Somewhere Between Soap & Survival: A Little Update from the Mercantile

This isn’t the polished, perfectly timed blog post I meant to write as my first, even if it did take me several days to get it right. But maybe that’s okay. If I’ve learned anything over the past year, it’s that life doesn’t always wait until the ducks are in a row or even, for that matter, in the same pond.

This had been a dream tucked in the back of my mind for so long, I thought I had all but given it up. When my husband became sick in 2022, it quietly sparked back to life, one flicker at a time. Fast forward to August 2024, and suddenly, it was real. Tangible. Business plans were carefully written and rewritten over countless days spent in hospital rooms and surgical waiting rooms. I wanted to set things up at my own pace and do it right because this wasn’t just about the apothecary or bath products. It was more. So much more.

But as we all know, even the best-laid plans can vanish with the snap of a finger or in my case, a storm figuratively for us, while literal for many.

When I saw a way to help those affected by Helene, I dove in anyway. I made a few of the soap bars I had planned to launch and, as a family, we raised what we could to donate supplies to those in need. It may not have been a huge amount, but it was a start. And for someone who’s never been comfortable swimming in the waters of social media, e-commerce, or product launches, I was learning fast. In real time. And somehow, I’m still here floating, kicking, sometimes just treading, but still moving forward.

I’m proud of myself for taking that chance. That might sound small to some, but if you know me, you know it’s not. I’m not usually the one to leap without a plan. I don’t dance well with the unknown. But if the last two years have taught me anything, it’s this: life is too short, too messy, and too unpredictable to let fear be in charge. Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is to simply show up even when our hands are shaking and our hearts feel heavy.

Things have been busy behind the scenes at Southern Buffalo Mercantile. And by “busy,” I mean a little chaotic, a little beautiful, and a whole lot of me juggling dreams, deadlines, family, and this ever-growing business with hands that sometimes shake and a heart that beats wildly with purpose.

I won’t sugarcoat it, I have been burned out. The kind of tired that comes from carrying too much for too long while still trying to show up with everything I’ve got. Between managing our home, caring for my "village", ordering supplies before tariffs or shortages hit, creating new products, switching website platforms, and teaching myself every moving piece of this puzzle as I go… it’s been a lot. A beautiful kind of overwhelm, but overwhelming just the same.

And as for the national stage? Yeah, I see it too. The noise. The fear. The collective ache. It’s hard not to let it into your thoughts, and into your spirit. But I believe in small good things. I believe there’s still light in all this madness. I believe we can still do things better than we’ve done them in the past. So while I wait (sometimes impatiently) for the rest of my dream to come into view, I’ll keep creating something soothing, something safe, something real, even if the world feels upside-down. I don’t know how far this journey will take me, especially with the way things are going, but I know I’ll push as far as I can.

What I do know is this: honesty matters more than polish. Transparency matters more than trends. Not just in storytelling or behind-the-scenes glimpses, but in pricing too. I’m not here to mimic big-box markdowns or play the “race-to-the-bottom” game that seems to be everywhere, especially on platforms like Etsy. That’s not what this is about.

Greed doesn’t live here. Not in my home. Not in my heart. Not in my part of the world.

My prices reflect the real cost of doing things slowly, ethically, and with intention from hand-selecting ingredients to choosing sustainable packaging to the hours I pour into every bar, bottle, and blend.

So if things look a little messy right now, if my updates feel like they’re coming in waves, or you notice tweaks, shifts, and posts that sound more like journal entries than polished promos that’s why. I’m still building. Still learning. Still figuring it out. And still trying to get it right without losing myself in the process.

Thank you. For your patience. For your presence. For cheering me on in the midst of the mess and my social inconsistencies. You don’t know how much it means.

I may be scatterbrained and tired, but I’m still here still dreaming, still mixing magic into soaps and scrubs and sprays. Still believing we can build something better, something softer, together.

In my reality, I see a community coming together as one, not just to survive, but to support each other through all of this.

With love, lavender, and a bit of beautiful chaos,

Founder & Maker
Southern Buffalo Mercantile