Dia De Los Muertos and Dan Enger Soaps

When I first moved back to New Mexico ~ I kept seeing all these little skeletons dressed in funny clothes and some of the art and I'll be honest, I thought it was dark and kinda creepy.  A friend visited and she said, "I love all the Los Muertos art!", she went on to explain in old Mexican culture that the skeletons were Ancestors. It was celebrating the Ancestors (ears perked) and that the families would dress them up for special occasions and birthdays and seat them at the table with them.  I began to see the appeal. I started to go to locals houses and there were the ancestors sitting by the front door or in a chair in the living room, dressed and beautiful. Then came the 1st of November and I went to a Dia De Los Muertos gathering and there was an alter,  with prayer candles, marigolds, pictures of ancestors, and jewelry and trinkets all over the alter. It was the most beautiful alter ~ with 250 people honoring their ancestors! I looked around the room and almost everyone in the room were painted with white faces and black stitches and red hearts, etc all over ~ I fell in love with the tradition. Later, I walked into a gallery, Dan Enger Studio and it was bright and the most beautiful colors I had ever seen! I told him I make soap and would love to feature his art on a label...he smiled politely...lol.  Here we are 7 years later ~ and I made this fabulous soap with Strawberries, Sugar & Roses, I wanted the label to be fantastic. I flipped on Facebook and there was "Blue Frida" ~ I commented that I bet she smells like Strawberries, Sugar, & Roses ~ he agreed! So this week, spontaneously, as always ~ We created the soap and a beautiful tribute to Frida Kahlo. Frida is an iconic artist from the early 20th century. Her life was a struggle, she had nearly every bone in her body broken and survived. Married to the famous Diego Rivera ~ she was progressive and way ahead of her time. She is a feminist icon, because of her strength ~ she wandered through Taos once, so the legend goes ~ and I imagine she smelled like heaven, much like our soap.  I made lotion to test the public, ran into one of my favorite characters in town and told him I am testing a new fragrance and asked if he could tell what it smelled like. He smiled big, through the gap in his gorgeous smile and said, "HEAVEN" ~ ha! I knew I had a new big hit! Matched with Dan's incredible art ~ WOO HOO!!! There are more to come!

   Dan's Truck can be seen driving him around Taos

These were the "Blue Fridas" that captured my attention of Facebook

Please check out Dan Enger on Facebook and google his images ~ embrace Los Muertos and see it as love and honoring the ancestors ~ Dan has a wonderful sense of humor and is a wonderful human being! Enjoy his work, purchase it, do all you can to support this colorful fun famous artist.  He can be contacted via email at DanEngerStudio@yahoo.com

  The Legend

We hope you are having a fabulous Summer ~ we are doing our best! If you read all of this Newsletter ~ you get the discount code. Apply the word JUNE to the discount code box on check out and save significantly! 

As always, with Love, Hope & Gratitude,

Michelle Lewis ~ Nature's Emporium Soap Co.