Everything Lavender

We headed to Mesa Arizona last month for the United States Lavender Conference (USLC) in Mesa AZ with my husband. This was the 3^rd conference put on by the newly founded United States Lavender Growers Association (of which I am a founding member by the way). We had three tracks of speakers; for beginning growers, experienced growers and for people who may or may not grow, but do use lavender. Lavender is used extensively in aromatherapy, cooking and in skin care products as well as for crafts and availability of US grown lavender is growing.

Lavender can help with stress, anxiety and promoting sleep.  These are important applications because trouble in any one of these areas can lead to a host of other health problems.  Our keynote speaker, Nancy Baggett just released her cookbook, “Cooking with Lavender” which you can actually purchase in our store in Longmont now.

During the conference there was much focus on a common pathogen that is affecting lavender in our country now, Phytophthora. The goal is to stop the spread by controlling it at the source; small plants that are purchased for field planting. We learned about making products with lavender, cooking with lavender and more.  We learned about marketing our products from one of my mentors, Indie Business Network owner, Donna Marie Johnson. 

I gave a talk on cosmetic regulations for people who are making skin care products with lavender; “Your Product Smells Great, but is it Compliant?”  Maybe not the most stimulating topic there is, but one that indeed makers need to know about. Here is a brief overview:

 

Even though we know lavender is wonderful and a valuable contribution to skin care, the FDA requires that we make no claims, either for aromatherapy benefits or skin care benefits.  Doing so categorizes lavender as a drug and that is not approved by the FDA.

A cosmetic label has several requirements;

it must contain the name and use of the product

it must contain the weight of the product

it must contain the company name and contact information

it must contain the ingredients of the product.

I also addressed how to make a safe cosmetic, the use of preservatives and antioxidants (they are not the same thing) and good manufacturing practices.

Some of the best moments of the conference were the unscheduled moments when we learn from each other, by talking and networking.  There was a pre-conference farm tour as well as a farm dinner that we did not make. It would have been interesting to see farms in such a different climate than ours.

And then of course there was hiking in the Superstition Mountains. You can read about that on our other blog here.

US Lavender Conference 2015

What a great few days I had with other lavender growers in San Antonio last week for the United States Lavender Growers Association (USLGA) meeting. I have to say that lavender grower meetings are the most fun meetings I get to attend. USLGA is a relatively new organization, officially formed April 27, 2012 after more than a year of hard work by an organizing committee. I am proud that I was part of that organizing committee, a founding member and a founding board member of USLGA.

So let me tell you a few things I learned while there. Photographer Scott David Gordon gave a great talk on tips for taking farm photography as well as using social media such as Instagram. I think its great that Johnson’s Backyard Garden, which is actually a quite large farm in Texas, hires Scott to take farm pictures on a weekly basis. His work there has helped the farm grow and be more successful.

I went to Robert Seidel’s (of the Essential Oil Company) talk on distilling. He has traveled the world observing and consulting on distilling projects of every kind and had great stories to tell. Aromatherapist Mindy Green talked about some of the properties of lavender essential oil and about making claims (or not). 

Another good talk was Mary Bergstrom talking on the importance of taking measurements; a definite weakness of mine. However, taking measurements in any type of business is important so that you can grow your business. Mary is the President of USLGA and has an extensive background in project management and business solutions. For someone like me with no business background her information is always welcome and I constantly get good ideas from her about how to track and measure outcomes in my business. So if you are not recording any measurements in your business yet, start today. Once you start its easier to add more measurements and understand their importance.

Did you know that there are hundreds of different varieties of lavender? And yes, they look rather similar. Andy Van Hevelingen talked some on distinguishing these varieties. The photo above are some of the bunches he brought.

There were also round table discussions on growing, advocacy, weather related issues, and more. No one went away without new ideas and inspiration.

If you are a lavender grower or enthusiast, I hope you will join USLGA.

2012 Conferences in Review

Christine Teeple, Sarah Richards, Cindy Jones

Ann Harmon, Cindy Jones

George Wahl at the Colorado Aromatics Booth at the Lavender Festival

Dr. Cindy Jones talking on Biochemistry 101 at the SCC meeting

Before we get too far into 2013 I want to review some conferences I've been to this year. Since my kids are getting older its getting easier to take trips and get to educational events.

In April I went to the International Lavender Conference in Sequim Washington. This was fun for a number of reasons. I got to meet in person some colleagues I'd been working with in developing the United States Lavender Association (USLGA); Mary and Tim Bergstrom, Curtis Swift, Kathy Kimbrough, Sarah Richards and Christine Teeple, as well as making many more friends in the lavender industry. I also met Annie Harmon of Morning Myst Botanics who I'd been collaborating with and talking to for many years about distilling.

Summers were busy with farmers markets but we went to the Western Colorado Lavender Association's second annual Lavender Festival. This was our second time so we've been to all of them. My son and our foreign exchange student went with us and helped alot. Its a great festival with a great crowd.

We managed a trip to visit family in August. Then I went back to Grand Junction to attend the SW Lavender conference in September. At that meeting I talked on Using Distillates in Cosmetics. I toured some of the lavender farms their and visited with friends/colleagues again.

In November I went to the Intermountain West's Society of Cosmetic Chemists meeting in Salt Lake City. There I gave a talk on Biochemistry 101; a basic biochemistry talk that addressed the chemical groups of cosmetic ingredients. This was a great opportunity to meet with other cosmetic chemists and learn about more ingredients. I also had the opportunity to tour some manufacturing facilities.

I hope to take a few fun trips in 2013 as well, although nothing is definate yet.