Shabbat Shalom to everyone!
Monthly Archives: March 2023
The Artist’s Corner – Blending Tea with Gnat and Bee
I discovered Natalie Friedrich through her tea, Philosopher, and her company, Gnat & Bee, when I purchased a sample-sized packet at Thirty-two 8 Inspired & Co. It was love at first sip, and I immediately knew that I wanted Natalie to be part of my book launch party for my recently released novel, Realm.
Fortunately, Natalie agreed, and the process of working with her was most pleasant and educational. I’ll allow her answers to the Artist’s Corner interview questions to be her introduction as I’m sure her passion for all things tea will shine through.
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I am thirty-two years old, a first-generation Japanese American, and grew up on Kauai, Hawaii, and California’s central coast. My husband and I met in the west, and we moved to Ohio together where he grew up. I have now lived in Wooster for over 10 years, and we are so grateful to be on a beautiful five acres in the countryside with our two daughters. On our homestead, I love to garden herbs and vegetables, forage wild ingredients, and enjoy caring for chickens.
What has your experience been?
I attended Monterey Peninsula Community College where I took a wide variety of art classes and studied psychology. My favorite mediums that I continue to practice include watercolor painting and ceramics. I have always loved cooking and I have had many years of experience as a vegan and conventional baker for cafes, restaurants, events, and freelancing. I began my self-studies in herbalism when I moved to Ohio. Most recently, I worked for a food and art co-op where I helped with daily operations, digital marketing, in-store design, and product management with local producers.
Did your work experience lead to the pursuit of tea blending?
I consider myself to be an independent creative. I created my own bakery business, then transitioned into making teas and body care with my knowledge of herbalism. In my last job, I often coached people with new business ideas on how they can be successful in a local marketplace. There, I learned the importance of branding, marketing, consistency, and sourcing quality (local or self-produced) ingredients when possible. These are all important components that I apply to the work that I do now, as a tea blender.
Do you put yourself into your tea blending? If so, how?
Absolutely. Blending tea is very personal to me, it is an activity that captivates every one of my senses. Every ingredient is carefully selected, some grown and harvested by my own hands. Stirring the components together is a peaceful ritual and creative outlet for me.
How did you develop your passion for blending tea?
As a culinary creative, I have always enjoyed producing unique flavor combinations and experiences to share with others. Many moons ago, one of my favorite small tea companies, Altar and Leaf, taught a wonderful and intuitive tea blending class. Lindsay’s course was so inspiring! This is when I began to blend, experiment, and discover my own style and tastes. It was such a joy to work with herbs, fruits, and spices to create nourishing and comforting cups of tea.
What or who is your inspiration?
I am inspired by the four seasons in nature, life experiences, and stories.
What blends do you enjoy creating? What are your favorite ingredients?
I enjoy creating teas that, upon sipping, take you to a different place. When you take in the flavor and aroma, you may find yourself in a field of wildflowers or a cottage garden, a rustic countryside, a woodland wander, or on an exotic spicy adventure.
What is your favorite blend that you’ve created?
Oh, this is a tough one! I have about 35 original recipes under my belt now. I have wonderful memories of creating Strawberry Sun. It is made with delicate white tea, dried strawberries, and citrusy spruce tips that I love to harvest every spring.
When creating for yourself, what is your process?
When I create for myself, it is a very natural flowing process because I have a feeling or story in my head and heart. It becomes translated through the jars of botanicals in my apothecary and mixed in a small pottery bowl. Usually, it will take a few cuppings and adjustments to get a blend exactly how I want it to taste. It is so satisfying to match a flavor to a feeling.
Do you work alone or with a partner?
I used to work alone. Now I have one full-time helper, and she really keeps me motivated, on task, and we are so productive together. I would be a mess, and so far behind without her.
Where can someone find you online?
I am most active on Instagram. I love visual storytelling and sharing my work, processes, and nature around me.
Do you have a website?
I do have a website where we sell our goods and sometimes share a blog with a tea recipe or seasonal inspiration: Gnat and Bee
For whom do you create teas?
I create teas for all kinds of people from all walks of life.
How does a client contact you?
Email: natalie@gnatandbee.com
What is your process when creating for a client?
We will discuss the purpose and intention of the blend. We talk about likes, dislikes, and medical conditions. I will provide samples, and we will decide together when the blend is perfectly finished.
Any complaints in the tea blending business?
Through working in this industry for a handful of years, I see companies that are built solely on buying tea blends that are made by another larger company and then repackaged with their own brand name. I think this is dishonest, lazy, and unoriginal. I could never imagine calling someone else’s creation my own. There are also a lot of artificial or heavily flavored teas in the blended tea category, I think this is a crutch and a shame. I like to honor the individual plants and ingredients, they have so many health benefits and beauty to offer us. It can be challenging to source or grow so many different single ingredients, but this is how I can ensure the highest quality for the best-tasting teas. I think this care and attention sets our teas apart from other companies.
Do you work full-time as a tea blender? If so, how do you see your business growing?
Yes, I resigned from my last job in March of 2022 and now run my business full-time. We are currently a home-based cozy apothecary with dedicated workspaces for efficient production and shipping. I have a goal to renovate a building on our property for the business to move into. This would include a welcoming space for a tea house that would be open to the public with indoor and outdoor seating overlooking the gardens. I would love to host events and classes for guests here.
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Bulletin from Realm Central
Hello, Realmers! Today’s report is replete with exciting news starting with a brilliant press release created by Jeanette Nelson of Gossamer Marketing Group and submitted via EIN Presswire. Over 200 news outlets, national and international, picked up the press release on my novel, Realm. Below is a picture of Jeanette’s hard work. It was an extremely proud day at Realm Central. Thank you, Jeanette, for your incredible professionalism. You are truly a talented lady.
Next is the thrilling announcement that I now have an Author Profile on Goodreads that is attached to my novel, Realm. This is where you, dear readers, become part of the amazing project that is Realm by leaving a review of my novel once you’ve read it.
Wait—what?! You don’t have your copy of Realm yet? Hurry over to BookBaby to procure your copy by taking advantage of the handy little link below. It will take you to the softcover version, and the hardcover version is at the bottom of the page should you prefer it.
Now that we have that taken care of, you have another option of where to leave your review of Realm. If you scroll to the bottom of the page where my novel is sold on BookBaby, you’ll see Book Reviews with a link to click to login. Please do so as customer feedback is so important. After all, I had you in mind when I wrote Realm.
What else—how about the HL Gibson channel on YouTube? My book trailer, Realm Walk with Me, needed to be uploaded to YouTube so it could be embedded in the press release, and since it’s there, I might as well take advantage of the channel as another way to stay in touch with readers, followers, and friends. Be sure to subscribe and turn on the notifications so you’ll be informed every time I upload to the channel. Likes, comments, and shares are much appreciated.
Now for the last newsworthy item to come out of Realm Central. About two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to work with some terrific people as we shot another trailer for Realm. The whole experience was very different from my initial trailer because we stayed onsite for the entire shoot. Seven people, two videographers, and I recreated a scene from Realm that we hope you’ll enjoy. We learned a lot with this shoot, but as always, the creativity flowed, and everyone had a great time!
I’ll let you know as soon as the trailer is released. You’ll be able to view it on my blog and my YouTube channel. I’d love to hear your feedback on it. Until then, be sure to check out the links in the body of this report and say Hello in the comments section below.
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Quotation Station
Shabbat Shalom to all the
creatives making great art!
“Three things have a faint savor of the world to come: Shabbat, the sun, and married love.” ~Talmud, Berakhot
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Beta Reading in the Realm
Hello, Realmers! Today at Realm Central we’re going to discuss one of the most important steps toward the production of my novel, Realm. Beta reading.
A couple years ago, a friend and I shared the opinion that writing group critiques would be more beneficial if the person critiquing had knowledge of the storyline from start to finish. That sounded like a tall order, especially if the work in progress (hereafter WIP) was a novel, but the idea made sense.
Many times, we had experienced the request for/suggestion of more backstory, dialog, character development, and character arcs from someone in the writing group. These were all valid requests and suggestions, but they were made based on the assumption that none of this existed within the story.
Please don’t hear me say that critiques supplied in writing groups are of no value. That is not the case at all. However, when a writer’s only option is to present 1500 words to one chapter (a generous quantity of writing) because of time constraints, many of the critiques supplied and questions asked could have been satisfied if the reviewer only remembered that he/she was being shown a mere sliver of the WIP and that many of his/her questions were probably already addressed.
Another issue contributing to this dilemma was the fact that the reviewer probably didn’t see the initial pages of the WIP, or he/she would have had foundational knowledge prior to critiquing. Also, when you consider the inconsistency with which members attend a writing group and that they often have no control over which WIPs they’ll review, well, you see how ineffective this process can be.
I’ve witnessed too many writers waste his/her allotted review time explaining all this away. There is, however, a major benefit to attending writing groups, and I’d like to point that out now. Make—great—connections.
If you’re going to succeed as a writer, you need people you can lean on during the entire process, and some of the most important ones will be your beta readers. Beta readers may start as your friends, but eventually, they’re going to need to be more. You need to find people who can be objective and strong, people you can trust and with whom you’ve established a solid relationship. Equally important is the fact that you must be this type of beta reader in return.
May I suggest that you make a connection and enter an agreement with one person who will become your primary beta reader. For me, this is the person mentioned at the beginning of the post. We made the commitment to read each other’s work from beginning to end thus eliminating many of the usual requests and suggestions.
The perspective we brought to each other’s WIP was enhanced by the fact that we read and wrote in different genres with different expectations for both as well as by life experiences in general. This immediately drove our critiques to the heart of our respective WIPs, eliminating all the writing small talk and allowing us to focus on any major concerns that needed to be addressed.
Side Note: Remember that trading whole manuscripts for beta reading requires both partners to have similar availability; to agree upon how long you’ll take to read and critique; to decide when, where, and how often you’ll meet; and to decide what type of critique is expected.
Then I sent Realm thought a round of secondary beta readers. I started with my non-reading reader, who prefers non-fiction when he does read. I knew that if I could snag and hold his attention, I had written something worthwhile. Because he read for different reasons, his unique perspective caught many details that were crucial to producing a great novel.
Next was a couple I knew would view Realm through a unique perception based on their own pursuits, and that was exactly what I needed. They recognized the overarching themes within Realm, proof that my storyline was intact, as well as found the small mistakes that required fixing.
Lastly, and this is where some people may disagree with me, I let my mother read Realm. Yes, Mom loves everything I write . . . until she doesn’t, and then she’s brutally honest. I can’t say how allowing your family members to read your WIP will go, but I know that if my mother doesn’t like it, understand it, or agree with what I’ve written, she’ll make me hash it out with her until I convince her the writing needs to be present and help her understand why. We don’t always part in agreement, but my editing is better because of the interaction.
This was my process for taking Realm from the roughest of rough drafts to a manuscript with which I was comfortable handing off to my editor. I sincerely hope these same people, especially my primary beta reader, will be available for my next novel. I also hope I’ll make many more connections for any future WIPs because the ultimate goal isn’t only to have my manuscripts edited. It’s to make lasting relationships.
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Quotation Station
Shabbat Shalom to all the creatives who labored to enter His rest.
Let me know in the comments how
you created this week.
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Tuesday Tea – Kanchanjangha Noir
Many, many cups of tea went into the creation, production, and publication of my novel, Realm. And even though I’m a published author now, I’m not so haughty as to not be able to chat with my friends over a cup of tea. After all, the purpose of Tuesday Tea was to stay in touch with followers, to remain approachable and grounded.
Kanchanjangha Noir—the name just sounds exotic and is fun to learn how to pronounce—is my newest acquisition from Ohio Tea Co. I enjoy black tea, and this beauty from Nepal does not disappoint.
A deep inhale of the tea leaves provides one with the heady aroma of mild cherry tobacco and an earthiness that leans toward floral more than grass or soil. One teaspoon of tea steeped for five minutes in eight ounces of water brought to 200° F delivers a vibrant cup of tea that is deep red-gold in color. The fragrance of the brewed tea is softly fruity, and the taste is dried cherry, raisin, and cocoa on the palate.
Kanchanjangha Noir is a zesty tea with extremely low astringency. In fact, I didn’t find it to be acidic or bitter at all. A sip finishes on the dry side, although it didn’t leave my mouth feeling tight, and the tea drinks clean and brisk in that the flavor didn’t linger. As usual, I enjoy it without cream or sugar so I can experience the full flavor of the tea leaves in all their glory. I’m looking forward to trying Kanchanjangha Noir iced this summer.
If you’ve had this lovely tea, let me know in the comments how you drank yours.
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The Artist’s Corner – Meeting High Standards with Benchmark Leatherworks
I met Jeremiah O’Brien through his lovely wife with whom I worked in our church nursery. I knew he made leather items, so when another friend needed a repair to a favorite bookbag, I asked if he would be able to fix it. Turned out that Jeremiah was the man for the job. He not only replicated the broken latch, but he also matched the color, so the new piece didn’t look out of place on the gently worn bag.
Fast forward to January 2023 when I’m preparing my novel, Realm, for publication and decided that I would like to have something to present at my book launch. I browsed items on Etsy, designed a mockup of what I envisioned, and e-mailed my request to Jeremiah. What he created was so much better, such higher quality, than my original idea.
So, without further ado, allow me to introduce leatherworker Jeremiah O’Brien, a man of few words and abundant talent.
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I’m just a guy who works in his garage basically. Married, seven kids, two dogs, and hopefully here soon, a homestead with chickens and goats and such. I’m honestly terrible at biography type stuff. I prefer to let what I do speak for itself.
What has your experience been?
I have an associate degree in business with a focus in web design, but I don’t really use it. I have worked in restaurants primarily for most of my life, with the past ten years learning and working in leather.
Do you put yourself into your leatherworking??
I’m not quite sure what this means, but I do have a particular artistic style that I tend to put into my work, and it is fairly unique to me.
How did you develop your passion for leatherworking?
A friend of mine introduced me to it as part of a hobby that we were both involved with some years back, and I just worked at it over the years on the side, and then finally took a job in the industry for a couple of years before striking out in my own and running my own business fulltime.
What or who is your inspiration?
There have been lots of people who have inspired me along the way, and pointing to one single thing or person would be tough.
What pieces do you enjoy creating?
I really enjoy helmets, book covers, journals, bags, and pieces that show off a high level of skill.
What is your creation process?
Everything has a different creation process, but generally I’ll start by designing a pattern, then some artwork to go on it, and then cut it out and put it together.
Do you work alone or with a partner?
Largely alone. I do occasionally have people visit, but it’s rare.
Where can someone find you online? 
Facebook – Benchmark Leatherworks
Instagram – Benchmark Leatherworks
Do you have a website?
For whom do you create leather goods?
Anyone who asks, but my clients tend to be people who go to Renaissance Faires, but I have also done work for pro wrestlers, hip hop artists, and other entertainment professionals.
How does a client contact you?
Through social media generally, or email inquiry@benchmarkleatherworks.com
What is your process when creating for a client?
I work with the client on a design for the item they want built. Sometimes that includes measurements, or it can be a personal design they like, whatever the case may be. Once we have that settled, I go ahead and design patterns, and then build it.
How is what you create for yourself different from what you create for other people?
I rarely craft for myself, and it’s not all that different except that it is personalized to me instead of someone else.
Has your work ever been used for commercial purposes?
My work is currently featured on WWE Smackdown, worn by the Viking Raiders. It also makes appearances at Renaissance Faires and conventions all over the country.
What is your favorite piece that you’ve created?
A corset and skirt combination suit that I did a few months back is my current favorite, but it’s a constantly evolving list.
What’s your dream leather piece to create?
A book cover with intricate detail that currently eludes my time and skill.
What’s your biggest complaint about leatherworking?
It’s time consuming.
Do you work full-time as a leatherworker? If so, how do you see your business growing?
Yes, I am full time, and I’d like to get into making more patterns and sources of passive income rather than relying solely on custom orders.
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Quotation Station
Shabbat Shalom to all the creatives who need joy, patience, and faith.
Let me know in the comments how you’ll be resting this Shabbat.
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Update from Realm Central
UPDATE: This post will probably read as “after the fact.” However, I still want to share my production process with you as promised. It’s a nice behind-the-scenes look at independent publishing.
Hello, Realmers! Here at Realm Central, quite a bit has been going on. Where do I begin?
How about the two days I spent poring over the eBook version of Realm to make sure everything looked perfect? My eyes went a little buggy even though I increased the size of the page on my laptop. Everything looked great, so I approved the proof and submitted my approval.
Next, it was time to move on to the hardcover version of Realm. That was scary and exciting all at once. Several calls between myself and BookBaby were required because the technical side of a couple uploads were, admittedly, beyond my knowledge and understanding. Linda Hawley, Publishing Specialist at BookBaby, was amazing and patient as she took my calls, responded promptly to my voicemails, walked me through a couple steps, and even did an important portion of what needed to be accomplished on her end while I held the line.
I am excited to report that the dust jacket for the hardcover version of Realm is in the works. Also, I viewed and approved the interior of the hardcover book and the non-dust jacketed book itself. Everything is beautiful and seeing all the work that I put into it along with my beta readers and my editor, well, it’s just so thrilling!
What else? A trip to Cleveland and Youngstown with the husband-and-wife photography team of Heath and Michelle Smith proved to be great fun and quite interesting. By the time this post is published, you’ll have already seen the Realm trailer titled Realm Walk with Me. If not, please enjoy watching it as soon as you finish reading.
When I told Michelle and Heath what I wanted to capture for the trailer, they knew exactly where to shoot to create the devasted conditions of Earth in the year 3039, when Realm takes place. I must say, the locations were incredibly cool and a little sketchy all at once.
Another quick trip to an abandoned manufacturing business just south of Canton was required for additional footage, but it was worth the drive for the shots achieved. And then it was an all-day session of editing. As tiring as it was, we learned some valuable lessons and had great laughs throughout the process.
I think that’s everything for now. Stay tuned as I keep you informed on the progress of my soon-to-be-released novel, Realm.
hl gibson, author 