Is it Natural?

(Originally posted on www.wunderbudder.com on 05/25/12)

It's time for my rant.

It's actually long overdue.

How many times have you seen a company or product making the "natural" claim, only to read the ingredients and have it be filled with 400 different types of alcohol, 300 petrochemicals, 200 preservatives, 100 words you can't figure out, and one natural, botanical ingredient? Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I think you know what I mean.

There are basically NO rules for labelling something "natural", "botanical", or any other word you can think of that makes the product seem like something it's not. "Organic" has rules, but even labelling something "organic" means that it's 95% organic. What about the other 5%?? Exactly.
It makes me SO MAD, I can't even fully put words to it without sounding like a child having a temper tantrum. It's unfair to companies like Wunder Budder who aren't making false claims, but most importantly, unfair to consumers. Unfair to YOU. If you're not in the industry, how are you supposed to know what can and can't be called what? How are you supposed to know that anyone can call anything "natural" just because they feel like it? I'm telling you now, and I hope you spread the word.

READ THE LABELS! Alway, always, always, read the ingredient list on products you're buying. I can't stress this enough. You don't even have to know what all the ingredients are exactly. If it seems like it's not natural, it's not. Trust your instincts.

Can I just say it one more time?

There are NO rules for labelling something natural (at least not in the USA), so you MUST read the ingredient list!

This is the reason why we list Every. Single. Ingredient on all of our product labels and their descriptions online, and why we don't use anything like "flavor" or "fragrance". (Update 08/15/13: Well, we started adding some items that are fragrances in a more perfume-style. A few items have "natural fragrance" listed, but each one is blended in the studio using the same ingredients we use for all our other products. There are still no "fragrance" or "flavor" oils, don't worry! We didn't change our core beliefs that natural is the only way to go, we just wanted to expand our horizons.) If it's in it, we list it, so you always know exactly what you are using when you use Wunder Budder. If you have a question about any ingredients we use, check out our new Glossary of Good Stuff. If what you're looking for hasn't been added yet, or if you have more questions, please contact us.

End rant (for now).

XoXo,
Lisa

Read more about Commonly Misused Natural Industry Terms.

Goodbye Garden Grease!

(Originally posted on www.wunderbudder.com on 12/20/12)

 

Well, guys, here is it.

 

For the first time ever, I'm discontinuing a product.

Garden Grease.

 

This was never my favorite (if it was your favorite, keep reading, you won't be totally disappointed).

 

It was formulated with my mother in mind: an avid gardener, and someone who spends a lot of time working with her hands, whether it's installing a patio into her backyard, or carefully painting pictures of flowers. 

 

But, it never became what I meant it to be.

 

Originally, it was supposed to be creamier, lighter, and come in a larger container. More like cold cream than a salve. And, it was supposed to go along with a hand scrub made especially for hard working hands, but gentle enough to use regularly, even on the sometimes tender skin on the back of hands.

 

But, for reasons I can't remember now, it ended up as a salve. It was pretty nice, but it wasn't awesome, and it seems that most of you agree (it was, by far, the slowest selling product of 2012).

So, it's time to say goodbye.

 

For anyone who loved Garden Grease, it will be reincarnated in mid-2013 as a lighter cold-cream-ish salve, as it was originally intended.

 

And this time it will be awesome.

 

XoXo,

Lisa

What Happens When I Clean My Shower, aka I Love Baking Soda

(Originally posted on www.wunderbudder.com on 10/24/12)

My husband and I switch off who cleans the bathroom every other week. We have different preferences in cleaners (and soap, and shampoo). When it's my turn to clean the bathroom, I break out the baking soda for all three.

I take a bowl, add about a cup of baking soda, a squirt or two of peppermint Dr. Bronner's (or other natural castile soap), and get into the shower.

I add small amounts of water and stir with my fingers until a paste forms, about the texture of a light frosting. Then the fun begins!

The baking soda mixture goes on my face as a natural exfoliating cleanser, onto my hair as a deep cleaning shampoo, over my body as a deodorizing wash, and onto my shower walls as a non-abrasive powder cleanser. One bowl of "frosting", so many uses! It's just so cool!

Ok, yes, I do get easily excited. I like to think it's part of my charm. But, seriously, it's pretty awesome to get so many things done with one cleanser! At the very least, it makes cleaning the shower not so annoying.

Once everything is scrubbed, I rinse my face and hair. Then, I take my spray bottle filled with orange infused vinegar, and spray it onto the walls and let it do it's job, while I spray a little into my hair to remove any traces of baking soda. Then, rinse everything! What is left, is a sparkling clean shower and me.

And that is what happens when I clean my shower, and why I love baking soda.

XoXo,
Lisa

Kindness

 

XoXo,

Lisa

 

www.wunderbudder.com

Salem BizBaz 2012 Thank You

(Originally posted on www.wunderbudder.com on 10/11/13)

The 2012 BizBaz in Salem was a success!

In fact, it was Wunder Budder's busiest show to date (and we've showing at fairs and festivals for ten years, long before we became a "real" business!).

 

It's hard sometimes. Pouring your entire life into something, and then holding it out for everyone to judge. It makes me feel like a child, smaller than the onlookers, hesitantly holding out my hands with my little creations cradled inside. Or, in this case, spread out upon a table.

 

Luckily, this is where my husband steps in. If you were at the Wunder Budder table during the BizBaz, it was probably him that you spoke to. I was in the background, jumping in to answer questions or talk with fans (love!).

 

Someday I may get better at this, or maybe I won't. It no longer bothers me that I can't be awesome at everything I do. (Ok, well, it bothers me a little, but I'm trying to learn to accept it.)

The feelings of vulnerability at shows makes me extra appreciative of all who stop by the Wunder Budder table.

 

I want to thank everyone who stopped by at the BizBaz this year. My friends and family who passed on hugs and words of encouragement, the already fans who introduced themselves to me (you guys totally made my day! really!), and all of you who made purchases and helped make the show so successful. Lots of love to all of you!

 

Next up: The Holiday Craft Market  on Nov. 10th in Beverly, MA. (thanks to the organizers who made extra space for a few of us returning vendors!)

 

XoXo,

Lisa

Just Live.

 

XoXo,

Lisa

www.wunderbudder.com

Heads Up!

There are going to be some changes over at the dot com...

Last year (or maybe longer?), I moved this blog over to the website. And now, I'm moving it back.

It's all a learning experience, and now I'm learning that I want a more streamlined website. It helps me work more clearly, and helps customers find what they're looking for more easily.

So, heads up!

Over the next couple days I'll be moving the blog over here. Physically. As in, reposting every blog. Not every article, most of those will stay on the website, but all the blogs are coming here.

So if you follow this blog on a feed, you'll be getting tons of notifications! It may just take a day, or it may take a week, but then everything will go back to normal.

Hopefully a little better than normal.

XoXo,

Lisa

 

www.wunderbudder.com