The Long + Winding Road

Every good story has a beginning, a middle and an ending.  My story begins, and ends, and begins again at the same place, the farm I grew up on.

Growing up on a small farm in an area known as ‘The Ridge’ was a combination of fun, exploration, isolation, idealism, small-school sports, horse-back riding and developing a love of the great outdoors – which came naturally because we spent so much time outdoors.  The Ridge is an area that was carved out by glaciers, so the soil is rich in minerals and is great for farming.  It also created a high elevation left over from the carving out of the land, thus The Ridge.  There was a hill close to my house growing up where on a clear day and with just the right humidity, we could see the sand dunes of Grand Haven which is a city that borders Lake Michigan about 30 miles to the West of The Ridge.  How ironic that now Grand Haven is the place I now call home.

Somewhere along the way I found an affinity to poetry and the arts and headed to college to study them. At first this seemed odd coming from a farm girl, yet isn’t that how all artists start out?  While studying literature and poetry, I couldn’t help but wonder why I was attracted to such things.  I specifically remember thinking of Frost and Thoreau and even the short life of Keats, all of whom grew up on farms or in some kind of isolation. So, perhaps that’s the connection?   We all find ways to express ourselves when we are alone, whether it’s through painting, writing or creating.  And that’s what I do.  I create.  With Harvest + Harmony, I am creating products that bring out all of the things that I love… flowers, color, farm-inspired ingredients and luscious scents, all locally sourced and circling back to my roots on the farm.

While in college I found many poetry lines that inspired me and helped guide my way throughout life.  One of my favorites was this line from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem Ulysses:

“To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield”

This simple line hits deep on how I want to present Harvest + Harmony.

I will strive to bring you the best products I can; I will seek the best ingredients possible and explain the benefits; I will continue to find new product ideas, resources and best practices to bring you the most relevant information and most luxurious soaps and scrubs for your skin; and I will not yield when it comes to taking any shortcuts or someone trying to convince me to cut costs and substitute key ingredients.

I hope you follow my story on this blog.  I want to speak to you in meaningful ways with relevant information, industry news, and sharing of content that I believe is interesting and has value in the soap world. Thank you for being a part of the Harvest + Harmony journey.