sudmAKer

🌿 FRIDAY AT THE COTTAGE — TOODYAY, HERE WE COME! 💚

Well, here we are!

ONE MORE SLEEP UNTIL TOODYAY SHOW! 🎉

The Cottage is getting ready to hit the road again, and there's that familiar excitement in the air that comes with another country show.

There's something special about these events.

The people, the atmosphere, the conversations, the familiar faces and the opportunity to introduce sudmAKer to people who haven't discovered our little corner of the world yet.

And of course, there's Moppett. 😂

She's been informed we're heading to Toodyay tomorrow.

She's checked the calendar.

She's inspected the tubs.

She's requested additional iced coffee.

And she's now standing beside the Prado looking suspiciously like someone who thinks she's the event manager.

To be fair, she's probably better organised than the rest of us. 😂

Starr and Bundy have offered their usual level of assistance.

Starr is supervising.

Bundy is supervising Starr.

And Moppett is supervising absolutely everybody.

So if you're heading to the Toodyay Show tomorrow, come and say hello! 💚

We'll be bringing a selection of our handmade non-toxic cleaning, personal care and household goodies, along with a little bit of Cottage creativity.

Whether you're a regular customer or discovering sudmAKer for the very first time, we'd love to see you.

And remember, you don't have to buy anything to stop for a chat.

Although Moppett would like it known that purchases contribute directly to the Cottage iced-coffee emergency fund. 😂

TOODYAY SHOW — SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER 🌿

See you there!

💚 sudmAKer — Homemade Non-Toxic Cleaning, Personal Care & Household Products.

🌿 THURSDAY AT THE COTTAGE — S**T JUST GOT REAL
Remember Tuesday when Toodyay was this Saturday and that still sounded reasonably far away?
Yeah.
IT'S THURSDAY. 😳
Saturday is no longer a distant concept.
Saturday is standing at the Cottage door tapping its fu***ng watch. 😂
The production list has been assessed.
The tubs have been assessed.
The available hours have been assessed.
And Moppett has suggested we simply stop looking at the clock.
Surprisingly, this has not created additional hours.
So we're officially entering MAKE WHAT MATTERS MODE.
The things people actually buy get priority.
Toilet pods.
Drop & Mop.
Multipurpose pods.
Foot fizzies.
Rosemary Hair Bomb.
Buzz Off and Bite Me if their bloody containers cooperate.
Everything else?
If it gets made — brilliant.
If it doesn't — it's on the website and Monday exists.
We're not trying to take the entire Cottage to Toodyay.
Although judging by the amount of s**t that eventually ends up in the Prado, you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
Two more sleeps.
TOODYAY SHOW — SATURDAY. 💚
Moppett, put down the iced coffee.
Actually...
No.
Bring me one too. 😂

🌿 WEDNESDAY AT THE COTTAGE — ONE THING AT A TIME
The Cottage is officially back in action.
Well...
Mostly. 😂
There are still food rescues, pantry duties, volunteer commitments and all the other bits of life that apparently refuse to disappear just because TOODYAY SHOW IS THREE DAYS AWAY.
Very inconsiderate, really.
So today isn't about trying to conquer the entire production list in one heroic burst.
It's about doing what we can, when we can.
A batch here.
A tub packed there.
A few labels printed.
Another thing crossed off the list.
And eventually all those little jobs become a Prado full of sudmAKer goodness ready to head to Toodyay.
Moppett has adopted a new management strategy of staring at the production list while drinking iced coffee.
I'm not entirely convinced it's helping productivity, but frankly I'm in no position to criticise. 😂
Three days to go.
We'll get there.
We always bloody do. 💚

🌿 TUESDAY AT THE COTTAGE — RIGHT. BACK TO WORK.
The volunteer hat has been temporarily hung up.
The Cottage apron is back on.
The iced coffee has been acquired.
And there is one tiny problem...
TOODYAY SHOW IS THIS SATURDAY. 😳😂
Apparently ignoring the production list for a week did not make it shorter.
Rude.
So this week we're back into sorting, mixing, pressing, pouring, packaging and replenishing all the things that disappeared during Moora — plus a few favourites that didn't make it there at all.
Drop & Mop needs making.
Toilet pods need replenishing.
Multipurpose pods need attention.
Foot fizzies need to stop behaving like fu***ng dust.
Buzz Off and Bite Me are waiting for their new containers.
Rosemary Hair Bomb needs restocking.
And somewhere amongst all of that, everything has to find its way back into tubs and eventually into the Prado.
Moppett has been informed that Grey's Anatomy privileges have officially been suspended until further notice.
She did not take the news well.
Bundy remains completely unconcerned.
Starr has returned from her own Royal Show adventures and is available for supervisory duties.
And me?
I've got an iced coffee and a list.
Let's make some s**t. 😂💚
Next stop: TOODYAY SHOW — Saturday 10 October.

🌿 MONDAY AT THE COTTAGE — WE'VE BEEN A LITTLE QUIET
If you've noticed things have been a little quiet around the Cottage this past week...
You're not imagining it. 💚
Sometimes the person behind sudmAKer has to swap the mixing bowls, labels and production lists for another very important part of her life — volunteering in our community.
And last week, that part of life needed a little more of me than usual.
So the Cottage lights stayed off a little longer, the production list sat patiently waiting, and Moppett was once again left in charge.
Which probably explains why absolutely nothing on the list appears to have been crossed off.
She assures me she was extremely busy.
There is no supporting evidence. 😂
So, I'm sorry we've been a little absent. But sudmAKer is still here, the Cottage is still bubbling away behind the scenes, and sometimes running a tiny business means accepting that real life occasionally gets first dibs on your time.
And now?
We're back.
Which is fortunate because I've just looked at the calendar and Toodyay is getting alarmingly close. 👀😂
Time to find the production list.
And possibly Moppett.
💚

🌿 FRIDAY AT THE COTTAGE — SHE CAME BACK

Good news.

Moppett has returned.

More importantly...

SO HAS THE ICED COFFEE. 😂

Order has been restored to the Cottage.

Which is excellent timing, because we've just broken the news to our little house sprite that she's about to be left in charge again.

You see, this weekend sudmAKer is taking another little pause because Sunday isn't about markets, production or the ever-growing bloody list.

Sunday belongs to Starr. 🧡

We're heading to the Perth Royal Show where our beautiful girl will be stepping into the show ring.

Which means Starr is abandoning her usual Cottage supervisory position and coming with us.

Bundy?

Bundy is staying home.

And Moppett has been informed that the two of them will be responsible for Cottage operations in our absence.

She didn't look thrilled.

Bundy didn't wake up. 😂

We've left strict instructions:

Keep an eye on the place.

Do not touch the production list.

Do not invent new products.

Do not drink the entire iced-coffee supply.

And under absolutely no circumstances is Moppett to introduce Bundy to Grey's Anatomy because one binge-watching employee is quite enough.

So the Cottage may be a little quiet this weekend while we swap product tubs for show bags and cheer Starr on at the Royal.

Then next week?

We'll be back.

The production list will be waiting.

And Toodyay will be another week closer.

Poor Moppett still has absolutely no idea what market season has done to her life. 😂💚

🌿 THURSDAY AT THE COTTAGE — WE HAVE A SITUATION

I opened the Cottage door this morning and immediately knew something was wrong.

It looked...

normal.

Suspiciously normal.

No mysterious pile of labels.

No production list stretched halfway across the bench.

No tiny house sprite pretending to be extremely busy while accomplishing remarkably little.

And most concerning of all...

NO MOPPETT.

Naturally, a search commenced.

Behind the tubs? Nope.

Near the couch and Grey's Anatomy? Nope.

Hiding amongst the stock hoping I wouldn't notice her? Nope.

Then I discovered it.

WE'RE OUT OF ICED COFFEE.

Well.

Mystery solved. 😂

Apparently Moppett has decided that maintaining adequate Cottage caffeine supplies falls within her job description and has disappeared on an emergency procurement mission.

I can't even be angry.

Quite frankly, someone needed to take responsibility for this catastrophic inventory failure.

Hopefully she'll return soon.

Preferably carrying several bottles.

Because there is production to do, Toodyay is getting closer...

and apparently the Cottage cannot operate under these conditions. 😂

Small business rule #472:
Never let the iced coffee reach zero.

💚

💚 WEDNESDAY AT THE COTTAGE — SOMETIMES THE COTTAGE WAITS

There are days when the Cottage is bubbling, mixing, pouring, packing and generally creating absolute chaos.

And then there are days like today.

The production list is still there.

The empty spaces left after Moora are still waiting to be filled.

Toodyay is still creeping closer.

But today, the Cottage can wait. 💚

Because behind sudmAKer there is also a life filled with other things that matter — and today that means food rescue, community pantry and doing my little bit elsewhere.

One of the hardest lessons when you run a small business is learning that not every day has to be a production day to count as a productive day.

Although I'm fairly certain Moppett disagrees.

She's been left with the production list, an iced coffee and strict instructions to get started without me.

So naturally she'll probably spend the day rearranging three containers, ticking something off the list that nobody actually did, and declaring herself exhausted. 🙄😂

Starr will supervise.

Bundy will sleep through the entire thing.

And tomorrow we'll pick up wherever we left off.

Because that's how things work around here.

The Cottage doesn't run on perfect schedules.
It runs on real life, big plans, a little chaos... and an unreasonable amount of iced coffee. 💚

🌿 TUESDAY AT THE COTTAGE — UNPACK. REPACK. REPEAT.

The glamorous life of a small business owner continues. 😂

Moora is done, we've recovered enough to move without making involuntary noises every time we stand up, and now it's time to deal with the aftermath.

Because apparently “getting home from a market” and “being unpacked from a market” are two completely different things.

Today we're sorting tubs, counting what's left, putting everything back where it belongs and working out what needs to go onto the production list.

And that list is already looking suspiciously long. 👀

Toilet pods need replenishing.
Drop & Mop needs making.
Multipurpose pods need restocking.
Foot fizzies need another round.
Buzz Off and Bite Me need making.
And apparently there are approximately 742 other things I've decided the Cottage simply cannot function without. 😂

Because next on the calendar is Toodyay Show next month, and this time I'd quite like to arrive without spending the preceding 48 hours behaving like a caffeinated lunatic.

That's the plan, anyway.

Moppett has now discovered what happens after market day and is considerably less enthusiastic about her new position than she was during the off-season.

There are tubs everywhere.

There are lists everywhere.

There is stock everywhere.

And somewhere amongst all of it is one woman clutching an iced coffee saying:

“If I make a little bit every day, I won't have to do everything at the last minute.”

Which sounds extremely sensible.

Whether we'll actually do that remains to be seen. 😂

But the Cottage is officially back in production mode.

Next stop: Toodyay. 💚

🌿 MONDAY AT THE COTTAGE

And just like that… Moora is done. 💚

What a weekend.

The Prado was packed within an inch of its life, the trailer somehow swallowed everything else, and we headed north for our first Moora Show.

Was it the biggest market day we've ever had? No.

Was it worth doing?

Absolutely.

We met some lovely people, introduced a whole lot of new faces to sudmAKer, sent plenty of products off to new homes and handed out business cards to people who wanted to find us again later.

And sometimes that's what these bigger shows are about.

Not just what happens at the till on the day, but getting the Cottage out into communities we haven't visited before and letting people discover what we do.

So yes, Moora — we'd happily come back and do it all again next year. 💚

Meanwhile, back at the Cottage...

Moppett was left in charge with Starr and Bundy.

According to Moppett, everything ran extremely efficiently in our absence.

Starr supervised.

Bundy handled security.

And Moppett maintained overall Cottage operations from the couch while binge-watching Grey's Anatomy and ensuring the iced-coffee supply remained at an acceptable level.

In other words...

Absolutely bugger-all got done. 😂

Honestly, after market week, I can't even blame them.

Today the Cottage is having a quiet one. Tomorrow we'll start unpacking, counting what's left and working out what needs replenishing before the next adventure.

Because apparently market season has officially begun...

and poor Moppett still doesn't understand what's coming. 😂

Thank you, Moora. We'll see you again. 💚