we are often approached by people wanting to brand our products with their name and logo. what is known in the industry as private label. it is a common practice. if you've ever used a celebrity brand, most likely you have experienced a private label.

think of it like a build a bear workshop. the framework is already there. you choose which basic thing you want. choose how you want to dress it up, add a few flourishes and then make it smell good. the fabulous celebrity shopped what was on offer with the private lab's sales office and then slapped a pretty label on it. any claim "i've created a line of products that i've personally selected the.." is a little disingenuousness. but you get it. celebrity private label often means that you are paying for the brand rather than for the thing itself. when done well, you can get a really great product. often however, you get a mediocre boujiee miss.

history gives us many entrepreneurs who have created quality brands that deserve legendary status. brands like Madam C.J. Walker, Patagonia, Kelloggs, Ralph Lauren, Bonne Maman, Lego, The Body Shop and more. they create the basic framework, product or formula from scratch. they sold what they made. they created, innovated and improved their own product concept that eventually they grew into massive successful operations. these are the people we look to for inspiration.

while duross & langel might never grow beyond it's current size, our mindset is the same as those to whom we look for inspiration. focus on the product. make the best thing you possibly can. improve it whenever possible. count on the quality to bring success. not the name. not the hype.

authenticity is not a buzz word to be thrown out in a press release or mission statement. like love, it is a verb. an action. a way of being that permeates the endeavor itself. so while we are happy to co-branded for a private event, we are a hard no for private labeling. and that's okay. not everyone has to be a massive financial success. while that idea would be lovely, we have wonderful lives and still love coming to work everyday. so that is saying something. 

it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. perhaps the greatest opening line of any story ever, and yet what Dickens knew then, as we should now, is that holding conflicting feelings about the world we inhabit is a normal thing. glass half full, half empty. either way, it is a glass and there is something useable within it. whatever perception we assign to the reality is ours to own. so why not focus on the good stuff?

change is inevitable. adapt or die. as a business, we recognize this reality. keep what works. improve wherever you can. try new things. dare to fail with gusto.

we live in a time where there is always something shiny and new, untried or untested, hip, hyped and smashingly viral. TikToked to death until the next "new, greatest miracle bs thing ever" overtakes the conversation. sometimes people have to walk away from what they know in order to recognize exactly how special, effective, and delightful a thing it truly was. whether a product, a place or a season. i feel that way about September. as it circles back around each year, it feels like running into a delightful old friend. in September the air gets cooler, my mood becomes lighter, the colors change and the city is once again brimming with possibility. having lived in other parts of the country without four seasons, change is the one constant i love about living here. deeply. whatever you love or loathe about my amazing city, Philly Septembers are designed for a run along the river, a stroll through the streets, a weekend train in to enjoy everything our city has to offer from parks to ball games. center city is an artisanal gem. we are a foodie's dream come true. we are a small village within a larger city that has more to show you than you will ever be able to see. check out this link to find out more: visitphilly.com

D+L autumn hours expand on the weekends to 4PM starting September 20th. holiday hours will be announced as we get closer to the NFL triple header game day. feel free to reach out if you have product questions. cheers!

The Wilmington Area Ice Jam on the Lower Kankakee River, January 2024.  The supplier of some of our raw materials (8% of liquid sulfate-free ingredients to be exact) has a wonderful operation off the Kankakee River in lower Illinois. Supplies are shipped to create our body wash, face off and shampoo formulas. There are no substitute for these ingredients as they comprise the base of these formulas.

According to weather.gov "a significant ice jam occurred on the lower Kankakee River in the general area of I-55 and Wilmington from January 15 to January 26, 2024. The ice jam was preceded by a period of very cold air temperatures and elevated streamflow levels. At peak extent, it is estimated that the ice jam covered an area from near Bardwell Island and the Will-Grundy county line upstream for approximately 12 miles to near Custer Park. While this ice jam was in place, multiple instances of flooding occurred at different locations along its reach. In addition to flooding, ice flow damage was also noted in some areas." Our supplier was wiped out. Everything damaged.

End of story. No? A back up supplier in Iowa was just helping to get materials moving to us a couple weeks ago when mother nature dumped a deluge of rain which triggered massive flooding. Nothing was salvageable. No joke.

So here we are in July. Everyone is still cleaning up the mess, trying to get operations back on track. We have begged, borrowed and nearly stolen ingredients to keep liquid D+L products in stock. In order to have 12 ounce and 4 ounce sizes to sell we've had to place a temporary hold on all 64 ounce refills. Though our supplies are limited for the moment, we are committed to having all sizes available again as soon as nature will allow.

We find ourselves, all of us, heading into a world that looks and feels different from the one we have known. Globalization offered us abundant resources and cheap prices. On the supply side, it is becoming more difficult to get simple ingredients, especially if they have to travel on cargo ships. Weather, pirates, tariffs, drought, fire, flood, shrinking river flows, crumbling infrastructure, all of it, now part of the U.S. supply chain equation. Thank you for understanding and for your continued support.