Where it All Began

Hey, I'm Shan. 

I'm one of the two creators and owners of Body Honour. Hi. :)

This is me in the pic. A young, bright-eyed, optimistic first-time entrepreneur. The setting is my very first business, The Cotton Penguin. A sweet little natural parenting store located in St. Margaret's Bay, halfway between Halifax and Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia.

Like so many other new mothers in my personal circle, having a baby is what really fast-tracked my journey back to nature. Before pregnancy I was a vegetarian, I was athletic and somewhat natural health aware, but it wasn't until little Muchie (our son in utero) came along that I became super aware, and suspicious, of the products we use every single day and my impact on the planet that I would now be borrowing from my child.   

I could get out my tinfoil hat, and tell you all about the things I've learned to date, and then how The Cotton Penguin didn't make it to its second birthday and my theories as to why... but the purpose of this little blog is simply to share with you the birth of Body Honour, in a nutshell.

As an anxious and overprotective first-time mom, one of the decisions I made fairly early on was to cloth diaper. After hours of research about the chemicals, sketchy government safety approvals, and even simple old wives tales I knew that choosing to cloth diaper was the right choice for my baby.

I'd like to take a moment to add that if you did not choose to cloth diaper, I hold no judgment - we all have to make the decisions that are best for us personally and individually. I truly believe that every mother makes the choices they do with nothing but love and consideration for their family.

After cloth diapering for a while, I got my period... shocker, I know. It was then that I questioned why I would make a decision (and feel strongly enough about it to open a retail store focused on this product) for my child, but not for my own body and health. Interesting. 

It was then that "Soft Kitty" was born.

Soft Kitty, the adorable original name of Body Honour. That's why the tags are still there on each pad... we ordered thousands, and don't want to see them wasted. Ha.

Soft Kitty was more of a pet project, something fun and cheeky that my mom, Karen, and I worked on together. We tried many fabrics, many absorbent cores, many snaps and clasps, and experimented with shapes and features. There were times that we were focused greatly on the growth of Soft Kitty, and times where we didn't do a thing about it for months.

Until this year. 

I became aware of my desire to grow and share my love of healthful, waste reducing products. With new product ideas, we outgrew "Soft Kitty." The name Body Honour was inspired by a young woman we bet at a Farmers Market, but that's a story for another time. 

So that's it. My personal version of our humble beginning. Thanks for reading, friend. <3