Here in Basilwood we are all about quality, so it just makes sense that we would want quality photos. We work hard to make sure our soaps are the absolute best for our customers because we love you guys! After all, our soaps are great company for singing in the shower! Each scent can help you feel confident and fresh. Great pictures can do that too, right??

Since we are all about great quality, we need awesome photographs to go along with our products. We work with local, San Joaquin Valley photographer, Mariano Friginal (and now you know why we titled this blog the way we did ;-)

This guy is one of THE best photographers in the Central Valley. (Of course, we're not biased or anything). He truly takes pride in his work. Just take a look at his Instagram!  Every single photograph exhibits his love for his craft and the love he puts into his craft. Mariano has been a great help to us in telling the Basilwood Story.

We wanted to make sure that the viewer gets the feeling that they are actually here with us when they encounter a Basilwood photo and Mariano just "gets us." Recently he has begun working with us to produce video shorts to better showcase our activities and products too!

This is an exciting addition because it has become so important to small business success!  We also love the ability to partner with another local family business to accomplish this.

Having a photographer like Mariano to work with is truly a blessing. The cameras that he uses are amazing, and sometimes they even make it into the shot.  Why not???  He likes vintage cameras, and we like using vintage means of creating utility items! Perfect fit.

Photos have to be crisp in order to complete the look. We have a good camera on site, and we do use it, but Mariano has the "eye" that we can hit about every 1000th photo.  

He hits it every time. So it's definitely a HUGE benefit to include someone like him on your small business team. 

In Basilwood, we consider everyone on the team a part of our family, and we try to communicate that through words, images and product creation. We have a good time making our soaps and spa products.

The Basilwood Farm team, (including the goats because they really are a bunch of Divas), love each new photograph that Mariano creates for us. Visual communication is important for every small business to create and promote your brand. We believe in putting a smile on your face and we hope to do that through each photograph.

We LOVE Mariano and his family here in Basilwood. They are some of the best people we could have ever met.

Stay tuned for new photographs of the new soaps for Fall coming up soon on Instagram & Facebook for our Bubbles Bash September 10th from 10-3. Make sure to Save the Date!  We look forward to seeing you.

To contact Mariano... http://marianofriginal.com/photography

It was so nice on my walk this morning down by the chicken coop, that I decided to drag one of the chairs down there and blog with the hens.

There's a cool breeze down here this morning, which is one of the fabulous things about the Central Valley. Yes, the days get up into the 90s and 100s most of the time in the summer, but the best kept secret is that the mornings and evenings are fabulous 60s and 70s! Especially when you are out of the City and up in the foothills where it cools down sooner and the stars are far more visible. It also takes longer to heat up in the morning.

So, while the neighbor's horses, Baby Doll and Princess, chomp away on their alfalfa and the hens wander about scratching in the morning air, we are just going to sit here and do a little country life observation.  

When you first enter the domain of these creatures, they are suspect and stay away, but after a few minutes, when you become part of the landscape, they return to their natural way of doing things and you really get to know them.  They all have distinct personalities, each one uniquely amazing in her own right.  We have three flocks currently.  

The larger of the two get their free range time together, and the little guys aren't big enough yet to be safe from aerial predators outside of the safety of their roomy coop. So it's interesting to watch them sort out their pecking order (quite literally) in the larger pasture.  Eventually they will share the same space for nesting boxes, so getting them accustomed to each other this way makes for fewer scuffles.

These are all laying hens because we LOVE getting fresh eggs here in Basilwood! Recently, we have added some new breeds to the flock.  We have got a mixture of Blue Ameraucanas, Easter Egger's, Speckled Sussex, Belgian Maline,Blue and Jubilee Orpingtons, Copper Marans, Cuckoo Marans, Red Stars, and even a Japanese longtail who is the smallest and mightiest of the bunch!  She's a HOOT!  

Hey everyone! In case you don't know who I am, my name is Maxwell James and I am the CIO (Chief Inspiration Officer) at Basilwood Farm. I am almost 18 months old and my main job is to play on the farm, inspire new products, and be cute. 

Being the BIG boss here at Basilwood comes with a lot of perks, like my very own parking spot. 

The other perks that come with being the CIO are that I inspire a lot of different products. One of the best products created is the Baby Bum Balm. If my little bum turns red, my Mommy just puts some of this on me and I am all better within a day or two. It also works great on any dry spots I might get and helps heal up my scratches faster. I've even seen Mommy even use it for dry spots too.  

As you can see, it gets a little dirty around the farm, so good soap at bath time is a must. Caeden's Choice is my go-to bar because it is so gentle on my sensitive skin. Mommy uses the Handmade Soft Scrubby with my soap and I am clean in seconds! Which is important for a busy guy like me. 

After a hard day's work I like to kick back, relax, take a bath, and put on some Goat Milk Lotion with Grapefruit scent. I can't get enough of Grapefruit! 

It's a pretty exciting place to work! If you have any little ones, I would highly recommend giving my favorite products a try. It will make you both very happy :) 

My personal photographer Mariano Friginal.