Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Connection
A Special Tribute Issue
August 9, 2004

 -->This Week's Sponsor <--

	» YOUR NAME HERE « Let Essential Wholesale help you get started. We help businesses expand their ideas using our naturally derived cosmetic formulations. Private Labeling/Contract Filling Program We have one of the lowest minimums in the industry -- only 100 units per product! Create a custom product or choose from our line of 200-plus stock bases available to scent, fill and label with your own labels for that professional look. With a combination of packaging, scenting, coloring and panache you can’t go wrong and the world will be waiting for your new product. › More about our Private Labeling Services   SUPER BULGARIAN LAVENDER EO Why not give your lavender-loving customers a real treat? THERE IS LAVENDER and then there is the supreme variety we're offering from Bulgaria. This is truly a creme of the crop wild crafted essential oil and lives up to being "super". With its superb floral aroma and high ester levels, you will not find a more beautiful true Lavender aroma -- it's simply gorgeous. › BUY SUPER BULGARIAN LAVENDER NOW!   SPECIAL FOR AUGUST! NEW! MultiFruit Alpha Hydroxy Acid Extract Blend Banish dull skin! A combo of Bilberry, Sugars, Citrus and Cranberry provide the mild acids helpful in removing dull outer layers of skin. Add this water-soluble, fruity extract to your cleansing cremes, astringents or toners to help regain one's youthful glow. ›BUY it NOW! OUR NEW MINERAL MAKE-UP Suitable for all skin types our Mineral Make-up is free of talc, fragrance, dyes and contains no irritating chemicals or bacteria-loving moistures. Available in a lovely spectrum of shades, a little goes a long way -- Order today and find out why Mineral Make-up is gaining in popularity as the product of choice for estheticians.     THEY'RE HERE! MAKE A SPLASH WITH OUR FIZZY BATH BOMBS! Buy 'em in bulk or get 'em pre-packed, for yourself or your private label. They're pretty, they're fun, and great for the bath whether your aged 7 or 77. ›GET YOUR BATH BOMBS TODAY!     Get additional savings! Click here to sign up for our newsletter     Essential Wholesale PH: (503) 722-7557 • FAX: (503) 296-5631 info@essentialwholesale.com

 MY TRIBUTE

Many of you who have joined HBN and subscribed to this newsletter over the years probably see me as the driving force behind HBN and all of the wonderful things that have flowed from it since it began in January 2000. While my efforts have certainly contributed significantly, if you have joined HBN or even just enjoy the newsletter on a weekly basis, then you should know that your contributions have played a major role as well.

But the most significant contribution was made over a decade ago, years before HBN was even a seed in my brain, by my friend Nancy Brown Manville. Nan, pictured at left making soap in her kitchen in 1996, died on August 2 at 1:00am at age 56 at her apartment in Grapeland, Texas. This week's issue is a celebration of Nan's life and a recognition of how, through HBN and this newsletter, she has left an indelible mark on the lives of thousands of people around the world.

I met Nan in 1993 shortly after I decided to learn how to make soap. I called a Texas supplier of essential oils and the sales representative was kind enough to refer me to Nan when I asked for the names of anyone who knew how to make soap. I called Nan and immediately knew I had met a friend for life. She patiently taught me how to make soap on the phone during the course of the next several months. Sometimes we were on the phone until the wee hours of the morning studying saponification numbers, comparing our soap triumphs and tragedies, exploring the correct temperatures to combine ingredients and sharing the best sources for ingredients and supplies. While my relationship with Nan predated HBN by nearly a decade, it was she who encouraged me to leave my comfortable perch in corporate America to pursue my dreams and Create The Life I Love.

Since her death last week, I have pondered how Nan inspired and cared for me. Nan believed that taking the time to nurture valuable relationships contributes richness to the fabric of our lives. While it has always been my physical activity that has propelled HBN, it has frequently been Nan's encouragement, vision and prodding that has formed the basis for any forward step the organization has taken.

After knowing Nan by phone for several years, I conspired with her family to surprise her with a visit to Grapeland. By then, Nan was about to open Sweet Peas, where she planned to retail marvelous handmade beauty products, including her signature Whole Hog handmade soaps. She was just about to begin advertising her soapmaking classes when me, my mom and my mom's friend June showed up on Sweet Pea's doorstep to register for soapmaking classes. Up until that point, the only person outside Nan's family who knew of her class plans was me.

From a strategic hiding place, I watched Nan's concern turn into bewilderment as June explained that she had heard about Nan's soapmaking classes and was there to sign up and pay in cash in advance. At just the right moment, I popped out and announced that I too wanted to take a soapmaking class. As Nan recognized my voice from our many phone calls, surprise and delight replaced chagrin and confusion, and we embraced like the sisters we were.

Along with her father, daughter Aimee and her sons Taylor and Bobby (Bobby is pictured at left behind his very surprised mom), I enjoyed small town Texas hospitality with a very big and unforgettable heart.

Nan's family and friends were the joy of her life. A kiss from her grandson Michael sent her positively into orbit and her little granddaughter provided an opportunity to once more view the world through the eyes of a darling little girl.

Here are some of my favorite things about Nan.

• Nan had a quiet and gentle spirit, yet she commanded respect by refusing to waver from any of her heartfelt convictions. She always shared them in ways that communicated a healthy respect for those around her.
  
• Nan believed fully that our potential is stifled mainly by our own internal limitations, and that if we are to succeed, we must step outside our self-made boxes of constraint.
  
• Nan helped other people. Whenever I became possessive of a thought or concept, Nan challenged me to remember that a reason God had given it to me was so that I could share it with others. 
  
• Nan lived by transferable principles that were easily used and taught to others. For example, she taught me the power of networking and that even across the miles, two people with mutual interests and determination could pursue and achieve anything they set their minds to. ( . . . And the seed for HBN was planted ...)
  
• Nan was available whenever I called on her to help me through a bump in the road of life. Whether it was to help me stay sane (or regain my sanity depending on how you look at it!) after the birth of my first child, to steady me through the end of an abusive marriage and the resulting divorce, or to remind me of my own peculiar purposes in life, Nan always took my call. She never failed to listen patiently before speaking her mind.
  
• Nan was honest. She never told me what I wanted to hear and I often hated that. But I always knew that she had my best interests at heart and that she would never steer me wrong. So for the duration of our relationship, I continued to call her -- even when I knew it would get me a good tongue lashing. Nan chastised me gently for wanting life to be my way rather than accepting it the way it was, and relaxing in and enjoying it. No matter when I needed her, Nan would always come.
  
• Nan was fun. Despite suffering for over a decade the impossibly painful and ravaging effects of rheumatoid arthritis, Nan never lost her sense of humor. Through pain so intense most of us could never even imagine it, Nan continued to move past her agony to radiate the joy of life. Her gladness at living was visible to all who came into contact with her, and she shared it generously.