Town & Country

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY JULY 22, 2017 3 S A N D Y H O O K Lisa Taylor D.V.M. Meaghan Ballard D.V.M. 70 Centre Street Ph. 204-642-8398 Gimli, Manitoba R0C 1B0 Fax 204-642-9996 gimliveterinaryservices.com GIMLI 642-8501 TOLL FREE 1-888-642-8501 www.interlake.mb.ca REGISTERED CHARITY NO 88751 7332 RR0001 Building a Lasting Legacy BOX 395 86 FIRST AVENUE GIMLI, MB R0C 1B0 204-642-9796 www.westshorefoundation.com email: westshorefdn@hotmail.ca Box 160, Fisher Branch, MB R0C 0Z0 Attitudes Are Contagious ... Is Yours Worth Catching? Compliments of Jim & the friendly staff UKRAINIAN FARMERS CO-OP Serving Your Community Proudly For 80 Years • Bulk Petroleum • Gas Station • Grocery Store (204) 372-6202 • Fresh Cut Meat • Produce • Groceries • General Houseware • Key Cutting • Liquor Vendor • Propane New & Exchange • Movie Sales • Hardware Riverton Co-op Food 204-378-2251 Hardware 204-378-2324 S E R V I N G A L L YO U R N E E D S ERIKSDALE CREAMERY MUSEUM Come home to Eriksdale for family fun our 13th Annual Creamery Days Fair & Rodeo Featuring Rob McLane & Against the Grain Fri, Sat. & Sun, August 18, 19 & 20 For information contact: Doreen 204-739-5322, Sandra 204-739-2067, Andrea 204-739-8002 New Iceland Heritage Museum 94-1st Ave., Gimli 7 days/week 10:00 am -4:00pm 1-204-642-4001 | nihm.ca Lake Winnipeg Visitor Centre #1 Centre Street, Gimli Open 7 days/week – 10:00 am – 6:00pm 1-204-642-7974 When the Wind is Right Fine Art Photography Exhibit by Linda Vermeulen OCEANIA CRUISE LINE 2 FOR 1 SPECIAL! Join our legendary 10-day cruise from Barcelona to Athens, Oct 4th, 2018. Air, Cruise in Balcony Cabin, Gratuities, Beverages, Wifi, Shore Excursions and more from $5799 Limited Space! Call Syndi at 204-642-4134 or email syndi@ixtapatravel.ca Secure Your Spot Now! SYNDI PROKOPICH Your Personal Travel Concierge You Really CAN Afford to Go Away This Winter! SPAIN Feb 14th or 28th 3 Weeks, air fare from Winnipeg, 1 Bedroom Condo and Transfers from $1999+700tx PORTUGAL February 15th 3 Weeks, air fare from Winnipeg, 3 nts Lisbon, 19 nts Albufeira, all Transfers from $2249+650tx ITALY March 6th 3 Weeks, air fare from Winnipeg, 1 Bedroom Condo and Transfers from $2999+650tx Call me about other Long Stays to Australia and Hawaii! BY WENDY KING H andmade artisan soaps and other skin-care products might seem like an indulgence — but if you or a member of your family has sensitivities or allergies and you need to know precisely what you are putting on your skin, it's an absolute necessity. Sandy Hook Soap Factory, run by husband-and-wife team Pat and Ron Nuspl, produces all-natural soaps that are good for everybody — even a customer who shows up in pyjamas. "I have the store right in the house — we closed the front porch so it's the soap store. I've had someone at nine at night in their pyjamas banging at the door looking for soap," says Pat Nuspl, laughing. She would prefer it if you called ahead. The family enter- prise started, as so many do, because the Nuspl's couldn't find something they needed themselves. "My husband developed a severe chemical sensitivity in early 2000, so we researched these sensitivities, which is dif- ficult because they couldn't tell him what he was reacting to, just that it was fragrance oils," she says. "And that is thou- sands of potential chemicals." The Nuspls decided to strive for a lifestyle where they would eliminate as many harmful chemicals as they could. "We had to go a more natural route for ourselves, and once we started using handmade soaps from scratch, it felt so nice and our skin just became so much more conditioned, so we threw away all of our lotions," Pat says. "What a difference using nourishing oils made and there were no preservatives, no dyes, no nasty stuff. We started to give it away to family and friends and they liked it so much it just snowballed from there." They went from hobbyists to business owners in about a year. They've since built a clientele throughout Canada, the U.S. and even internationally. "I'm using the best quality ingredients. So that means extra-virgin olive oil, organic sustainable palm and then I supplement with nourishing oils like avocado, sweet almond oil or golden jojobe, and all of these things do make your skin feel great," Pat says. "And the only scents we use are from pure essential oils, like lavender." In addition to donating 5% of sales, the family also sells a Gift of Hope soap with $1.50 per bar going to Plan Canada's clean water projects. "We've been able to pay for five borehole wells, which feels just great!" she says. "That's our soap-and-water campaign ... we thought that soap and water went so well together." The Nuspls also run organicteascanada.com, another en- terprise that grew out of the soap business. "I needed a good supplier for the organic herbs that I was using in our soap, and we found Mountain Rose Herbs of Oregon," she says. "There are no sprays, no sulphites, noth- ing on it, so we started importing and pack- aging their items for sale." In addition to soap and organic herbs and teas, the Nuspls do heirloom vegetable farm- ing on their 40 acres for their at-home market stand. They also sell pickles and preserves. "We grow no GMO and we use no spray," she says. "When we do our canning, we use cane sugar and our organic spices, and local fruit that has not been sprayed. Our preserves are quite popular — the good old-fashioned grandma type of recipes. "The best compliment I ever got was when a 96-year old man bought my mustard pickles and said, 'Oh! This is just like my grandma used to make.' " The Sandy Hook Soap Factory is easy to find, with flags flying and a bright red stand right at the road. "I bring pretty much everything to the veg- gie stand, so you'll find the pickles, jams, and soaps," says Pat. "I have a little golf cart if I need to run back and forth, so if there's some- thing someone wants that I have back at the house, I'll run back and get it." ■ Learn more at sandyhooksoapfactory.com. Soap Operation All-natural products are handmade at home-based business What a difference using nourishing oils made and there were no preservatives, no dyes, no nasty stuff. We started to give it away to family and friends and they liked it so much it just snowballed from there. – Pat Nuspl, Sandy Hook Soap Factory They went from hobbyists to business owners in about a year. " T he Interlake is a hotbed of creative activity, and visitors are invited to meet some of the region's artists during two art tours this September. Catch the WAVE Interlake Artist Studio Tour Sept. 2-3 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. each day, along the west side of Lake Winnipeg. Brochures and maps are available online at watchthewave.ca. Then, take another self-guided trek Sept. 16-17, during the 15th annual South of the Lakes Art Tour from Rosser and Grosse Isle to Stonewall, Balmoral, Teulon and Selkirk. Visitors can tour artists' studios and art centres from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 16 and from noon-4 p.m. Sept. 17. You'll find maps for the tour in Hallmark stores in participating communities or on the Prairie Oaks Regional Arts Council (PORAC) Facebook page. ■ O P E N H O U S E S ARTISTS' Photos by Darcy Finley

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