Saturday, April 14, 2007

Help Support Our Troops!


On Monday, April 16th, at 12 Noon, we will be stocking Yellow Ribbon soaps at our store on hyena cart to help support the deploying troops to the Middle East. Each soap will cost $4 plus shipping, and 100% of the profits will go towards a care package for our soldiers.

As a military family ourself(my husband, his sister, and brother are all active duty, and his step brother is National Guard) we understand firsthand what it is like to be away from home. Simple things like toiletries are usually expensive for the soliders to buy at the PX(Post Exchange), and some personal favorites are hard to find, as stock is limited. These items are also not supplied by the military, as soldiers have to use their personal paycheck(also hard to access overseas for some) to foot the bill. A lot of times family members and friends will be designated to send care packages overseas to lift this burden from the troops, but for those who do not have family or friends to do so, they have to rely on their fellow comrade to "spot them" or try and make do with what they can get at the camp PX.

We would like to ease the soldiers' mind of this by sending them a care package. We are asking if you would like to help by purchasing a bar of our Yellow Ribbon soap. All of the funds received will go towards this care package, its contents and shipping.

We thank you for your support!

Thursday, April 5, 2007

something



April 6th, at 8PM we will be stocking as a guest vendor on something at Hyena Cart. We have made some new items as well as old favorites to sell.


You may visit something here:









Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Who We Are

The Natural Madison family: Jennifer, Chris, and Madison(photo taken January 2006)
I often describe Natural Madison using the term "we" instead of "me" because I like to think of this as a family effort. Even though it was my idea to start this business, everyone in my family has a small part at one time or another.

First of all, there is me, the one who came up with the idea of an at home business. I am Jennifer, 21 years old, and married to a wonderful army man, Chris, with one crazy toddler boy, Madison, and another boy expected shortly this summer. I grew up in western Pennsylvania, I had what to me was a normal childhood. My mother instilled values into me and my older brother, the same ones she had when she grew up. We would plant several vegetable gardens every summer, with green beans, tomatoes, carrots, corn, peas, squash, pumpkins, etc. We also had a few blueberry bushes in our yard to pick from. My mother also loved flowers, so we had plenty of those around too. Everyone would help plant, weed, and harvest the garden. When I was younger, I would carry a chip basket and hold it for my mother to fill with our bounty.


In the kitchen of our rustic log home(that my dad and his family build), we would can and freeze all of our produce and more--my mother would scour produce stands and farmer's markets for fresh, seasonal produce to save for the winter. We would also go berry picking at a local farm, fresh strawberries and raspberries to be frozen for pies and made into jam. I would help my mother can peaches, tomatoes, green beans, and make salsa, tomato juice, spaghetti sauce, and pizza sauce. It was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun too.


I also did a lot of arts and crafts as a child. I was enrolled in art classes at the local art center at an early age, that is where I first learned the techniques about drawing, painting, and a little bit of sculpting. Later, I perfected my ways from high school classes as well as plenty of books. My grandmother taught me the basics of sewing, which I used quite a lot in high school to make my own purses, skirts, and other clothing. I also expirimented a lot with dyeing my own clothing, as well as bleaching and stonewashing techniques.


I got my first soapmaking kit when I was just 12 years old, it was a simple melt and pour kit, but I remembered it well when my husband left for his first deployment a few years ago--which is when I started to take soapmaking up as a serious hobby.


With all those things and more, I learned about a simpler, healthier way of living which has helped shape who I am today. I strive to keep the things my mother taught me alive, by gardening at home and preserving foods. I buy a lot of fresh foods and produce for my family to eat, use "greener" methods for cleaning and living, as well as a few things I picked up on my own like cloth diapering my children. Arts and crafts are still a very important aspect of my life, as it reflects not only in my business but my home as well. I try to make as many things I can myself, from paintings to pillows, curtains, and other decorative things.


The second important part of Natural Madison is my family, which would be my husband Chris(whom I've been married to for almost four years), and my three year old son, Madison(the namesake behind NM!). My husband plays a key role because he helps out a lot financially for supplies and other materials, as well as running packages to the post office during his lunch break at work, and sometimes helping me package items. My son Madison is a big inspiration for me. He loves to take baths, so he gets to test out all of my kid's products. He also wears a lot of my tie dyed and painted clothing. Often times too, he will give me his "opinion" on certain things I make, he loves smelling all of my soaps and potions.


I am very happy and thankful to be able to work from home, and to provide for my family by making natural and safe products for other families to use.


Monday, April 2, 2007

Welcome to the Natural Madison Blog

I decided to create a blog to record all of the details about Natural Madison, including updates, new products, product information, custom orders, etc. This a more "behind the scenes" look at everything that goes on at the Natural Madison headquarters!