A Typical Day At The Brown Barn Bath Company

Hello!  Chris here this week!

I stewed and thought and fussed over what to write about in this week's blog.  I could not decide between a post about Bath Tools (I decided to wait on that until I do my spectacular definitive bath post!) or introducing our employees (I decided it would be more fun to have each employee write a blog about their job and introduce themselves that way). 

This morning I still had no topic! Then today happened and I suddenly had a topic: A Typical Day At The Brown Barn Company. I had intended on spending the entire day making Soap Suds to rebuild our alarmingly low supply, but here is what happened instead:

5:00am:  Wake up to my two cats purring on top of my head.  Fall back asleep.

6:00am:  Wake up to my Border Collie talking quietly in my ear, telling me she really needs me to get up.

6:30am: Check for web-site orders and e-mails.

7:00am: Arrive at the Lab to find I left my cell phone back home on the charger.

7:15am: Arrive back at the Lab, cell phone charged and in hand.

7:15-9:00am: Package twenty Three Flower Eye Creams; Make two pounds of Soap Suds in White Tea and Ginger (oh, heaven!!) with Sweet Almond Oil; Clean up the work station, take out the garbage.

9:00am:  Meet with Bobbi Jo (our Textiles Manager) to get the final kinks out of our herbal eye masks design and help her move into her new space in the offices at the Meadow Creek Mall.

9:10am: Watch Bobbi Jo's face as I tell her we'll need approximately 200 of these and about 600 other items in the next six weeks on her two days a week of sewing time, HA HA HA.  I love that stunned look!!

9:30am Inform Jessica (our Administrative Assistant and my Right Hand) that I have forgotten the password to the telephone answering system and she needs to call CenturyTel to let them know her boss is getting too old for this new technology (and change the password to one we won't forget). (Again...love that stunned look!)

10:00am: Work with Bobbi Jo to decipher the manual for the new Surger we purchased and to change the thread...Have you ever tried to do that????  I need an engineering degree!!!

10:30am: Telephone conference between myself, Alyssa (my daughter and business partner) and Steve (my husband and business partner) for weekly general planning meeting and report for both of our businesses (Steve's is located in Abbotsford). 

11:00am: Print labels for Three Flower Eye Cream and take them to the store for Jessica (who clerked the store today) to apply and inventory. Be informed by Jessica that a large group came in.  They had called ahead with a courtesy call to us to warn us they were coming...but unfortunately the call was on that answering machine that I had forgotten the password for!!

11:30am: Alyssa and I travel to Ladysmith for a bite of lunch, a planning meeting for the Honest Approach line (Alyssa's pet project which will be unveiled this Fall...so EXCITED!) and a supply run at Walmart.

1:00pm:  Return to the office, pick up boxes to be shipped.  Go to Post Office.  Receive a certified letter (was that REALLY necessary???) from the Town of Holton "Smart Growth" planning commission requesting I appear before them to tell them our plans for the Abbotsford farm.  Evidently someone has been spreading rumours that we are going to sell the farm!!We had a small portion zoned commercial two years ago when we first started out, however things have changed and I have put off letting Marathon County know they can change the section back to Ag land.  In my defense I did tell them last Spring that I would not know our final plans until this Fall and August is NOT Fall.

1:15pm:  Call Marathon County Zoning office to have a lengthy discussion with the Director about our plans and what we can and cannot do under different zonings.  Finally agree to allow the parcel to go back to Ag land.  Inform the Director there will be a letter forthcoming with my thoughts on the process....

1:45pm: Come out to the sewing area to find Bobbi Jo ready to throw the new Surger out the security door.  There is a problem with the locking stitches and she's been struggling since I went to Ladysmith.

2:15pm (or later):  We finally figure out that we've somehow managed to mis-thread the machine...again confirming my need for an engineering degree to use the Surger.

2:30pm: Alyssa and I purchase plane tickets and make hotel reservations/plans for Alyssa's journey to Steamboat, CO next week to scope out store sites and our trip to San Francisco, CA in October where we will become certified in making all natural fragrances, product testing and much, much more! (We cannot wait for this!!!!)

3:15pm  Cindy (our Print Media Manager) stops in to get approval to go ahead with entering Kid's Items on the web-site.  We all exclaim over how cute the Bunny Pouf looks on the web-site. (Cindy is my personal Elf.  I rarely see her as she works from home but every night wonderful new things magically appear on the web-site!)

3:45pm Go into outer office to stop Bobbi Jo from detonating the Surger with a hand-sewn bomb.  The Surger has now sucked fabric into itself and is gagging on it.  Bobbi Jo performs CPR and gets it back running smoothly.

4:15pm Drive to Lab to check for deliveries. None yet but we know they are on their way!

4:30pm My son, Tommy, shows up at the office with the deliveries.  He happened to see them sitting outside the door as he drove by...I just missed them!

4:45pm Open cases of bottles, Fall Scents, Candle Wax, Candle Jars and more....Jessica says it's like Christmas every day at the shop....I roll my eyes.....

5:00pm Load up the van, bid farewell to Bobbi Jo who is now petting the Surger and saying sweet nothings to it because it is working well again and say Good-night to Jessica who is wielding the heat sealer like a gun slinger at the O-K Corral as she seals jars of Three Flower Eye Cream.

5:15pm Unload van at the Lab, excited to dig into the new bottles of scents for a quick sniff before I head home. 

5:18pm Realize I left the box with the bottles of scents at the store.

5:35pm Return to the lab with the bottles of scents.

5:45pm Oooooooo,  Aaaaaaahhhhhhh, Yuuuuuummmmmmmmmmm  I love the new Fall Scents

6:00pm Make it home just in time to make dinner and enjoy a little down-time with my son before I settle in to write this blog.

7:00pm Realize we have 401 "Likes" on Facebook (YAY) and talk on Facebook with a new customer who has a great scent suggestion.  (I love Facebook, all of you who write nice things are genuinely making my day...no matter how hectic it is to come home to this makes it all so much fun, thank you!)

9:40pm DONE!! and Happy!!

Does this sound like an atmosphere you'd enjoy?  We are currently advertising for one full-time employee to work full-time in our Lab as a Formulary Assistant.  If you have good computer skills, can work independently, enjoy activities like baking (i.e. can follow a recipe), and perform well under pressure this may be a job you'd enjoy!  Call 715-595-4570 for an application!  (Pay is $10/hour with review after 6 months, confidentiality contract required).

I hope you all have a Fun and CALM weekend!!  Chris