MAAPS | Incensed

Smoke rising through the air in your home is usually a bad sign: someone burned dinner, the fireplace isn't drafting; in general fire inside isn't a good thing. When that smoke slowly rises in whirls from the tip of a resin coated bamboo stick, that is another story.

The tradition of incense burning goes back a long way. Evidence of it's use has been found in many ancient civilizations, in Egypt, Babylonia, China, India, Japan, and early South America. It is used in therapy, mediation, ceremony, and is often associated with religious rites in many cultures.

"Incense was employed to counteract disagreeable odours and drive away demons and was said both to manifest the presence of the gods (fragrance being a divine attribute) and to gratify them....Historically, the chief substances used as incense were such resins as frankincense and myrrh, along with aromatic wood and bark, seeds, roots, and flowers." www.britannica.com

Cleansing our air and the energy in our homes is a refreshing idea that has been around for what seems to be centuries. It is said that incense increases positive energy, and decreases negative energy. This shift creates an environment that can boost motivation, focus, and creativity by putting you in a productive, relaxed state of mind. You could find yourself with reduced tension, anxiety, and depression, even with better sleep. 

While not used in Western medicine often, Eastern practitioners will use certain incense blends as anti-septics, burning them through out hospitals to disinfect not just the air, but the whole environment.

In 2017, we discovered MAAPS incense on Instagram and were captured by their sense of style and scent. Creative packaging, geometric holders, and rich earthy scents are the reasons their products caught our eyes. With a 45 minute burn time, they fill your home with dreamy fragrance combinations like Vanilla, Tobacco + Oaked Bourbon or Grapefruit, Corriander + Honey Blossom. 

MAAPS was born from the desire of a husband and wife team, Johan and Charlene, wanting to work together and fill the niche for a "...well-designed, high quality incense collection that existed on the same level as candles." By capitalizing on a personal relationship they had with a family who "... had decades of experience in aromatherapy and essential oils," they were able to bring their project to life, Johan bringing with him fifteen years of experience in the retail world. With 10-month old son Johan Luka Jr, and two other big careers on the go, time is their "...most treasured resource." MAAPS happens after hours, when family has been attended to, and packaging incense can be done in the comfort of the living room.

Creating scents can be tricky, but the MAAPS team has a great approach.

"Our top priority is balance. We want to make sure our scents are well-rounded and don't stray too far into any one direction. We know that scent is extremely subjective, so we aim to make our collection appeal to a wide audience, without being too masculine or feminine."

Whether you are like Johan and use incense to reset the house after dinner or set the stage for hosting guests, or you prefer to burn as a way to calm you down after a long day, we think that MAAPS' clever scent blends offer something for everyone.

 

We love having these smokey sticks on our shelves and in our homes, and so have our SALT guests. This week, pair your favourite MAAPS scent with one of their beautiful incense holders and enjoy 35% off with our Swell Winter Sale on until January 27th!

 

Sources:

https://taodewan.com/benefits-of-burning-incense/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/incense 

from SALT Shop - Journal https://saltshop.ca/blogs/news/maaps-incensed

COLLABORATION | In It Together

Our founder Jessica is a visionary, a force of creativity, a leader. Despite her boundless abilities in areas such as design, photography, website creation, event coordination (really, the girl is a powerhouse), and more, she is always on the lookout for other like-minded talents that she can work together with in her business and her personal projects.

Top of mind for her whenever she dives into something new is what the impact will be. The environment, and specifically the ocean, is the first thing that she considers, and a close second is the stakeholders. She looks first to the people in her life that she knows personally and how they can be included. Even if the arrangement will benefit them, and not her or her business, she will be the first to offer an opportunity to team up.

Doing a photoshoot? Who does she know that would appreciate having photos of themselves? Or what great photographer could she partner with? Writing a blog post? What awesome local and/or Canadian brand could she feature? 

If you ask her why she approaches her business with a collaboration-over-competition mentality, she'll say "We're all in this together." It's just that simple. And why not take the time to be kind, especially within the small business community? Why not share awesome brands made by other entrepreneurs? Starting a business from a burning desire to create something new is a lot of work, and since we know what that's like, we celebrate it!

It could be argued that not every business has the luxury of this mentality, but we beg to differ. Considering we are younger than two years, and started from the vision of just one person, we wouldn't necessarily be considered one of those companies with a lot of "luxuries" (you know, like free time, million dollar bottom line, or even a back office). From the beginning, as a business owner you get to choose what you stand for. As businesses get bigger, more public, it's not impossible that it will become a beast of it's own and run away from it's original intention. You have to find like-minded people who are committed every day to keeping your mission alive and your message on point.

Running a successful business may generate revenue, but building a brand gives you a platform to share what you're passionate about. At SALT, among other things, we are passionate about the Ocean. What can we do to take care of it? How can we give back to the Earth that sustains us? Making a difference doesn't happen overnight, but the more we talk about it and educate ourselves, the more of an impact we can have. The shift we need to make world wide change is going to happen slowly, and hopefully everyone will become inspired to work together, like one big global collaboration. We hope that the ripples we cast from sharing what we're passionate about will contribute to this positive change.

Our newest way to connect with our community will be to launch our SALT Ambassador Program. We want to curate a small group of awesome mavens and influencers who we feel represent what we are about. We want to feature them, learn from them, and make them a part of the SALT team. We are so excited for this next step. More to come soon! 

The photos we have included in this post are a product of multiple collaborations. The shots are taken by the lovely Meghan at Sweet Heirloom Photography. Many of the props, like the candles, scarf, and sheep skins were provided by Fever Tree, a local Salt Spring Island shop. From SALT we see MAAPS incense, The Fox Tarot cards, and Leaves of Trees hand cream, all small brands carried in-store and online. Jess is wearing an Aritzia sweater, Blundstone boots, Hart + Stone jewelry and a Wish You Were Northwest toque. 

We love involving people and businesses from all over in our shenanigans both serious and fun, especially when we can work with them face to face. If you love something we do, we want to hear from you! If you think we'd be friends, we want to hear from you too! Let's do something awesome.

See you out there. #wereinthistogether

from SALT Shop - Journal https://saltshop.ca/blogs/news/collaboration-in-it-together

WINTER WARM-UP | Move

When you wake up before dark, it's raining, it's cold, and your bed is so cozy you want to stay there all day, it is easiest to hit the snooze button and snuggle in. What you really should do is GET UP! GET OUT! GET MOVING!

We do know that the winter chill can be extremely unmotivating to getting outside. We're not saying it has to be first thing in the morning, everyone's schedules are different. Who wants to brave the frozen trails and icy rain when we could be inside with a cup of tea? We can't let it keep us down though. Our muscles need to be challenged all year round. Weather be damned, there are all kinds of ways we can get the blood flowing!

• Hiking: Grab a buddy and get out on those trails. The woods are transformed this time of year into the true rain forests that they are. Appreciate the dripping needles and foggy views that make us appreciate the warm summer months all the more. Do watch out for soggy moss and slippery rocks!

• Biking: As long as you are wary of dim twilights and slick asphalt, biking can be a year round sport. Wether you are on the roads or on the trails, two wheels can take you a long way without jarring your joints and working up an appetite. 

• Spin: All the benefits of biking in a warm, dry space. Plus, the added benefit of an instructor keeping you accountable and turning up your resistance. The camaraderie of a class based workout will push you to leave it all on the seat.

• Boot Camp: While for some people the pumping music and group sweat vibe can be too much. If it is your jam, it is a great way to get a full body workout that ups your heart rate. If you've never been, drop into a class and see if it's you're thing. You never know, you might love it!

• Yoga: At a studio or in your living room with an instructor on YouTube to guide you, lengthening your muscles and grounding your mind has so many benefits. You will probably challenge all kinds of areas that you don't activate in your every day life, offering you overall strength and flexibility. 

• Weights: Strength training isn't always as easy as just picking up something heavy and putting it down again. It is however, extremely important for our bodies. If you are new to it, invest in a few sessions with a personal trainer, or at least do your research to avoid injury. 

• Running: Good old fashioned one foot in front of the other. Mix it up between early road runs to catch some of the morning light, and weekend trail excursions. Despite the great cardiovascular workout, constant pounding of the pavement can be tough on your knees and ankles, so make sure you have good footwear and jump to cusheony chip trails when possible.

Whatever it is that keeps you moving, you need only to set aside 30-60 minutes a day at the least. Don't let the winter freeze you in place! Healthy bodies mean happy minds.

from SALT Shop - Journal https://saltshop.ca/blogs/news/cold-weather-exercise-1

ADVENTURE 06 | HELICOPTER HOVER

I come by my sense of adventure honestly. My parents are always moving. They are constantly exploring new places and live in a constant state of change. They instilled in me a curiosity for newness and for challenge. It is one of the driving forces behind everything I do.

When it comes to celebrating birthdays, I figured for the Dad who has everything and is always looking for a thrill, why not get him something that we can experience together. Helicopter ride over the Fitzsimmons Mountain Range in Whistler? Sounded good to me! 

I signed us up for a 45 minute midday flight with Blackcomb Helicopters. In talking with our pilot, I learned that when they're not touring, the company spends most of their flight hours assisting with search and recovery emergencies such as avalanche rescues and missing persons. Life-saving pilots are pretty cool in my books!

The world below us was a blanket of white, so bright and deep that is appeared to glow blue in places. We flew over steep peaks, marshmallow forests, and smooth slopes tempting the most daring of skiers. Looped around the jagged Black Tusk mountain peak, a distinctive beacon even buried in snow. We spend so much of our days staring down at a screen, at our footsteps, it was a rare treat to be able to gaze down on such spectacular scenery. It reminded me that we are all part of something bigger than ourselves, a good thing to keep in mind when we let the many small stresses of everyday life overwhelm us.

At one point, conversation turned to climate and how glaciers that have been shaping our environment for centuries are starting to retreat. The pilots that have been flying these peaks for years may not see each inch that disappears year over year, but they have noticed the landscape changing.

There are a lot of Climate Change critics out there that would like us to believe that everything is fine, but it's hard to debate something that you can watch disappear with your own eyes. There is so much information out there on the subject, it can be difficult to grasp! This National Geographic article discusses the impacts that shrinking glaciers are having on our world, such as the loss of fresh water, salinity of our oceans, loss of coastlines, extreme weather, and more. The scariest thing about it all seems to be the comparatively rapid rate at which these changes are occurring. 

"Things that normally happen in geologic time are happening during the span of a human lifetime...Scientists point out that sea levels have risen and fallen substantially over Earth's 4.6-billion-year history. But the recent rate of global sea level rise has departed from the average rate of the past two to three thousand years and is rising more rapidly—about one-tenth of an inch a year. A continuation or acceleration of that trend has the potential to cause striking changes in the world's coastlines." - National Geographic

Our planet is amazing at adapting, but it can only do so at a rate that is natural to it's ecosystem. Nature's systems are closed loops, they don't create waste that they cannot deal with, something that we as humans unfortunately cannot claim of most of our production systems.

These thoughts became all the more pertinent when we touched down on a glacier to experience it's beauty and complexity firsthand. Getting out into your natural habitat isn't only about viewing it's awe-inspiring vistas, it is about appreciating what we are fighting to preserve. Staying in tune with our ecosystems keeps us mindful of our own lifestyles, reminding us that we are not only experiencing this Earth for ourselves now, but are borrowing it from future generations.

Getting an aerial view gave me a higher perspective on the type of beauty we are working to protect. It was also a great way to connect with my Dad and experience something new together. My family has always taught me that making adventure-filled memories together is important, a tradition I am happy to carry on!

from SALT Shop - Journal https://saltshop.ca/blogs/news/adventure-06-helicopter-hover