The Frankenbooth!

Throwback chaos vs. current chaos. 😂

If you’ve ever had way too much free time—or been backed up beyond belief and needed something boring to read—and stumbled onto my “About” section, you already know how this whole Strange circus started.

But THIS photo? This is the booth equivalent of finding a pic of yourself with a crispy perm, blue eye shadow, and disco bell bottoms, and right now I’m thinking:

“OH HOLY NIGHT… I went out in public like that on PURPOSE.”

Bottom pic = Franken-booth era.
I was slinging masks, random little weird gifts, and my kids’ artwork printed on greeting cards like a roaming homeschool art fair. Every dollar from that chaos went flying right back out the door:

• to a nonprofit medical office in Lincoln that was desperate for PPE (remember when we heard that word 47 times an hour?), and

• to Heifer International, helping families across the world get education, animals, and actual income so they could stay on their own land and not just survive, but thrive.

And then… zoom in on the middle of that table… 👀
There she is: Arnica.

On a whim before this show I tossed a few jars in like, “I use this on myself, might as well yeet it onto the table too.” Zero strategy. Just, “Hey, look at my chaos.”

Fast-forward through lockdowns, mask mountains, and the Great Hand Sanitizer Shortage of 2020 and guess what quietly stole the show?
Not the masks.
Not the puppets.
Not the greeting cards.

👉 The. Freaking. SALVES.

Top pic = the glow-up. Same Strange human, way fewer rando trinkets, and approximately 400% more jars of “my back no longer sounds like a bowl of Rice Krispies.”

Wouldn’t you know it: a couple of “hey, why not?” jars of Arnica turned into a full StrangeMakes booth and website, a tiny salve army, and me accidentally starting a whole business instead of just hustling for a couple of charities.

Moral of the story: Never underestimate a side hustle, a global crisis, and a stubborn woman with a crockpot, an herb habit, and just enough unmedicated optimism to turn chaos into a company. 🌿🫠