May 15, 2012

Fresh from Canada

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I just got back from Vancouver Canada for the EP!C Sustainability Expo.  What a grand time it was.  Thanks to the WWU Center for Economic Vitality, I was able to participate in a full-fledged trade mission.  Sounds important, and I guess it was.  The folks in Vancouver were great…so open, friendly, and eager to chat.  I shared the booth with some other Washington businesses, one fellow entrepreneur was an older guy who’d experienced quite a bit of success, currently with a product of his own design but previously as a self-proclaimed “pitch man”.  He suggested that I could do better if I wore a Hawaiian shirt and better identified my niche.  Its so strange…I can’t readily identify my “niche”.  Is it the soap?  of course its wonderful…sudsy, creamy, smells great…  Or is it just sheer pushiness? Or do folks just like my winning smile?  Bottom line.  I need market intelligence and to identify the ever elusive niche, or is it much ado about nothing?

I would really (and I mean really) like to hear what you think.

Love and lather,

Image

Cindy

 

January 10, 2012

Seattle Gift Show…eek!

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Getting ready for the Seattle Gift Show.  More anxious than I’ve been in quite a while.  A few questions I’ve been mulling?

How do I fill a 10 x 10 space with soap?
How do I zing it up?
How do I pay for it all?
Am I ready?
Will they like me?

Ouch, the ever-present, never quite fully receded question…will they like me?  My Snohomish people like me, they like my soap, but they’re my local folks, friends…I’m headed to the big time now.  The buyers I’ll meet at the gift show are business people, hold on, let me capitalize that BUSINESS PEOPLE.  Formal, focused on the bottom line, wanting to be assured I can deliver.  Will they care about my story?  Will they care if I have a nice smile?

I’m almost ready…I’ve got my friends at GROW Washington  who are going to help me take care of a few final packaging details.  A new friend, Tammy Cannon, of Cannon Social Media, helped me brainstorm display and merchandising.  Not sure about the “they” liking me, but thank goodness for support from “my” community.  Let me rephrase that…Thank GOD for my community.

I think I’m going to be okay.

Love and Lather,

Cindy

 

December 30, 2011

We’re back… (well, me actually, I’m back)

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Hey there, hi there…you’re as welcome as can be!

Just looked at my first post.  We’d been in Snohomish only a  few months…was working for 17.00 an hour with the census (no offense Uncle Sam, but that job was muy stinko!), and had little clear direction for surviving and thriving in lovely Washington.  Boy, have things changed.

Life has been wonderful…and continues to promise more wonderfulness.  Just wanted to pop in, re-engage and connect on this crazy blogosphere.  

I still haven’t had the money to get to Ukraine, but I haven’t given up the dream.

I still haven’t used my timeshare, but continue to pay for it.

I’m still making soap and have added other goodies to my array of products.

I still want to be a collaborative, creative member of this beautiful community known as Snohomish.

Love and lather,

Cindy

 

May 13, 2011

Find your river

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Went to an event the other night called Women in Motion…a womens networking event sponsored by GROW Washington and very well attended by all of us regular gals from Snohomish and other nearby stomping grounds: Monroe, Everett, Lake Stevens, etc. Its a uniquely feminine adventure, I think.  Is it me?  Do guys need the connections like we gals do?  Knit night at Country Yarns, the Farmer’s Market in Snohomish…a chat over coffee at Starbucks.

An Int’l Development professor shared an interesting story a few years ago.  A certain village in Africa, whose only access to water was a river on the outside of town, was the recipient of a brand new well for their community.  So many places in the world don’t have access to clean water, they had access, it was just a mile or so away.  The development folks came in, built the well, and then sat back, curious why it wasn’t being utilized by the women in town.  Turns out the only break and opportunity to socialize that the women had was offered during their daily walks to the river.  I can empathize.  There are deep deep levels reached when we visit, eat, laugh together.

Is it any wonder that so many of us feel isolated when our river has been taken away and replaced by facebook, email, and the burbs?  Find your river and be restored.

 

September 7, 2010

Another Annie Leonard documentary…this time talking soap!

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Take time to look at this video.  Annie Leonard has done it again.  The big guys in charge of the cosmetic industry have been putting some really yucky things into the stuff we are putting on our bodies: soap, shampoo, deodorant, etc.  No huge surprise there, but a great case to be made for buying local and natural!  There are still a few weeks left for the markets, stock up for the winter.

 

April 29, 2010

Moving mountains…

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Moving mountains, the continuing saga, sorry, thats not exactly it.  Saga sounds so melodramatic, like a tagline from a 60’s soap opera.  This is really more of an adventure.  I LOVE adventure…journeys…explorations.

I’m working for Mustard Seed Associates, a great little organization with a tremendous history and an even more tremendous future.  I know, lots of superlatives there.  Tom and Christine Sine are the heart and soul (and the founders) of this great non-profit.  Its an org with vision.  The tag line is creating the future, one mustard seed at a time.  Mustard Seed Associates is committed to equipping and preparing folks to live fully now with the future in mind.  Tom and Christine both write and speak internationally:  Christine waxes poetic on such topics as the spirituality of gardening and walking alongside God in the rhythms of life.  Tom is equally brilliant, writing eloquently on moving beyond these turbulent times we’re living in and imagining new possibilities and ways of life.  

Surely you’ve heard of the mustard seed.  Its mentioned in Matthew 17:20. The New Living translation says,

     20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

Great parable.  Great message.  Mustard Seed is entering into a period of genesis.  We are developing a project to create a living, breathing sustainable community on 40 acres of breathtaking wilderness on Camano Island. 

Beyond the idyllic aspect of sustainable community, we’re going to be providing facilities and resources for students to have “semester abroad” experiences on the island.  We’ll likely teach on topics such as sustainable building, social entrepreneurship, spiritual formation, ancient monastic traditions, and some nuts and bolts classes on community and economic development, etc.  We’re starting conversations with some universities who are anxious to find resources for their students who are committed to environmental and social justice issues.  The project is plowing full steam ahead and we’re really trying to gauge interest and commitment to this type of  experiential learning community.

I’m working on the business side of things which includes, regrettably, fundraising.  Eeek…there’s that word!  FUNDRAISING.  The costs, as I’m sure you can imagine, will be considerable.  We are aggresively pursuing grants and other funding but welcome partners for sponsorship.   Who knows?  We might even name a brick for you (if we were going to have bricks…) You can donate here, just make a note its for the Camano Celtic Project

 As for me and mine, right now, the US government is subsidizing my salary (my census job), but from here on out, the Celtic Project is going to require a whole lot more time. There’s also my soap, so thankful for the soap!  Its available for purchase at www.snohomishsoapcompany.etsy.com

I would be ever so grateful if you’d consider contributing to the cause… or buying a few bars.

Peace and earthbags,

Cindy

 

April 26, 2010

on to Ukraine

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Its only a few months away and yet it feels like an eternity. I’ll be headed to Ukraine again in early fall, sometime in September or October. I’m going to work with Vera Kushnir and the Aquila Foundation…partnering with some really strong women, those who care for their disabled children.

They’ve had a tough time, culturally, financially, personally. They have struggled to stay with their kids, to care for them with little help from the government and community.  All too frequently they’ve become social outcasts.  Crazy, huh? These women are barely surviving. They are frequently isolated and living in extreme poverty. I’ve been invited to teach them how to make soap…and train them in business development. Its an awesome story of God and His infinite creativity.

Vera has helped these women find each other, to re-emerge into the light of friendship and fellowship.  She works with their kids, manages to put together annual summer camps  (watch the video…well worth 5 minutes of your time) and has facilitated a partnership with US based occupational and vocational therapists.   The city of Chernivtsi has leased her some land in town to build and develop a rehab center. 

I’ll backtrack a bit.  Several years ago, I started a small ministry to work with orphans in Ukraine.  I was so drawn to the struggles of kids there.  Because of economic upheaval and dysfunction largely due to the high rate of alcoholism, there were a lot of kids in orphanages.  Funding was short.  Resources were short.  Kids were falling through the cracks.  Generations of babies, lacking human touch and love, were languishing in barren cribs and overcrowded government homes.  In Ukraine, there is also a big problem with kids living on the streets.  Kids, leaving home because of abuse and neglect, were creating there own family units, under the streets, and in abandoned tenements.  Overwhelmed by the immense pain and their unfathomable lack of resources, I decided to pursue my MBA in International Economic Development.  I stopped my trips over for a few years and went to school instead.

Several years later, the perpetually insistent niggling remains.    Rather than finding the opportunity, the opportunity found me.  Vera  saw that I was making soap and invited me to come.  Its the perfect vehicle for the women to make a living and stay at home with their kids at the same time.  Finally, ahhh, finally, I can put my education to work.  More than the nuts and bolts of soapmaking, though, I hope to encourage these women.  Strong women who have overcome for their children.  Thats love…thats God.  So weird..

…if I hadn’t gone to Ukraine

…if I hadn’t met Vera

…if I hadn’t gone back to school

…if I didn’t lose my job

…if I hadn’t moved to Washington

…if I hadn’t learned how to make soap

This isn’t about me, its all about how God works.  Things can look really bad, and it can seem like there is just no way things are going to work out and that you may have misheard…or mistook what God wanted you to do.  The moral of this story is that He has it all figured out, our steps are ordered.  I’m so grateful that He’s invited me to the adventure.

God just plain blows me away sometimes.

I welcome your prayers.  Pass the word and send donations for my trip if you like.   Details to follow.  Isn’t that the truth?

Peace,

Cindy

 

April 16, 2010

Miss Moneypenny

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Does anyone remember Miss Moneypenny?  She was M’s secretary in the old James Bond movies.  Efficient, capable, looked over.  Yup.  That was her.  She was also a bit matronly, stable…and never once wore a bikini for Bond…James Bond.

I’ve been reflecting on perceptions quite a lot lately and wondering about how frustrating it can be to try to override presuppositions and prejudices.  I’m a 47 year old mother of four who spent quite a lot of time as a stay at home mom.  No, while they were little, I didn’t “work outside the home”.  But, I worked “inside the home” and raised four amazing kids, developed a short term missions program, studied and earned my MBA with a 3.7 GPA, started a PTO, served on a community advisory council and taught myself how to write grants.  None of it was paid.  None of it merits easy entry into the professional world. 

 Most would say that they recognize the importance of raising children and fully support my husband’s and my decision.  However, lacking work “credentials” is a serious hindrance.  Although most wouldn’t say it, there seems to be an underlying belief that moms who stay home do so because they can’t do anything else.  Worse than that, while acknowledging and applauding the intent, after the kids are older and a bit more self sufficient, moms who try to re-enter life with the grownups, are often marginalized professionally.  When I applied for a job recently, the interviewer asked me if I had any administrative experience.  Ummm..well…what do you define as administrative?

I have a dear friend in Ukraine who has started a program for the disabled and their mothers.  These women have chosen, countercultural as it is, to take care of their kids at home rather than institutionalize them.  The government pays them a very small stipend and their children receive a small disability benefit.  Vera tells the story of one of the women in the program whose adult child had died. She was worried that she would no longer be welcomed into the community because of her loss.  She was also struggling financially because her income had all but dissolved with the death of her son and because she couldn’t find work.  No one would hire her because of her age and because of her lack of  job history for the last 20 years.  Sounds familiar.  Stable.  Capable.  Marginalized.

My story of survival is not very dramatic.  I’ve learned to make soap and am now selling it.  I’m not rolling in dough yet but just nabbed a farmer’s market booth here in Snohomish.  I’m volunteering with an NGO doing strategic development and business planning and will hopefully be earning an income soon. 

 In the fall, I will be heading to Ukraine to do some business development training and to teach the moms in the group to make soap.   Its something they can do from home and make a living at.  I pray it does.

Moneypennys of the world, unite!

Peace.

 

April 13, 2010

the miracle of community…

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My daughter loves the theatre.  One of our first projects after moving and unpacking and getting the phone connected (you get the idea) was to find Clara a place to practice her art.  It’s a legacy I know.  I fondly remember Saturday morning cleaning sessions with my mom, lp’s stacked on the record player:  Oklahoma!, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Man of LaMancha, singing our hearts out while dusting the Ethan Allen tables. My car’s cd player has a slightly different selection, Hairspray, Wicked, The Sound of Music (maybe not so different) but we sing just as joyfully, wonderfully harmonious and happy in our unison.  We were so lucky to find The Village Theatre in Everett.  Seussical, Jr. opens this week and yes, tickets are still available.  Please contact the box office. 

More than the show and the abundant learning opportunities for Clara, our family has found another community to belong to.  I’m not sure all families involved in the show feel the same.  But, and I got this from the horse’s mouth, this show has had record turnout from parents willing and anxious to volunteer.  In fact, the production manager shared with me, they even seem to like it!  Imagine that!  Service?  Connection?  Community?  Gasp!  I volunteered in the costume room, a hijacked conference room filled to overflowing with feathers, and sequins and other “Seuss-y” paraphernalia.  Mothers, non-machine and machine sewers, sat together in the evenings and shared stories and giggles while we diligently worked on the fabulously creative costumes.  We had a ball!  My husband, the ever faithful father and a talented carpenter volunteered on sets.  This wasn’t his first, he crafted Daddy Warbuck’s mansion and the orphanage for ‘Annie’ last year.  Kids painted and ate pizza.  Work?  Yes.  Community building opportunity?  Absolutely. 

Every time I volunteer, every time, I get more than I give.  We’ve now got a few more friends, a few more memories and we taught our kids what its really about.  I’m telling you, those parents who could but don’t?  They’re really missing something!

Peace.

 

April 9, 2010

The old woman, the walker and the snowy day..

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I sat comfortably at my census desk looking out the library window, appreciating the sun as it peeked in and out of the clouds, it had been indiscrimately shining and sleeting throughout the morning. Its spring in Washington, snow one minute, kids in shorts the next. We had a terrible windstorm yesterday, it took out a tree by our house, snapped it like a twig in fact, and left some in our neighborhood without electricity and (yikes) internet for an achingly long time.  On my way to my census post today, I even drove through some lingering snow, hidden in the shadows…just sitting there, waiting to melt.

One of my first “customers” today was an elderly woman.  She arrived out of breath and rosy cheeked,with  wrap around post-cataract surgery sunglasses in place, white orthopedic shoes and her recycled grocery bag satchel jauntily hung on the handle of her pink walker, anxiously looking for her census form.  She hadn’t received one and had been directed here by the post office.  Yes.  She had walked with the help of her “wheels” (and no one else) from her house, to the post office, to the library…in threatening sleet, slick roads and near freezing temperatures.  She was concerned and so intent on doing her part, well aware of the important information contained in the census.  She said she knew that the government allocated representatives according to what the census showed and was committed to her part in that.  Her part…her responsibility…her right. 

She rested for a moment, after getting a few extra forms for her less mobile friends.  I offered her a piece of my sliced apple for sustenance and thanked her and apoligized for her inconvenience.  She waved off my apologies and told me she needed to get going before the wet snow returned. 

Moments after she left, the freezing rain came back with a venegeance.  I confess, may the census gods fire me, I temporarily left my post, hopped in my car and drove to find her.  She made good time.  I loaded her and her walker into my car and dropped her off several blocks away at her lovely little home with its perfectly manicured lawn and attached accessibility ramp.  It was the least I could do.

Peace.

 

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