FEB22: Meet the Makers
“We believe that Time is an invisible ingredient, and so the majority of what makes up an IDYLHOUR box is carefully handmade.”
Beginning a few weeks after the New Year, we get inundated with marketing about what Love is and how we should celebrate it. The type of Love that gets put on a pedestal is typically a very particular type of idealized hetero- romantic love.
In our experience, Love is a text from a long-distance friend checking in, it’s when your kiddo decides to cuddle for a few minutes longer than usual, when a stranger ahead of you pays your toll, when your partner makes the coffee in the morning, when your parents call to tell you about an article they read, when your neighbor shovels your walk, too. We could go on and on.
So we know that Love comes in many ways, shapes and forms. Hence the bubbling up of alternative ways to celebrate Love, like Pal-entines or Gal-entines Day. Some people completely ignore the red hearts holiday of February because it makes them feel shame or other-ed and left out.
The problem with celebrating an idealized version of anything is that no one really feels like they’re getting that thing and everyone actually ends up feeling left out.
How boring is that? We wanted to design a February IDYLHOUR box that celebrates all the ways we Love, and most specifically, ways we can cultivate more self-love and compassion. One of the best ways to prime yourself to see more Love in your daily life is to get really familiar with what it feels like on the inside.
““Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.”
- bell hooks”
Renowned herbalist Rachel Budde founded Fat and the Moon a decade ago and has been creating self -care products that are plant based and radically non-toxic- in terms of both ingredients and message ever since. Rachel is a leader and visionary in the clean beauty arena, making good-for-you self-care many years before it was mainstream. Her background as an artist (Rachel has both a BFA and MFA) deeply infuses the design and architecture of Fat and the Moon goods. They make over 100 products, a line that grows organically from a deep wellspring to create and heal. Rachel continues to explore the herbalism inherent in her Slovenian heritage, and in more recent years she’s also been conducting ethnobotanical research in Slovenia on the traditional uses of plant medicines.
We love the way Fat and the Moon incorporates empowering messaging in their advertising and social media presence. And it’s a double-win when their products are the real deal. They feel, smell and act like a ritual of self-love with each use.
With sustainability in mind, you won’t find excessive plastic or packaging when using Fat and the Moon. What’s more, each product they make is made specifically to order. Which means that you are getting a potion concocted especially for you and you can feel secure that it’s made of the freshest ingredients of the highest quality.
In February’s IDYLHOUR box, we’re including:
Masa and Olive Face Paste, a decadent and earthy face polish with corn flour and olive oil
Sage and Rose Face Mist, a moisturizing toner that cleanses and heals the skin
Founded by Lisa Govro (right), Big Heart Tea Co. was born out of a surplus of gorgeous turmeric Lisa was gifted by a Hawaiian farmer after they bonded over their love of the healing ingredient. She devised the brand’s flagship blend, Cup of Sunshine, out of that original harvest and a tea brand was born.
Today, working with Kunthearath Nhek-Morrissey (left, VP Operations), the leadership of Big Heart Tea continues to weave with their origin story thread by cultivating personal relationships with their organic tea farmers and only use a direct-sourcing process that encompasses both the quality of the tea and the lives of the farmers who grow it.
Their partnerships with chefs and baristas mean that their products instantly elevate beverage programs while being infused with creativity and inspiration. They invest deeply in the relationships with other small businesses and the residents in their hometown of St. Louis.
They’re committed to sustainability, too, in the ways they weigh environmental impacts of their ingredient sourcing, down to the packaging you open in your home, which is fully compostable.
We’re including two servings of their Cup of Love tea, comprised of just two timeless healing ingredients: organic rose and organic tulsi (holy basil). Fragrant, calming and nurturing, it truly is a blend that feels “just like a hug from your grandma.”
Shop the FEB22 IDYLHOUR boxes here.