I'll be honest with you: I've been staring at this blank screen for days.
I had planned to write about our new deep winter collection—those rich, gourmand fragrances that wrap around you like a favorite sweater. About hygge and candlelight and the particular kind of peace that only comes in the darkest part of the year. But every time I started, it felt hollow. How do you write about creating sanctuary when the world outside feels like it's unraveling?
And then I realized: that's exactly why this matters.
When Everything Feels Heavy
We're living through a moment that demands a lot from us. The news cycle is relentless. The anxiety is real. The exhaustion is bone-deep. And if you're someone who pays attention, who cares about your neighbors, who feels the weight of injustice—you're probably running on fumes right now.
Here's what I keep coming back to: We can't sustain resistance, care, or clear thinking when we're depleted.
The Danish concept of hygge isn't about pretending everything is fine. It's not about Instagram-perfect moments or performative self-care. It's about creating small pockets of sanctuary—not to hide from the world, but so we have the strength to face it.
The Radical Act of Rest
There's this idea that if we're not constantly engaged, constantly outraged, constantly doing something, we're being complicit. But burnout doesn't make you more effective. It makes you brittle. It clouds your judgment. It steals your capacity for joy, which is one of the things worth fighting for in the first place.
Taking a bath isn't political neutrality. Lighting a candle isn't apathy. Creating moments of peace in your own home isn't selfish—it's survival.
And sometimes, it's resistance. Because they want you exhausted. They want you too depleted to organize, to vote, to show up for your community, to think clearly about what matters. Don't give them that.
Why Fragrance Matters (No, Really)
I know it might seem frivolous to talk about soap and scent when there's so much happening. But here's the thing: fragrance is one of the fastest ways to shift your nervous system out of fight-or-flight mode.
Those deep, gourmand notes—Vanilla Sugar Cookies, Café and Crema, Brown Butter Bourbon, Hot Chocolate and Whipped Cream, Toasted Macadamia & Salted Caramel, —they're grounding. They literally bring you back into your body when anxiety has pulled you up into your racing thoughts. They activate sense memory, they slow your breathing, they remind you that you exist in more than just your worries.
A shower can become five minutes where you're not checking the news. A bath can be twenty minutes where your shoulders finally drop from your ears. The scent of Cardamom and Sandalwood or Lavender Fields lingering on your skin afterward can be a small anchor throughout the day: I am here. I am taking care of myself. I will get through this.
What Hygge Actually Is
Hygge isn't about expensive candles or perfectly styled living rooms. It's about intentional comfort. It's about saying: this moment, right here, I am going to make this gentle for myself.
It's a hot drink in your favorite mug. It's pulling on the socks that make you feel cozy. It's turning off the news for an hour and reading something that feeds you instead of depletes you. It's texting a friend just to say "I'm thinking of you." It's making your shower a little ritual instead of just a task to check off. It’s taking 5 minutes to think of three small things you are grateful for; your family, your pet, the smile of a stranger.
In deep winter, when the days are short and the world feels cold in more ways than one, these small acts of warmth matter.
Permission to Rest
If you're someone who cares deeply—and I know you are, because you're still reading—I want to give you permission to step back sometimes. To turn off your phone. To take the bath. To light the candle. To use the good soap, not save it for later.
You don't have to carry everything all at once. You're allowed to rest. You're allowed to create beauty and comfort in your own small corner, even when everything else feels chaotic.
Actually, especially then.
We're Here
Our deep winter Gourmand collection is full of those grounding, enveloping scents—the ones that feel like a hug from the inside. I created them because I believe that taking care of yourself is not a luxury. It's how you keep going. They will launch on Sat Jan 17.
Whatever you're carrying right now, I see you. And I hope you'll let yourself have moments of softness amid the hardness. Not instead of action, but alongside it. Because you matter. Your peace matters. Your capacity to keep showing up matters.
And sometimes, that starts with something as simple as soap and candles.
With care,
Beryl Anne Coder
Island Thyme Soap Company
P.S. If you're struggling right now, you're not alone. Reach out to someone. Take the break. Protect your peace. We'll all need you—and your clear mind and open heart—for the long haul ahead.
