During the holidays, it is a great opportunity to support the local businesses and entrepreneurs that strive to bring into fruition products and services that are not only effective and useful, but socially conscious, and environmentally responsible.
In the town of Ward, known for its eclectic and creative residents, Melodia Patterson’s product line, Namaste Home, has become successful in an eye-popping fashion. As a professional house cleaner and a mother of two young children, Patterson aspired to use cleaning products that were not harmful to her children. Using that as her springboard she began to develop cleaning products that were natural, organic, and effective at cleaning her home.
Sourcing much of her ingredients locally, Patterson’s cleaning products are, “all natural, all essential oil based, so the plants have a lot of naturally occurring anti-bacterial properties,” she said. “Things like lemon, lavender. I’ve taken classes, and I’ve learned from some of the older cleaning ladies, some of the principles of what you couldn’t use on certain materials.” She has a line of multipurpose cleaners and has begun to offer her products in glass reusable containers to offset plastic waste.
Patterson described the development of the line recently, “Namaste Home… is a funny gag, a nod to Yogis, like Nah-Im’a-stay-home,” she said. “It’s all aromatherapy, so it works. Around that theme of yoga, and zen.”
This home-based business has expanded its product line to include soaps, bath bombs, and candles, which are adorned with crystals, flower petals and other assorted materials. “It’s like the candle can be like the blank canvas, and you can decorate it, and make a pretty art piece,” she explained, “and people can pick out the stones and keep them, like a memento.” Patterson has also made her products’labels a canvas unto themselves. Each product displays original artwork created by Patterson herself.
A particular line of candles has shown to be extremely popular this season much of which is being shipped internationally, “I decided a year ago to release for Christmas, a Zodiac themed candle, and it just took off, and it’s been our number one seller ever since,” and said, “we’ve been selling about two hundred candles a day.”
Namaste Home products can be purchased online at http://www.namastehomeproducts.com or at http:// www.etsy.com/shop/NamasteHomeTM, and products can be found at the Jackleggers Mercantile in downtown Ward.
The orders keep rolling in Melodia Patterson and Katrina Pattridge, owner of the Jacklegger’s Mercantile in Ward, where Namaste Home products can be found, hold a day’s worth of order receipts. PHOTO BY KIRK C. WATKINS[/caption]
