Deluxe Valentine’s Gift Set ($45) – with Bed of Roses goat milk soap, Sweet Nothings facial creme, original lip balm and nourishing bath soak

Valentine’s Day Cards (set of 10, $20) – Hand-stamped cards with mini rose geranium goat milk soap

Goat Milk Soap Gift Bag ($10) – in hand-stamped muslin bag

Note about Shipping Costs and/or Picking Up your Items

• We are offering free shipping on any U.S. shipments over $100 through December 7th.
• If you place an order less than $100, you will be charged standard shipping costs.
• If you would like to pick your order up at our Holiday “Open Farm”, please say so clearly in the comments section of your order.  You will still be charged shipping on your order, but don’t worry! … the day after the event – Sunday, December 11th – we will refund all shipping fees for items picked up.  If you said you were going to pick it up, but then couldn’t… again, don’t worry!… any items not picked up will then be shipped on Monday, December 12th.

Rationale for this Discount

• Things get really hectic the day of the holiday event, so it makes things run smoothly if we have as many of your orders ready to go ahead of time.  Plus, this means we can make sure to have inventory of all the items people want.
• Again, Brandy and JoAnn will be helping us work the table so that we can better give tours and socialize with each of you.  In the past we’ve given friends and family discounts the day of, but it makes it really confusing for us designate “friends.”  So instead all of our newsletter subscribers get the discount… so long as you order before Wednesday, December 7th.
• Why are we offering a pre-order discount to those people who don’t attend? We know that many of you would love to attend the event but can’t for lots of reasons, and we didn’t want to exclude you.

Restrictions You Should Know About

• Discounts do NOT apply to the “Donate a Goat” Gift Set (because this is a donation) or to the “Buy 5 Soaps, Get 1 Free” and  ”6-Pack of Soaps” (because these sets are already heavily discounted).
• Because we are offering this discount on-line, we will NOT be offering any discounts at the event… except for our tradition of “Buy 5, Get 1 Free”.   Again, we are trying this this year to make it easier on Brandy and JoAnn who will be working the table… and because our credit card processor – Square – does not enable discounts.

We do hope you take advantage of this discount by shopping on-line now!

All of our newsletter subscribers have been invited to our Holiday “Open Farm” on Saturday, December 10th!  If you did not receive the email invitation, that means you are not subscribed!   But it’s not too late… you can still subscribe here to have the invitation with all event details emailed to you.

Brandy has been working with us for about 3 months now and we are absolutely thrilled to have her on our team.  Here are five of the many reasons we adore her:

(1) She is a naturally joyful person who makes coming into work every day an absolute pleasure

(2) She is passionate about sustainable living (IE: she blends fresh produce everyday for her baby, Mable)

(3) She lives locally here in Fillmore and is always teaching us something new about the community

(4) She is both detail-oriented (meaning your orders get out on-time) and a creative thinker (meaning she offers a ton of new ideas and suggestions)

(5) She is excited about representing Chivas at new farmers markets (like Ojai) and getting to know our customers better.

Thanks for all of your hard work Brandy and welcome as the newest “Chivas diva”!

(Video Link: http://www.abesmarket.com/intheknow)

Click here to learn more about the Santa Rosa Valley soap we made in this video.

Not Familiar with Abe’s Market?

Here’s how they describe themselves: “Abe’s Market is the online marketplace for great natural products. We connect buyers seeking amazing natural products with the people who make them. There’s no need to prowl the Internet for a broader natural product selection than can be found at your local natural market. At Abe’s Market, you can get all your natural product buying done in one place.”

Basically, you can always buy a selection of Chivas goat milk soaps, cremes and lip balms, as well as other natural products, directly from AbesMarket.com

In addition to an incredible array of flowers, they also sell an array of beautiful handmade products that are fun to buy as gifts (and gifts for ourselves are the best kind!) – unique tea towels, delicate vases, handmade cards, and now Chivas soaps, lip balm, face cream and our bath soak!  If you’re in the area, we highly recommend brightening your day with a trip to this store.  Say hi to Kelly while you’re in!

Sometimes we are just so busy running around the farm and getting your packages ready, that we forget to connect as much as we’d like on Facebook. We swear we are getting better! And to entice you to join us Facebook, we’re giving away a complete set of our *NEW* boutique goat milk soaps to one special winner. All you have to do is click the “Like” button our our Facebook page, and you’ll be entered to win.

Now that you’ll be a fan, we are also curious to hear what you’d like to hear more about on our Facebook page and blog? More about natural skin care? More about raising goats? What else? Thanks for any input!

Chivas Skin Care was on Good Morning America! We wanted to share a segment of the article online about us…

“Mother-daughter team Donna and Lauren Johanson run Chivas Skin Care on their goat farm in Fillmore, Calif. They make soap from goat’s milk and sell their wares online and at farmer’s markets and holiday bazaars.

With a cash-only business, customers don’t buy as much as they do when they can pay with plastic. Now they use Square, a small attachment to a mobile phone that allows them to swipe credit cards to accept payment on the go. The Johanson’s says business has increased by 15 percent since they began using Square.”

You can watch the video and read the whole article by clicking here. Many thanks to Good Morning America, Tory Johnson, and Square!

Photo and video credit: Good Morning America

Donna leading a tour of the Chivas goat farm

Donna feeding Piggles carrots with the tour group.  Piggles was the hit of the party

Young boy feeding our goat, “Charmette”

Tour of the Chivas soap workshop.  A big thanks to our neighbors and the Fillmore community at large for coming out to support us!

Lauren using iPad to process payments – also a big hit!  You can see our soap display in the background before we had to quickly move everything inside when it started to sprinkle.

Relaxing with homemade food and drinks by the outdoor fireplace.

Karen Keltner of Soma Get Fit leads a yoga class on our front lawn.  A good way to burn off all of the goat cheese and rhubarb tarts we ate

*** A special thanks to Karen Keltner of Soma Get Fit for shooting and sharing all of these pictures ***

More about Karen: Born and raised in New York City, Karen developed an early passion for environmental, mind, body and soul well-being and sustainability. Karen is a lifetime athlete, outdoor adventurer, and yogi who enjoys mountain biking, kayaking, paddle boarding, sailing, SCUBA diving, hiking, rock climbing, tennis, beach volleyball, pilates and yoga. Through her adventuresome spirit she has dedicated her passions to integrate personal, educational, and professional interests to create inner and outer renewal, strength, empowerment, and inspiration retreats and healing for individuals, communities, and businesses. Having trained with a wide variety of professionals, athletes, scientists, environmentalists, gurus, monks, and yogis, Karen offers a unique approach of being a life, mind, body and environmental coach for creating and stepping into a life you love powerfully!

Karen is certified in neuro-linguistics life coaching, Hatha yoga, Wilderness Medical Associates First Aid and First Responder, SCUBA, rock climbing and ropes course instructor and emergency safety, low and high elements team challenges, and American Sailing Association kayak and sailboat instructor. Karen teaches fitness and well being of the body at the Santa Barbara Athletic Club and is the director of the Ambassadors of the Environment nature outdoor, sustainability education programs for Jean-Michel Cousteau around the world in California, Alaska, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Brazil, Greece, and France. At home in Santa Barbara, Karen combines all her passions for retreat, growth, renewal, and empowerment with SOMA Get Fit.