The Perfect Bath

A bold title.  I can't bring myself to create a step by step instructional post teaching my audience how to create a successful business with a newborn crawling around all over the place, but I wanted to share some of my experiences with you in hopes that someone out there can relate.  Our lives changed exponentially over the last year or two and I'm sure that is a familiar experience for everybody.  These times have brought about many changes and we are trying our best to adapt to them lovingly.  I'd sure like to hope we are doing a good job, our smiley baby seems to encourage us so.   It's no joke trying to start a new company.  Ours happens to be an online candle and soap shop based in southeast Michigan called Earth Berry Apothecary .  It is a labor of love which focuses on providing quality soy candles and handmade soaps at an affordable price so anybody can spoil themselves and feel the benefits of self-care.   We started our compa...

  "The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit." Being the type of creature than can adapt to virtually any environment, a human is a remarkable species.  Time has shown that we can not only withstand the elements, but transform them for our favor.  Thus, we have created farms, roads and homes capable of sustaining our fragile lives in essentially every known corner of this perfectly off-tilt planet.  However, time has written so much of our human story so long ago and much of this world has long since been established in the image of people.   We have always labeled this as progress, but the jury is still out to decide the fate of our planet and our species, yet for now we can only speculate. Like so many of us, I was born into the well-known yet misunderstood American narrative of the middle class.  Food was provided for me from a grocery store, which changed it's name six times since I was born, each revealing just how long we'v...

This last few weeks have shown us the potentiality for turning our small candle and soap business into something larger and if you'd follow me through a bit of my daily ramblings, maybe you might have a piece of advice to offer. Earth Berry Apothecary was created originally for candles only. My wife was pregnant and we had been hearing all sorts of things about how store-bought candles have harmful chemicals that expecting parents should not be exposed to. Lavender Honey Soy Candle It turned out to be a very common problem as many parents were becoming wise to additives like phthalate (used for scents, yet typically used in products to harden plastic) and parabens (Google that one, they harm reproductive organs and are know to cause cancer, whoa now..). This was starting to surface itself in popular culture and it was beginning to seem like people these days were growing distrustful of scented candles while associating them with harmful additives and unnatural smells. Blessed B...

In this world of sights and sounds we start our journeys as small children.  Everything is new to us and we are presented everyday with amazing discoveries and scary uncertainties.  We eventually learn to talk and ask questions, and as a new father I know that I will soon have a lot of answers to be accountable for.  Our curious and insatiable need to explore and understand our world is something very important to the development of our sense of wonder, something that is truly embedded the natural ways of humanity.  I believe there is a true and tangible connection that some of us still feel to an ancient version of this world and, as adults often do, we have just outgrown ourselves and lost our imagination for how incredible things could be. Perhaps one of the most dynamic and mysterious ways that humans have ever tried to make sense of life on this planet is the exploration of religion and spirituality.  Some look to organized religions with established buildi...

Opening the lid of a candle is an immersive experience, one that is second only to actually lighting it.  As a consumer, you pick up an 8 oz. jar that fits in the grip of your hand and look inquisitively at the label, much like I am doing right now to this brand new Lavender Honey Soy Candle by Earth Berry Apothecary .  I'm very excited to open this lid today for the first time and share with you my first impressions of this cute yet curious creation from our favorite online witchy shop.  A new candle is like a trip to somewhere else in your mind and its powerful imagination, so this should be good. The lid comes off and all of my surroundings start to seem like the magical section of an old bookstore.  I'm greeted by this warm and inviting urge to grab a dusty book from the mysterious shop's forgotten shelves when all of a sudden a map falls from its pages onto the wooden floor.  I tremble upon picking up this remarkable discovery as the paper is old and burned...

This last year has given me a wonderfully new perspective into the world of business and I have learned lot of things that I would like to share about the growth of our small company.  Ever since the day my wife and I started this online soy candle and cold process soap shop, we have been faced with many challenges as well as many exciting successes and all of these experiences have been woven deeply into our story.  Like all good things, progress comes with time, but along the way there are certain tips you pick up that seem to help speed up that process.  However, we are still learning as we go and any further tips and pieces of advice you might have to offer the comments section would be always be greatly appreciated. Cold Process Soap by Earth Berry Apothecary Before discussing the growth of our company, I should explain a bit about what we do.  One of our favorite contributions to this business is the art of cold process soap-making.  Unlike typical generic...

Wolf Pack Soy Candles by Earth Berry Apothecary have been surfacing everywhere in Southeast Michigan and I wanted to find out why this product is so special.   According to the creator of Wolf Pack, the idea was conceived from the concept of 'togetherness'.  This last few years have brought many changes to our world, both physically and spiritually, and the one thing that remains ancient and unchanged is the belief that we are stronger as a group than as a lone wolf.  Our strength exists in our unity and the people we share it with.  This is the feeling you get when you first lay sight on this product and it is translated into an amazing experience of the senses.  So why is it so popular?  To find the answer, you must understand the wolf.   The wolf is a rustic beast whose sense of survival and danger perception is far superior to any other animal of its surroundings.  They feel a connection to the moon in an act of howling that is forev...

There was a time when I was sure I would find what I was looking for in the crashing ocean waves.  I lived in a small faraway place that nobody has ever heard of, and for that I am going to choose to leave up to your imagination.  You can fill in your creative interpretation of such a magical place and there was indeed a time I called the ocean my neighbor.  In those days I was tempted by the seemingly impossible to read currents whose shades of blue can only be found in bodies of water so close to the equator of this planet.  The island I lived on was one of many islands who have long admired the sea, however I wanted to ride on its back no matter how bold it seemed to do so. Surfing seemed like it would be the device which woke my spirit, but as is the case with many things in life, I was only partially correct.  While I was able to catch a few waves from the coast of that island home, it soon occurred to me that the ocean was a powerful spirit that nobody sho...

  Earth Berry Apothecary Homepage Welcome to The Perfect Bath!  If this is your first time viewing this blog, let us be the first to greet you to the wonderful world of cold process soaps.  There is much to learn about soap-making and if you would like to try some homemade products, Earth Berry Apothecary is a great place to start. Earth Berry Apothecary is a small business located in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan.  It was founded by a small family who began by making homemade soaps and candles in their kitchen.  Now they have grown into a successful local business and their products are readily available to the public through online sales. There are dozens of scents to choose from, but we will choose a few of our most popular soaps for this post in hopes of describing for you what you will experience with each individual product. Ambrosia Cold Process Soap Ambrosia is a scent that was developed out of an inspiration from Greek mythology.  It was thought to ...

by MookFish Find your own way out and do it boldly. This year has been nuts for me. I had a son, I had a wild accident at work and also a brave return to grad school to study something I actually care about. The accident showed me great lows that I didn't think I'd climb back from. It slashed my career for a company I helped create and it still hinders me, I'm virtually left handed now. The obvious thing is that I didn't see any of this coming a few years ago. I thought I had a solid idea of my fate and I was sure that some passing wind would just be there for me when I needed it, but that's not a safe bet for life. In fact, we live in a great field with all sorts of unpredictable weather. The only question is, will you smile and laugh in the rain when it's time for it to fall? Throughout my life I'd had some wildly different jobs. Off hand, my list is something like: waiter/server, boat detailer, Elementary school teacher, ESL teacher, pickle maker, ...

In this article I will be explaining a few things I've noticed while playing a small role in a local soap making company.  My wife is the mastermind of our creations and I'm a humble writer who teaches English as a second language online.  However, it's come to my attention that many people, men mostly, don't really care what goes on their body and they wake up every morning to a disgustingly white bar of shower soap that smells like chalk.  Almost everybody takes the shower for granted and now that I am an active member of this apothecary I would like to offer a beginner's guide to cold process soaps.  Don't expect to learn how to make soaps here, I'm simply providing some useful introductory knowledge for the consumer. Ambrosia Cold Process Soap This soap pictured above is called Ambrosia and it was named after the fabled food of the gods.  It tells a story just looking at it.  It looks good in your bathroom and it was crafted by a cute artsy girl you met...

The statue pours her urn, the soothing bubbling sound brings you to a different place, abundant with flowers and birdsong. A faint scent of incense wafts over the table laden in sunbeams, cumulous clouds, and dreams. The feast of the gods and goddesses awaits. This elegant and earthy scent is for the dreamer in all of us. About: Cold process soap is the perfect mixing bowl of science and art. Saponification turns each carefully formulated blend of oils and butters into a luxurious sudsy experience that leaves you fresh and clean, while treating your skin gently. Free of phthalates, sulfates, & dyes. Ambrosia Cold Process Soap  

  Juniper Woods Cold Process Soap Step into the forest pool, mineral blue, hugged by juniper and jasmine. Let your worries seep away while you soak. Feel your essence revitalized. About: Cold process soap is the perfect mixing bowl of science and art. Saponification turns each carefully formulated blend of oils and butters into a luxurious sudsy experience that leaves you fresh and clean, while treating your skin gently. Free of phthalates, sulfates, & dyes.

  Thyme & Sage Cold Process Soap

The fig.. the simple, edible and sweet delicacy that tastes like a trip to a faraway land.  We were inspired by this ancient food when we created our Mediterranean Fig Cold Process Soap.  This item is something that has been catching a lot of attention lately and again, it is truly a tragedy that you cannot smell the pictures you are looking at.  Mediterranean Fig is cool.  It's a familiar smell that feels great on your skin.   There is something very old about this item, we feel that as we hold it in our hands.  The Mediterranean Sea seems so far away, and now that the world is such a strange new place it makes us sad that we cannot explore like we want to.  That's the beauty of soaps like this.  There is a simple practice you can do every morning when you shower or every evening when you have a bath and it begins with truly taking a moment to yourself.  Why do we rush anything?  We have the feeling nothing is rushed in the great s...

Freshly Ground Coffee Soy Candle Exfoliating Coffee Soap You're not going to believe your nose on this one!  Earth Berry Apothecary has done it again and this time we are proud to announce that two of our favorite products are fully stocked and available for purchase from our website!  These items are made with real coffee and will definitely get some perky attention. We introduce to you the Freshly Ground Coffee Soy Candle and the Exfoliating Coffee Soap, which are two locally famous products of ours that can now be a part of your collection!