Nature's Trace

One of my favorite parts of running a small business is all the amazing people it introduces me to.

Lucy reached out earlier this year and asked if Nature's Trace would create a custom soap for her album release. We talked colors, scents and design, and came up with, "The Wave" soaps seen here.

They will be available at all of her concerts and shows for purchase! The week that I was wrapping and packing the soaps was an overstuffed week for me. So much so that I forgot to take photos of the final product!! So I'll reshare her unboxing video in my stories so you can see what the end product looked like. My favorite part of the labels was the little tagline she added at the end:

"Hike. Drink tea. Listen to folk music."

Sage advice indeed.

Thank you Lucy for trusting me with your vision and asking me to create art to pair with your art. It was an honor and delight ✨

I've shared this soap in my stories, but not the whole story! The story behind the soap.

While back to school has already started for some, and summer days are waning, September Equinox is still 6 weeks away! And I'm not ready to start waving goodbye just yet.

To hold on to these last weeks of summer, I made a soap to celebrate the best of a Midwest vacation. As a kid growing up in Michigan, the rare treat of visiting Mackinac and stepping into a fudge shop was one of my favorite things. So I made a Peppermint Fudge Soap! To celebrate that feeling.

Scented with Peppermint and Spearmint for a refreshing wash, I added a thin line of cocoa powder for the classic pairing of peppermint and chocolate. The perfect summer soap.

💚

Spring and all its finery is slowly dissolving into summer. Trees are all leafed out and Linden nearly ready to bloom. Babies are fledging and finding their feet. It's growing season, planting and starting, greeting fresh shoots from the annuals and plants that reseeded.

If you're in the garden like me these days, and working up a good sweat, Charcoal Sea Salt is a great summer companion! The peppermint and lavender scent is invigorating and soothing, and the tiny charcoal particles feel amazing on the skin. I call this my, "head to toe bar" because you can wash your hair, body and face with it!! Highly recommend you add it to your shower or sink 🫧

What are you planting this spring? 🌱 (Literally or metaphorically!)

A little something to celebrate spring 🌱

Meet The Rainbow Connection Collection! This set includes 6 bars of soap. This is the same soap recipe you know and love, just a different shape and size and without the gorgeous labels.

This collection is something I've been wanting to do for a while! To clear out some essential oils and fragrances I only used once or rarely used and there's just a wee bit left in the bottle. As such, these are very limited edition. If there's a scent you love there's a good chance I'll never make it again, since I put the last of it into these bars.

Rest assured, the soap is the same recipe you know and love, just a different form factor and without the gorgeous labels. If you've been reading along for awhile and haven't tried our soaps yet, now is your chance to get great soap at a great price! If you don't need 6 bars, give the extras to your Mom (hint, Mother's day is May 10 😉

Scents you can expect include Cedar, Spiced Mahogany, Amber, Ginger, Patchouli, Passion Fruit and Guava, Mango, Ylang Ylang, Pine, and Gardenia. Think clean/fresh, woodsy/earthy, citrus/fruity, and warm/floral.

I hope the name of this collection and the colors evokes all the delight of spring, and reminds you of the beloved song celebrating stargazing, rainbows, our gorgeous planet, and the beautiful and sacred mundane that holds us all together. 🌎

April 2026. No filter. ✨

The beautiful and sacred mundane of the every day has been filling my heart lately. Here's some of what I've been up to:

1. Studio view

2. Rainbow Connection Collection release coming this Saturday (check your inbox!!)

3. Transplanted a Service Berry bush to the community garden

4. Dogwood in bloom

5. Thrift finds

6. Charcoal Sea Salt restock

7. Airbnb soaps custom order

8. Alder cones? Not entirely sure. Anyone help me out?

9. The best cookbook

10. What happens when I clean my soap cutter

11. Honey bee visit on lunch break

12. Postcard ripped in transit, an accurate depiction perhaps on how fragile our civil rights really are

13. The best pencil sharpener ever (thank you for the rec)

14. Hilarious) questionable tin advertisement from 1960's America (work night shift, sleep, wake, drink?!)

15. Lake Michigan delights with family visiting

16. A house in Chicago

17. Learning about the incredible history of plants and healing practiced by black women in America who brought the tradition from their African ancestors

18. A bench that needs the same relief it has afforded so many

19. Work gloves for all the spring time outside things