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Delivery available Canada-wide or pickup at 1911 Seacliff Dr. Kingsville, ON

Faerhaven

Faerhaven

This week we're featuring one of our favourite local makers that we're so lucky to stock here at Anna's - Meet, Faerhaven!


Owned by Joy & Tim, nestled in Harrow, Ontario, Faerhaven is a treasure trove of handcrafted, small-batch skincare and aromatherapy products. With a focus on simple, high-quality ingredients, Faerhaven offers a range of items from bar soaps and lotions to essential oils and candles. Each product is thoughtfully formulated to nourish the skin and soothe the senses, making them perfect for self-care routines or thoughtful gifts.


Pssst - When you shop Faerhaven products from now until August 7th, you'll receive 20% OFF!


A note from the owners, Joy & Tim:

Hi. Many of you know me, my name is Joy Purdy and I am co-owner of Faerhaven, along with my partner Tim O’Brien.

The question often arises as to how Faerhaven came to be and that question has surfaced again recently.

Our story began in 2005, when we purchased a beautiful piece of land, about 1 acre in size, near Harrow, Ontario.  We saw this beautiful land for sale, surrounded by a double row of pine and cedar trees, the only way in being the driveway.  We walked the land and fell in love.

This wee bit of serenity was never built on, and so we became the caretakers of our own little piece of heaven.  In a dream, it was decided that this land would be called Faerhaven, as that is exactly what it is – a fair haven for all who visit.

It was known to us that this wee bit of nature deserved to be well cared for and that is when we decided that we would build a natural home and we lovingly built our home of straw bales.  Yes, just like the second little pig, we built our home of straw and covered it with stucco.  We produced our own electricity, living off-grid and became very diligent conservers of energy.  We would wait for a windy day and then decide it was a good time to run the vacuum.  Lights were only turned on when necessary and always turned off when we left the room.  We had all the amenities of a standard home, but computers and tvs were on power bars that were turned off, especially at night.  We avoided all phantom energy use.  It was a great lesson in conservation, one that has stuck with us ever since, even though we are now hooked up to the grid.  We still have the lowest electricity bills.

As Faerhaven grew and changed, we thought that this land was for so much more.  We planted herbs, cared for the several oak trees on the property, added a few more trees over the years, including some maples and a couple of native trees called Paw Paws and continued to retain the naturalness of our land, never adding any toxic chemicals. We walk the walk, and don’t just talk the talk.  Our lifestyle is very natural.

At that time, my son travelled to mid-western Canada to take a mountain climbing course, and upon his return, he gifted us all with natural soaps and self-care products that were made locally there.

I loved the soap so much that I decided to make a batch.  The rest is history. And that is when we decided that natural products would be a perfect fit.  NATURAL LAND,  NATURAL HOME, NATURAL LIFE STYLE, NATURAL PRODUCTS.  And now, that single batch has grown into a full list of 128 products.  The most important part of developing products, is research.  Hours and hours are spent researching every aspect of every product from customer needs and wants, to quality ingredients and compatibility, safe usage levels and providers and cost efficiency.

Our ingredients must be top quality to meet our own stringent quality standards,  and our suppliers are carefully scrutinized to make sure they provide us with natural ingredients that are ethically and sustainably sourced.  Our ingredients come from all continents around the world. 

I studied several courses in Toronto and I am certified in Essential Oil Safety.  Research is ongoing and one of my favourite parts of creating the products that you love.

The plan was to have a business to keep us busy and provide additional income during our retirement.  Sixteen years later, after 20 years on the line at Chrysler and 34 years at a utility company, we have both retired and we create Faerhaven products full time.  Faerhaven has blossomed into a thriving small business which we enjoy every day.

We started in a small corner of our home, sharing the kitchen between our everyday needs and Faerhaven.  We had to make sure we didn’t mix up the soup pot and the soap pot.  Although I do have a funny story about soapy tasting pasta.  Just ask my daughter-in-law.  She will vouch for that personally.

We then renovated our home, creating a new kitchen downstairs and the upstairs kitchen became dedicated to Faerhaven production.  This summer we are in the process of building a complete studio to house all the Faerhaven action.  Our new building is this 17’ x 20’ steel building which will be completed and ready for moving into, by October of this year.  It has been a long time coming and we are so very excited.

It all began with soaps and a few personal care products, including our well-known solid hand lotion and our famous Summertime Lotion.  We attended small bizarres, farmer’s markets and gradually graduated to larger art shows including Art by the River and Art on the Boulevard in Erieau.  We also supplied a few local shops including the original ShopEco owned by Graham and his wife, located in St. Clair Beach.  We tagged along with ShopEco when it was owned by Anita and moved to Walkerville.  Of course, it was a natural transition to be included in ShopEco when it was bought by my lovely daughter, Debra.

Products were gradually added over the years under the watchful eye and much appreciated guidance of Debra.  She is my amazing coach and mentorOur mission statement is "To provide our customers with knowledge and high-quality products that allow them to take a simple, natural approach to personal care".

At Faerhaven, we handcraft personal care products that reflect a simpler time, when people used nature's gifts for self-care.  We believe in "taking care of my own backyard!"

Our products are made in small batches, the old-fashioned way, which ensures freshness and eliminates the need for chemical preservatives. There are no added toxic chemicals that could be absorbed by your skin or washed down the drain into our rivers and lakes.

Colours and fragrances of the natural world soothe the soul and awaken forgotten memories and ancient wisdom. We hope you enjoy our products as much as we do.

Our most popular product overall is our Bliss line, which includes Soap, Body Balm, Solid Hand Lotion and an Essential oil blend.

In the warmer months, our best seller is our Summertime Line, hands down.  This line is made with an essential oil blend that bugs avoid.  Included are the infamous Summertime Lotion stick, travel size Summertime Lotion, Summertime Soap, Summertime Soother and Summertime Essential Oil blend.

 

Comments

    Posted by Eva McFadden on

    My sister in law and I were on Peele Island in May. I had put on Summer Time Lotion before we got to the island. My sister in law started to get bit by black flies. So I gave her the Summer Time Lotion. She applied it to her legs and arms and neck. They tried to land but flew away. It was amazing to see. I believe and trust these products.

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