Hello, Belham & Co!

If you're paying close attention, you may have noticed that we've been making a few changes around here.

If you look up, you may notice that we've got an entirely new logo, as well as a new name! Well - sort of new. We haven't changed everything. But we'd love to fill everyone in on the reasons behind our changes, what you'll see rolling out over the next month or so, and where we're going from here.

We've officially 'rebranded' from BELHAM HERBALS to BELHAM & CO. Why? We've been on the fence about changing our name for a long time. The simplest explanation really has to do with coming home.

We have come very far from the little college-apartment soap sellers that we once were. Our lives have changed subtly (and not so subtly!) over time, and as our lives changed, and our surroundings changed, what inspired us changed. Once upon a time, we did mostly herbal blends, fairly generic scent blends that you could find from any soapmaker. We have always been inspired by the earth, and nature, but as time went on, we found that our best inspiration came from the beautiful place that we call home. A month or so ago we also made the decision to begin raising money for local causes and charities to help give back to the community that has helped build us up, so we really wanted to move towards creating a company that has a really local focus.

As many of you know, this time last year we relocated to Statesboro, GA, only to return back here to the Golden Isles earlier this month. (We returned home for a laundry list of reasons, and that's another post, for another day.) Being surrounded by all of this natural beauty has really made us decide to really focus in on the feel of this place -- the salt air, the golden marshes, the winding rivers. For a long time, our most successful products were those that were part of our Coastal Collection, and we'll now be expanding this thoroughly with more items that really flow from the energy of Coastal Georgia and the South. We felt that 'Herbals' no longer really encompassed a brand that creates such favorites as Beach Sand Bars and Sea Island Cotton, but we love 'Belham' (fun fact: this is a combination of our last names) and we know our customers will remember it. Since we have hopes that our business will soon expand into soapmaking demonstrations, classes, and even create jobs, we felt that Belham & Company more accurately described our goals and our vision.

(Follow our instagram for sneak peeks at new products!)

As such, we reached out to Tammy from Typebird Creative to get a little brand therapy. (I highly recommend this, by the way!) We decided instead of our old Mortar & Pestle that represented grinding up herbs, we wanted something a little more personal, something unique, something that evoked Georgia and the South, while still expressing our plant-based, earth-friendly image. So now we have a gorgeous new logo that includes Oak leaves and Cherokee roses, the state tree & state flower.

So are your favorite soap scents disappearing? What's going on with all our other stuff?

We aren't getting rid of much - we'll be slowly phasing our Goat's Milk best-sellers into our two new main lines, the Coastal Collection & the Mythos Collection. For example, Lemon Verbena is set to become Southern Sunshine, and Lavender Goats will be Lowcountry Lavender, for example. We're adding new items like Saltwater Pearl & Riverbank Rains to our Coastal Collection, and scents like Earth Mama will be moving to the Mythos line (The Mythos line will be home to your favorite formerly small-batch specials like Mantra & Unicorn, and signature scents like Thor & Sage Smudge). If you have questions about a specific scent, email us!

Over the next few weeks, we'll be rolling out our new products and labels. Right now, we're in the middle of a move! We have expanded from a home-based business into a new manufacturing facility (we're calling it the 'Soap Studio') and we're still awaiting some equipment and licenses. (We are currently running a GoFundMe to help us move forward since our unique business doesn't qualify for many loan options.) All current orders will still have Belham Herbals branding on them for the next few weeks, until we are fully settled into our new location.

Thanks for reading! What do you think of our changes?