our story
a little history on how we caMe to Make haNdcrafted skiNcare
I’m Wendy, wife and mom of the Smith family. My husband Glen and I own and operate Nature’s Hippie and Sowing Seeds Farm. Our family moved to Tennessee in 2012 for a healthier, more natural lifestyle. We wanted a slower pace in a setting where we could work our own land and raise our own food.
Our property was originally a plant nursery. We added greenhouses, an orchard, fenced pastures, and gardens. I fell in love with the idea of growing medicinal plants. I learned all about the many beneficial plants already established on our land, and I started growing more. We were on a homesteading journey. We were raising our own meats, fruits, and vegetables. We were preserving our harvests. On the business side, we were a plant and tree nursery, and we sold our harvest extras. We sold at the farm and through local farmers markets. In our second year on the farm, we also began making and selling our own small batch organic skin care products.
Throughout the years, many things have changed. Our plant nursery has been converted into a hemp farm and small scale hemp processing facility. This came about from my passion for healing plants. We no longer raise our own meats, but we buy only through local, trusted farms. One thing has not changed; we still make our skin care products, and we are more committed than ever to make them all natural, organic, safe and effective.
a little More history ...
But, let me go back a little further ... As a young child, I lost my father to leukemia caused by Agent Orange exposure in the Vietnam war. As I grew older, I learned about Agent Orange and the harmful effects of it and other herbicides. I also learned about the dangers of GMO farming and pesticide use. I became concerned about the foods we were buying and feeding to our family. I realized the importance of eating clean, organic foods that were not produced commercially. At that time, the best I could provide to my family was store bought organic food, but I wanted to do better. Soooo, we moved to the country. We bought land, and I went hog wild – literally! I jumped in so fast … pigs, chickens, horses, cows, and gardens. I was determined that we were going to feed our animals healthy, and we were going to eat healthy! I also dove into learning all I could about the healing effects of plants. I wanted to avoid harmful chemicals at all costs.
our skiNcare jourNey
In the beginning, I was mostly focused on what we put into our mouths; then it hit me one day … what about what we put on our skin? Our skin is the largest organ of our bodies, and since it is porous, it absorbs whatever we put on it! If the products we use contain harmful ingredients, those toxins make their way into our tissues, our blood stream, and our lymph system.
So, in 2013 our skincare journey began. We started looking at the ingredients in commercial (even so called “clean”) skin care products. They contained so many harmful ingredients – toxic chemicals, synthetic fragrances, dyes, preservatives, etc. We were set on a mission to create truly all natural, organic alternatives that were safe and effective. We started with soaps, and over time began adding other products to our line.
When our family first started selling our small batch, handcrafted skincare products, we were ridiculed for having such a passion for strictly organic ingredients. “Why not just use skin grade ingredients?” and “Essential Oils are too expensive; just use fragrance oils!” were common statements we heard. BUT, we were not deterred, and we didn’t alter our mindset. We were and remain committed to using only the purest, cleanest, safest ingredients (see our Ingredients page to learn more).
our MissioN
Our mission today is the same as it was in the beginning, and that is to educate and raise the bar on natural products. What started out as a personal soap-making project for our family has flourished into a small business with a full line of all natural skin care products - lotions, moisturizers, body butters, deodorants, beard balms and oils, lip balms, face and body scrubs, face creams and serums, shampoo and clay bars, and we’re not stopping there! New products coming soon include conditioning bars and a complete line of all natural and organic pet care products! Our goal is to inspire people to be healthier and happier!
One last thing … it has recently become part of our quest to be more eco-friendly in our packaging. We have switched our deodorants and lip balms from plastic containers to cardboard and our plastic jars to glass. Sometimes we ship our products in peanuts or plastic, but we have never purchased those items, they are being recycled! We are constantly looking for ways to be healthy and keep the world around us healthy too!
