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. 

"if it's not broken, don't fix it". sounds good right? yeah, but sometimes you have to look past the obvious. we look to update or repair before a product becomes outdated, and this is where our clean skin care mission begins.

anything worth having, like natural formulation technology, must improve over time, and we continue to look for ingredient options not previously available. our plan is always to keep what is best about any formula while making it better. so what does "clean skincare" mean? well, besides creating a natural alternative to mass produced bath, spa and skincare products, our formulas are focused on hydration, nutrition and efficacy. clean skin care design refers to minimal ingredients that are simple and transparent to understand while working to keep the skin and its micro biome strong and healthy. so at about the time we began planning our move to 11th street, we began testing new ideas with our formulas.

first up was the olive oil moisturizer. immensely popular for more than twenty years, this wonderful moisturizer was ready for an upgrade; meaning a superior product that works in a more natural, holistic way. P.S. in the process we exceeded the questionably low standards of the FDA

most likely you've been using the new formulas if you've purchased in the last nine months. moisturizers, shower gels, shampoos, etc. we've diminished the sudsing levels of of the wash/shampoo products but ultimately that makes it a better all around formula. it might take some getting used to but it is healthier for your skin and for our planet.