Old California Botanicals recently participated in the East Valley YMCA Holiday Home Tour Boutique on December 3 & 4, 2023, which benefits the legal aid clinic attached to this historic community institution of Redlands. In advance of the boutique, OCB was written up in a special insert in the Redlands Community News, a local weekly newspaper as a featured participant in the Holiday Home Tour Boutique, written by journalist Jessica Ussher. What follows below is a transcription of the article; we were delighted to have been featured!
The headline of the three-page article pulished by the Redlands Community News in its special insert on the 56th Annual YMCA Holiday Home Tour.
Historic company joins the Boutique vendors
Historically, the people of Redlands were unified by the growth and cultivation of navel oranges. Across the city the populous bloom of orange groves invited Redlands residents to pluck, pack, and sell citric products, creating a culture of orange production and a city renowned for its unique ecology.
This rich history, as well as being the fifth generation of a citrus-growing and citrus-packing family, is the bedrock of John P. Beall's business Old California Botanicals (OCB).
OCB, founded in late 2020, is a bespoke company priding itself on the local sourcing of citric-embued, handmade, luxury personal care products.
While Beall's family are no strangers to the YMCA Holiday Boutique, OCB is a new vendor. OCB products are manufactured to promote the authenticity of Redlands, giving shoppers an experience of its timeless traditions.
Products include beeswax lip balm, orange blossom seasonal candles, orange blossom perfume, and soap. Wach item is handmade, vegetarian and designed to be givable special souvenirs or personal items.
Rated in the top 10 of Amazon's best handmade goods and a best seller of OCB, the beeswax lip balm is appropriately sold in an orange packing crate and is produced in a variety of flavors including navel orange, prickly pear, and wild violet. The ingredients for the lip balms are derived from local botanicals and oranges grown in Redlands.
Distinctively, it also includes beeswax from bees that pollinate local citrus groves and fruit orchards.
Customers praise this lip balm for its hydration and state that it is "a delight to smell every time [they] open it and put it on." Shoppers also appreciate the lip balm's consistency, commenting on its flawless application.
John P. Beall's great-grandfather created orange soap for himself, but now it's a product of Old California Botanicals.
OCB's orange clossom candle is designed to place shoppers right in the center of an orange grove. The candle, inspired by the familiar scent of orange blossoms in Beall's childhood, captures what makes Redlands special. It has been sold to expatriates wanting to take a piece of home with them or introduce people to a generational fragrance associated with Redlands.
"An orange isn't just an orange," said Beall. " They can evoke memories, and because oranges are so populous in Redlands they risk being underappreciated." Uniquely, some citrus trees in Redlands are more than 100 years old producing smaller, richer fruit adding to the authenticity of OCB products.
Products produced by Old California Botanicals include chapstick and candles.
Most personal to OCB is the Gill Orange Soap inspired by Beall's great-grandfather's legacy. He produced the orange soap only for his personal use. His memory lives on through OCB's adoption of his treasured recipe.
The artwork used in the OCB store and on their products contributes to the history and authenticity of Redlands. OCB uses vintage stone lithographs and citrus label artwork used from a packinghouse owned by Beall's great-grandfather as well as those from his private papers and the family's private collection, making these products truly special.
The beauty of Redlands is still alive today. Shoppers are engouraged to experience the history of Redlands captured in OCB's products at this year's YMCA Holiday boutique, alongside other talented vendors.
Products produced by Old California Botanicals include chapstick and candles.
