The Oil Drop Shop: A Little Back Story
Judging by the title, you might think that we are getting ready to go really deep here, and get very philosophical. But that is not the purpose of this post. At least, not today, anyway. I just wanted to take a second to introduce the shop and give you a little background about how we came to be.
It was the Summer of 2014, and a good friend invited me to her house to learn about essential oils and how she was using them to keep her precious family well, and out of the doctor's office. I was all ears -- my boys were toddlers between the sweet ages of 1.5 and 3.5 years old. The previous Winter was very challenging for us health-wise, because their sweet little hands liked to touch everything and then they liked to take those patty cakes and put them in their mouths. We basically spent three months in a proverbial revolving door to the pediatrician's office, and the pharmacist was surely judging me every time she had to see me toting my boys to her window for a Rx. I was determined to stay well this upcoming season, and willing to learn anything to make it happen. So, I listened to my friend, we bought this little "everything you need to get started" box and were on our way.
So, with a mission and purpose, I dove in. I loved it - after 3.5 years of only hearing that all of this yuckiness was just part of being a kid, it was "building their immune systems" and there was nothing we could do but "ride it out" on the nights when my little guy's only desire was to breathe through both nostrils, I felt so empowered to finally be able to have some control. Bring. It. On.
I started making my own diluted roller bottle blends, which is basically plant magic in a glass tube about the size of a lipstick container mixed up with some coconut oil. I was making detox bath salts, sleepy cream for happy bedtimes, a chest rub, you name it, I could make it! My friends starting calling me the Medicine Woman, and Dr. Melissa (disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on the internet). Really, the point is they were calling me and if they mentioned anything they needed to support, I was ready to whip out some of my plant sauce and help. So, I would mix up salves, creams, oils, salts, and more for my family and anyone else who was willing to give it a try. The only problem I had yet to find a solution for was keeping my labels from losing their adhesive and coming off of my bottles or keeping the sharpie from becoming faded and illegible. I was consistently left with bottles half full of my essential oil concoctions and had to rely on my nose to figure out what was in them and what I had mixed them up for to begin with. We needed to figure this out!
There were many variations I tried for dressing up my oil goodies. My favorite was washi tape, because, washi tape. Duh. But it wouldn't last. Then, I started to see cute labels pop up on Instagram and I fell in love -- they were so pretty. I wanted all. the. labels. Every month or so I would have my friends over to turn my kitchen into a street legal science lab, and I wanted to have these labels for those occasions, too. I needed these labels. The only problem, they were too expensive. I couldn't come to grips with the price tag, so I set out to start making my own, and then I thought on a whim that maybe there were others like me who wanted to have all the labels for their street legal kitchen science lab parties, so why not open a little etsy shop and cater to my fellow essential oils fiends, ahem, I mean friends. ;)
So, here we are. It's been almost a year since The Oil Drop Shop opened it's doors and we are loving it -- we love serving this community of forward-thinking street pharm oil dealers, and all the essential oil enthusiasts who are outfitting their potions with our labels. It is simply the best to know that we are playing a part in keeping families well, and in style.
