Category: Local Small Business

Bar Soap Testimony

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ORIGINAL SCENT TRIPLE MILLED BAR SOAP

Dreamy smooth, this blend of milk, oatmeal, vanilla and vetiver is a tranquil, comforting scent with stirring, yet sweet seductive notes that are controlled by their classic, romantic and powdery virtue.

We sell BARR-CO. bar soap at Rustic Country Market. I bought a sample, but it really isn’t something our customers can sample like they can the lotion, so I decided to test it myself and share my testimony after using it.

My BARR Soap Experience

First thing I noticed in the shower was the fresh scent. Second, I noticed the texture. The bar soap is made with colloidal oatmeal, which is known to soothe dry, itchy skin and offers several health benefits. The bar has an exfoliating texture to it. For some, this might not be important, but for me living in Arizona, it’s essential to remove dry, dead skin.

Used the bar soap in the shower two times.

The 3rd time showering with the bar soap, my skin felt great. It didn’t leave it feeling dry. I should add that I always apply BARR-CO. lotion to sun and wind exposed skin after I shower.

My ♥️ for K. Hall products started in 2015…

I’ve been using BARR-CO. lotion since 2015 after I happened to find a bottle of the Original Scent at a shabby cottage antique shoppe on the east coast. I loved it so much I went back the next time I was on the east coast and bought a second bottle. The next time I visited, they no longer carried it. Fortunately I was able to find it online, directly from K. Hall. After opening Rustic Country Market, I decided to apply as a wholesaler to sell their products and got accepted. 🙌🏻

Customers ask if I make our skin care products myself. As much as I’d love to be able to say we make everything we sell, sometimes you find a product you gotta share with others. I tell our customers my story of how I personally started to use K. Hall products and a little bit about K. Hall.

BARR-CO.

Made in the USA

The Barr-Co. collection is made up of wholesome ingredients including colloidal oatmeal, Shea butter, mineral salts and other natural botanicals. All products are handcrafted in small batches in St. Louis, Missouri and visually styled to represent the Americana pioneer era. All of our products are free from parabens, petrochemicals and are cruelty free.

K Hall Studio

Rustic Country Market currently carries BARR-CO. bar soap in the following fragrances:

  • Original (milk, oatmeal, vanilla and vetiver)
  • Coconut (coconut and tropical flowers, finished with warm musk)
  • Saddle (amber with sandalwood and musk, blended with patchouli and eucalyptus)

(In the future, I want to add Lavender bar soap to our list.)

We aren’t just a market, we are Rustic Country Market Living.

Inspiring Home Life ♥️,

THE RELENTLESS REDECORATOR

I ♥️ Mason Jars

Published on by byjoellaLeave a comment

Do you?

I have a ♥️ for Mason jars. It kinda happened subtly, not intentionally. Before I knew it, I had several here and there in our home.

I’ve lived and traveled Mason jar heaven; from the midwest to the east coast. My grandparents used to have Mason jars filled with canned goodness. My aunts used to serve fresh milk from a Mason jar and make homemade, canned jams and jellies.

While on the east coast, I found some Mason jars that were different from the norm I was familiar with where I grew up, and I found some old zinc lids, including some milk glass and transparent glass liners.

Blue Mason Jars…

  • Our drinking glasses…
  • Coffee Storage.
  • Used in a vignette.

I especially loved the blue glass Mason jars, so I bought some remakes to use for drinking glasses. Slowly I replaced broken drinking glasses in our home with Mason jars from sauces we bought at the store.

When we started Rustic Country Market, I hooked up with Mason Jar Lifestyles, a small, family based business located in Colorado. I started carrying various Mason jar accessories. Oh, but it didn’t stop there. I started to sell our fresh roasted coffee beans in Mason jars.

We recently acquired a couple old, dirty Mason jars, which inspired me to do some history digging. To my amazement, Mason jars play a huge part in the history of the U.S.A., and since I’m a patriot (and veteran) I decided to share what I learned.

I was taught we are supposed to give citations for our sources, but this info is quite common if you spend time doing the internet research. Let’s face it, all information is passed down one way or another. I’ll use my own words based on all the info I gathered…

How Mason jars got their name…

John Landis Mason was born in New Jersey. He was a tinsmith in New York. At the age of 26, he invented the screw on lid, and then patented the Mason jar and screw on lid in 1858. It is my understanding he did not patent the rubber seal under the lid that provided the airtight seal. He attempted to patent the rubber seal, but he was too late. Other companies were using rubber seals with their jars. After his patent expired (1878), Mason was unable to protect his patent via the court system, opening the way for new, “Improved Mason Jar” patents.

Sadly, Mr. Mason died poor in 1902, but his Mason jar legacy lives on with his name.

Mason Jars are a collectible and a common household item today…

Ball started using Mason’s design in 1880, branding it the “Improved Mason Jar.” Blue Ball Mason Jars were produced the late 1880’s – the late 1930’s. Ball’s “Perfect Mason” was produced circa 1913 – 1922. “Ideal” Mason Jars were produced circa 1915 – 1962.

Royal Square Fruit Jars, made by A.G. Smalley Co., Boston and New York, were patented in 1896. The company closed circa 1918.

Atlas Mason Jars were started 1902. Atlas EZ Seal were produced in the early 1900’s. Atlas Strong Shoulder Mason Jars were produced circa 1920’s – 40’s.

Drey Mason Jars were made in the late nineteen hundreds to 1925, until Ball bought them. Ball continued to make Drey Mason Jars for a few years.

Did you know…

  • Mason jars (Patent 1858) were originally made of handblown glass. They can be identified by the air bubbles in the glass jar.
  • Circa 1908: Mason jars were machine made and will typically have a mold seam (line) in the glass and a glass mold and/or production mark on the bottom.
  • There were 2 common types of Mason jar closures:
    • The wire bail and glass lid that clamps down (Lightening Seal) common prior to the 1920’s.
    • Screw top jars which became more popular after the 1920’s.
  • When aging your Mason jar pay attention to the glass quality, closure, jar shape, color, logo, brand name, and base/mold/production marks.
  • Ball Mason jars were popular in eastern USA.
  • Kerr Mason jars were popular in western USA.
  • The brands Ball, Kerr and Golden Harvest Mason jars are all manufactured by the same company since 2022.
  • MARK YOUR CALENDAR: National Mason Jar Day is November 30th.

I think John Mason’s descendants should be proud that today we use their namesake “Mason” jars for endless purposes.

Until next time…

We aren’t just a market, we are Rustic Country Market Living.

Inspiring Home Life ♥️,

THE RELENTLESS REDECORATOR

Our Rustic Country Market

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We planned to have our first, local, Rustic Country Market on April 27, 2024. We worked diligently the week prior to having our first market; getting our “store” set up. We priced everything, made directional signs and staged our store inside our enclosed utility trailer. The morning of April 27 we woke up to a blanket of snow; so we rolled over and went back to sleep. (Gotta love being a self employed retiree.)

Fast Forward to May 3 & 4, 2024

We rescheduled our first Rustic Country Market the following weekend. That morning I advertised it on Facebook. We used Friday as a test to see how long it would take to get the store set up (and tore down). It was a slow Friday, but things picked up on Saturday.

Our Rustic Country Market specializes in small batch roasted coffee beans, our nest run eggs, a variety of artisan rustic decor, including: cabinets/shelves, caddies, signs, birdhouses, benches, cups/mugs, unique gift items, plus seasonal items like Russian Sage bunches (similar to Lavender), dried spices, mixed spices, and vegetables.

Our Local Rustic Country Market Sale Dates

Every Friday, 9 – 12, starting May – Labor Day, 2024, we set up at the R Lazy J Ranch Farmers Market in Eagar. (R Lazy J Ranch permanently closed in October, 2024.)

Saturdays, 9-1, we set up at the Greer AZ Farmers Market. Dates: 6/15, 6/22, 7/13, 7/20, 8/3, 8/17, 8/31 (2024).

Follow us on Facebook for updates. (https://www.facebook.com/RusticCountryMarket)

Local customers can reach out to us for local pick up if they want to order coffee beans or buy eggs. We prefer cash and Zelle.

UPDATE September 14, 2024: As a small business owner, we will no longer accept credit card because of the excessive costs related to accepting credit cards. Thank you for understanding.

We aren’t just a market, we are Rustic Country Market Living.

Inspiring Home Life ♥️,

THE RELENTLESS REDECORATOR

Small Batch Coffee Roasting

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Our History

In 2009 we started a micro coffee roasting company named Cold Creek Coffee Company, located in Battle Ground, WA. Our beans were used by two coffee shops and we had several repeat customers. We closed our business in 2014, when we moved to Arizona. (The move was complex enought, much less relocating a business.)

Our oldest grandson wearing our previous business .com hat.
Today he’s a teenager!

Fast Forward to 2024:

Our original company name, Cold Creek Coffee, is now used by a company in Canada and another in Ohio. Honestly, that doesn’t matter because we want to rebrand our coffee business under Rustic Country Market as we start roasting again. This time we will specialize in mobile, small batch roasted coffee beans, in addition to selling a variety of rustic decor, coffee mugs, seasonal lavender bunches, dried spice mixes and our nest run eggs.

Local Market Focus

We are going to focus our small business on our local market. At this time, we are not going to sell online. We plan to start participating in a local farmers market, and roast coffee at the market. This way, our customers are getting the freshest roasted coffee beans possible. Our local, repeat coffee customers will be able to reach out to us to order fresh roasted coffee beans outside the farmers market hours. Expanding our market will be subject to demand and profitability.

In addition to attending our local farmers market, we plan to have several Rustic Country Markets at our house. I plan to set up a photo shoot booth so customers can share pics with their friends on social media. In the future, we’d like to invite other local, complimentary product vendors to participate in our Rustic Country Market, which may involve moving to a more central location in our local community. Our Rustic Country Market would be more of an artisan market vs. farmers market.

The pictures below are a sampling of some of the “one of a kind” items we have created for props and to sell. Some are a work in process…

Handcrafted. Reuse. Repurpose. Renovate. Rustic.

Most of what we sell at our Rustic Country Market is handcrafted at our home. We limit our outsourced items to other small business owners whenever possible. We scout for things we can reuse, repurpose, renovate or recycle. I love using my Cricut to design and create rustic country decor and household items. Some of the items we create are made using some materials that were not made in the USA which is (unfortunately) inevitable in today’s world. (IE: ink, vinyl, blank stickers, blank coffee mugs, blank canisters, etc.)

Primitive Bird House

A lot of the materials we use are old. For example, the bird house pictured above. We bought the antique roof tiles on the east coast a few years ago. The wood and handle (perch) were salvaged to create this rustic bird house.

Our Home Base…

My craft room.
His Greenhouse.

Our produce is grown in our greenhouse that Jon built mostly from repurposed materials, and our garden. We primarily use heirloom seeds to start our plants. We try to avoid the use of chemicals on our plants, sticking with organic options and composting. Our spice mixes are produced in our home kitchen (and are not subject to public health inspection under the AZ cottage food program).

Air tight packaging to keep it fresh.

Our Russian Sage is grown in our back, which I will use to create decorative bunches to sell seasonally.

Our 2023 Russian Sage (similar to Lavender) and backyard chicken coop.

We purchase green coffee beans from US based coffee bean importers who source from coffee bean producing countries.

All that to say, our goal is for Rustic Country Market to be as small business, locally sourced as possible.

Until next time…

Inspiring Home Life,

THE RELENTLESS REDECORATOR