My little hobby shop

My Granny was the matriarch of our family. She lived to the ripe old age of 92 and dispensed wisdom, love and creativity to everyone she met in her short life. My other grandmother (referred to as Big Mama) died in her early senior years and gave me the most influencing moment of my whole life. Granny taught me to cook homemade cat head biscuits, how to can and how to sew. Big Mama taught me to crochet, make tallow candle and soap! The influence of both of these remarkable women lead me to open my dream hobby shop. HandmadebyC3GAC is a small produce supplier, soy wax candle, homemade soap shop that supplies local residents in a small town in Alabama and online shoppers creative artisan soaps and candles. Friskars sissors are a part of all my creative projects that I sell in my shop. Both of my grandmothers used friskars sissors as they were the best sharpest, straightest cutting on the market. Each of my grandmothers taught me wisdom of some kind but My fondest memories are of the summer of 1977.

I was 12 years old that summer and Big Mama took me to my Aunt Mildreds house for a chicken killing. Yes, in the 70’s us children were taught how to ring a chickens neck, cut its head off and put it in a huge boiling black caldron. We would then proceed to pluck off all the feathers. Me and Aunt Mildred’s son Mike got to do this wonderful job. After all the chickens were cleaned and put in the freezer for anticipation of Sunday dinner, that big old caldron was dumped and cleaned. A big fire was built under the caldron and Aunt Mildred would put Manteca (pig lard), and castor oil along with lye water in that big old caldron and we would make soap! It was a life changing experience for me. Making something I could actually use. Something my hands made alone. It’s was an awaking experience for a 12 year old And the happiest moment of my life! I had no idea how lucky I was to have two grandmothers that had lived through a depression.

The summers are hot and humid in Alabama. Kids are out of school during the summer and a lot of us had families that were sharecropper. Poor Alabama families that worked the land and farmed for land owners. Most of these families were poor and relied on the old ways of living off the land and putting up stock for the next winter. Peanuts and cotton were our main money crops and most people worked in cotton mills, peanut factories or farmed. All the kids were kept busy during the summer picking fruits and veggies, berries and pears and peaches so that they could be canned and preserved into jellies and pickles. There is nothing like a cold pickled peach ona hot Alabama day! Mike and I picked more butter beans, peas and tomatoes than most people have eaten in their lives. So you can see this is where we learned all that wisdom our grandmothers had in their brains from their life experience.

This 12 year old took those experiences into life as she grew older. Both of my Grans have passed now but they left me with wonderful crafting and prepping capabilities, as well as, some lessons in kindness, and Gods love. I became a nurse for 21 years and my hubby was a pilot in the military for 28 years. I practiced my soap making ability and candle making over the years because that was happiness for me. In 2019 my step dad died with cancer and my mom and him had previously moved I with us so I could help her care for him. After dad passed we both needed something to do to get us out of the house. We opened up two little block buildings side by side and they are called HandmadebyC3GAC. Our little piece of happiness in the world.

My little hobby shop HandmadebyC3GAC gives mama a reason to get up and go every morning. She gets to see friends in the community and socialize with people on the front porch. We provide selected farm fresh produce for the local communit. We also have 100% soy wax candles and wax tarts in over 100 scents. Our 100% natural handmade soaps are the bomb! Everyone falls in love with them when they bath with them because of the luscious creamy bubbles and delightful scents. This little hobby shop has been mine and my moms place of happiness because of the wisdom given to me by my grandmothers. We were considered essential during the covid crises because of our homemade hand sanitizers, soaps and produce. The local sheriffs department told us to stay open. We donated supplies to our local fire station during the pandemic. We also teach soap making classes so that others can learn the basic skill of soap making. It’s a lost art since industrialization took over the soap making business.

HandmadebyC3GAC has been a blessing to us and I believe the local community. Thank you friskars for allowing us to tell our story. HandmadebyC3GAC is our little soap heaven