Handmade Beauty Connection
A Special Tribute Issue
August 9, 2004
A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 5, Issue 33
To subscribe, click here.
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Many of you who have joined HBN and subscribed to this newsletter
over the years probably see me as the driving force behind HBN and all of the wonderful things that have flowed from it since
it began in January 2000. While my efforts have certainly contributed significantly, if you have joined HBN or even just
enjoy the newsletter on a weekly basis, then you should know that your contributions have
played a major role as well.
But the most significant contribution was made over a decade ago, years before HBN was
even a seed in my brain, by my friend Nancy Brown Manville.
Nan, pictured at left making soap in her kitchen in 1996, died on August 2 at 1:00am at age 56 at her apartment in Grapeland, Texas. This week's issue is a celebration of
Nan's life and a recognition
of how, through HBN and this newsletter, she has left an indelible mark on the lives of thousands of people around the world.
I met Nan in 1993 shortly after I decided to learn how to make soap. I called a Texas supplier of essential oils and the sales representative was kind enough to refer me to Nan when I asked for the names of anyone who knew how to make soap. I called Nan and immediately knew I had met a friend for life. She patiently taught me how to make soap on the phone during the course of the next several months. Sometimes we were on the phone until the wee hours of the morning studying saponification numbers, comparing our soap triumphs and tragedies, exploring the correct temperatures to combine ingredients and sharing the best sources for ingredients and supplies. While my relationship with Nan predated HBN by nearly a decade, it was she who encouraged me to leave my comfortable perch in corporate America to pursue my dreams and Create The Life I Love.
Since her death last week, I have pondered how Nan inspired and cared for me. Nan believed that taking the time to nurture valuable relationships contributes richness to the fabric of our lives. While it has always been my physical activity that has propelled HBN, it has frequently been Nan's encouragement, vision and prodding that has formed the basis for any forward step the organization has taken.
After knowing Nan by phone for several
years, I conspired with her family to surprise her with a visit to Grapeland.
By
then, Nan was about to open Sweet Peas, where she planned
to retail
marvelous handmade beauty products, including her signature Whole
Hog handmade soaps. She was just about to begin advertising her
soapmaking classes when me, my mom and my mom's friend June showed up on
Sweet Pea's doorstep to register for soapmaking classes. Up until that point, the only
person outside
Nan's family who knew of her class plans was me.
From a strategic hiding place, I watched Nan's concern turn into bewilderment as June explained that she had heard about Nan's soapmaking classes and was there to sign up and pay in cash in advance. At just the right moment, I popped out and announced that I too wanted to take a soapmaking class. As Nan recognized my voice from our many phone calls, surprise and delight replaced chagrin and confusion, and we embraced like the sisters we were.
Along with her father, daughter Aimee and her sons Taylor and
Bobby (Bobby is pictured at left behind his very surprised mom), I
enjoyed small town Texas hospitality with a very big and unforgettable
heart.
Nan's
family and friends were the joy of her life. A kiss from her grandson
Michael sent her positively into orbit and her little granddaughter provided
an opportunity to once more view the world through the eyes of a darling
little girl.
Here are some of my favorite
things about Nan.
- Nan had a quiet and gentle
spirit, yet she commanded respect by refusing to waver from any of her
heartfelt convictions. She always shared them in ways that
communicated a healthy respect for those around her.
- Nan believed fully that our
potential is stifled mainly by our own internal limitations, and
that if we are to succeed, we must step outside our self-made boxes of
constraint.
- Nan helped other people.
Whenever I became possessive of a thought or concept, Nan challenged
me to remember that a reason God had given it to me was so that
I could share it with others.
- Nan lived by transferable
principles that were easily used and taught to others. For example,
she taught me the power of networking and that even across the miles,
two people with mutual interests and determination could pursue and
achieve anything they set their minds to. ( . . . And the seed for HBN
was planted ...)
- Nan was available
whenever
I called on her to help me through a bump in the road of life. Whether
it was to help me stay sane (or regain my sanity depending on how you
look at it!) after the birth of my first child, to steady me through
the end of an abusive marriage and the resulting divorce, or to remind me of my
own peculiar purposes in life, Nan always took my call. She never
failed to listen
patiently before speaking her mind.
- Nan was
honest. She never told me what I wanted to hear and I often hated
that. But I always knew that she had my best interests at heart and
that she would never steer me wrong. So for the duration of our
relationship, I continued to call her -- even when I knew it would get
me a good tongue lashing. Nan chastised me
gently for wanting life to be my way rather than accepting it the way
it was, and relaxing in and enjoying it. No matter when I needed
her, Nan would always come.
- Nan
was fun. Despite suffering for over a decade the impossibly painful and ravaging effects of rheumatoid arthritis, Nan never lost her sense of humor. Through pain so intense most of us could never even imagine it, Nan continued to move past her agony to radiate the joy of life. Her gladness at living was visible to all who came into contact with her, and she shared it generously.
Nan,
pictured at bottom left with her dad, son Bobby, a friend, June and my mom, encouraged me to launch HBN, and to persevere through those early
months when it seemed like no one would join. Nan reminded me that HBN is
not about me. It's about other people and the community we share as we
spur each other on to greater and greater heights. HBN is about
networking across the
miles, and it all began when Nan opened up to me from halfway around the
country and changed my life forever. And whether you know it or not, if you are enjoying this
newsletter or the content found at this website, she has changed yours
too. What a blessing she was!
If HBN has touched you in even the smallest way, then you have been touched by Nan.
If a Lifestyle CEO article has encouraged you, then you have been encouraged by Nan.
If one of my recipes has inspired you, then you have been inspired by Nan.
If a challenge has been issued to you, then you have been challenged by Nan.
If one of my email responses has helped you, then you have been helped by Nan.
If through anything I have done, you have felt my love for you, then you have been loved by Nan.
There is a little bit of Nan in the spirit of every one of HBN's nearly 400 members. We give a new member a tip, reference or recipe and we are sharing like Nan. We suggest a better way to do something and we are helping like Nan. We say a prayer or calm a fear and we are loving like Nan.
Nan,
pictured at right making soap in her kitchen using Texas cedarwood and
honey given to her by some friends near her home, is here, right here at
this very website where she is forever making soap and where her heart mingles with ours are we go about the business of pursuing our dreams.
I love Nan very much and I miss her. But at the same time I rejoice because she shared her wisdom with me, and every day, I do my best to pass it on to you so that you can pass it on to others. If like Nan, each of us was determined to invest a little of ourselves to help someone else achieve their dreams, we can continue to make our communities, our countries and our world a better place.
God, I thank you for Nan's life, and for her unique perspective which I have been able to share with so many. She modeled strength and dignity. She loved life deeply. May those of us who feel called to help others as we pursue our dreams follow her example. Amen.
To celebrate Nan's life, HBN is offering a 10% discount off new
member dues paid online for this entire week, from the time of
publication of this newsletter until midnight on August 14, 2004. To
take advantage of this celebratory discount, complete and submit the
online application here.
10% discount will be taken during processing.
Visit The Handmade Beauty Connection Archives.
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sound advice for your small business, Create The Life You Love™
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Donna Maria, Publisher & Editor-In-Chief, DonnaMaria@HandmadeBeauty.com
The Handmade Beauty Connection
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