Free 2010 Subscription to StarLee Magazine

StarLee Magazine has written two very nice articles on Chivas Skin Care and is now offering our customers a free 2010 subscription to their magazine! If you want to receive a free 2010 StarLee Magazine subscription click here and type in the coupon code CSKSLM10 (note: this does not include the shipping fee). This offer ends July 6th so don’t wait!

Thanks again StarLee Magazine!

“Got Goat Milk?”: Star Lee magazine features Chivas

Chivas Skin Care was featured in Issue 2 of StarLee Magazine, which came out this June. We hope you enjoy learning more about what it takes to run a small business, like Chivas, and some of the lessons we’ve learned along the way!

” We don’t use any fragrance oils, which are so much cheaper than essential oils,” Donna said. “This is a huge commitment and takes discipline; sometimes it kills me because it is a huge pocket burn, but the difference in quality is what our customers come to expect.” (want to learn more about the differences between fragrance oils and essential oils?)

“Sometimes less truly can lead to more, according to Lauren. ‘One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned as ‘accidental entrepreneurs’ was to cut down our product line. Initially we had 25-plus soaps and we put them all to market- it was overwhelming.’” ( check out what soaps we selected to be apart of our goat milk soap line)

“Their advice for other female entrepreneurs? Lauren says, ‘Limit your product line. Let yourself be creative and enjoy that process, but for every 10 great ideas you have, ultimately you should probably only do one of them.’ Donna added, ‘Cherish your female energy and creativity, but you’re going to need a little macho in you too.’” ( find out more about our mother-daughter team)

Thank you so much StarLee Magazine and to all those involved with making the article possible!  A special shout out to Dawn Mena of Digital Dawn: Social Media Made Easy, who conducted the interview.

StarLee magazine says Chivas Lip Balm is “What’s Hot”!

Our Original vegan lip balm is highlighted in the first issue of StarLee Magazine‘s “What’s Hot.”

And if, like us, you have  hard time reading the text on-line, here’s what it reads:

“Chivas goat milk skin care is owned and run by a dynamic mother-daughter team that has brought the art of using goat milk to make soaps and other skin care products to a new level.  Recognized by beauty experts all around, this company treats its French Alpine goats like family and stands firm behind the values of fair trade, charitable giving, and environmentally mindful practices and products.  We love the vegan lip balm.  It comes in several different scents, and our lips never felt so good.”

You can check out all of our vegan lip balms here!

Gossip Goat Has Fallen in Love with Serena and Lily

Gossip Goat has fallen head-over-heels for Serena and Lily. Serena Dugan and Lily Kanter have created amazing collections of bedding, baby bedding, furniture, and fabric. Their eye for style and simplicity can turn a normal bedroom into a masterpiece. These two women have thought about everything…they even sell paint that coordinate with their bedding! Check out their amazing products at www.serenaandlily.com and get started on making any room in your house into a work of art. We also love that they offer organic baby bedding!

Before getting into bed with your new comfy sheets relax and enjoy a night time bath with Chivas  goat milk bath salts!

Gifting Goat Shares The Perfect Baby Shower Gift Idea

Whether it is a boy or girl, the Gifting Goat thinks that a Little Giraffe Blanket paired with a Chivas goat milk soap makes the perfect baby shower gift!

You may have heard about a company called Little Giraffe and their indescribably soft baby blankets. These high quality blankets are luxurious but also machine washable which will make any new mom smile. Celebrity moms such as Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Jessica Alba and Gwen Stefani have all fallen in love with these amazing blankets. Suri Cruise has been photographed around the world with her Little Giraffe blanket. The blanky size ( 14” x 14”) blanket tag has a poem that says…

“This blanky goes with me,

Everywhere you see.

It’s the perfect size,

Not to touch the ground,

Then it stays nice and clean,

To carry all around.

If mommy holds it close to her,

Then gives it back to me,

I will always smell her scent,

Feel her love,

And the warmth of her security.”

For a Boy: Pair a Little Giraffe’s Luxe Blanket in blue with the Original goat milk soap.

For a Girl: Pair a Little Giraffe’s Luxe Blanket in pink with the Lavender Oatmeal goat milk soap.

Meet Our New Gang Of Gabbing Goats

We have seven new goats who will be gabbing it up on our blog (AKA cutesy names for our different blog columns)

To get to know them better, we asked each of them, “Which Chivas soap best describes you?”

• Gourmet Goat: She is our in-house chef. She is fascinated with creating and trying new recipes with goat milk – from homemade cheese to raw milk shakes. “The best soap that describes me would have to be Herb Garden goat milk soap. When I am not in the kitchen, I’m in my garden picking fresh herbs for my next recipe.  This soap uses some of my favorite herbs – basil, rosemary & fennel.”

• Gifting Goat: Consider her your personal shopper. She will offer you gift advice for your family and friends for all occasions.  (And you might find a little something for yourself too!) “If you’re giving a gift, your best bet is the Starter Kit which let’s someone new to Chivas try a little of everything – a goat milk soap, facial creme, lip balm and bath salt! ”

• Green Goat: He is focused on making the world a better place. He will update you on green living tips, ways to give back in your community and how to reduce your carbon footprint. “All the soaps are eco-friendly but if I had to pick a favorite, I’d say the Lemongrass goat milk soap. I love the outdoors and the tea tree and citronella essential oils in this soap naturally deter insects to keep me bug- free!”

• Gossip Goat: She loves to talk… and talk… and talk. She will update you on the latest Chivas news from the farm, newest trends and any other goat gossip. “Since I’m always out talking with everyone, I have to look my best. I rely on the Clear Complexion goat milk facial soap to keep my skin blemish free and red carpet ready.”

• Granny Goat: Every family has their matriarch and Granny Goat is ours! She will provide that motherly advice and wisdom we all need in our lives.  “My favorite soap is Orange Spice goat milk soap. It is so rich with the cocoa butter and it smells so wonderful. It always reminds me of Thanksgiving and spending time with my family.”

• GTD Goat: He is obsessed with GTD – “getting things done” – and wants to share everything he’s read up about or tried himself to get more organized, productive and efficient.  “I’m a minimalist so I like that all Chivas soaps are three-in-one; they’re good for body, hands and face.  For example, the Lavender Oatmeal goat milk soap has oatmeal (which is a gentle exfoliant for the face), lavender essential oil (which is a natural anti-septic for the hands) and fair trade shea butter (which keeps your body silky smooth).”

• Guru Goat: She is our natural skin care guru.  She knows everything about natural ingredients, DIY skin care recipes and beauty tips.  “So many people ask me for advice about how to treat their sensitive skin and I always recommend the Fragrance Free goat milk soap because it is the most gentle and nourishing.”

“Country Living” writes about “The Johanson Family’s Farm-Fresh Skin Care”

We are so excited and honored to have been written about in the “Country Living” magazine!  It has been a great way to share our story and our products with people all across America – from Texas to Kansas to Georgia.  We are so thankful for everyone who made this possible!

To celebrate, we are offering 15% off our Starter Kit!   These are a great way to try each of our best sellers, especially if you’re new to Chivas (or if you love our soaps,  but haven’t tried our other products yet).  Offer good for the month of June only.  See more info below.

NOTE: The piece is on page 16 in the June 2010 edition under “Heart of the Country” / “Making a Country Living”.

Info about our Starter Kit (with 15% off this June):

The Starter Kit includes one Original goat milk soap, one Sweet Nothings facial creme, one Sweet Nothings bath salt sachet, and one Original vegan lip balm.  Valued at $44.00 when bought individually, but available for $34.00 with this special discount (save $10)!


Making connections at Star Lee’s “Celebrating Women” event

Yesterday Chivas Skin Care was a vendor at Star Lee Magazine’s “Celebrating Women” event at the Westlake Village Inn. This event was the culmination of Star’s (above) long-standing dream to build a community of heart-centered female entrepreneurs. The idea was for women to share in their struggles to balance work and life, network to build their brand, and  shop to support local businesses (like Chivas). We had a really nice time and I wanted to share some of the connections we made (a) to promote each of these women and their businesses and (b) to show how effective events like this can be for networking.

One of the vendors next to us was Devin Krista of Devin Krista fine custom handmade jewelry.  We really liked her designs and are adding her to our list of potential vendors for our annual holiday boutique.  I also really liked the way she incorporated nature not only in her designs, but also in her display.  Above is a picture of her rings in a bowl of rice (so smart!)

We also got to finally meet Dawn Mena in person,  who not only works with Star Lee Magazine, but also runs her own social media business called “Digital Dawn“.  She “helps business owners and entrepreneurs develop clear strategies for social media in order to increase profit, raise visibility and form authentic relationships”.  And she also offers a free “social media made easy” newsletter, which I just signed up for.  I know I need help figuring out how to better utilize our Chivas Facebook page (vs. my personal page…or really how to sync them).  What social media advice to you need?

We also met Diane Carter of Lavender Gatherings, who has an organic lavender farm right here in Malibu.  We think there might be ways for us to work together as our Chivas product line grows.

And I was so happy to finally meet Nancy Leader of Skin in Motion. She heard about Chivas through a local friend and had called us about a month ago to set-up a visit to our farm.  Because we are in the process of moving our goat herd and goat milk soap production from Santa Rosa Valley to Fillmore, I told Nancy that we have put visits on hold.  Nancy, I can’t wait to have you visit the new farm in June/July (and perhaps you can visit our current location sooner so you can see the whole product line and if it will be a good fit for Skin in Motion).

Plus, here are a few fun pictures of my Mom and I at the event…

If you haven’t read the Star Lee Magazine, free subscriptions are still available (limited time) at www.starleemagazine.com/free.html.

We’re also excited to see all the fun pictures and videos from the event, which I believe will be available on the Star Lee Magazine Facebook page soon.

Photo Credit for all photos above:  Lauren Johanson

Chivas Farm: Need help naming baby goat “four”

As you may know we had four new “kids” (baby goats) born at the Chivas farm this past weekend.  What do you think are good names for this  goat strong, stylish and sassy goat below?  She is striking like her mother, Nyala, with the same distinctive white spot on her belly.  Her black feet make me think of a posh, trendsetter in NYC with black leather knee-high boots.  And she’s got yet another unique feature: a white “Star Wars”-esque headband.   Julio says that she’s the laziest of the bunch.  Pat likes her bright blue eyes and supermodel pose (see how her front feet are crossed).

What do you think? Any good names on the tip of your tongue? If so, please comment below.

.Want to help name the other two goats? Keep an eye out for more posts this week!

Want to learn more about our goats?

Want to know why we use goat milk in our skin care products?

Chivas Farm: Need help naming baby goat “three”

As you may know we had four new “kids” (baby goats) born at the Chivas farm this past weekend.  What do you think are good names for this quirky, kissable and cuddly baby goat?

He is the son of Angelina, who is a first-time mother.  Sometimes the first pregnancy and birthing process can be difficult, but Angelina handled it with balletic grace (we named her after “Angelina Ballerina”).  Here is Angelina standing as a proud mother, babying her little boy.

As I said, he’s a bit quirky.  He does this impossible-to-explain flippy, jump-kick sorta thing that is just hysterical to watch.  I’m not sure if he’s trying to show off or what, but you’ve got to see it in an upcoming video.

He is also quite the romantic.  Here he is kissing Bart.

And I just melt looking at him all curled up.

What do you think?  Any good names on the tip of your tongue?  If so, please comment below.

Want to help name the other two goats? Keep an eye out for more posts this week!

Want to learn more about our goats?

Want to know why we use goat milk in our skin care products?

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