Common Grounds

We all search for the best way to do things, the best way to us. Some find one’s best way too extreme, the others may find a best way too lackadaisical. But for all of these paths to the result, there is common ground. We found that to be the results of MOFGA’s Common Ground Country Fair.

In thinking about “Common Ground” you could think of it as the Earth. It’s the one thing that every single man, woman, child, animal and plant has in common. We travel the Earth looking for our answers. We had renewable energy folks, stunning silversmiths, Indian food next to dough boys, baby cloths and dog biscuits. To draw commonalities between all of those folks is no simple task. How do cloth diapers interweave with Indian food? How do felted earrings align with dog treats? Our common ground, the Earth we walk on and all strive to keep alive, vibrant, and healthy.

In today’s economic times it’s hard for people to want to purchase goods that are a little more expensive than some counterparts that might not have our common ground in mind. We realize that with our products, we aren’t going to be your run-of-the-mill dog treats that you can buy $5 for 10 pounds. The companies that produce those kinds of products have one thing in mind, and that is getting you to buy their product and them to make money, and lots of it.

I would urge you to think about the net impact of your purchasing decision. Do you want to purchase a product made by a company who has not a care about the environment, the one thing you have in common with them? The only true tie you have with that company is this Earth, and you shouldn’t take part in destroying it.

Purchase from companies who relish the fact that we all share this common ground. We all play a part in keeping the grounds we walk on clean and fertile. We all have a say in who gets the dollars we spend on products. For us, your dollars go to farmers that protect the earth. Your dollars go to help feed their families, and hundreds of other families because your dollars help their farms survive. Your dollars provide your dog with the most healthful, nutritious, and fresh treat available at the store.

Let’s work together and preserve this common ground that we all share. It’s mine, it’s yours, it’s all of ours.

New Looks Abound

It’s been quite some time since my last post, and things have been interesting around these parts during all that time. We’ve been in the process of redesigning our packaging and “brand”, which we’re extremely excited about. We’re working with an artist in Montana, Abby of www.folkdogart.com, to paint us some wonderful folk dogs on the most vibrant of backgrounds one could imagine!

These are the SeaVeg & Chamomile background, and the Blueberry & Lavender background.

So with all of these new designs comes some work with The SOAP Group in Portland to “be the megaphone for our voices” as the prez says. Be on the look out for our names and faces (hopefully more name than faces… ) as we gain the traction to keep climbing the trail we’re on.

And, one note about our blueberries… you’re going to have one lucky dog! By many accounts the berries from Moon Hill Farm are the best grown in Maine. They’re MOFGA Certified and I’ve put them against many other berries, and these are the sweetest blueberries I’ve ever put in my mouth! Mmmmm, so tasty! If you live near a Whole Foods around here (I think the Portland, Maine and the Boston ones) try and find them in the freezer. You won’t be sorry.

Back to the core of it

As I had mentioned, things are hectic here lately. Must I say that I’m able to keep my cool in the midst of a flooded bakery (and basement), outgrowing said bakery (and basement), researching new equipment, finding funding for said equipment, and developing new flavors of Barkwheats? If I must, I’d be lying!!! This is hard stuff!

I was talking with a manufacturer of moulding rollers today and he said something that sometimes I do lose sight of. We make a product that people value. People and their companion animals really do love Barkwheats, and that’s what’s driving our success. People talking about it, dogs enjoying them, humans enjoying their dogs enjoying them… all of this enjoyment from our biscuits is so completely fun to take part in, that it’s hard to think that I can get lost in the rest of it. But, alas, I do sometimes.

So here I am to exclaim that I am not a hard-nosed business person, I don’t have a thick skin, I am one track minded and that track just happens to go in a million different directions, sometimes seeming to never get to the final destination. Is this easy? Absolutely not. Is it fun, exhilarating, and any other positive charged adjective you could think of? Absolutely it is!

All of the toil and trouble I’m going through hasn’t rubbed off on Renee, which is so awesome. Nice to have a real level headed partner (in business and life) to keep me grounded when I go off dreaming so big that it gets a little crazy. Then we meet in the middle and that’s where all of our fabulous ideas are born!

To the core of things is where I go. We make a great biscuit that humans love because their dogs love them. Simple as that.

Changing Times (Pt 2)

Phew! Finally, I have a moment to breath. Barkwheats has been growing, as I previously mentioned. We’re now being distributed through PPI, Pet Products, Inc, and are extremely excited to be working with them and their massive network of retail stores. We think Barkwheats will do very well for them. With this increase in activity, the current “facility” is just a bit too small to handle anything more. We continue to grow aside from the PPI distributorship, so we want to make sure things are moving forward with a new space to handle the increases we will continue to see in our business.

PLUS, we’ve been having tons of rain the past 2 weeks, and this morning was the first peek of sunshine I can remember since we came back from Belize (seems like that anyways). I think it’s been raining for like 12 of the last 15 days or something insane like that. With that rain brought about a basement flooding. And, as many of you know, we built our bakery in our basement. Quick drive to work, for sure, but just too small, and now that we’ve been flooded out (nothing major got ruined, as we put everything on pallets down there juuuuuust in case) we are taking this opportunity to really look into our growth options. Gotta keep your dogs well fed, right?

So onward and upward Barkwheats goes. We have a lot (and I mean a LOT) of exciting things coming down the pipe in the next few months, so be sure to stay tuned.

Here’s a video of a farmer we work with in Belize, Mariana Shol.