Posts Tagged ‘experiences’

Moon Haven’s Cowaramup Cottage is 6 today!

We opened our doors 3 days before Christmas 2002, with all the hopes and ideals of new business owners. Little did Eric and I  know what we were letting ourselves into!

Six years later Eric and I can look back and all we can say is Wow…

Moon Haven has become something much greater than we could every have imagined 6 years ago.

What started out as a humble attempt to bring our skin saving soaps, our pain relieving Achy Breaky Rub and our aromatherapy preparations to a demanding public, has turned into a place of  creativity, friendship and healing,  where random acts of thoughtfulness happen on a daily, if not hourly basis.

Moon Haven soaps, lotions and potions can be found in countries around the world and across Australia.  We continue to be astounded by the thoughtfulness of people who write to tell us of their Moon Haven experiences and success with our products.

This feedback helps us to keep on producing and thinking and researching for  better ways of combining our herbs, oils and other ingredients to come up with even more solutions.

Of course while Moon Haven in our Cowaramup cottage may be 6 today, Moon Haven itself  is now well over 8 years old with our first products being made  in our kitchen.  How far we have come…how far we have to go!

Essential Oil distillery from Santa Maria Novella Florence circa 1700's

Eric and I visited the world famous herbalist shop of the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica Di Santa Maria Novella in Florence earlier this year.

The Dominican monastery’s first medicinal herb garden was established in 1221 to provide the herbals required for the monks own use. In 1612 the monks first offered their wares to the public in the same spot where the Santa Maria Novella Herbalist shop is today.

Above is an engraving of the monastery’s  distillery where essential oils were extracted from their parent plants.  You can see the wood fire hearths lined up in a row below the distillation chambers where plant material and water were gently boiled and the oils distilled off into beautiful ceramic urns and jugs.

After 6 weeks on the road we are home. It was such a delight to pull up in our driveway late in the afternoon, smell the fresh ocean air and our winter green garden, be greeted so enthusiastically by Scotty the Dog and absolutely smooched to death by our two felines of distinction Tsaina and Tattiana.

Oh the experiences we had whilst away. From our Turkey time meeting Nesrine in Cunda and experiencing her wonderful hospitality as well as the produce from her edible garden, with our hosts Mustafa and Betul swimming in the Agean sea from a boat charted for the day and eating a most amazing barbecue, to meeting everyone at Beauty Eurasia and promoting Moon Haven.

Then onto two weeks in Florence, Italy with Eric’s brother Tony and his delightful lady Anne. With everything from the famous Calcio Storico – a most brutal foot ball game surrounded by pageantry and ceremony, amazing fireworks and of course the art, sculptures and history. Meeting artisans and art students, eating, eating, eating and living Italian style and of course aquiring my bauble (a beautiful diamond triplet ring given to me by my darling Eric) from the Ponte Vechio.

Then on to Singapore for the Lifestlye Australia exhibition where we met up with son Chris who had done an amazing job of organising, setting up and managing the first two days of the show. Meeting with so many great people and showing moon haven to the Singaporeans who were delighted with our offerings. Staying at the Pan Pacific where you are greeted personally and escorted to your room by your account manager where check in is completed in style with panoramic views across Singapore. The sights, experiences and tastes of Singpaore…again amazing.

So with three totally different and yet rich countries, experienced in just on 6 weeks we were so pleased to be able to come home where we will be contemplating each facet and re-membering so many things that it is almost overwhelming.

One thing I do know is that there is really no place like home and to walk into Moon Haven after such a long time away was the real true homecoming my soul needed.