Written by Dan Jackson

Sometimes when we least expect it, new doors crack open for us, revealing serendipitous opportunities that perhaps only existed beforehand as a dream. Though COVID-19 came with its extreme challenges and uncertainty, for some, it served as a catalyst for change. In the case of Nicky, Dude, and Aurora Edwards, this newly opened door revealed the moment they’d been envisioning. Owning and operating their own farm, Night Owl Garden!
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“Dude has been interested in regenerative farming for many years. When the pandemic shifted my job to be full time remote, we realized we had the opportunity to look for property and start making the dream a reality,” recalled Nicky. So, in September of 2022, this family of farmers moved onto their own farm in North Plains, OR and began their first garlic crop in the fall.

With the decision to charge ahead toward their long-desired dream, it was important to have a vision for their new business. Nicky explained that their, “ultimate goal is to stop the degradation of the soils and wildlife in our area through better farming practices.” Night Owl Garden aims to allow the natural areas of their property to remain wild. Though it is important to manage the land for fire safety, their goals are to refrain from too much interference with the innate processes of nature! Night Owl Garden now has “two large market gardens in different areas of the property and an integrated solar irrigation system.” Looking toward the future, their long-term goals are to marry the concepts of water conservation and land use in a way that is complementary to their organic gardening practices.

Of the numerous products that Night Owl Garden has to offer, their primary crop is garlic. However, they also grow a wide range of produce including spring greens and lettuces, summer tomatoes, peppers, corn, and cut flowers! As fruit lovers, Nicky explained that they also have “an old fruit tree orchard on the farm and we have planted more than 100 new fruit trees, so we will be able to offer many varieties of fruit including apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums, pears, and apples in the future.” So, sit tight and hold on for those delicious fruits that are sure to make their way to the Rocky Butte Farmers Market!

As first-time family farmers only in their second year of operation, Night Owl Garden has found that one of their biggest challenges is simply, “capacity.” With operating a farming business, while one partner fulfills the duties of a full-time job, keeping up with the many projects that arise from owning and operating a farm has proven to be difficult, to say the least. But Nicky and Dude understand that these types of obstacles come with the territory.

Though it can be tough, Nicky and Dude are able to remain grateful for the opportunity to be living their farming dreams in the first place. What keeps them motivated through difficult times are the near constant projects that allow them both to exercise their creativity. “Dude has enjoyed creating things his whole life and there is no better opportunity than a farm to create something truly beautiful and endlessly rewarding,” says Nicky. Not to mention, the ability to generate access to healthy foods for family, friends, and the Rocky Butte community gives Night Owl Garden immense satisfaction, further serving as a driving force to continue pursuing their dreams.

Choosing the right market to be involved in was an extremely important decision for Night Owl Garden to make as a new business. When asked about the Rocky Butte Farmers Market, Nicky recalled that they, “appreciated that Rocky Butte was a younger market and prioritized emergent farmers.” And that’s one of the greatest aspects of this market community. Supporting new and unique vendors in the market space to generate more synergy and access between community members and local products.

​Night Owl Garden has enjoyed seeing the same customers return to their booth each Saturday for a resupply on their produce. Making new and grateful friends has been extremely rewarding for this team so be sure to stop by on Saturdays from 9AM – 1PM at the corner of NE 80th Avenue and NE Siskiyou street to make new farmer friends with the folks at Night Owl Garden!

​What do you do when the company that sells your wife’s favorite bath bombs suddenly decides to stop making them? Throw in the towel? Tell yourself, “No more bath bombs for us?” Well, if you’re Kip Hammett from Whisper of Essence, you don’t let that get you down. You take matters into your own hands and start making your own! 

After discovering that their favorite bath bomb products had unfortunately been discontinued, Kip and his wife journeyed to their local library and returned with a mountain of books. They’d decided that they were going to solve their problem by making bath bombs on their own. Like any new venture, there was a learning curve, but through perseverance, determination, and experimentation, Kip began to yield bath bombs of the highest quality. And though the intention of these products was to be used solely by Kip and his wife, their bath bombs drew the attention of friends who soon began asking for some themselves! Realizing that these creative bath time concoctions were in demand, Kip’s vision began to shift away from solely bath bombs and onto a new product. So, back to the library he ventured. This time in order to learn how to make soaps! 

And here we have the origin story of Whisper of Essence! Through Kip's curiosity and creativity, his efforts dedicated to making soaps have snowballed into a passion-fueled business. Back in 2005, when his commercial venture began, Kip was still working a full-time job while attempting to get this new business off the ground. When asked about these early days of Whisper of Essence, Kip said, “the balance of having a ‘real job’ and making the soap was taxing on me.” But once Kip made the decision to commit more of his energy to Whisper of Essence, a venture he was coming to realize he was far more impassioned by, things began to improve for him. Kip described the benefit of this priority shift by simply stating, “This has taught me to become mellower.”  

Staying mellow is a great trait to have as a business owner, especially when challenges arise. Kip discussed how vital it was in those early days to learn how to, “break the ice with the customers.” When asked to expand on this Kip explained that, “The scent of the soap needs to pull people in. If they can’t smell it, that’s not good.” Through patience and continued iterations in the soap making process, Whisper of Essence now offers more than 40 different kinds of “ice breaking” soaps, all constructed using the finest goat’s milk recipes, which are sure to grab your nose and yank you towards the booth whenever you walk by! 

Kip reflected upon his journey as a business owner and found that 2019 was quite a triumphant year for his business. During 2019, Whisper of Essence participated in 40 different markets and sold 1900 bars of fragrant soaps, exposing the quality and variety of these products to a vast audience. Kip and Whisper of Essence were also one of the first businesses to participate in the Rocky Butte Farmers Market pop-ups. Ever since then, he has desired to be continually involved in this exceptional community. Kip loves that the market is “clean and tidy, and among all else, professional!” Kip wants to continue his involvement with RBFM, growing his customer base and increasing the number of soaps making their way into people’s homes! 
 
Having such a determined and enthusiastic vendor such as Whisper of Essence is what helps expose this community to unique products and keeps our market fresh and exciting! Come see Kip Hammett of Whisper of Essence on Saturdays from 9AM – 1PM at the corner of NE 80th Avenue and NE Siskiyou street and put your nose to the test! We dare you to try to walk by Whisper of Essence without being pulled in to take a whiff of their delightfully aromatic soaps!