Helping Dreams Become a Reality: The Gnarly Whale

Over the years, I have come across so many wonderful men and women who own their own businesses. Small businesses are sometimes overlooked because of the large retail chains, but there is SO much to be said about those who own their own business, believe in what they're selling/doing, and genuinely care for their customers/clients. 
Today, I want to let Ashley speak to you about her business and more importantly, her dream... take it away Ashely!
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I'm Ashley from The Gnarly Whale - an all vegan, eco-friendly minimal-ingredient bath and body shop. Today Samantha was gracious enough to let me share our story about our company and our dream and I am SO excited to do so. This business is what I do - day in and day out - and to be able to share something I'm so passionate about is truly a privilege for me. The Gnarly Whale launched in October 2012 from a dream that I was unsure I would ever fulfill. I approached my husband about starting it as a hobby, needing something else to focus on while I was designing and consulting. By the end of the year, we both realized it was never meant to be a hobby. It was never meant to be a small side project. Instead, it was meant to change our lives and restructure our dreams. And that was exactly why I'm here today, sharing our story and even asking for your help after you get to know us.
 About Us: We're a husband and wife team doing what we love to do and hoping that some day, doing what we love will be enough to financially support our entire family. Our dream is to someday relocate ourselves and our business to Florida to open up a shop oceanside. We know that this dream will become our reality as soon as we can afford the cost of relocation and the cost of doing business in Florida where there are much stricter guidelines for cosmetic type businesses. Until then, we're focusing on growing our brand awareness and our current product lines. 
 About Our Brand: All of our products are 100% vegan and cruelty free. We’re tree huggers ourselves so we made sure that all of the ingredients used in our products are completely vegan and have not been tested on animals. Final product testing was also done on humans. Most of our printed materials (business cards, postcards, etc) come from recycled paper. We also use reusable packaging when we mail out our orders whenever possible. Our hope is to leave the Earth a little better than when we found it and provide our customers with a way to do the same. 
 In the almost seven months we have been open, we already have plans to work with an international retailer to carry our products and will be featured in two celebrity gifting suites this year: The Primetime Emmy's and The Cannes Film Festival. Our current product line includes: hair detangler, beach waves, body and face scrub, body spray, shampoo, and lip balm. In the future, we have plans to include a child product line, a pet product line, soap, skin care, and various other hair and body products in the future. 
 And here is how you can help us make all of this a reality: We've asked Intuit to grant our small business wish and we're hoping we can get enough votes to win the money to expand our product line, purchase better equipment to speed up our manufacturing, and to put towards the cost of relocation. All you have to do is take a couple of seconds, click the link, and vote once a day. And if you really think our story is worth it, share it with you friends. With your readers. With your family. With your neighbors or co-workers. Shout it from the rooftops if you like us that much. Anything you do to help is appreciated. No matter how big or small of gesture, we're grateful for you even taking the time to get to know us and our dream. And if you'd like to connect with us further, we'd love to hear from you! 
Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Send us an email and say hello. Or even stop by our shop.
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I think these two are absolutely wonderful and I would love to see their dream become a reality! If you can, just take a second to vote! So many bloggers own small businesses too and we know how important it is to support those in our community.
Thanks again Ashley and Nathan and best of luck to you!

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