Alfred Reed Bishop and Doris William Butler

The picture above is the very tap root of Bishop's Homegrown/Face Of The Earth Seed. My grandparents shortly after moving to Pekin Indiana from Greensburg KY in 1947 where they purchased the farm that is now Bishop's Homegrown. This picture was taken in Pekin in front of the old co-op next to the old railroad depot, neither of which exist today.

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Uncle Penn's Circle W Soap and Isla Tortuga woodworking cataloug.

Uncle Penn's Circle W Old Fashioned Lye Soap is the newest addition to Bishop's Homegrown. Soap as it should be...simple.



If you want authenticity and only natural homegrown ingredients in your soap then we have the soap for you! We are sourcing a large portion of our ingredients from our own farm gardens and fields including grains (corn meal and oats), vegetables, dried herbs, fruit, and even local honey.



We are more concerned with sourcing ingredients that have been traditionally used in soap for their skin care properties (as well as sustainability) than with creating over scented bars using expensive essential oils or synthetic fragrant oils. Different strokes for different folks. Many of our soaps are one offs which are made in extraordinarilly small batches when and as ingredients are available from the farm while others are timeless classics (castille, raw, "Home-Brew")



We do use lard in our recipies along with a number of other oils simply because it's a reliable base fat that has been used since the begining of soap making and imparts qualities we appreciate, as well it is sustainable and and practical to produce on a small homested farm (which we are currently persuing). We use no artificial or natural dyes, just simple natural colors, imparted by our ingredients, which we feel speak to the earthiness and utilitarianism of the finished product. Completely bio-degradable and "Eco-Logical" just like all the Bishop's Homegrown products.



Most of our soaps use either homebrewed beer or wine bases or spring/well/rain water and nearly all include Honey in the mixture (a natural humectant and anti-bacterial), as well our soaps are all 3-5% superfated to help further moisturize your skin. Similarly the scet of our soap is in no way overbearing, owing it's slight scent to the presence of the natural ingredients inherent in the soap. We feel that there is an underserved soap market who appreciate a more subtle and earthy soap and share our appreciation of light natural scents imparted simply by on farm ingredients.



The main job of soap is to help water clean and moisturize your skin afterall.It's our belief that what you put on your body should be just as important as what you put in your body and the use of on farm ingredients assures that the two are one in the same (not to mention soap is another good form of preservation of the yearly harvest).




Keep your eyes peeled for further product introductions in the coming months!




If your after simplicity and quality over production and perfume we exist to cater to you!



Ordering information and custom orders: It seems like there is a growing trend when it comes to ordering from small business and farms online, utilizing credit cards, and unsecure digital forms and middleman services which cut into profit margins and play into the hands of the same big business we all seem so adamant to stand up against. Here we shun such practices and encourage ordering in the old fashioned way.



Give us a call and stop by the farm at 5604 S. State Rd. 60 Pekin IN 47165 or visit us at Washington County Artisans and Farmers market (spring-summer Saturdays 8-12 @Pekin Park. Winter @ Various locations) or order by mail the old fashioned way by sending well concealed cash or money order to Alan Bishop at the address above.



Shipping for wood products isn't currently available but will be soon



We also love custom orders, if you have something you'd like to see made drop us a line a bishopshomegrown@gmail.com




Tobbacco Lath wall hanger. This one is just sanded down to reveal the natural stain from years of hanging tobacco in our family barn. 4 inches deep x 4 inches wide by 4 inches tall. Great for hanging on a wall for your candles or soap or other items ot interest. 5.00 locally. No shipping at this time, check back soon.










Tobacco Lath Planter. Sanded down to reveal the natural tobacco stain. Great for a natural hanging planter complete with drainage holes and a bit of old barbless wire for hanging. 6 inches deep/wide/long. $15.00 locally, no shipping at this time, check back soon.


Tobacco Lath Ladders. We make these in several different sizes including miniatures and up to 5 foot tall. Great to lean against a wall or table to display items. Stained or unstained. Contact us for prices and sizes. No shipping currently. Locally available






Hand split tobacco lath coat hanger. Rustic and cool coat hangar made from a hand split tobacco lath over 100 years old. Would look great hanging in your home this winter. Stained mahogany. 10.00 each. Available locally. No shipping at this time.







Tobacco Lath Stars. We make these in a variety of sizes, both stained and unstained. Great for hanging on walls, doors, barns exct and look great decorated with Christmas lights! Small stained star 5.00, Small unstained 3.00. Large unstained 5.00 and large stained 8.00. No shipping currently.









Also for your Christmas shopping pleasure were proud to present some of our woodworking ventures. All of these products are handcrafted here on the farm using tobacco sticks (lath) that have graced our family farm fields for years (the hand split ones are sometimes near to or older than 100 years old and originally from Greensburg KY) First up is this hand split lath shaddow box window frame. The lathe were sanded and stained mahogany, would look great setting over a picture on your wall. 5.00 locally. No shipping at the moment, check back soon. Also available unfinished.








Uncle Penns "Dumb Ass County Boy": This ones all about the cooked down elderberry wine and fresh spearamint w/coarsley ground oats. This ones all about being unrefined and crude. 3% superfat with sunflower oil, coconut oil, lard, oats, honey, fresh spearamint, wine and mead. 5 ounce bars 4.00 each locally, 5.00 shiped. Bulk deals available.










Uncle Penn's "Manda": Great grandma 'Manda Burns spent a lot of time rendering lard from homegrown hogs and screening potash for lye to make her families yearly supply of soap. This here is nearly as authentic and "real" as it gets. Straight up lye and lard by popular request. Pure as the driven snow and white enough to prove it. This one is 3% superfat but we can make it 0% by request. Old timers claimed it good for drying out poison ivy, washing stains from clothes, and dealing with other skin issues as well as washing out some "dirty" mouths when needed. 5 ounce bars. 4.00 each locally 8.00 shipped..











Uncle Penns "Grit Gitter": We love gritts here on the farm, to us there isn't a thing in this world better than real grits from home ground corn flavored with some homegrown honey! What better way to pay tribute than to make soap with the same aesthetic! Lye, lard, coconut oil, sunflower oil, bees wax, and elderberry wine hook up with grits from homegrown Amanda Palmer corn (ground fine in a coffee grinder) and flavored with homegrown honey. Great exfoliating body bar with moisturizing properties that smells like breakfast, lunch, and dinner! 5 ounce bars. 4.00 locally 8.00 shipped. Bulk discount available.








Uncle Penn's "Anne-Marie": Uncle Penns sweetheart (my grandmother) was "Anne-Marie", this ones for her. Lavendar Meets honey and wine w/sunflower, coconut oil, lard and beeswax. Great for those who want that light old timey sweetheart scent. Five ounce bars 4.00 each locally 8.00 shipped. Bulk deals available.










Uncle Penns "Aunt Molly". Aunt Molly is one of those somewhat shrude weomen who remembers exactly where she came from. Straight up, she tells it like it is. This ones made in her spirit. Farm fresh spearamint blended with coffee makes for a great work soap to scrub the dirt of a hard day away. The base is spring water from "down the hill" as liquor would serve only to infuriate the aunt who it's named in honor of. 3 ounce bar. 5% superfat. Castille (olive oil) based. Excellent moisturizure. 3.00 locally 7.00 shipped








Uncle Penn's "Workin' Man": That he was! And of course theres that song ("I get up, seven yeah, go to work at nine" so what if the lyrics were a bit of a late starter!). This ones a straight up coffee scrub with a bit of honey for some "smellum good". Lot's of coffee grounds (home roasted from Sweet Maria's fair trade) for that extra grit you need to scrub out those deep workin man stains and as always some honey to help moisturize. 3% superfated too with the light scent of honey. 4 ounce bars. 4.00 each locally 8.00 shipped. Bulk discount available.









Uncle Penns Possum Fruit: Yeah, we went there, down in the hills of Kentucky nobody eats perssimmons, claiming their only good for possum feed! Good for us Hoosiers we know what they are all about! Luckily so to did those in the orient who used persimmon soap to aid in complexion and to cover body odour. True American persimmon meets lye, lard, coconut oil, honey, and elderberry wine. 3% superfat and honey means this ones great for moisturizing. Light honey-persimmon scent is reminicent of that famous pudding your grandma made. 5 ounce bar for 4.00. 8.00 shipped. Bulk discount available.









Uncle Penns Homebrew Soap: A blend of homebrewed wine and beer meets up with old fashioned lard and lye (along with coconut and sunflower oil) and some Avena Nuda oats (farm grown) with a bit of honey and chamomille to give you that kick in the pants you've been looking for. 3% superfat and honey keeps you moisturized while the slight natural scent of honey and chamomille make you presentable for the speakeasy crowd. 4.00 each. 8.00 shipped. Bulk discount available.










Uncle Penns "Turtle Creek": An homage to a small tributary to blue river where some of the best produce and homebrew are grown and brewed respectively. Beer base meets farm fresh cucumber (full of vitamins and nutrients and slightly astringent so good for oily skin) and oatmeal. Great for that early morning "wake up" call. 3% superfat, light oat and cucumber smell. Great lather. 5 ounce bars for 4.00 locally 8.00 shipped










Uncle Penns "Mull Digger": For those who don't know what a "Mull Digger" is down in the hills of Kentucky it's a term used to refer to a lazy or otherwise useless dog (or lazy person/a cheat) who digs for moles but never catches them, instead leaving only distruction and subsequent work in it's path. Here we use it to refer to our pine tar soap which harkens back to the days of "patent medicines...". Pine tar has been used for centuries to ward off bugs, deal with skin conditions, and mask the smell of hunters from prey. 3% superfat, coconut oil, sunflower oil, lard, rain water, and bees wax makes this superior to others. 5 ounce bars. 4.00 each locally, 8.00 shipped. Bulk deals available.












Check out these gift baskets, they make great Christmas gifts. Included is your choice of one of two different types of handmade wooden totes made from antique tobacco sticks from our family farm which have been sanded down and stained mahogany with a gift bow and decorative poinsettas and your choice of any four Circle W soaps as well as a tube each of "Kisser Fixer" Chapstick (Latte and Butter Cream). 40.00 each local only.












Not Everybody is lucky enough to have an Uncle like Penn Wilson. A simple appalachian man who has an insatiable passion for life and liberty. Our soap, like him, is as it should be...simple. Straight up natural, farm grown "smelllum good" herbs, honey, homebrewed wine and beer, spring and rain water, lye and oils. Never any artificial colors or scents out of a bottle. Just good old fashioned mountain wisdom.








"Uncle Penn says to stay clean you gotta wash ass!"











































2 comments:

Mary said...

I was lucky enough to be a local soap tester for Alan and Kim...so here is my feedback :)

These soaps are fantastic. They do not dry your skin out like other soaps do. I have very dry skin and normally avoid using bar soap because it is too dry...but these soaps do not dry my skin out at all.

The scents are very subtle....and very unique because the soaps are made from fresh ingredients, as opposed to essential oils. The difference is amazing...soaps that have that fresh subtle "outdoor type scents" as opposed to the "fake overpowering perfume" type.

I can't stress the difference that results from making soap from fresh ingredients as opposed to a conventional 'home made' soap kits consisting of essential oils. I have bought many local (to southern Indiana) home made soaps made with essentials oils and other synthetic ingredients ... and they are often too strongly scented, dry out my skin, and often trite-because everyone seems to buy the same essential oils/scent kits!

The variety of these soaps alone is cause to try them! Than add to that the fact that they are made not only from natural ingredients but ingredients that are locally grown and sourced!

My only caveat is do not use these soaps when hungry..because one is seriously tempted to start nibbling on a bar of something like the Persimmon or the honey-mead bar.

So..forget all of those other 'home made' bars that have disappointed you in the past (as they did me) and try these soaps....they are so much better and unlike any other soap out there.

Regards,

Mary Pfeifer-Deem

12th floor garden said...

I love that you guys are making all natural soaps now, my jaw dropped. I will definately be ordering some in the new year.

Seabuckthorn seed and berry oils would make a great addition to your soaps. I have personally used oil from the seeds and it is incredibly healing, and as an added bonus seabuckthorn makes a great barrier and is a great food crop too. Its stupidly nutritious.