I e-mailed Kathy about the wonderful scent she created--the one that took the list by storm.  I begged her to tell me the story. She is quite a charming lady and she
graciously gave me the whole story in her own words. I have quoted it here for you. Thank you, Kathy!

Well, Chatzie 

Usually, when I'm asked how the Voodoo Berry idea came to be, I don't tell the ENTIRE story. I say that I was experimenting with a combo of oils, and a friend from New Orleans suggested the name. That's only partly true. 

The catalyst that sparked the birth, development, and (hopefully) continued popularity of the fragrance is what happens when you marry two old sayings, "Do unto others..." and "What goes around comes around." 

Before deciding to do only "craftsy" craft fairs, I had done a number of holistic bazaars. For the readers who may not be familiar with holistic, this has to do with the entire being (mentally, physically, spiritually). I was introduced to the world of holism via one of the shops where I used to 
buy my herbs and oils, until I discovered herb co-ops, started growing my own herbs, and found Creative Fragrances. The shop is a metaphysical shop. Personally speaking, metaphysical shops are a little too unusual 
(mystic/psychic) for my tastes, but anyway...

I was still new to the world of shows and vendorism when I met two ladies at one of these bazaars. They were selling those rice-filled neck pillows that can be heated in the microwave. The one lady who was from New Orleans was a real yakity yak. Nice, but a yakity yak. I'll bet she could sell a jalopy for the price of a Mercedes and the owner wouldn't know what hit him until much later. All three of us seemed to hit it off (at first). Their various bath products were only there as an aside to the neck pillows. 

They said they were getting ready to do the "Dallas Home and Garden Show," and would I maybe allow them to sell some of my herbal bath potpourris (little cutesy canning jars filled with herbs and oil, with a little muslin bag and scoop attached to the outside) because they needed as much inventory as possible to make the cost of the booth feasible. I said, "Sure." After all, I wasn't going to do the Dallas show, and I would be helping another vendor and making a little money to boot. 

Now, ya' know, there's nothing wrong with trusting people. But common sense should have dictated that I needed to know these ladies a little bit better. I gave them 18 of my potpourris. There was no written contract. Only a verbal agreement and a handshake. Now that I look back, I'm surprised I got anything back from them. 

The Dallas show came and went, and days came and went, and I didn't hear anything back from either lady. Messages went unanswered. Now, the day before their show, though, I had spoken with the yakker, wishing her
and her partner good luck. So happens that during the conversation, we discussed soap. She told me she had made a few MP bars for extra inventory for another show. She double dosed the bars with Mulberry oil and herbs. 
People liked the soap, but she wanted to get them to her booth to look at and buy the herbal neck pillows. She called the soaps "Voodoo Berry" (in memory of her New Orleans background, I suppose). 

Now, as I mentioned earlier, the show and days came and went. One day, out of the blue, Ms. Yakker's partner (who apparently had a little more conscience) called me at work. She couldn't apologize enough for getting back in touch with me so late. We decided on a day and time to meet, for me to get back the remaining inventory and whatever money was due. When I noticed that each remaining jar appeared to have less than its original contents, the partner told me that Ms. Yakker had removed spoonfuls of the potpourri from each jar (HUH?!). When partner questioned this, Ms. Yakker supposedly shrugged her shoulders and said, "That's 
business." (HUH?!). 

Now, I had just recently joined Soapnuts, and a swap was being held. The Leo in me wanted to "create" something unusual. I didn't have many oils or herbs at the time. So happens, one of my customers is a Mulberry freak, so I 
had that on hand. So, I'm standing in the kitchen with what oils I have on the countertop, a couple of herbs, and a partial slab of M&P. I melt down the M&P, then I start adding oils (little of this and little of that). Next came the herbs. I needed color, but wasn't aware of such things as pigments at that time, so I used food colouring. 

Now, what was I going to name this concoction that I wasn't sure I really liked or that anybody else would like?

The same way the words "Kith-Kath Bath" came to me when I was wondering what to name the company, that's how the words "Voodoo Berry" popped into mind, and it just seemed perfect when I looked at the bars. The rest,
Chatzie, as they say, is history. 

Isn't it funny how things will work out? 

Oh yeah, at the very last holistic bazaar I did, guess who was DIRECTLY behind me. That's right! Miss Yakker herself. By now, she and her partner had split. I was just as nice and polite as I had ever been because I knew 
she was able to see just how loaded with Voodoo Berry products my table was, and she was able to see just how quickly those products got sold. 

Before the show closed, Ms. Yakker asked if she could have one of the bars of soap, being as how she had "GIVEN" me the name. (HUH?!). So, hey, what's one bar of soap anyway? Is it going to break me at the bank? 

One of my sisters has a saying that, "God don't like ugly ways." Guess He has His own ways of working things out and it's not our job to do His job. 

And that's the entire story, Chatzie, of how the Voodoo Berry idea came to be. 

So, there you have it! 

In case you don't know it yet, Kathy sells her wonderful fragrance, Voodoo Berry, and you may contact her via e-mail for pricing and shipping info at <kithkath@hotmail.com>

For next month, I am on the look out for the "Fresh in Summer."  Who will have the freshest scent combo?  The freshest idea in soap recipes?  The freshest idea in packaging or marketing?  We shall see!  It could be YOU!