A reminder that small beginnings can grow into something beautiful. Thank you, Willow and Sage, for sharing the story behind OCASA.

When I received the Autumn issue of Willow and Sage Magazine and saw OCASA featured inside its pages, I found myself sitting quietly for a while.

Not because I couldn't believe we were in a magazine.

But because it reminded me of where this journey began.

A little over a year and a half ago, OCASA didn't have a studio full of shelves, hundreds of pounds of pasture-raised beef suet, or orders shipping around the world.

It started with $500.

That's all I had to invest.

I still remember buying just two or three pounds of beef suet at a time because that was all I could afford—and all I needed. I ordered the smallest bottles of organic jojoba oil and rosehip oil, carefully measuring every ingredient and hoping someone, somewhere, would believe in what I was creating.

Every jar was made by hand.

Every label was applied by hand.

Every order was packed by hand.

Every mistake became a lesson.

I didn't have a warehouse, a team, or investors.

I simply had a belief that skincare could be made differently.

That ingredients should be thoughtfully sourced.

That herbs deserved time.

That quality mattered more than speed.

That people deserved to know exactly what they were putting on their skin.

Over time, something incredible began to happen.

One customer became ten.

Ten became a hundred.

Hundreds became thousands.

Today, I no longer order just a few pounds of suet. We carefully source hundreds of pounds of pasture-raised, grass-fed beef suet from trusted farms, and many of our herbs, oils, and botanicals now arrive in larger quantities from the same small farms and apothecaries I've admired from the beginning.

The scale has changed.

The philosophy hasn't.

Every formula is still thoughtfully created by my own hands. 

Every herb is still slowly infused before becoming part of a finished product.

When people ask what I'm most proud of, it isn't a number.

It's the trust you've placed in this little business.

In our first six months, something happened that completely surprised me.

We reached our first six figures in sales.

We also shipped orders to every single state in the United States.

Since then, OCASA has found homes far beyond what I ever imagined.

Canada has become our second-largest destination, and our products have traveled across Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and so many other corners of the world.

It's still surreal to think that something handcrafted in my Wyoming studio has become part of someone's daily ritual thousands of miles away.

The past year and a half has also been one of the hardest seasons of my life—in the best possible way.

Since making OCASA my full-time career, I honestly haven't taken a vacation.

Every day has been spent learning, formulating, photographing, writing, answering emails, packing orders, building our website, studying herbalism, and continuing to improve every single product that leaves my studio.

It has required long days and countless late nights.

But I wouldn't trade this journey for anything.

Being featured in Willow and Sage Magazine isn't something I see as an arrival.

It's simply a reminder to pause and appreciate how far this little business has come.

What means the most isn't seeing my story printed in a magazine.

It's knowing that there are thousands of people who have welcomed OCASA into their homes, trusted me with their skin, shared kind words with friends and family, and supported this dream from the very beginning.

You have made all of this possible.

Whether you've placed one order or have been here since my very first batch, thank you.

Thank you for believing in slow craftsmanship.

Thank you for supporting small farms and small businesses.

Thank you for believing that skincare can be simple, thoughtful, and rooted in nature.

I truly cannot wait to see where this journey takes us next.

With gratitude,

Edina

Founder, OCASA