Meet Kimberlee Mule and her fabulous family. I originally came across her products, Three Sister Herbals, a couple of months ago at Little Ones in New Paltz. Raissa could not stop raving about them. I trust Raissa and her opinion so I grabbed her card, ran home and called her. After spending about an hour on the phone with her, I could see she has a beautiful person with a beautiful soul. Once you read about her, you are going to love her and how stronge of a person she is. I knew I just had to feature her on my blog. In her own words, here is a little bit about Three Sister Herbals.
at my mother had with her two sisters, and how much all three of these lovely ladies have meant to me on my life’s journey.
How long have you been in business? Almost one glorious year!
Please explain a little bit about your product/business and how you developed the concept be
hind it:
Long ago I started studying the medicinal values of herbs. I eventually began to make salves, tinctures and syrups for my family. Then, one day, it occurred to me that I could make a business out it. Not only is working with herbs something that I love to do, it continually amazes me, as there is always something to study. I felt like this was an important business to start because I also wanted to educate people about the medicinal properties of herbs.
The other goal I had in mind while conceiving the business was overall price and value. It has always bothered me that quality herbal medicine is so expensive. I truly believe that herbal medicine should be something that an average family can afford. I wanted my salves to be something that mommas were happy to slather their babies in, or put a big gob on a boo-boo, and not worry that they are using too much and it so expensive and they can’t afford to purchase more.
I developed a product line based on a all-purpose salve-Magic Salve. Magic Salve is the core of all of my salves-Wicked, Hazel’s Healing and Epona’s Cure. Each has other herbs or medici
nals added to make that specific product stand alone and shine.
While salves are a great thing, sometimes they work better with a partner-don’t we all???
So, I developed a Herbal Bath an ever growing line of single and multi herb Tinctures.
What makes your product/business so unique and why can’t I live without it?
My salves are unique, as they are handcrafted in small batches by me. They are affordable,
The other service I offer that is unique is custom salves and tincture. If you have allergies,
Do you have a store front, website or Etsy?
Three Sisters Herbals products are available on our website, www.threesisterherbals.com and Etsy site, “Little Ones” in New Patlz and “Waddle n’ Swaddle” in
What are some of your long term and short term goals with your business?
Short term goals are product development and marketing. I am continually adding new products to our line, and am currently working on a salve for healing tattoos and a prewash for cloth menstrual pads.
Is there anything exciting in the works that we can look forward to?
The biggest thing I am working on right now (besides the previously mentioned new products) is soliciting home birth supply companies to carry my products. I am working to have Three Sisters Herbals products available to home birth midwives, thru these home birth supply companies, so that slaves, baths and tinctures can be included in home birth kits (everything medical and practical you need for a home birth.
I am also hoping to have Three Sisters Herbals products be stocked in local health food stores,
This is in the works…I’ll keep you posted.
What is the hardest part or has been some of your struggles starting your own business?
On a personal level, the hardest part was finding the self-confidence to do it. Overcoming self-doubt, and having faith in the universe to provide me the opportunities that my business needs were big hurdles to jump. I am always struggling with time management (see next section on my kids!) being home with my kids is a blessing, but time for momma to work is hard to fit into a busy day.
Tell us a little about you:
Well, I am 37 years old, and have lived in the Hudson Vally for 15 years. My husband and I are recently separated. I have three amazing kids-Gaetono (pronounced gay-tono) who is 7, Josephine who is 3 and Billy who is 14 months. All of my kids have varying levels of special needs, with Gaetono being the most acute, he has Asperger’s Syndrome (high functioning Autism) and ADHD. Josephine and Billy areboth receiving services, but are too young to be “diagnosed”. But all of this does not stop us from being a happy, silly little family. The kids are homeschooled, and love to be outside, do arts & crafts, and learn about our world.
We have a dog named Isabella, who is a black lab-golden retriever mix. She is a great old girl, and a faithful companion to us all. We also have chickens and a rooster, named Rufus Napoleon, 2 goldfish and have temporarily adopted about 50 tadpoles until they reach froginess.
How do you balance your business and your family? I try to roll with the needs of everything at the current time…if kids are cranky and need me then business take s a back burner. If there is business to be done then the kids need to try to respect that and occupy themselves for a short time. I try not to set times everyday when I work, but be more fluid about it and fit it in when I see the opportunity during the course of the day.
Being a single mom adds another layer of challenges to the juggling act. On one hand it is sometimes easier to work, because the kids go with my ex, and I have some space to myself. On the other hand, it is harder because I feel a tremendous amount of pressure to be successful, now that I rely on the income from the business.
Quick Tidbits:
Favorite Reality Show: Top Chef
Favorite Online Shopping Store: VitaCosta
Can't Live Without: The Pillows on my bed
For more info about Three Sisters Herbals, please click the name for their site.
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