Roy and I both perform Reiki treatments here in Nashville. Below is a picture of our Reiki room inside the Yoga studio where our store is located. Doesn’t it look peaceful?
By the time our studio is remodeled in Spring of 2011, Reiki sessions will be moved to our studio location. But, I can guarantee you that it will look just as soothing and healing as this room does…..maybe even better. We’ll certainly try. Greg.
For Reiki treatments or Chakra Alignments contact Roy at roy@greenpergola.com or Greg at greg@greenpergola.com
For more information on Roy’s healing modalities and contact info, go to: http://royhamiltononline.com/healer/
For more information on Greg’s services and contact info, go to: http://www.gregoryleewhite.com/
Okay, I know, there haven’t been any DVD’s playing in the soap shop for a few days. That’s because we’ve been busy relocating the soap workshop. Back in 2005, we purchased a soap making barn to get the soap business out of the kitchen. Trust me, its bigger than it looks (not too big, though) because this pic was taken back when we bought the barn (before I knew to take larger pictures with the new digital camera) And, the picture was taken from a second story deck, which makes it look like a doll house. We completely insulated and drywalled the inside and added electricity and carpeting. There are two large storage lofts on either side for bottles and packaging, etc.
Anyway, in 2008 we purchased a new house on the other side of town. The new house had its own workshop on the property, complete with its own electricity, bathroom and was twice the size of the soap barn. So, since a friend still lived at the old house, we put off moving the barn and used the workshop that was already on site.
Here it is, 2010, we recently came to the decision to close our retail store in the spring so we can focus on internet and wholesale sales. But also, Roy and I both want to pay more attention to our other calling – the healing side of our business (which, isn’t just about “business” for us – it’s also something very personal we connect to). So, this weekend the soap barn was moved to our new house in preparation for turning the existing building on the property into a multi-purpose space: Reiki healing space, meditation studio and Roy’s photographry studio.
This is why we needed the old soap barn back …. to get all the soap making equipment back into the building that was our original manufacturing space and begin to clear out the studio space for a complete remodel.
soap drying racks
And, since we’ve been working all day on the new-old barn, that’s probably why this post sounds so rambling. Tired, sore, sleepy.
WHAT DVD is PLAYING in the soap workshop? on 09-07-2010
A star-studded cast brings richness and texture to Evening, a lyrical tale of regret, unrequited love, and hope, written by novelists Susan Minot (Rapture) and Michael Cunningham (The Hours), based on Minot’s book. Ann (Vanessa Redgrave) lies ill, deliriously remembering when she came to the summer home of her best friend Lila to be Lila’s maid of honor (her younger self is played by Claire Danes). But the young Ann is soon caught between the hungry need of Lila’s brother Buddy (Hugh Dancy) and the magnetic outsider Harris (Patrick Wilson). Meanwhile, the elderly Ann is watched by her two daughters, Nina (Toni Collette) and Constance (Natasha Richardson), who wrestle with unresolved feelings towards their mother, their choices in life, and each other. Evening starts off feeling a bit stiff and literary, but gradually finds its rhythm. While the emotional peaks and precious images feel inflated and hollow, the little ephemeral moments–the heartbreaks, yearnings, disappointments, and comforts, the flash of a smile or the widening of an eye–glimmer with warmth and honesty. It’s rare that such restraint can be so compelling and so rewarding; Evening is well worth watching for the accumulating emotional power of these small moments. Also featuring Glenn Close and Meryl Streep.
Okay. So, I’ve redesigned the Green Pergola soap site AND the blog to match. I still need to go in and create individual essential oil pages on the website, though.
But, we decided to also revamp the SOAP BY THE LOAF website to match the other two. The wholesale bulk soap site hasn’t had a redesign in almost five years. It really needed a new dress. Also, we’ve crunched our numbers and will be lowering the soap loaf prices a bit. For example, a soap loaf that is now $26.00 will be around $24.00.
Even better, we’re adding six new soaps to the SOAP BY THE LOAF site. They will be known as Bargain loaves – somewhere around the $20 range. The only difference will be they don’t have the maximum amount of essential oils added that our current, Premium soap loaves do. More on that as we do the math and create the site.
It was time the Green Pergola website had a facelift. We’ve added more extensive navigation. You can now see every name of every soap we offer on the right side of all the pages.
New color scheme! We were so tired of (yawn) those pale, muted greens and white on the site. Bright lime green pushed its way right through the door. Come one, you knew it would be some sort of GREEN !! And, of course, we had to redo the blog so it would match.
All this is in preparation for a new phase in the company. In March, 2011, we will be closing our retail store and going back to internet and wholesale only. Having a store has been a lot of fun these five years but we have come to realize that it is like having a toddler that never grows up. If the store is open, you have to be there. And if you happen to get an invitation to go to the movies with a friend or want to plan a weekend away in a cabin – well, you’re out of luck. You have to be in the store. So, we’re returning to the way the business was operated before the store opened. We had a business AND a private life!
But, good news. A friend is taking over the entire store. Everything will still be there for shopping. She is going to sell the teas and all the Green Pergola products will be on the shelves. The only difference is, we, the owners of GP won’t own the storefront. We also hear she has great plans for many new products and classes.
So, the design was phase one – get everything ready for the transition!
Boo Hoo, there’s no cable tv in the soap
workshop. But we have an extensive collection of DVD’s we play while MAKING SOAP.
WHAT’S PLAYING? on 09-05-2010
TRUE BLOOD, season one, disc one
Amazon.com
Alan Ball’s
True Blood series works well for television, as it has enough sensationalism to tantalize and enough story girth to make the viewer care about the characters. That one can finally invest emotion into monsters, including an undead Civil War victim, a transformer who can shapeshift into various animals, and a female mind reader, speaks volumes about America’s willingness to accept fantasy. Of course, television has always produced good fantasy shows (
I Dream of Jeannie), but
True Blood’s Southern Goth brand of fun horror is more macabre and more perverse, not to mention gorier, than most shows of its kind to date. Adapted from Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels,
True Blood thrills because of its equal blend in each episode of erotica, humor, tragedy, mystery, and fantasy. Set in a rural, swampy Louisiana parrish, the show centers around Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and her clan, sweet grandmother Adele (Lois Smith) and air-headed brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten). Illicit love is spawned early on, when Sookie saves vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) from having his blood stolen in the parking lot of Merlotte’s diner, owned by Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) who completes what will form a complex love triangle. As tensions between Sookie’s suitors loosen or tighten, many side plots, such as her African American best friend Tara’s (Rutina Wesley) struggle with an alcoholic, Bible-thumping mother and her brother’s dangerous crush on drug addicted hippie, Amy Burley (Lizzy Caplan), keep one wondering who will succeed in this podunk place. The main tension throughout, however, is a race war waged between vampires and humans. As murders of “fang bangers” occur (human girls who let vampires bite them) and dumb policeman Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) fails to find clues, one sees the metaphorical implications of vampirism and feels deeper resonance with what can be a downright trashy show. Gossip galore, especially about what kinds of babies interbreeding will produce, is rampant. One of the funniest characters is Tara’s flamboyant cousin, Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), who deals drugs, works as a fry cook, and services the local white politicians, while making sure he’s always up in everyone’s business.
What makes True Blood smarter than pure soap opera is the parallels it draws between its monster mash and actual, familiar societal problems. Sookie and her friends watch the news, where Evangelicals bash vampires and prohibit mixed marriage, and everyone is addicted to V, a.k.a vampire blood, that effects like psychedelic heroin. Even its gore reflects a mix of serious and silly, as vampires explode into red, sticky goop. Though it may not be attempting to qualify for the best vampire footage ever shot, True Blood is as addictive as that substance the town’s youth obsesses over, which is a metaphor in itself. –Trinie Dalton
bongo java coffee
Green Pergola is now proudly serving Bongo Java coffee in our newly redecorated tea and coffee bar.
Our first selections are beginning with Bongo Java blend and the rich and dark Mystic Brew. Coffee is available by the cup for only $2.00 or one pound bags of Bongo Java coffee are available for purchase for $10.99.
Also, currently available are some great coffees out of Seattle – Dharma coffee and Ravens Brew coffee.
Free Wifi is now available in the tea and coffee bar.
Indoor seating: 10 seats and working on adding more
Outdoor seating: weather permitting
Monday – Thursday 10:00 – 7:00
Friday and Saturday 10:00 – 4:00 (considering extending these hours if there is enough interest)
GREEN PERGOLA
223 Donelson Pike
Nashville, TN 37214
615-889-0044
three doors down from Donelson branch post office, right next door to Secret Garden garden center. Orange brick building with large yellow YOGA sign out front. Yes, yoga classes inside as well!
Bongo Java serving sign in front window and have ordered a banner that reads: serving Bongo Java coffee.
we know that times our tough right now for everyone. Plenty of customers want to include handmade soap into their line of products but have a problem with our six loaf minimum. So, we’ve decided to drop the ordering minimum for wholesale soap down to only three loaves of soap.
A three loaf minimum on wholesale soap would make an order be as low as only $68.00, depending on what soap what ordered. The $68.00 example is when a customer wants to buy an entire block of oatmeal honey soap.
We hope this new, lower minimum will make it easier for our customers to order the soaps they need, when they need them and still take advantage of the wholesale price.
If I were going to recommend a book on soap making, well, I’d have to point you to the one I wrote. It describes the history of soapmaking, the standard procedure for making soap as well as my own master batch method for soap making. Recipes for the master batch process and an aromatherapy essential oil guide in the back. In the future, I plan to expand this book to include more instructions and recipes for standard soapmaking, which would give the book equal time on the standard method as well as my own. But, here it is, the second edition of my soap making book that discusses the master batch method.
The description from Amazon.com
Product Description
With a no-nonsense approach and easy to follow directions, writer and professional soapmaker, Gregory White, shares his experience (and recipes) for creating all-vegetable, cold-process soaps. White takes the reader step by step through the process of making natural soaps for family, friends and for profit. Easy to understand and master. Includes tips on: time-saving shortcuts, natural scent selections and large production. Includes an essential oil guide. Includes a humorous chapter titled: Bubbles and Bull, A Saucy Look into the Life of a Soap Maker – telling stories of disastrous partnerships, comical customers and the perils of soap making chat forums.
About the Author
Gregory Lee White was born in Owensboro, Kentucky in 1967. He began writing fiction at the age of nine and was published in various magazines by the age of fourteen. He works as a professional writer and soap maker in Nashville, Tennessee. He and his partner have run their natural soap company since 1998.
