What People are Saying & Wildflower in the News

Quick Bio: Valerie Engelman, Owner of Wildflower Naturals, has been managing a Community Supported Agriculture for twelve years for a local organic farm. Inspired by the bounty of natural resources and wanting to protect the earth from harmful chemical runnoff from personal care products, Wildflower Naturals was created to spread beauty and joy of living green.

I'm so into your soaps, I'm afraid people might think I have a problem.

~Debra

I got my soaps last night and couldn’t wait to try them.  The wonderful smell of the Applejacks convinced me to try it first.  I used it both as a body bar and as a bar shampoo and was absolutely delighted on both accounts.

I love a product that can have more than one use, that doesn’t package everything in multiple cases of plastic, is made with real ingredients instead of a long list of chemicals and is made locally.  You score a big 10 on all four, Valerie.  Congratulations!!

Sincerely,
Clara

Hi Valerie,

I wanted to follow up with you on the soaps that I ordered. My husband really loves the mountain citrus scent, but I was surprised that my favorite is the honey bee. It has such a nice gentle scent to it, just like honeycomb. I’ve been using it for my 14 month old son’s baths and it’s very gentle on his skin. The bars are so generously sized that I cut the vanilla & almond shea bar into 3 smaller bars so we can use it for hand soap in both bathrooms and the kitchen. I’m a frequent hand washer, and my hands are usually dry and cracked but they are feeling so much smoother and softer using the vanilla bar to wash them.

We’re looking forward to placing our next order, though it will be hard to decide whether to try new bars or re-order the same ones!

Thanks,
Michelle

The soap is wonderful! I'll be ordering more as soon as I get back!

~Rob

Hi Valerie-

Yay! I'm so excited for my mom and mom-in-law to receive something fun
and different that they wouldn't normally go buy for themselves, but
really I ordered from you because you have been so wonderful that I
know I am supporting a great person and company. So thank you again
for all of your help with TFF issues and being such a pleasure to
correspond with! :) I can't wait for them to receive their gifts so I
can hear all about it!

-Rachael

Neat. Thanks for making the soap! Finally no more formaldehyde...

-Allen

Fantastic softness without any chemicals! We only use chemical-free soaps and love the Wildflower Natural series.

-Eva La Mar

 

Local products meet local produce

By DEBRA DeANGELO
Express editor

The Winters Farmers Market already offers fresh local produce every Sunday morning, and on Aug. 2, local products will also appear in abundance. This Sunday marks the first arts and crafts fair for the market, featuring everything from jewelry to goat soap, all made by residents of Yolo and Solano County.
Market coordinator Ana Kormos says the market has stayed true to its goal of offering only locally produced items, and the addition of an arts and crafts fair is one more step along that path. She says another arts and crafts fair is planned for the market’s final day of the season on Oct. 25, and local vendors can still apply for booth space at that fair.
With 15 arts and crafts vendors slated for the Aug. 2 market, Kormos is pleased with the response so far.
“I’m just super excited,” says Kormos. “It’s just another thing to draw new people to the market.”
She notes that attendance has lagged a little over the summer months, with hot weather and vacation schedules eating into the attendance, but she’s hoping to pump up the numbers a little, beginning this weekend.
One attraction for the Aug. 2 fair will be the raffle of a huge basket of handmade soaps, candles and balms from Wildflower Naturals, a new Winters business owned by Valerie Engelman. Engelman’s products are already for sale at Eagle Drug, Lorenzo’s Town & Country Market and the Davis Food Co-op, and a full line will be available on Sunday.
Engelman says she was inspired to make her own soaps by her mother, who enjoyed making her own spa treatments, and all her products are completely natural.
“A lot of people use the term ‘natural’ and it means nothing,” says Engelman. “I am really dedicated to making things that are good for the earth, good for you and affordable.”

Besides offering a natural product, Engelman creates her own unique scents, like Applejacks, Rose Trellis and 7-Up Pound Cake. How scrumptious are these smells? She says she’s had to start putting up signs next to her soap because one customer took a sniff of her chocolate raspberry soap and noted the “free sample” sign.
“For her free sample, she took a bite!” says Engelman.
Some of her other unique items are shampoo bars that can be used in place of bottled shampoo, thereby cutting out much of the water and unnatural chemicals, and with the added benefit of oils that are good for hair. She has developed a tinted line of shampoo soap specifically for blonds, redheads and brunettes, and says as far as she knows, she’s the only one offering shampoo soap with tinted bases.
The raffle to win a collection of Engelman’s products happens at the Farmers Market on Sunday, and doesn’t cost a dime. Just sign up for the raffle at the market and you might be the lucky winner to take it all home.
For more information about Wildflower Naturals, visit www.wildflowernaturals.com. For more information about the Winters Farmers market, which takes place every Sunday through Oct. 25 from 8 a.m. to noon at Rotary Park, or for information about becoming a vendor for the Oct. 25 arts and crafts fair, visit www.wintersfarmersmarket.com.

Vendor list
The vendor list for the Aug. 2 arts and crafts fair at the Winter Farmers Market includes Michelle Dally/fused glass jewelry; Ky Dally/spice cabinets; Gray’s Designs/spice cabinets; Christy Ireland-Little Shamrocks/tote bags, purses, children’s clothing; Castlerock Soap/ goat soaps and lotions; Judi Smith-Los Nichos/ceramics, sun faces, mirror frames; Christine Boldt/beaded jewelry; Debbie Muller-Winters Workshop/dolls; Kerry Sorter-Coucamanda/children’s clothing, handbags; Jan Schubert-Bee Happy/beeswax candles; Valerie Engelman-Wildflower Naturals/soaps and scrubs; Juana Saunders/Mexican dolls; Jared Ropelato/photographs; Francis Leidinger/metal work; Colleen Simon.