Behind the Scents: August Edition

OMG, SUMMER IS ALMOST OVER 😭

Ok real talk: I am feeling' INCREDIBLY bummed that summer is almost over. Every year summer feels shorter and shorter and this year it felt like summer started two days ago. My garden is currently an absolute mess. lol But, I've honestly done the best I could with it, often not having much energy to support something I truly love. But, while I am truly sad that summer is just about over, I'm excited about a few limited editions that I've been silently testing behind the scenes...

While I can't divulge too much information now, I've got a great collaboration happening for fall that fruit and spice lovers are going to be OVER THE MOON for. It features a scent note that I don't often use too much of because I typically don't love to play with it, but I took that as a challenge because if I could make it so that even I loved it, then I'd call that a mission accomplished ✅.

AND, because summer really f$%&*** flew by, I decided to create a special Halloween themed scent inspired by campfires, camping snacks, and jump scares and what I've come up with is maybe my most hauntingly alluring scent ever. Between these two scents coming soon, fall is gonna smell AMAZING.

MY PICKS FOR FALL

Until then, I've got some great fall leaning options from our everyday line that you're gonna LOVE.

FAIR WARNING, HOLIDAY SCENTS ARE LEAVING

I'm going to give y'all a HUGE head's up on this because we've been making these scents for so long, but after 10-ish years of making the very same holiday scents season after season, the time has come to switch things up. That means that, at the end of this year, or when they sell out for good, our classic line of holiday scents will be retired! It is well past time to drop something new, and I've been working on the next generation of holiday inspired fragrances to create something I think you will all love. For now, take advantage of our End of Summer Sale and snag our holiday scents before they are gone for good. I'll have them on the site through the end of the sale which ends this Monday night, and then they will be back on the site in November until they are sold out. Go go go!

COME SEE ME AT RENEGADE CRAFT NEXT WEEKEND

Renegade is our big show at the end of summer, and holy cow it's next weekend! Come through and come see me at booth #306 at the southern corner of Paulina and Ashland. I'll have my picks for fall, AND I'll be fully stocked with everything that's been sold out like my Limoncello Bar Soap and my Sequoia + Wild Sage Bar Soap, as well as the Elixir of the Sun and Out of the Woods gift sets. 

Thanks again for being you!!

If you're currently struggling with the current world and looking for any ways to help change or collective outcomes, there's an extended read for you below. Now is the time to be apart of something greater ❤️

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EXTENDED READ, FOR THOSE STRUGGLING WITH THE WORLD

Feel free to skip this if you're not in the mood, or not open to feeling your feelings right now. Skip it if the community next to you feels unimportant. Skip it if you feel like all is right in the world. If you are generally uninterested in what I have to say about anything outside of great fragrance, I get it, and you should also skip this section.

But if you're looking for some likeminded Q+A and my hot take on what we could all do, then please read on. 

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Most Americans are currently finding themselves caught in a sea of extreme stress, whether it's balancing income, worrying about their safety, worrying about other's safety, or just having real concern about global chaos. 

My favorite hobby of summer is tending to my garden like my true grandmother spirit wants, and even that hobby has taken a backseat to merely persevering which is how I know that I am NOT OK. So if you're feeling like me, how do you find balance between the positive and the negative while the weight of the world sits on your shoulders? Soap Distillery is a brand, but that brand is being run by a person who's been asking herself some of these same questions on a daily basis and I've been clawing at finding the answers that make the most sense.

Personally and professionally, I'm tired of feeling helpless, angry, and alone. I'm done with the individualism that is consuming us. Focusing solely on family or my business doesn't promote a safe environment for either to successfully exist once I can no longer ignore the many problems around us, so that won't work for me, and it really won't work in the long term for any of us. Abandoning family or my business to solely focus on community hurts me personally and professionally, so that won't work for me either. This is why balance is important and I for one am TIRED of sitting around, waiting for others to fix things for ME.

How many of you out there know who your alderman/alderwoman/alderperson is? How many of you out there have volunteered with their offices, donated, or even just sent an email to voice support or even criticism of things they AREN'T doing for you? Have you ever volunteered for a local program or event that would benefit children or disadvantaged adults in your community? How do we participate in community building when we don't have a ton of time or money or space for others outside of ourselves? 

Recently, I met up with a friend that told me about a community program she started in her neighborhood. She lives in a wealthy community of people who don't talk to each other much, and this same community in southern California is also battling drastic climate change in the form of devastating fires. So, she wanted to link up her community members and start to change things by creating a day in which community members would pull up invasive plants in the area, plant natives, and install simple rain collecting devices for water preservation. It went VERY well, and the feedback was incredible. People collectively agreed there should be more events. But, not a single person outside of herself and her friends volunteered to help for the next event, even though they said they would. The event was so successful, but no one wanted to invest in the success of the community. 

She looked at her problem and realized that everyone was just all INCREDIBLY BURNT OUT with regard to making decisions, and while everyone interested had great intentions, they needed the easiest way possible to help. For her community, they didn't want to volunteer. However, they have the means to donate so if they could do that easily, she could potentially hire help because she knew that people would show up again if it could all be managed. So, her next steps are to navigate this option, register where it makes the most sense, and push forward.

How could this apply to all of us? Here's where I think we can all bolster our communal spaces:

Don't have time to help? Donate to local orgs.

Don't have a ton of cash but you've got a little time? Volunteer and help organize.

Don't have the time or cash? Share what the org is trying to do on your social media or share flyers/post cards. You could create a share a post while using the toilet in the morning, you know? It's kinda funny, but you know we alllllllllllll have that same kinda time.

Not sure even where to start? Contact your alderperson or your smaller governmental offices and ask them what you can do to help.

Still stuck? Make sure to vote in every election you can vote in, and do REAL research on your candidates. Fact Check is a great resource to verify claims made by candidates on both sides of the aisle, and their newsletter is free to subscribe to. Ground News is an amazing platform to read biases on all sides of issues, including a fact check of all articles featured and an openness to feature articles from many news sources from across the globe. Their app is low cost, incredibly easy to use, and easy to follow specific topics of interest. Both websites are free to use. This is not an ad, nor a paid commentary for either platform. Both options are non-partisan.

And most importantly, we should ALL be socially investing in spaces that make everyone feel welcome, no matter what their past is. Many of us have outright messed up in years past, even months past, and most likely even yesterdays past. Create space for people to course correct if their intent is to accept their mistakes, learn from them, and to progress forward to help others from making those same mistakes. Ask WHY someone is consumed with hate, because more often than not, at the root of their hate is a frustration that they can't actually put a name or face on and it's easier to blame your neighbor, even if they don't deserve it.

REAL change starts from the bottom up.

Stay strong, and keep fighting the good fight. Smell good, promote good.

-Danielle