How are you doing over there?
I feel a little like this mixer.
My dear friends, I miss you! That's one thing I want to say today, but there's a LOT more you're all asking about.
Our inbox is full every day with questions like the following:
Where is The Honey Mud?
Will there be a summer GWP?
Where is The Honey Mud?
Did I see a body oil is coming or am I imagining things?
Oh - and where is The Honey Mud?!!
Each of these questions warrant their own newsletter, but my husband (who is sitting next to me on our couch as I write this) pointed out that all of these are answered by the same logic. So here we go.
I wrote to you about our operations plan back in March when we first went into Shelter In Place. The only difference between what I wrote then and what I'd share now is that I'm even more clear on the stakes at hand, and more certain that we'll be staying as-is for a while, regardless of what phase of openings are being declared around our state, this country, or the globe - or what other brands or retailers are doing with their operations.
What do I mean by that?
We are an independent company that makes our own products. This is not a marketing story, it is our every day reality. This work is physical, and cannot be done from home.
Our ingredients are shipped in fresh from all over the world, coming through our studio doors to be processed and blended fresh into small batches, each bottle receiving its own birthday sticker and all the love and care we have to muster.
Everything happens within these walls - every bottle and jar is mixed and filled here, every package ships from here.
If we were a company that outsourced the production and fulfillment of our products, we could also outsource the responsibility for keeping those workers safe. But we are not, and that is on purpose. I don’t want to look away. I want to look each member of my team in the eye and have them know that I care - not in a show of kind words, but in actions. This work is intimate, and it means something to all of us. These are my people. My friends and chosen family. The decisions I make are for them.
When we restructured our way of working back in March, I had a few clear goals.
1.
Everyone keeps their job, their full pay, and their medical benefits.
I'm unwavering here and so proud of my team's resilience. We are all still here, zero layoffs.
Your purchases have made this possible and each of us thank you with every cell of our being. 💕
2.
We keep everyone safe.
In order to limit how many people are in our studio at one time, we are working with just half our team on the ground. We’ve entirely changed the layout of our studio, removing my office, all desks and administrative areas, and giving the abundance of extra space to our kitchen lab and shipping teams to support abundant physical distancing. This greatly limits our production capacity, but greatly increases the safety of our team, which has to be the win in my book.
3.
You will continue to receive the very best of us, no compromises.
The handwritten notes in every order, your choice of pretty little deluxe samples tucked in, the obsessive commitment to ingredient sourcing, freshness, and integrity... it's all here. We could make this easier on ourselves in so many ways, but you are worthy of extraordinary care and delight and it's why we are here.
So what’s all this mean for you?
Summer GWP
This one hurts my heart. You all know I love to play Santa and any of you who've been around a while know you can count on a couple of incredible promotions with us each year. This one has some real challenges given everything I have shared above.
When we do a GWP, we must manufacture approximately three full “normal” months of that gifted product in advance, in addition to more than triple or quadruple our standard production of all other products - and then ship five times more volume per day than normal over the course of one to two weeks until we’ve sold through. That’s an exciting and ambitious feat in the very best of circumstances.
I don't know that it's possible to offer a GWP safely at this time, and so I am pausing for now. Slow and steady sales are what will enable us to weather this storm. A promotion puts us at more risk than I can stand behind as a leader, even though it means a big loss of sales for us and loss of a gift to you. I am truly sorry.
Remember the body treatment sneak-peek?
This magical potion is in motion too. The formula is done (I'm not sharing any more secrets yet), glass is at the printers, and fresh ingredients are on order. I'm crossing my fingers for launch in the fall, but it's all dependent on our ability to keep up with you, without compromising everything we've determined is important.🤪
And finally….
The Honey Mud
Yes, loves. The Honey Mud is really happening. Really, really. I'm going to send another newsletter later this month on exactly how this will roll out as we will be limited in how much we can produce and ship each week (per our above commitment to safety over sales). The likely plan will be to drop a new batch at the beginning of each week, which we expect to sell through immediately, and restock the following week, rinse and repeat until all of you are blissed out enjoying this long-awaited treasure.
Our hope is to begin shipping our first batch of The Honey Mud in August.
Believe me, we are just as excited and impatient as you are!
Phew. That was a lot. Thank you for being here with us. Our path today looks a little different than I had imagined it, but somehow even more beautiful and precious. How we operate is rare and I am proud of our work. We love what we do and it is an absolute honor to be entrusted with your care.
I’m giddy with excitement to share more with you, and it’s all coming. Until then, I hope you treat yourself. To something yummy that’s been on your wishlist. To a nap in the middle of the day. To a surprise call to someone you love. To a full-body self-massage. To silence. To the soft sweetness of your own presence.
I adore you.
Love always,
