Natural products and a rural life lead

Natural products and a rural life lead to business, writes Joanna Ibell

 They've proven their credentials over 30 years of growing herbs and vegetables. And it has evolved into a small business selling lotions and creams made predominantly from their own herbs, and using locally bought olive oil and beeswax.
They live and work off the main road of Pukehou. Their work area is a welcoming wood building, with a strong smell of essential oils and wooden shelves displaying bottles of lotions and creams.
You have to like people who can produce what appears to be a clump of weeds and discuss its antihistamine properties (that's the chickweed and plantain). Further back on the property is their home and out buildings, tucked in with trees and gardens.
Jan and Geoff have built the business up from nothing. They were living in a cottage on Boundary Rd and used to admire and walk over the 1.8ha when it was bare paddock.
Farmer Adrian White sold it to them and they grew vegetables. "We called them 'unusual' vegetables," Jan said. "Nowadays they're called heirloom or heritage."
At the time Jan was working as a shepherd and Geoff was driving the Pukehou school bus.
It's always been important to live at or close to work "because we always had clapped-out cars," Jan said.
Owning land was a big deal. They had always rented and had moved house six times with two children, in two years, which is heartbreaking for gardeners.
Then they had one of those "meant-to-be" moments. Geoff said he felt like they were getting nowhere, when they saw an ad in the CHB Mail for a coal range. Their ideal house would have one, so in an act of optimism they phoned about it. The owner had bought the coal range for an Ongaonga house they planned to shift to Otane, but the council wouldn't let them.
"They said it would lower the tone of Otane, so we lowered the tone of Pukehou instead," Geoff said. He and Jan bought the old villa and had it moved to their block.
It was a stressful exercise, but it meant they were living in their own home on their own land, surrounded by their own garden.
They had run a nursery from their Boundary Rd cottage and kept it going, as well as expanding the range with many speciality plants, cottage garden perennials and water plants.
A drought for three years running left them struggling but they carried on and also started the Paper Mulberry Cafe with another couple, and stayed for five years.
At the same time they were making lotions and ointments from their herbs, and being caregivers to a child with special needs. Jan was also doing an arts diploma. At about this point her health deteriorated and they had to decide what was important.
"We wanted to go back to our core, and ointments were what made a difference to people," Jan said. They are careful to use natural, gentle products and everything is external. That ensures they can do no harm and it appears from their feedback that they do a lot of good. They have an extensive range of herbals and do a lot of trials and testing. Their products include hair and body soap ("It doesn't strip hair like detergents in shampoos do."), eczema cream, decongestant chest rub, baby wipes and massage oil.
As well as selling from their own premises in Pukehou they use Trade Me and their own website, and supply 40 stores.
"The plus side of being sick is having more understanding and empathy when talking to people," Jan said.
"It changes your perspective on people and life. When I was sick, every evening I'd think about what are the best three things that happened, and they were simple - like the perfect cup of tea. It doesn't have to be a big thing to be special."
Geoff added, "You see people working hard, building up a business, and not allowing enough time for their family in the process."
Part of the premises is a food-grade kitchen where they make up soaps and prepare the lotions. It's a more balanced life with a good mix of indoor and outdoor work.
"A lot of people expand as they think that's what you have to do, then they get over committed and fall over," Geoff said.
Now they've chosen to remain a comfortable size and turned down an order for 10,000 bottles of body lotion a month. "We could do 1000, but 10,000 was too much of a stretch," Geoff said.
For 17 years Geoff and Jan had children at Pukehou School and a grandchild is about to start. "It's always been a very good school," Jan said.
Geoff and Jan's youngest is in Wellington finishing a design course and has been practising on Millstream.
"All our labels are getting a makeover," Geoff said.
Pukehou has changed over the years. It used to have two petrol stations and, "it took an hour to collect the mail from the local store as you'd see so many people you knew". Te Aute College was also bigger and Jan says there were many teachers living in the area creating an eclectic mix of people. "We had a great drama group and a rich social life." The Paper Mulberry has taken up that community focus.
"More people commute now, but the heart of the community is still here," Geoff said.