What happened behind the scenes here during the pandemic.

We have all been through it this last year.  My son and I were just looking at things we posted on social media about how he was going to have a long spring break in March 2020, and he hasn't gone back to school yet.

When the shut downs first started, I had no idea (no one did) what to do to prepare, other than hunt for hand sanitizers and stock up on toilet paper.  The business side was the same, I just took it a day at a time.  My primary product suppliers are in the Bay Area in California (the founding family of Body Time) and about a year ago now, they sent out an email saying they were closed indefinitely.  They gave no notice because they had none, they had to comply with local regulations.  Luckily I had just stocked up a lot of fragrances, but quickly ran out of body products.  I started to look for other resources in Oregon where my business is located, that had very different regulations. 

I met with two women who owned and ran their own, wind powered production facility located in Portland.  We rolled up our sleeves and got some formulas made.  Skin Drench, Skin Savior, Lave Luxe, and Skin Vigor came out of those early days. This team has been a dream to work with, and I am excited about what's to come.

Eventually California reopened, but I got a lot of feedback about how much the businesses I started up this business with in 2018 had really suffered, and were still struggling.  In January of 2021, the business (founding family of Body Time) that holds all the trademarks on the Body Time fragrances announced that their lease was up and that they had decided to retire.  O M G.

To make a long story short, I have had the access to the products and ingredients that I have become known for in limbo one way or another FIVE TIMES in the past year. This month a huge order, I had actually used a line of credit for, to insure that I would have what I needed until the kinks had been worked out in the newly set up suppliers operation, was compromised in shipping and had to be disposed of!  This is what led to my recent email informing my China Rain lovers that supplies could run out.

The bright side, many fragrances that had been unavailable from the previous supplier are now available again.  So I am going to be able to continue the fragrances that we know and love, reintroduce some I've stopped selling and then also introduce more!

I have learned that I really do need more autonomy and not be 100% reliant on the goods someone else controls.  There were some dark days when I thought the business I had spend so much energy and care on could just vanish because of someone else's decision.  I felt like I'd built my dream home on quicksand.  

So I am carrying all the fragrances I started with, but am also working on additional products that I will develop myself.  So Viva China Rain!  And there is so much more to come!

xo~lynn