Himalayan Candles has moved to its new location in Decatur, across the street from the  Southern Sweets Bakery ( I think I’ve eaten my way through all their fabulous sandwiches) .  After a solid 2 months of moving, summer gift shows and a quick trip to England to visit family, I feel like I am only just settling in although we have occupied the building since June.    With the addition of more staff including a warehouse manager and office help, I resolve to do the following

a.  spend more time developing new ideas/ be more creative (no more days spent entering orders/answering phones)
b.  focus on better relationships with our customers especially the long time loyal ones.
c. be open to working with people who can help Himalayan grow and evolve. (be less of a control freak)
c.  travel more/  be more adventurous/ fearless
d.  get involved in Amelia’s school/ volunteer more. 
e.  ride a bike around Decatur   

And if you are in the area do stop by  and visit..who knows you may even be offered a cup of tea, or coffee! 

Here are a few pictures of the production area..so much more space!  Although we’ve already filled it to capacity with stuff..

the packing area

Eddy and Marlena pack an order

Here some pictures I took of the booth

This is one of my favorite magazines.  Just received the June issue in the post and noticed that the Himalayan Red Currant Fleur de Lys soy tumbler was perched right on the coffee table on the silver tra.  Sadly it’s not attributed to us, but still nice to know our candle is worth of being on the esteemed cover of HB!

I have a 9 year old girl who likes to be tucked into bed at night.  This ritual has involved many things, for a few years it meant giving her a bath, putting her pajamas on and reading a lengthy bed time story.  As she grew older and progressed on to chapter books she started reading by herself at bedtime.  The relinquishment of this duty, and cherished as it was, it was a duty, bought with it its own freedom.  The bedtime ritual went from 45 minutes to maybe 5 minutes.  For the first time in years I could watch a prime time tv show to its completion. 

It being just the two of us in the house, bedtime can be rather a  lonely thing.  My daughter periodically likes me to hop into bed with her while she falls asleep.  I think it makes her feel safe and although I frequently end up falling asleep myself, I don’t mind doing it.  There’s something very comforting to me about snuggling up next to her in her cluttered room.   It’s that feeling of being needed – of intense love that a parent gets from watching and being close to their sleeping child. 

As I recall from my own childhood, my most comforting moments were having my mother read to me at bedtime.  She had a very nice voice and to this day is very good at telling stories.   Childhood can be quite frightening for a child, after all,  nothing much is in your control, and you are entirely dependent on grown ups for your well being. 

Their have been many other moments along the way where she has reached the milestone of doing something for herself.  Getting dressed, preparing a  pack lunch, crossing the street, and most recently and wondrously – homework.   As my role of caregiver slowly recedes, our relationship turns more companiable.   We chat, talk about what unreasonable things her teachers insisted on  today, and giggle at funny commercials.    Gordon the gekko from the Geico ads has her in stitches. 

So I guess what I am trying to say is that watching a  child grow up is a bittersweet thing.    As millions of parents throughout the ages know,  raising children is made up of milestones – first they do this – then they do that and pretty soon they are grown up and gone.    Part of us wants them to stay young and needing us forever, but we also want them to grow up and do things for themselves – giving us back our freedom.

Thank you to Romantic Homes who devoted a page to featuring the fabulous Himalayan Spice Tin soy candle in their May issue.  “these spice tin candles evoke the romance of journeys worthy of ‘The African Queen’.  I couldn’t have put it better myself! 

When we were in Jaipur a few weeks ago we visited the factory where the terracotta pots and the distressed spice tins are made.  They very kindly showed us around and I was able to see all the steps required to get those nice distressed finishes on the pots.   The factory also grows its own vegetables and my parents, Amelia and I had a really delicious healthy lunch there!

Sanding the spice tins before they go for distressing.
The tins are made from galvanized iron. 

finishing the wooden lids for the terracotta pots

hand painted vases

the gold leaf work on the gold terracotta pots

stacks of terracotta pots

terracotta bowling pins

traditional mud oven where terracotta is baked

the spice tins are distressed using a razor to scrape off
the paint.

piles of tins waiting to be scraped.  The inside of them is powder coated
to prevent rusting. 

women packing an order.

Atlanta Gift Show

Atlanta show January 2011

the wonderful Diego Vela..salesman extraordinaire

the fabulous Kim Pascale Stansbury – thank goodness she was there!

a well earned rest after the NY show was over..