It’s been a heck of a journey over the 11 years, firstly learning how to grow the loofah, then harvesting, processing, drying and storing  as there was no-one in New Zealand who grew loofah for sale and only a couple of other boutique growers around the world so it really was a trial and error project. Once I figured out that I could grow enough loofah in my climate and that I could create a business around these amazing sponges, I went and studied horticulture and expanded to a larger loofah patch off the property. There was so much that had to be learnt, tested, created and retested - not only with learning how to grow loofah on a larger scale but alongside that, creating and testing all the other products that can be sold along-side the whole loofah, like the loofah pads and soap. There were no short-cuts or courses I could do to speed up the learning curve, it was just try different things each season, recording each test and reevaluate for the next next season. I already had a background in small business so the later years have been spent refining the sales side with the markets/craft fairs setups, packaging, pricing, marketing, e-commerce and wholesale to retail stores.

We have a relaxed gardening style that celebrates natures imperfections on a smaller section of about 7,500 square feet, where I get to stop and smell the roses (and the lavender) and hang out with the bees.

Dianne (aka The Loofah Lady)