Disability Resources Incorporated
'Herban' Abilene
November 7, 2004
By Raquel C. Garza / Reporter-News
Photography by Ronald W. Erdrich / Reporter-News
|
Sherry Ely, a direct-care giver at Disability
Resources, Inc., mixes a lavender-scented
powder by sifting it through a screen.
The powder is part of Cheryl Holmes’
Herban Renewal product line.
Jasmine Barrios,
2, plays next to Cheryl Holmes, whom she
refers to as "Lita," short for
the Spanish word for little grandmother,
"abuelita," as she pretends
to use the computer with Holmes with a
second keyboard. Jasmine’s mother,
Perla Garza, is nearby packaging some
of the Herban Renewal and Arcelia products.
Bars
such as these of Holmes’ mint-scented
soap can take up to three weeks to cure
at DRI.
|
If famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo were alive
today, Cheryl Holmes is sure she'd be an ''Arcelia''
girl.
''We love Frida for her art and for her love
of life,'' said Holmes, the creator of Herban
Renewal, a line of natural soaps and lotions.
''And we just know that if she was alive, she
would definitely be an Arcelia user.''
Holmes, 56, creator of Herban Renewal soaps
and lotions, recently created ''Arcelia'' -
a colorful and aromatic line of Mexican-inspired
in-home spa products to add to her line of ''herban
indulgences for every day.'' Her Arcelia body
washes, scrubs, bath salts and creams are scented
in energizing mango and calming cucumber.
''With Arcelia, it was more about the sensuality,''
she said. ''We really wanted that wonderful
Mexican spirit.''
Her inspiration took her to Mexico with her
son, Chris, 31. The pair traveled to San Miguel
de Allende in Guanajuato.
''I had no plan,'' Holmes said. ''I knew I
wanted something authentic, something colorful.
... We went on blind faith to San Miguel.''
Holmes then found herself in nearby town of
Dolores Hidalgo, where she found two families
to produce containers and scoops for her dusts
and scrubs, which are made from Talavera pottery
painted in its trademark deep blue.
''It was a wonderful experience dealing with
the Mexican people,'' she said.
Holmes began her business in 1996 after she
retired from Abilene's Center of Contemporary
Arts.
''I was ready to play in the garden,'' she
said of the herb garden she cultivated in her
back yard. ''It was very prolific. It just went
crazy.''
In order to put her herbs to use, she decided
to make soap from a recipe she found in a magazine.
She was inspired by her love of and belief in
aromatherapy, which uses scents to change a
person's mood or behavior.
Holmes also found inspiration close to home.
Her longtime employee, Perla Garza, 21, helped
her perfect her formula for her mango-scented
line.
''We were trying to figure out what to put
in it, and she had just bought a bag of hibiscus
petals for tea,'' Holmes said, adding Garza
suggested she try using the flower. ''I said,
'Oh, my gosh. It will more than work. It's fabulous.'''
Garza has worked for Holmes since she was a
teenager, helping her package and perfect Herban
Renewal's products.
''We used to make the lotion, the bath salts,''
Garza said, adding that since the business has
grown, it's too much for her to do alone. ''So
now I put the orders together.''
All of Holmes' creations are now manufactured
on the premises of Disability Resources, Inc.,
which Holmes calls her ''factory.'' DRI, a nonprofit
agency, provides residential care and training
for those with developmental disabilities.
Garza's daughter, Jasmine, 2, has also inspired
Holmes, whom Jasmine calls ''Lita'' - short
for abuelita, the Spanish word for grandmother.
''She's come here since the day she was born,''
Holmes said of Jasmine, who enjoyed the perks
of growing up in Holmes' home, where the soaps
and lotions were once produced. ''She was the
cleanest kid. We were always bathing her and
trying the new soaps and lotions.''
Jasmine had a particular beauty problem that
Holmes solved - when Jasmine was a baby, her
hair would stick straight up.
''Jasmine's hair was wild - I mean wild,''
Holmes said with a laugh. ''She needed help.''
They tried everything to tame it, Holmes said,
adding that they finally tried some lavender-scented
misting spray they had produced.
''It had just enough oils in it to settle it
down,'' Holmes said.
The product, Baby Jasmine Hair Spritz, is now
part of her Sweet Cheeks line of products designed
for babies, which also includes lotion, body
wash and powder.
Holmes' products are getting the Hollywood
treatment, as they will be included in gift
baskets for the stars participating in the Hollywood
Spectacular, an annual Christmas parade.
Herban Renewal also is featured in this month's
issue of Southern Living.
''That was fun - I mean fun,'' she said of
the interview process, in which a magazine writer
and photographer spent a few days with her.
''We were so nervous.''
Susan Pittman, a partner in It's About Time,
an antiques shop which sells furniture, jewelry
and other items, was the first person to sell
Holmes' products.
''It's got a real loyal following,'' she said.
''And people really love the fact that she's
helping DRI at the same time.''
DRI residents, whom the staff refers to as
''folks,'' take turns working in ''The Soap
Room,'' where they mix, concoct and ship Holmes'
beauty products.
''The folks love working in here,'' said Sherry
Ely, a direct-care giver who oversees the workshop.
''They rub it all over themselves so they can
smell good.''
The folks aren't the only ones who get to test
the sweet-smelling soaps. Pittman also is one
of the lucky ones who get to test Holmes' new
creations.
''Her friends are kind of her guinea pigs,''
she said with a laugh. ''We're her lab rats,
I guess. It's heaven.''
Since all of Holmes' products are tested on
her friends, they're not tested on animals.
Working as an assembly line, the folks recently
filled Depression-style glass jars with dust.
''I like the cucumber and the mango, the Love
dust and the Dream dust,'' said Sherry, one
of the folks who work in The Soap Room. ''I
really enjoy working in here because I know
how to do everything.''
Although Holmes would never mention it, Pittman
said, she takes good care her factory staff.
''When they finished Arcelia, the new line,
she took them all out to eat at Golden Corral,''
Pittman said. ''And I got to go with them. It
was just a big old party.''
Holmes likes to think the reason everyone has
so much fun creating her bath line is because
of her one rule.
''We tell them if you have an attitude, it
makes things stink,'' she said, with a laugh.
Contact staff writer Raquel C. Garza at
garzar@reporternews.com or 676-6763.
.
|
