Summer is here and my farmers markets are a go!
Covid-19 has forced some changes though. Both my Saturday and Sunday markets are in different locations and have rules in place to keep everyone safe. 
I am fortunate that this "new normal" has keep me busy. Like everyone else out there, I worry about personal safety.  I LOVE doing farmers markets, in part, because I get to interact with a lot of interesting people. This year, social distancing guidelines dictate that we should not do that. I have done a lot of soul searching about how I market my wares. the result is that I have decided to cut back on the number of markets I will participate in this year. Right now, I am not sure how often I will be at the market, but I am considering once or twice a month. Initially, I will be limiting my selection to honey and soap. Other items can be ordered in advance, and I will bring them to the next market. To make this as painless for everyone, in these new times, I have created an online form to order items for pickup.

My thoughts with this form is that an order place in advance, would allow me to package up an order and have it bagged up and ready for pickup at the market. Once I figure out my market schedule, I will update the form with this information. The form does not have a payment option nor does it track inventory, so there could be items that are sold out. Please give me a couple days notice before the order is to be picked up.

of course, the safest is for people to use my website. I have added our honey to the Beehive Alchemy website, although it is labeled with our Wildermann Apiaires brand. I have an option at checkout that allows for "in-store" pickup. Orders are not charged shipping and a note at checkout lets me know where the items will be picked up. Orders can also be picked up at my house if that is more convenient or timing is problematic. In some circumstances, I would also be willing to drop off orders on "off" weeks.

​Below are the markets I will be participating in this year. I have added links to the Facebook pages for location and safety information.
Saturdays - Whitefish Bay Farmers Market  - 8 am to noon (Starts July 11th, 2020)
Sundays - Riverwest Gardeners Market - 10 am-3 pm (Started June 7th)

In my previous post I talked about the dilemma I faced trying to remake my most popular Big Block Kitchen Soap scent - French Field. I had no idea if its popularity stemmed from people really liking the scent, or if they the light green color worked with their decor. It could also stem from similarities to other soaps that steered them toward that particular block. 
I included a questionnaire that I hoped would give me definitive direction. The responses surprised me.! The overwhelming winner was to scrap the old blend and come up with something entirely new.
​So, I went back to the drawing board and worked on a new blend. AT one point I sniffed the blend and thought "hmmm.... that smells familiar". I pulled out the recipe for French Breeze and realized I had practically duplicated it. That wouldn't work!

So, I went back to the drawing board and worked on a new blend. AT one point I sniffed the blend and thought "hmmm.... that smells familiar". I pulled out the recipe for French Breeze and realized I had practically duplicated it. That wouldn't work!
So i decided to "ignore" what everyone told me to do and I decided to work with the existing blend, omitting the Rosewood essential oil, and rebalancing it. Truth be told, it is essentially like creating something new, since it does not smell the same, but I think it is close enough for the people that liked the scent. 
Since I still have some original French Field soap shreds available for 2 batches of soap, I have incorporated those into the two transitional batches I have made. The "raw" soap is scented with the new blend and the shreds are still scented using the old blend.
The look will be exactly the same - light green with flecks of shredded soap. After these transitional soaps have sold, the new batches will be completely "new". 
To hopefully help with ordering clarity, I am labeling the two transitional batches as French Field Transitional. The new batches are made and will be ready to ship September 20, 2019. I am making them available for preorder today.

My original Big Block Kitchen Soap will be changing. Specifically the most popular one, French Field, will be getting, at minimum, tweaked or more drastically, a complete overhaul. Why? the short answer is Rosewood.
Rosewood essential oil is one of the components of the essential oil scent blend I use to scent the soap. Back when I first created this soap, the essential oil was plentiful and I was blissfully unaware of how it was harvested and what could possibly go wrong. I stocked up. So much so, that I haven't really needed to buy more until now. Thankfully, it is an oil that stores well!
Since I bought my stock of Rosewood essential oil, the trees that the oil is derived from, have been severely over-harvested. So much so, it is now on the endangered species list.  It is a tree that is not easily "farmed", so most essential oil is distilled from wild-harvested trees in the Amazon forest.
So now that I am out of Rosewood essential oil, I am faced with the dilemma of how to scent this popular soap going forward. One option is to  use a "rosewood replacer" oil, which is a blend of other essential oils that replicate rosewood as best as possible. Option 2 is to change the essential oil blend using different oils, while trying to stay somewhat true to the original scent. The last option (3) is to scrap the blend entirely, and create something new.
Options 1 and 2 would probably result in a slight price increase, since the essential oil blend would be more costly to produce. Option 3 would allow me to keep the price the same.

I just received a new batch of bayberry wax and it is GORGEOUS! It is a deep green color and has an amazing resinous scent! ​

Raw bayberry wax

For those unfamiliar with bayberry wax and bayberry tapers, here is a nickel tour. Bayberry wax is extracted from the berry of the bayberry bush. By itself, it is deep green and very brittle. Although the wax can be used by itself, it is not really a great wax for candles, For this reason, it is usually mixed with another wax, like beeswax. Blending the bayberry with the beeswax yields a more durable candle that burns brightly and for a long time. My bayberry candles are a proprietary blend of bayberry wax and natural yellow beeswax.

Bayberry wax has been used for candles for hundreds of years. In New England, bayberry candles are often shared with friends and family at Christmas or new Years celebrations. The burning of the bayberry candle burn to the end, is said to bring good luck for the new year.

Available candle sizes (L to R):
12"& 10" hex, 6", 8", 10" &12" round tapers.
​All sizes available in both natural and bayberry waxes.

Fluted Candles in the foreground

YIPPEE!!!! I finally received an advance copy of my second book - Beehive Alchemy. I am really happy with the way it came out!

This latest book covers everything that comes out of a beehive: honey, beeswax, pollen, and propolis, There is a little bit of overlap with my last book Beeswax Alchemy (after all, how many ways are there to make candles), but there are new projects and new techniques to keep everyone happy. 

The book is available for pre-order now on Amazon and other retailers, or directly from me.

I love making natural perfumes and prefer to work with alcohol as a diluent, but since it is a problem to ship any amount of alcohol via Airmail, I hesitated to include any of them on my website. I also had some oil based perfumes leak when I attempted to put them into roller ball applicators. ARGH! 

So... my work-around was to make solid perfumes. I love them and will continue to offer them, as I love the tactile nature of them, but now I have another option. Several months ago, I stumbled on the most beautiful glass bottles. I love the heft of the glass and the simplicity of shape. When I received them, I was surprised to find that they had a "sprinkle" top molded in, which meant that the planned sprayers were not going to work. These bottles were SCREAMING at me to use them for perfumed oils. I have had some essential oil blends marrying for a number of years, waiting to coalesce and tell their story....  LISTEN

Here they are...  
top row: Sultana, Vernal Glen, Field Spirit  
Bottom Row: Summer Garden, Winter Moon, Sylvan Joy, and Mirth.

Look at the colors! They are the result of the essences used and have no color added. I still need to create descriptions and essence lists so that people will have an idea of what they are like, so they will be on the website in the next day or so.

​Bayberry candles are back in stock! These gorgeous candles are made simply with a blend of real bayberry wax and beeswax - no added color or scent. I purchased more bayberry wax this year, so I should have plenty, but just in case, order early.
​https://www.beehivealchemy.com/store/p289/10%22_Bayberry_Tapers.html

Beeswax candles in COLORS!!!!

I used the Pantone 2015 Spring/Summer colors as inspiration for this bouquet of color. There will probably be some tweaking of some of the colors, but I am happy with these as a starting point.

My advanced copy of the book arrived this morning and I am beside myself with excitement! It was originally supposed to land on my doorstep before Christmas, so this has been a LONG wait. So strange to see my name on the cover of a book!

In conjunction with my book Beeswax Alchemy, I am releasing kits to go with the recipes found in the book. I will be offering up the kits as I have them "figured out". Who would want these? Well...

1. They are perfect for trying out a recipe first. No sense buying more of an ingredient than needed if the rest is superfluous. If the recipe turns out to be a keeper, then bulk quantities of the ingredients can be purchased.

2. They make great afternoon activities, like birthday parties or sleep-overs. The kits are scale-able depending on how many guests there are.

3. Need a quick hand made gift? These fit the bill perfectly. Almost everything is included to take the project from start to finish.

I plan on taking actual pictures of the kits in the next week or so. Once they are photographed, I will post an update.