Event

Natural Pen & Ink Workshop – August

January 8, 2026 by Adrienne Crombie

Date: Sunday, August 23rd

Time: 10am – 12noon

Tickets $95/pp

Use Coupon Code INK by August 16th for $10 discount

Join Tobi Indyke from Periwinkle Skies Farm to learn to make your own pen & ink from natural materials.

In this workshop you will be making ink from foraged as well as farmed plant based materials, much the way our ancestors did.

Materials for making inks will include walnut husks, leaves, and fermented fruit skins.

To test out our inks, you will be crafting your own reed writing instruments from plant stems and twigs, using blades and sandpaper to shape the tips.

Reed writing instruments have been with us since ancient times up until the advent of metal nibs in the early 19th century!

Experience the bounty of the natural world as well as a bit of “time travel” in this very special workshop.

If time allows, we will include a bit of calligraphy for journalling.

Tobi Indyke is proprietor of Periwinkle Skies Farm, propagating and providing plants for pigments and herbal tea.

Tobi’s passion is for foraging from nature to create artist colors the way they have been crafted for thousands of years before synthetic paints were introduced. Her mission is to share with others the magic and joy of co-creating with nature through the alchemical process of crafting natural paint.

Make Your Own Bar Soap Workshop – August & Oct

January 8, 2026 by Adrienne Crombie

Dates:

Saturday, August 29th

Sunday, October 11th

Time:

1pm – 3pm

Cost: $85/pp

$85 – Share the Abundance – Paying full price helps to subsidize and support those that may not have the means at this time.

$75- Essential – Paying this price is in line with my financial integrity. Please use coupon code SOAP10

$65 – Basic – Paying this price is what feels right for me and my financial situation. Please use coupon code SOAP20

BarSoap

Make your own bar soap from scratch using ingredients that are good enough to eat!

In this hands-on workshop you will learn the basics of soap making. Together we will go through the steps of making a soap base safely and get acquainted with all the equipment essential to the process. There will be discussion of the different emollients and their benefits.

Then the fun starts, allowing us to play with color, scents, and decoration to customize your soap bar to your liking.

All materials required to make soap are provided during this workshop; organic oils, lye, water, soap molds, mixing containers, essential oils, natural color additives like clay, dried flowers, spatulas, scale and immersion blender

You will take home a soap mold filled with soap and the soap recipe.

Alex Jimenez spent 17 years as an organic farmer during which time she learned a lot of useful skills. She has since transitioned from farmer to homesteader, putting all those skills to use at her home and sharing them with others via workshops. She runs a business that offers nutrition coaching and meal prep at Holistic Approach and she brings foragers and Homesteaders together with the Hunterdon Homesteaders club. She spends most of her time on the River, in the Forest, and at her home with her Dog and Ducks. Learn more at Holistic Approach LLC

Blue Oyster Mushroom Cultivation Workshop – Sept

January 8, 2026 by Adrienne Crombie

Date:

Saturday, September 26th

Time: 1pm – 3pm

Tickets $85

Mushroom Cultivation

$85 – Share the Abundance – Paying full price helps to subsidize and support those that may not have the means at this time.

$75- Essential – Paying this price is in line with my financial integrity. Please use coupon code FUNGI10

$65 – Basic – Paying this price is what feels right for me and my financial situation. Please use coupon code FUNGI20

Are you interested in learning more about mushrooms? Join mushroom cultivator and forager Kacy Binz in a fun and hands-on mushroom cultivation workshop! Kacy will walk you through each step of the growing process, from mycelium to mushroom. She will lead the group in an inoculation of Blue Oyster Mushrooms, and you will leave with your own at home mushroom growing kit! You will also learn about the phenomenal health benefits of mushrooms as well as some tasty recipes to introduce wild mushrooms more into your diet. She will also have some tips and advice for those interested in wild foraging.

Mushroom snacks and tea will be provided, as well as print outs of all the information.

Savory Wild Mushrooms served at workshop!

Kacy has experience growing a wide variety of delectable mushrooms, such as lions mane, oysters, piopinno, white beech, chestnut, nameko and more. She also enjoys foraging for wild mushrooms and plants, as well as making tea blends and tinctures. Her goal is to inspire people to incorporate more mushrooms into their diet, to become more connected with nature and our source of food, and to make delicious and creative recipes using mushrooms!

Inspire U2 Think

April 14, 2022 by Adrienne Crombie

It’s my pleasure to introduce you to Sandy Castelleni, the remarkable woman behind “InspireU2Think“, a Hunterdon County based business that is modeled with the idea of giving back. She started her line producing non-toxic soy based candles and has expanded it to include body balms and roll-ons, distributed at shops throughout Somerset, Hunterdon and Union counties.

When we were starting Mad Lavender Farm, I was on the lookout for local artisans and vendors to partner with to make products from our lavender to start to stock the shelves of our Tiny Shop. I spied Sandy’s candles at gift shops and feed stores and I loved her product right away. They were elegant in their simplicity, small batch, homemade and the label indicated that from every sale a percentage was donated to a charitable organization. I contacted Sandy and she met with me to decide upon our product line and designed labels unique to Mad Lavender Farm. Our chosen non-profit is the Sierra Club, to support the environment and our sales have generated about $400 annually to that end.

Sandy’s intention, when she started her business, what to spread a little more light in the world. We love her vision and her product and are so proud to partner with her to spread a little more light AND lavender in the world.

Making Dreams Come True

March 10, 2022 by Adrienne Crombie

Every year since we started growing lavender in 2014 we have visioned and prepared for a new installation on the farm. In 2018 our dream of erecting a tipi came true. We ordered the lodge poles and canvas for a 26 foot tipi from Nomadic Tipi Makers in Oregon. We leveled the ground and built a wood platform to receive it, sealed the 30 foot lodge poles with 3 coats of turpentine and linseed oil, viewed the instructional video countless times and organized a tipi raising party to raise it and wrap it. Voilá, we had a magnificent tipi. It was a long overdue gift to my inner child who always wondered what it would be like to be inside this wonderful cone shaped space that was home to the original people.

This month, March 2022, we dismantled our beloved tipi. The combination of wind, rain and mold has taken it’s toll and it is time to turn a new page. Our hearts are sore and we know so many of you grieve with us. We’d like to share with you some precious memories and photos that capture those moments.. Over the years our tipi has sheltered our goat yoga parties, picnics and workshops from summer rain. Kirt & Laura of Creative Frequencies (now permanently based in Hawaii) blessed us with otherworldly sound healing sessions in the tipi. Kelly Kinney gifted us with a Women’s New Moon Circle that was just magical.

Some folks go on vacation. We invested in a magical experience right here on our farm.

Next chapter in our Mad Lavender odyssey is our vision for a Green Witches Garden that will be planted in the 26 foot circle footprint that was our tipi, replete with medicinal herbs, a pond and a waterfall.

And so, the journey continues.

More to come!