Mother, Wife, Renovations and Other "Distractions"

Bottom Line.

Every once in a while I get a chance to set my priorities - straight.

The bottom line is my kid Alex.  His brother too, however, he lives several thousand miles away right now.  You see, I live a bi-coastal relationship for now. Half of my family in Oregon and the other half in New York.

During this time we are also renovating a floating home so that my husband can semi-retire and enjoy life on the water.

I, on the other hand, am growing my business.

Staying true to myself and true to course is the biggest challenge.  Self-employment offers a bit of freedom and you almost always work well beyond the hours you would employed by someone else.

But shhhhh....

Nobody really knows that I "work".  You see, I have made myself very available to my family in the beginning.  I was a stepmom then.  Trying my hardest to provide the kids and family with consistency and stability.  This takes a lot of time and energy.

Slowly I am adding bits and pieces of myself back into the picture.  Kind of like Oz behind the curtain.  I'm not talking ego - I'm talking fake it 'til you make it.

There are no rule books for being a parent and there certainly are no rule books for step parents.

Boy do I hate the word step parent.  I've decided to drop it and just become Mom - because this is what I do.

As I write this blog I can hear the sound of a screw being driven into a wall and my son and his Dad talking about life.

I am writing this blog as part of a 30-day challenge and have committed to take my business to the next level in the midst of renovations and distractions.

Because... this is what I do.

Introducing the Adventures of "Susan the Spa-Maker©"

Custom Vegan Lip Shimmer.   Aromatic Traditions™

Did you know that I currently work with spas, wellness centers and massage therapists with earth-conscious sensibilities creating custom product lines?

Over the years I have had the pleasure of serving other makers making them look good so they could help you look and feel pampered.

In the industry we call it Private Label - you would put your label on one of my formulations...

or...

Custom Manufacturing - I help you design a formula or line of products that fit your vision.

This particular aspect of Aromatic Traditions™ has grown significantly over the last year. 

Today I am in the process of creating a brand new website to service this niche. 

We blend in small batches so we can take your idea to market quickly.

Vegan Shimmer Body Oil   Aromatic Traditions™ 

At the root of Aromatic Traditions™ is my intention to connect the voice of nature with all levels of healing - body, mind and spirit.

Our flowers and herbs come from our own floating garden on the Multnomah Channel in Oregon and from some of "the best kept secret" organic farm sources in the Willamette Valley as well.

You know, the home of some of the finest Pinot's on the planet. (We believe).

Oregon Pinot  with Vineyard.

My mission is to make personal care products in small, hand-poured batches utilizing the bounty of Oregon's niche farmers for spas and massage therapists all over the world.

I am here to connect and collaborate with you by building a relationship of trust and by creating something truly extraordinary.

Order fulfilled for local spa.

 And here is what one "spa-maker" had to say...

 "Aromatic Traditions™ customized products and labels has set our spa at an exciting new scale. We now have customized products exclusive to our customers with the quality; knowledge and attention from Susan's 15 years of experience. It has been a beautiful part of our evolving dream."

-Laura Lee Robinson, Emerge Spa

Stay tuned for more adventures from "Susan the Spa-Maker©" as I transition from online retail and wholesale to this fabulous new niche.

Blessings. 

For the Love of a River

Pine Creek Canyon     Wellsboro, PA

Water represents emotion in my tradition.  Moving water - flowing emotions.  Stuck water - stuck emotions.

Dark water - things are not so clear.  Clear water - yeah, you get my drift.

I was born on a river.  Our cottage, the Lazy Lodge, literally hung over the river pictured above and I could hear it day and night.

My grandfather taught me how to fish, swim and live off the river.  He dried mullein stalks and we later soaked them in kerosene and lit them like torches and walked along the railroad tracks at night.  Very primal.

Our place was right below the one rapid - Owassee rapids.  We learned about the bounty of the river as we saved those who had overturned in the rapids and gathered coolers, six-packs and river booty as it floated by our cottage.

My grandfather also taught me about the strength of the river and death.  He took me by the hand and walked me the half mile or so along the tracks so that I could see a woman who had died while navigating the river.  I remember her almost blue body underneath a rock.

Later in life, I chose to follow a friend and work on the Snake River in Wyoming.  I became an official whitewater guide.

Here is a pic, I am in the back and my crew has just hit the hole that they call the Big Kahuna.  We didn't get enough speed to get through the rapid without "hitting" it hard.  You get used to that as a guide.  You can encourage (a gentle word for not yell so hard) to paddle and then you just have to let go and ride it out.

The "Big Kahnua", Snake River, Wyoming USA

Now I am back on the river.  This time the Multnomah Channel of the Willamette River near Portland, OR.  My husband and I are renovating a floating home from the river up.  I wake each day to the river flowing right by my front door.  Cormorants, Bald and Golden Eagle, Great Blue Heron and Osprey are my constant companions.

Once I guided on the river, now the river guides me.  

Floating Home on Multnomah Channel

Wish you were here.

Hello My Name Is

Demo Day at Greenstar Co-op Ithaca, NY

Taking my wares to market is a great chance to break from the solitude of working in a lab.  I get to shift gears and prepare my samples, set-up and costume (yes, I like to put on red lipstick).

It is an opportunity to meet people that I don't know, face to face and speak openly about what I can do for them, why I make what I make the way I do and generally hand out free swag.

Instantly I feel open, happy (after a bit of apprehension preparing) and thrilled to meet people who are curious and willing to put their guard down for a moment to come up to speak to me.

Different venues bring different clientele, values and interests.  I am particularly drawn to co-ops as the members are usually very well educated about what they put in their mouths and on their bodies.

I get a chance to walk my talk.

You also never know what is going to happen.

It can be hopping and happening...or

you're all dressed up and...

nobody shows.

That is the way it was for the three years I tried the Bridal Show circuit.  Boy did my feet get sore.  I made a commitment to stand the entire time, meet and speak to every single person who walked by my booth and I had an assistant gather e-mails.

In three years, I received nay an order.  I spent more time educating people about bespoke perfumery.  Most people in the rural part of upstate NY could not wrap their heads around the concept.

It was the same when I brought massage therapy to the area.  I was an ice-breaker for therapists who came years later.  Some of us are ice-breakers and pioneers.

We pave the ways so others can bring the next level of expertise.

I wouldn't change that role for a minute.  I truly believe in what I have to offer.  Just a little bit ahead of my time perhaps.

Here is to all you trendsetters out there - be forever creative.

Intention to Manifestation

The Khata Tree© Project    Aromatic Traditions 2014

A few years ago I had a vivid dream. I saw a Khata (a ceremonial scarf symbolizing goodwill and compassion) streaming from a tree void of leaves.

The dream struck and I began to find a way to manifest that vision.

I started to write and illustrate a children's book.  Here is the first layer of a painting illustrating a young Tibetan girl who has discovered a Khata.

Tibetan Girl with Khata©  S. Varga

Several illustrations for the book were completed and then the project stalled.  Life caught up with me.  Kid's soccer games, Aromatic Traditions™ began to grow, I put the paintbrush down.

A few months later I decided to reach out to a dear friend who worked for a local museum.  We had collaborated on several different children's projects for the museum.  She had an idea.

I proposed a workshop which taught children about bridging cultures and won the Rose Family Grant.

Here is the culmination of the Khata Tree Project© (as it stands now).  We worked with a local area youth center with at-risk pre-teens and teens.  The kids were amazing.  We used storytelling and art to bridge cultures.

Individual Khatas painted by local teens.


What had begun as a dream ended as a full-blown project.  Every kid in the youth center had an opportunity to participate in some way.  We shared stories, food, blessings and music as each child spoke about their piece.

Moral of story:  dreams are manifesting all around us - grab one and hold on tight.

In the Garden of Spirit

Plein Air Botanical Painting     Aromatic Traditions 2014

After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Communication Design - a fancy name for Graphic Designer - I found myself designing and drawing things commercially like trucks, abalone cutters and yes, I designed a logo for a condom company.  A gentle feather with a bit of a tilt at the tip.

I cut my chops at a Mom and Pop printing shop on upper State Street in Santa Barbara, CA.  The head designer the wife and the head of the print shop her husband.
Every day was pressure packed as I typeset, rendered drawings and cut and paste pounds of galleys and images to boards.  Yes, this was the old method before desktop computers.
 We had a lot of fun and we worked our asses off.  Some big name accounts used our services as well as walk-in customers.

Needless to say, I found Graphic Design boring.

Years later I decided to take a leap and signed up for a botanical painting class at my local arts center.  I immediately fell in love with the teacher's style.  She was quiet and each time she said something about what I was painting it had meaning and I could immediately move to the next step.  She became my painting guru.
I decided to sign up for private lessons and my love of botanical painting began.

Tiger Lily©            S. Varga  2014

It felt fulfilling to sit in a spot in the garden, take a deep breath and begin to paint what I felt.

Although botanical painting calls for a bit of perfection - you have to catch the spirit of the plant or flower.  In the moment.  They change by the minute as the sun shines and they start to bloom or fade.  You have only a small window of time to paint.

Part of the Aromatic Traditions™ logo contains a drawing of White Sage.  A plant that is dear to me as it is used often for smudging prior to ceremonies. (I always smudge my laboratory before I begin any product).

Here is a bit of blessing for you...

White Sage©  S. Varga 2014

May you always walk in beauty.

Working for The New Farm

"Out, standing in her field."    Aromatic Traditions™ 2015

The New Farm magazine was published by Rodale Press and the Rodale Institute from 1979 to 1994.  During my Fall semester of 1980 at what is now called Kutztown University, I became the first photography intern at Rodale Press.

I wanted to combine my love affair with the environment with my passion for the camera.  I worked this internship until I got it.  (I believe it still exists?, I'm not sure though.)

No sooner than I was given the internship I was assigned many menial (but meaningful?) tasks.  You see, photography interns did not exist before I came along.  Frankly, I don't think they knew what to do with me.

I was fascinated by the studios, test kitchens and a particular food stylist who made the most amazing presentations with hands gnarled by rheumatoid arthritis.  I started to make friends and stay late utilizing the facilities to take pictures that would later fill my portfolio.

It felt great to be part of Rodale Institute.  I loved that they were "back to nature", exploratory, sustainable and family run.  I was part of a family.  I am still part of that family today.  Farms turn me on.  I love the smells, the sounds, and most of all the people that I meet a long the way.

I remember one particular photo shoot trudging in my "wellies" through pig sh*t carrying about 80 pounds of photography equipment.  Anything for the perfect shot of a well run rural farm.

Later I was sent out on assignment.  Looking back through some of the old books and magazines published by Rodale I still see pictures and know that is my hand holding the growing frame lid up so you can see the tomato starts.

Although the memory of that time drifts into my mind in bits.  The passion for farming remains.  The passion for sustainable farming in small places.

Here is a pic of the first day of my floating garden on the Multnomah Channel of the Willamette River.

I grew several pounds of Calendula (Calendula Officinalis) flowers this year.  Quite a yield.

Here is one of my favorite products made from the blooms:

http://www.aromatictraditions.com/products/carrot-calendula-eye-creme