The Meaning Behind Our Name
I know. It's kind of a quirky name. But grab a cup of coffee and a cozy blanket. The story is worth it!
Let’s travel back in time…picture a little girl with brown bangs, brown eyes, and a keen interest in all things crafty – sewing, cooking, gardening, etc. – as well as a deep love for science. This little girl was curious, creative, and wanted to one day own her own farm so she could make everything by hand.
As I’m sure you’ve guessed, that little girl was me. Ever since I was little, I have always loved to make things. (The photo above is of 4 year old me with my grandma we called "Gagy" - the woman who made the quilt that inspired our logo (see below).) And yes, I'm baking in a flower girl's dress. I've got style.
Now let's fast forward 30 some years to living at the Cobb Hill Cohousing community in Vermont. I got the bug to make soap, and I thought it would be really cool to use some of the products that Kerry, from Cedar Mountain Farm, and the other local farmers had available. I thought it would be great to use all of these local ingredients as well as give local farmers another avenue where they could sell their agricultural products. Of course, it helped that I lived in a place where I had access to all of these amazing people who had these fabulous ingredients that were local as well as sustainably grown. Ultimately, I realized it would be incredible to pull all of that together into bath and body products.
Once I embarked upon the soapmaking journey, I wanted to come up with a name that was not only catchy but also had depth. For several months, Loren (my husband) and I would throw out ideas to each other. One night, as we were lying in bed brainstorming, I suggested something with “farmhouse” and Loren said, “What about Farmer’s Body?” I was immediately intrigued. I thought, well, it’s a little bit quirky but it’s more memorable than something generic, like "Meggan’s Really Great Soap."
What I liked most about the name “Farmer’s Body” was that it made me do a double take. I quickly realized that this name had multiple layers to its meaning.
When I think about a farmer, I tend to think of a man – or at least I used to – in overalls and a straw hat. I didn’t really think about all of these women farmers – and there are A LOT of them! – who are working really hard to carry on so many of these agricultural traditions and traditional skills that are otherwise getting lost to big corporations. These corporations, like Walmart, who have dairy farms with thousands and thousands and thousands of cows are putting small farmers out of business. BUT the women farmers whom I have met are putting an immense amount of effort into trying to keep these traditions alive and well.
With the name Farmer’s Body, I could make a play on words. I would feature these amazing women farmers, with wonderful, capable, strong women’s bodies (instead of the traditional image of the farmer as some guy standing in a field), who are making an effort to uphold traditional farming values by using practices that are more sustainable for the earth and the animals while producing the highest quality of agricultural products. (Our original logo intentionally included the image of a woman farmer.)
So when you first saw the name Farmer’s Body, you probably thought it was referring to caring for the body, which is one layer of the meaning. But it’s also a tribute to the women who are in this industry and doing all of this remarkable work, which is another layer of the meaning. Since part of what inspires the name is having women farmers be involved in the process, I really wanted to focus on trying to source as much as I could from women farmers. And I truly could not do this business without them.
