, first time ever putting actual products into the world!, first face products, first bath bombs, first bath melt cubes, first comfort cube, first body butters, first roll on perfumes, first attempts at capturing my own scents, first time to learn about packaging, first labels, making a first website, getting our first wholesale orders, doing our first markets in Ojai, then Ventura, then Santa Barbara
!, first time having an article written about us by Ojai Life and Style!! First time making it in a beautiful favorite things gift guide in Farmer-ish! First time doing Ojai Day! I am terribly grateful and quite frankly, in awe.
When I was young, I would watch my father come in from the farm (his passion), covered in dirt and worn out. He would have to shower and change before he could sit anywhere. He was exhausted and would have nothing left to give. He would eat, go to bed, then wake up and do it all again. Years later I started going with him him to the farm and I would ride and train horses and work with him. I remember sharing a cold coco cola and sandwich in the old kitchen in the beaten up sharecroppers house at lunch, then going back
at it. That evening we would drive home in silence with the windows down, letting the air dry our sweat and make the dirt on our faces and bodies feel tight. When we got home, bathing and eating were all I could do and we would each tumble into our beds. There was a feeling of contentment that came to me from giving all that I had to give for the day. Even though I was filthy, I felt the cleanest I had ever felt because there was literally nothing I had left to give. I haven't had that feeling in so long.
When getting ready for this weekend's market, I had a 16 hr day of going pretty much non-stop and I still didn't get everything done. And although my feet felt like bricks and my back started to groan I found myself dancing, singing and cheery while prepping. "What is this?" I pondered, and I realized that I felt deeply purposeful in this beautiful connected way. With this business, making what I do and getting it out into the world feels like I am doing something good, something right. It's sort of like having a way to give my best intentions, gifts and goodness to the world and to have it connect and that is all I could ever want work-wise.
One of my biggest missing pieces in life has been the idea of purpose and vocation. "Dear God/Universe, please use me and my particular gifts to give something beautiful to the world and to help people and the world." This has been my
private prayer for as long as I can remember. I have longed to be "used for good" and now I feel like I truly am.
We solve skincare problems, we indulge people in safer, botanical scents, (sometimes people who haven't been able to enjoy scents for many years!), we help people enjoy caring for themselves, we give hope in little bottles of perfume named Gratitud
e and help people fall asleep and feel part of a tribe when they use Sleep Stars. It has been a truly exhausting but terribly beautiful journey.
After each bigger market, I sit and journal: "What worked, what didn't work, what can I do to solve issues, what do I want more of? what do I need less of?" I will be doing the same thing at the end of this year for Be Wyld Child as a whole. This could take a long time!! But I hope to get clarity on what is coming next and how to best steward that.
Honestly, so much of creating this business came from me working on myself and fears and shifting trauma to the point where I felt brave enough to throw my sensitive-yet-bold heart upon the world. And guess what? The world caught it. Thank you for catching my heart in the form of lotion hearts that started this whole journey. Thank you all for having our back and using our products and perfumes.
I can assure you, the exchange and delight is mutual in that you get something beautiful when you purchase our products, and so do we. And so do we. This is why it all works. We think of each customer who bought something. We hold the highest intentions for all that we make for you. We are honored we've gotten to give this kind of love for an entire year. We thank you so!! Now, Cue the celebration sales!! For tonight and tomorrow, (Cyber Monday when this all began). everything on our website is 22% off, (22% is Gratitude's original price and my life path number and I just spent a month of doing Gratitude posts!! so it feels right :)). Now is the time to treat yourself and others. (But I don't want you to see this sale and feel scarcity). I want this to be fun and if it works, wonderful! Don't worry -- we will continue to have fun ideas and specials coming for the holiday season though this one will likely not be repeated. Just know, we are grateful for you all.
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