Cookies on the Mountain

Have I told you lately that I love my job? Well - here it is: I LOVE my job.
If you had asked me ten years ago what my dream job is I would have told you that it was to be able to travel with my work. So that is now what I get to do. Woo Hoo!!
Last week I went to BC to wear my salesgirl cap and pitch the cookies to some stores out there.
It was a blast; driving around in a rental car with a broken GPS, getting to know the streets of Vancouver, and taking the cookies on a road trip.
I don't want to leak the good news just yet - but let's just say that all you hopeful Vancouver-ites who have emailed asking for cookies - well, you are soon to be in luck.

Ruthless Compassion is the Name of the Game

Out of all the myriad tasks that being a boss entails - the hardest and most uncomfortable, the most dreaded - is having to let someone go.
We have a staff of 7 people - so as you can imagine, it's pretty intimate. When someone becomes part of the team, they become PART of the team. We're a community.
I operate my business from two very strong archetypes - the mother and the hunter.
In my true nature, I am both nurturing and ruthless. If that sounds like a paradox - believe me, it is. I am often at odds with myself - to be in business, I have to be willing to be ruthless and determinate, I have to make the decisions that are best for the growth and integrity of the business. Sometimes this means doing things that others find "cold". That's just the way the cookie crumbles. And sometimes I hesitate on making decisions because the mother in me knows that someone's feelings will be hurt.
Every time I have made the choice to let someone go - I have ruminated and stressed for days over it; I defend them in my mind, I doubt my decision, I think I am being unreasonable etc... In truth - I don't want to be "unliked", I don't want to be the bearer of bad news and put someone out of work.
But as my consultant once said to me - "People ask to be fired, whether they know it or not".
In most cases this is true. I think that sometimes people grow unhappy in their jobs and don't even realize it. In my experience, when someone is unhappy in their job their work performance goes down the toilet (obviously).

What am I saying here? Perhaps I am defending myself. Perhaps I am clearing out my conscience. Really I think I am stating what feels like a challenge: building a business from these two very strong roles in myself - being the nurturing, caring "mother" and also being the ruthless "hunter" who will do whatever it takes to manifest her dream.
In the end - balance is what always seems to rule, finding the happy medium, being "both".
I aim to be fair, and not to make irrational decisions. But I tell ya - some nights I lie awake in bed with my stomach in knots over the things I know I have to do.

New Moon Kitchen Bares It All

I am dedicating this post to those of you (us) out there who seek to learn about a company by "googling" it. Maybe you are coming up to this post right here because you googled "new moon kitchen" and here we are!!

And maybe you scrolled through the pages on your screen and found some terrible things posted about us...

I want to set the record straight! And if you have no idea what I am talking about then welcome to storytime on my blog, this week's story is called "How some people are out to get you for no good reason".

Back in September or October one of my staff sent some cookies to a blogger in Oakland, CA. She writes a blog about vegetarianism and food etc...

She got our cookies - sent an email asking "what is in the chocolate chips you use?"

we wrote her back with the ingredients of the chips: sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, soy lecithin, vanillin.

Next thing we know she posted a blog saying that we use "petrochemicals and charred animal bones" in our cookies...

NOW HOLD UP - you can only imagine my SHOCK and horror to be reading this stuff about my beloved little cookies. So I write back to her and give her the facts about the chips we use, that they are made by one of the very best chocolate manufacturers in the world, Barry Callebaut, and that the chips do not contain any petrochemicals or charred bones.

Funny thing was, even after we sent the info to her she wouldn't post it on her blog, she was deleting our feedback comments.

Then we got a call from Treehugger which is an online site devoted to ethical and green living.

They got a "tip" about this person's blog and wanted to hear the story from our side.

I was interviewed by treehugger  and they wrote this great, non-biased article about the whole thing.

I was infuriated by it all - if it hadn't happened to me I would think it great fodder for discussions about the power of the "information age" but how information can be spread without facts. I even checked about getting the information taken off the web (because it is false - as you will see if you read through the associated links) but google won't take info off unless they receive a court order to do so.

After all is said and done, let me explain what caused the blogger's little tantrum.

We make 11 products. 4 of our products contain chocolate chips. The ingredient labelling on our packaging says "semi-sweet chocolate chips (dairy-free)". At the time when we had our packaging designed, it was not a requirement to list the ingredients of ingredients for a chocolate chip.

The chips we use are kosher parve, nut-free, and vegan. The sugar in them was not processed with the use of animal bones for bleaching the sugar. There is no petrochemical in the vanillin.

AND we have since switched to a different Barry Callebaut chip that uses pure vanilla.

Some of you may not care about any of this, and some of you may - that's why I'm posting this; to clear up any confusion, and to clear our name.

Now what did I learn from all of this? What little nugget of knowledge can I share...

That revenge is a low level of energy exchange and does nothing to make any kind of change in the world. So instead of "fighting" back I decided to keep on making cookies, running my company well, and just plain got over it. 

Or let's say it another way - if you have a choice to feed the negative or the positive - which one do you go for? Which one do you want to see grow?

If any of you readers or consumers have any questions about all this- please do let me know!

xo Eden

New Moon Kitchen makes a TRUE cookie

So this thing happens when one googles "new moon kitchen". Maybe some of you reading this post right now happened to do just that and were lead here to this page. Or - maybe you were lead to a different blog... a blog that decided to tear us apart - EVEN AFTER we disproved everything the blogger accused us of.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about then don't worry - but if you've followed any of the story then you'll know what I'm referring to.

So here's the thing - I've got this person who - for whatever reason - wants to rain on my parade in a big way, who wants to spread false information about my company on the web - and continues to do so even after we had treehugger interview us, even after we had a meeting with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, even after we wrote to the blogger - kindly - with information from our suppliers that proved there was nothing "hiding" in our cookies.

I can't seem to shake this vengeful person off my web trail. 

So what should Baker Babe do? Get mad? Get even?

sink to the low level of the blogger? 

Obviously I'm mad that there is false information floating around on the web - 

stars stars stars!!!

Thanks Globe and Mail!

Awesome little article...

Money For Nothing

In business, there is always the drive to "make more money". Money can easily be the thing that shows success or failure, that gives the business a measure. It is easy to want more money, but what do I want it for?

I've been buzzing around in my mind wondering what to do next to make more $ - especially with the reality of the economy right now. Thinking about different ways to get cookies to the people, and to keep New Moon healthy and happy. My mind is a non-stop machine and I've been thinking around the clock; brainstorming myriad ways to market and sell the cookies.
Sometimes this can feel manic - sometimes it's not time to "sell" but time to dream, imagine, create.
Yesterday I took a really hard Yoga Class - I thought my hips were going to snap or something, and while in the resting at the end of class, with my eyes closed in the dark,  I realized this: Money has to have a clear purpose in order to be acquired. Money is energy, and energy is not static.
In my wanting for more I simply wanted more, but it was directionless. I can say "I want more money to be more successful, or to show more revenue" but what the heck does that mean anyway?
Ever notice when you need money to "pay the rent" or "take a trip to mexico" or "buy the blue coat with buttons" it seems to come?
That's because an intent was stated of what is desired. Intent is an arrow that needs to be cast into the future, to give the present some context.

The clarity in that moment nearly bowled me over;  I have to be clear of what I want money for, and the acquisition has to have a purpose - and better yet, if that purpose is something that creates goodness and balance - then whoa, that is ideal.

I want to move the bakery to a new home. New Moon needs a new space. We're outgrowing what we have and our current space does not reflect our maturity and evolution as a company.
So ya see - it's not actually money I want - it's change (I don't mean nickles and dimes, people). Money just happens to be the currency.

Hear that, Universe??

Is There a Better Gift than Cookies?

Well, this year I FINALLY decided to do what other companies do: capitalize off of the Holidays...
(not really - you know Baker Babe is not a capitalist).
In actual fact - I decided to create a product that is the anti-thesis of the typical xmas gift.
I don't know about you - but I feel grossed out by how much waste is created in one single month of the year. Wrapping paper alone is enough to make any environmentalist balk.
So here at New Moon we are offering a gift that leaves no trace. That's right... eat the cookies and compost the container.
Guilt-free on so many levels - and since it's the New Year and all, we need to have as little guilt as possible riding on our coattails.

For those of you who are new to my posts - I will let you in on a little secret: I love creative projects! So these STARS cookies have been fun all-around.
First off - after I got the idea, I asked my baking team (the AMAZING Courtney & Helen duo) to do the R&D on the product. So they got busy baking and testing.
Then the lovely Toni at the order desk was offered a commission on every case she sells.
AND THEN - I decided that we would donate a portion of the profits (10%) to a local neighbourhood charity (the Stop Community Food Centre).

Not to be a total cornball - but this is actually a gift that gives. I think it's so cool that at this point in the game I can do stuff like this with the company, that it's not just about "making money" to get by or pay the rent, but about involving the team, being creative, and giving back to our community.

Did I mention that these are really yummy cookies too?? cute little chocolate and vanilla stars - spelt, dairy-free - you know the drill.
YUM.

Now go get some.

Signed,
Capitalist Extraordinare
xo

The Irony of Freedom

I have worked my b-tt off for years and years. And not just my b-tt; my mind, my heart, my awareness - everything has been working overtime for New Moon Kitchen.

And I always said - "I want to build up the business so I can be an artist". And now here I am - with of course,  always growth to be had, but with the freedom to truly design it the way I want to.

For years I was a technician in my business - baker/bookkeeper/delivery girl/manager/sales rep/quality control/head of marketing. I did all jobs, all the time.  While my friends were in university or travelling, I was building the business, hoping that my investment would one day make sense.  And it has - but here I am, sitting atop an actualized goal and I don't know what the heck to do with myself!!!!

There is a beautiful story in the book called "the book of embraces" (Eduardo Galeano) about a hamster who had been in its cage all its life, and one day the cage was opened, but the hamster stayed in the cage trembling with the "fear of freedom".

I wonder now if the idea of "being free" (and what is that anyway?!) was what drove me all those years to bust a--. There has never been a moment where I wanted to give up on the business, even when I was down to the last drop of energy and something had broken and some baker had quit and I just couldn't do anymore. I knew I was doing it for something special, and I never resented the business.  

It makes sense now - as I look around at the amazing staff that I have, at the awesome products we make every day, the harmony that is inherent to New Moon. It's a beautiful, successful business!! 

So now what??

Now - oh now - I'm still wearing lots of hats - but they are a different kind. In fact, I'm wearing hats I've never worn before; singer, writer, entrepreneur. These hats make me nervous - I don't "know" what to do next. Does anyone have any idea what it's like for a Type A person to "not know"?! 

To be honest - I think the business is offering me some time to figure it out, to maybe even acknowledge what I have achieved, maybe rest this wild mind of mine...

Not sure yet. On the edge of my seat though.... will keep you posted.

I Baked my First CD

6 years ago a really huge thing happened in my life. It felt like a crossroads and looking back now, it most certainly was.

My best friend and business partner, Susanna, decided to leave the biz and go back to school. I was 25 years old and suddenly faced with a huge decision to make; 'Do I want to run this business by myself? Do I want to make business my career?'.

I was in panic mode all day - I googled other Cookie Business Owners and looked at their pictures saying to myself "But that's not me! I don't want to be that". My stomach was all knotted up.

That evening I had to pick my friend up from the airport, my dad and I drove together. He listened patiently to all my woes and fears and concerns.

"But dad! you know I've always wanted to be a writer and a singer, I don't want to get trapped in business!!"

He calmly replied "you would be foolish to sell your business. It is successful, and it supports you. The key is to make your business a vehicle for you to be able to do what you want to do. Would you rather be a starving artist?"

Well. I am so pleased to announce the launch of my first album: Come Fall.

Recorded in part at New Moon Kitchen, 2 1/2 years in production, with New Moon's support all the way.

We're celebrating with a huge CD release party at the Gladstone Hotel on Sept 30.

Dad - you would be proud.

xo bb
www.myspace.com/edenhertzog

New Moon Cookies Under Fire

hello all
I am writing this post in case anyone came across a certain slanderous blog entry about us that has been circulating the internet.
If you'd like to see the whole story, there was a follow-up article from TreeHugger which tells both sides of what went down in the Cookie War. You be the judge.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/09/cookies-vanilla-vanillin-refined-sugar.php

And just so Baker Babe here can make this clear:
Our product is 100% animal-product free
The refined sugar in the chocolate chips we use is not processed with animal char
the vanilla in the chocolate chips does not contain a petrochemical
And we do not hide ingredients from our customers

We have found a chip that uses pure vanilla - and we will be switching over.

It has been a very disappointing experience dealing with this Bad Press - but it has also been a great learning.
Do you know that feeling when someone says something untrue about you - and you have to defend yourself - and it's frustrating because you know you've done nothing wrong?
Well - that was what went down with this. It had all us Baker Babes acting as warriors. I know it's just a silly blog in the middle of the ether on the web - but geez - somebody messed with my baby! And Baker Babe was not happy about that.

If anyone has any questions about the Cookie War - please email me:
eden@newmoonkitchen.com