Azul; Veil of Love; Bohemian Rose; Prism of the Sun; hibiscus; jojoba; spruce; rose. These are just a few of the names of skin care products and botanicals used by SantaLena Groves, the owner, formulator, herbalist and general do-it-all entrepreneur of Heart Grown Wild, the ever-growing-in-popularity skin care company out of Wardsboro, VT, and our local Producer of the Month for August. Heart Grown Wild has a beautiful story that speaks to the benefits of risk taking, love for the earth, wild harvesting, clean, green beauty, and artisanship.

The relationship that you as our owners have to our retail operation is quite different from that between customers and other stores, in so many ways. We have a large staff working on your behalf to bring you the products and services that you need, in a manner that is consistent with how humans shop in retail stores these days. But the details of what we do are still just beyond what you experience in your shopping trips, and I believe that we all gain from a better understanding of how our individual actions impact things like prices on the shelves and profits at the end of a fiscal year.