When I started ScrubzBody, with my late sister, Michelle, in my kitchen almost 17 years ago, my parents, Al and Carolyn, were not only my best cheerleaders, but they were my best free help! Hey, you take it if you can get it, right? They helped prop me up when things were not so great, and rooted from the sidelines when things were moving forward.

My late dad, helped us set up our garage space after we left the kitchen & dining room table. He took pride in his shelving and his idea for tucking a few shelves into what we thought was a “dead hole space”. Dad always loved doing anything that needed doing, showed up when asked, and always found a cool solution to any problem. My mom loved helping just as much.

My parents loved shopping for us at the wholesale warehouse or running errands at the post office. I’ll never forget the sight of my father hauling 25-pound bags of sugar into the garage or into our first shop.

How many jars?

Once, I got an order for 1000 jars of our sugar scrub to be used as a promo for a dental company on Long Island. Michelle was out of town at the time, so I worked night and day making enough sugar scrub. My parents were thrilled at the size of the order and said they would show up the next day. I created 3 different fragrances.

At the time I had one basic label, and hand-wrote the scent that was inside the jar onto each label. So yes, I free-handed all 1000 scent names on the labels in the blank space. As I did that, my parents labeled the jars. It was a crude and functional assembly line and I am so grateful they helped me! We got the order out on time and on budget.

Mom used to even go to stores where we sold our product, set up a table, as I did in the picture below, and demonstrate our scrub to shoppers at Whole Foods or Wild by Nature, or wherever we were selling at the time. (she took this picture of me, but I forgot to get one of her!)

I will always cherish the time we work together!

It was so special working side by side with my mom at the many events and craft fairs we did, and she really enjoyed helping us out.

I remember trying to pay her, and she would push my hand away and tell me to reinvest it back into the business. Then she would remind me of how much fun she had working side by side. I pocketed the money and smiled.

As time went on and our business grew, she continued to show up for work. Mom loves getting out of the house and we love having her work here once a week.

My mom is in her mid 80’s already, but even though she has slowed down, she still wants to be useful! Her jobs include putting stickers on postcards or shopping bags or mini jars. She will do a smell check for all the testers or help straighten up the shop. She will greet customers with her warm grin and go right back to what she was working on.

My mom, Carolyn, is a no-nonsense woman, who enjoys working, and gets it done!

I am proud to be her daughter!