if we listen, we might learn something

I don’t get daily classified briefings from the US Government so I’ll hold my opinions on matters of state. Suffice it to say, the world feels very something..

I have an aversion to social media. I get it and use it but don’t put much faith or energy into a feed. The algorithm is feeding me what it thinks I want anyway. Most ventures start off well enough. Podcasts, blogs, Twitter.. but eventually they become a version of hate farming or rage baiting for eyeballs and clicks. Personally I don’t give a fuck if anyone bothers to look at what I write or post. I do it for my own enjoyment. My version of therapy or confession. Besides, my Instagram is feeding me family pics and cat, goat, squirrel, raccoon and miniature donkey videos.

My biggest beef is the illusion people still carry that their “party” is the right one and the other is the wrong one. Come on. They are both ass. Liars, cheaters, connivers, selfish, self-aggrandizing, foolish, indulgent, thirsty-for-the-limelight self proclaimed do gooders who will tell you whatever they think you want to hear for votes. Sadly, if anyone should point this out about a candidate, the response is often “Yeah, but… the other guys..”. A foolish response to any argument. So we vote for the liar that feeds us what our algorithm feeds us. Lies, half-truths and a slate of bullshit they know they will never get accomplished. We swallow the idea that if I don’t vote for this “good” party, the “bad” party might win. And people wonder why we are where we are.

I used to think what I thought was right. That those opinions were righteous. That I was on the side of the angels. Basically I was deciding for everyone else what was right and good and moral and smart. The haters use the same rationale for their hateful opinions. What an asshole I was.

There is good and bad in everything. There is light and dark and many shades of grey. Screaming into the void might make one feel better but it only makes the world a nastier place. I don’t have to agree with you. You are no less right or moral or good. We are simply looking at something from a different perspective. If we listen, we might learn something.

winners and losers

it’s okay to live a life others don’t understand part 2

While wisdom may not yet be my strong suit, my life experiences might be helpful to others. Especially when it comes to the narratives we hear and repeat to ourselves. Be number one. Be a winner. You’re either a winner or a loser. What if we were to teach one another to find our strengths, make peace with our weaknesses? That would have been an exceptional life lesson for me to learn early on. Do your best and be happy playing your part. That’s another good lesson, one that took me the better part of my life to learn. In the last fifty-nine years I’ve had many amazing accomplishments laced with some spectacular failures, yet it has been the mining of my ordinariness that I’ve discovered and fully enjoyed the best parts of myself. With the aid of selective memory, my personal and professional failures transform into strong lessons that carry me forward. As a champion of screwing up massively only to have it all come out well in the end, I feel easy about failure and I respect the part it can play in our development. Recently I tried to share with a young friend that the concept of being number one in all things might not always be the best idea. Sometimes being number two or three offers us the perspective to see the wider picture, and to gather information, relationships, and experience before stepping forward. Being number one means someone is always coming after you. So things get missed. Important things. And the noise coming from the haters who have seriously accomplished nothing can be deafening. Rather than being the voice of dissent, falling in behind the number one can prepare us for future opportunities. Hopefully with a bit of wisdom. But not always.

I never liked the idea of winners and losers. Some games are not worth playing. Some challenges are not worth rising to. Some victories come at too great a cost. And sometimes we cannot see the best way to proceed until we've ceased trying to convince ourselves that the 'wrong' thing is the 'right' one. If we choose to stay in a bad situation simply because of the judgements of others, we lose anyway. While choosing to give up comes with a lot of baggage, it often reveals a more promising route ahead.

Motivation is everything. When I stopped comparing myself to others, my life got easier. I grew up in a home where the values, while very catholic, were somewhat askew. We were yet another version of the 1950’s/60’s white American working class story. The aspirational middle class suburban homeowner fleeing the city to seek reinvention in a place called “a better life”. In our house the undercurrent of finding fault was a way of being. My parents patterned it each night at the table talking about work. Talking about others. Comparing themselves against others. Trying to find the righteous place for some meaning of why things didn’t go their way. As I grew older and understood more of my parent’s story, I came to believe that while they did their best to adapt to adulthood and parenthood, they were not equipped to get past the pain and limits of their own childhood experiences. Like so many parents since the beginning of time, they did the best they could given the circumstances. To some degree, we all struggle against some of the corrosive messaging and dysfunctional patterns that filled our formative years. It wasn’t just my parents, it was everywhere.

In the past I’ve written that my emotional response to winning and losing are much the same. Regardless of the work put into a project, relationship or friendship, things usually turn out much the way I expected. Who knows? Maybe my brain is wired differently. Anyway, losing isn’t about not winning. It’s about not trying. And not trying has never been my issue.

the future is what you make of it

duross & langel

a duross & langel blog post

The best thing about this particular summer is seeing the faces we love again. Seeing smiles again. Folks coming in and having a chat. While your first time ringing the bell for service might feel disarming, the reimagined space perhaps a bit disorienting, most are warming quickly to the D+L 2021 shop, and so the reanimation of our daily lives excites us for the possibilities that lie ahead.

By now almost everyone knows where our business has pivoted since late winter 2020. It's been fairly easy to adapt since most of our energy goes into making the stuff we sell. A sort of "keep your head down" mentality prevailed throughout the storm. We know we are luckier than most. Dare we say blessed. The joyful opportunity to continue working offered a sense of normalcy within the walls of our workshop. Coming out of it we continue to thrive because of our loyal customers, online shoppers and quality of goods sold. The addition of our customizable hair and skincare line has forever changed the way we will operate the workshop and the store. With hundreds of empty storefronts across center city, and Amazon as America's preferred way to shop, it's easy to see that the trajectory of retail shopping is constantly morphing. While we will continue to enjoy in-store customers, all signs point to online as the place we can secure a future for ourselves.

We believe that attitude is everything. You cannot run a successful business unless a bright future is in your line of site. Sure, we've had a few endeavors that didn't quite work the way we had imagined, but experience has taught us to embrace the unexpected. Without the ego. Without baggage. Now we drill down into the core of what is already working. Constantly improving and innovating. The bright future we see also includes a new location for our store.

We've begun looking at spaces. Seeing what is available, what neighborhood we might like to tuck into. Planning a hybrid space where the workshop and store are blended together. Where you can come in and shop, create a customized item if you like and either wait on a bench outside with a cup of coffee, or simply watch as it is blended. The search for the right center city space might take the better part of a year to find but the plan for 2022/23 is well underway.

it’s okay to live a life others don’t understand

growing up, growing older and finding myself in the process


My mother used to worry that I would never find love. Happiness in her mind was attached to being one half of couple. Perhaps that’s where my fucked up ideas about marriage come from. Mothers often idealize their sons. Whenever I would fall short or need a stern talking to, she would remind me that I was special. But I was not special. I was different. My mom knew early on that I was different. Christmas of ‘67 was the first time I realized I was different. I was only five but to some degree everyone knew. She never made me feel like it mattered but the kind of life I’ve lived wasn’t the life she dreamed for me. Normal seemed to her a safer choice. I’m sure a lot of people feel that way.

As a younger man I was eager. I kissed a lot of boys. As the years rolled on my mom and I never talked about it, but she knew what motivated me with men. The nights I didn’t come home. New boyfriends every few weeks. Boyfriends who had girlfriends. Or wives. It rarely ever got serious with a guy which is why I think she worried so much. I liked the guys who colored outside the lines. At least until about thirty-five. I also over-valued what people thought about me. If they liked me or thought I was fuckable. I told my mom that she shouldn’t worry about me being alone. “By the time I reach my late fifties I’ll be cruising down Las Olas Boulevard in a convertible with a perpetual tan, a facelift and a couple of hot rent boys in the backseat”. We laughed about it but I could see that it frightened her. With me, anything was possible. Before she died though, my mom got her wish to see me settled into a relationship with a guy I eventually married. He was to her mind the ideal. Educated, tall, handsome and somewhat charming. Then middle age struck. While he was anything but mundane, I became more so by the hour. Most guys at midlife were buying sports cars and lamenting their lost youth. Not me. I don’t give a flip about cars and had no lost youth. I missed nothing. In fact getting older forced me into the the opposite lane. Midlife basic.

When I settled into marriage, I believed I wanted a normal life. Whatever I perceived normal to be. After a time I grew unhappy with who I was becoming. Unhappy with who he was becoming. Unhappy that our lives clearly had disparate goals. Disparate values. At the core of any good relationship is what two people value together. If marriage has taught me anything it would be that values are the ties that bond. No shared values? The bond and the marriage die. All dying relationships are some version of a psychodrama: an often ongoing psychological struggle. It defines the struggle rather than the players. Ending a relationship, especially a long term relationship, is devastating. The best take away were the questions I continue to ask myself. Who am I? What do I value? How do I wish to show up in the world?. We can find ourselves if we choose but I’ve learned that we can’t always expect to like the person we find.

sometimes taking the scenic route is the best way round

I could tell you too many stories about the men who graced my path. In a lifetime of adventure, the closest I come to feeling regret is one beautiful, sweet, thoroughly normal guy I dated in the mid 90’s. I was all of maybe one year sober when we met so I was still pretty messed up in the head about a lot things. Sadly I was incapable of appreciating what he brought into my life. My inner controller had an agenda. Couldn’t leave things be. Wouldn’t give the relationship the time to unfold apace. I ended it after a few months. For those unfamiliar with the rhythm of getting/being sober, new sobriety is an incredibly difficult thing. In new sobriety one keenly feels no escape from the realities of life. Past, present and possible future collide daily with the newfound clarity. Everything feels urgent. Like it needs to be sorted fast. Now, almost thirty years later, my needs are completely opposite. The urgency is gone. Life has it’s own flow. Memories come and go like a summer storm. I choose to remember the best things. His kisses. His smile. His laughter. Most likely I am idealizing the whole affair, misremembering in a twisted nostalgia, but as the years pass I reflect on those days and nights we spent together, speculating that any regret I might feel has less to do with opportunities lost rather than the person I had yet to become. Rick represents an archetype for me. When I think of him today, I send up prayers in the hope that he is happy and healthy and incredibly loved.

After almost three decades of sobriety and some good therapy, I am better equipped to comprehend the rare and precious opportunities my life has afforded me. Enjoying a level of acceptance I didn’t know or understand in my youth, and when I feel the lament for opportunities lost, I am reminded that perspective is simply a matter of where you’re standing at any given moment. The scenic route takes a little longer but it’s worth the extra effort.



twenty-twenty

duross & langel

a duross & langel blog post

Life is fickle.

If twenty-twenty has taught us nothing else, we all might consider that while we like to imagine a measure of control over our lives, in reality we have very little. The most we can manage is our reaction to the people and situations we face. How we show up in the world says everything about us. The way we act and react speaks volume on a person's character. Our ability to listen, to forgive, to move beyond the petty annoyances shows our humanity in its clearest form. I sometime wonder when the world began to equate kindness with weakness? In reality nothing could be further from the truth.

The background noise of American life is one determinate of how we show up.  Growing up the background noise of my life was Broadway and Motown. For many of my generation it is now the sound of a television with a twenty-four hour news cycle that demands fresh drama at every turn. 24 hour news channels have fundamentally changed the world in which we live, and the way we speak and act to one another. Raised voices, talking over each other.. a sense of urgency about almost every story. Pandemic or politics, the surety that "I am right and you are wrong" has been the theme of this year. Will twenty-twenty-one be any different? Sure hope so.

We hope we have succeeded in touching your life in a positive way this year. While aspects of our attempts to order our world may have frustrated some, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. And it looks as though our walkup, pickup system won't be changing any time soon. A conscious choice that has served us well. While it limits the ability to generate pre-pandemic income, it continues to allow us to look after ourselves and our business in an intentional way. Splitting the difference is often the kindest way forward. Rather than pretend to normalize what is surely not normal, we choose to move in a new direction. A direction that will steer our course for many years to come.

After 15 years, we've learned a thing or two. Adapt or die is surely one of the more important lessons. Change is a fundamental part of life. Nothing can stay the same. Balancing the old and the new is a challenging and exciting proposition, one that drives us daily and brings us joy. Managing our expectations allows us to continue to thrive and grow, even in challenging times. Often people ask how we are doing. We are fine. We are pivoting our business so that it may thrive for another 15 or 20 years. Here are some facts you might not know. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20 percent of small businesses fail within their first year. By the end of their fifth year, roughly 50 percent of small businesses fail. After 10 years, the survival rate drops to approximately 35 percent. It only continues to drop from there. We've been around for some time because we know how best to proceed with our enterprise. While various local businesses approach operations with a variety of models, we focus less on what others are doing and pay attention to what works best for us. To date it has been working very well.

Sarah and I want to thank you for your kindness, compassion and support in this year of massive change. As we look forward to the coming year, and many years beyond, our goals are still the same: To live a well balanced life of work and play, to continue to create awesome bath, spa and skincare, and to find a permanent home in a building we can call our own.

Whatever twenty-twenty-one has in store, we will be here.

managing expectations

duross & langel

a duross & langel blog post

When I was younger, I was a small child. Wafer thin, a bit slower and shorter than other boys. While I was hoping to grow to six feet tall, I maxed out at five-seven. I wanted broad shoulder and guns to blow out the armholes in my tee shirts. I wanted to be the smartest person in the room. Luckily I learned early in life to manage my expectations. Of course, I still believe in myself and my abilities, that if I put my mind and energy into it, I can achieve most things. Just not everything I think I want exactly when I want it. Sometimes life has a way of altering our course.

This Covid world has existed for a little over eight months, from the initial public response and lockdown, to the present morass. The world has changed. We have changed. Our business has changed. While many people are crying out for things to return to normal, the future, however you envision it, is still a way off. The changes we've made for this year (18 months?) are structured to keep a steady course for running our business when things are good, like now, or in case things get rough. So far so good. The store as you may have known it is effectively gone. Our expanded production has enveloped some of the space while the rest is taken up with shipping. Online sales, both shipping and pickup, now account for 90% of our business. Good thing we are adapting because according to many forecast analysts, it is estimated that 95% of all purchases will be made online by 2040. 

One of the reasons I prefer to shop online is due to a trend of bad customer service in stores and shops. I believe we do a great job of customer service at duross & langel. I believe Sarah and Allison do an exceptional job, as do our associates. But not every place I go seems to care about me as a customer, which is why I prefer to fill a cart online. I can manage my expectations about what I am receiving by limiting the disappointing experiences. Which is why we've always aimed to make your experience with D+L about relationships, ingredients, and creating a good feeling as you walk out the door. We want both your online and in-store experiences to be great.

As a business we have come far in these last eight months. We've learned a great deal about change. We know what we want from our future, and somehow it bears little resemblance to our past. This year has taught us to strive for a leaner, lighter enterprise. Keep expectations manageable. Don't panic. Don't over-react. Not a day goes by without someone expressing their disappointment that they cannot come inside and smell everything. We get it. Truly. It is disappointing that Covid 19 has created a situation where we cannot put things out for people to smell or touch. And change is difficult, especially when new things create a certain level of anxiety. Anxiety makes us all a little pissed off sometimes. Who would agree that 2020 has been an incredibly stressful year?

Personally, I get through the bad days living in my fantasy world. I would also like to be lying on a beach in Mexico right now. I have the vouchers and hotel points left over from last spring when everything got cancelled. I still have a job. Food. A home. I am so much luckier than a lot of people. Since I have immune compromised people within my circle, eighteen months of staying put, having things delivered and being mindful is a fairly easy undertaking. I also have a kick-ass beach plan for celebrating once a vaccine has been widely distributed. As for returning to normal? I don't know. I think that ship might have sailed. The world will have moved on and something better might take the place of the old normal. But that's life right? Embrace change and adapt or become obsolete. Whatever comes next, I dream about an amazing future filled with endless possibilities, and I am grateful for the past, the present, and for what good things might still lie ahead.

If you come by to shop at the window or pickup an online order, you can begin to view the new store we are building in the front area of the old store. It will grow and change over the next six or seven months so that when we open our doors again, you may enjoy a whole new shopping experience

local 13th street business owner seen running naked with hair on fire

duross & langel

5 minute read

a duross & langel blog post

store front.jpg

Fake news is nothing new. Tabloids have been grabbing our attention for as long as I can remember. In as much as the modern fourth estate would like to deny their bias, what we are served is often sensationalized because of an insatiable twenty-four hour profit driven cycle. So while I ask forgiveness for stealing your attention, I also request a few short minutes to offer you an inside view of how your support of our small business is playing out.

Right now you might be hearing a lot about the SBA, PPP and taxpayer funded bailouts that are worth trillions of dollars yet to be printed. We the people are being sold the concept that these stimuli must be funded to jump start the economy and get everything moving again. I think most of us are concerned by what any recession might bring, and not knowing what comes next, having the government step in feels somehow necessary. As much as most Americans deplore socialism, the minute something goes wrong there is an astounding demand for the government to jump in and fix their financial lives. To that point, let me state up front that duross & langel has applied for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP is calculated by 2.5 times your monthly payroll). If approved, this idea is to fund payroll for eight weeks, pay rent and utilities. We applied because during those eight weeks, if our payroll does not dip below 75% of what was paid in 2019, we can request loan forgiveness. The term of the PPP loan is 24 months with no payback for the first six. The loan forgiveness part is what appeals most to everyone, that’s the hook, but no one has really explained how forgiveness will occur. You with me so far? Great, because the next part is where I begin to get squirmy.

beware the jabberwock, my son 
the jaws that bite, the claws that catch! 

Having a small (free?) loan that will catch us up on rent and salaries is great for us but it might truly screw a good amount of mom and pop businesses. Let me break it down this way: duross & langel has a robust online business that not only allows us to sell our products while everything is shut down, because (weirdly) we make and sell the very things one might need in the event of a viral pandemic. Our online costs are not free and easy but certainly worth every dollar we pay (average shipper cost is $14) and packaging (average cost $3) per piece. Forget the rent for the moment. Forget salaries. Neither are being paid. Sarah and I have been working without pay because that’s what you do when you own a business and things get bad. We are fine for the moment but eventually our landlords are going to want their rent money. We will begin walkup shopping in late May but life will not be what it once was. With a level of acceptance that surprises even me, everything in our store is being changed so that we can accommodate social distancing. While we will still encourage shopping to be done online with delivery or in-store pickup, pre-shopping will become the 2020/21 norm. In other words, look online, put a list together, come in to the store for a sniff and behave as a dedicated shopper (get in-get out). New store hours will be limited because without the volume of traffic, the ability to afford part-timers evaporates. We will also need to ship and produce while concurrently running the store. Sarah and I have made peace with these realities. We’ve been through tougher times before. As long as we have our health, we can maintain until the paradigm shifts to a pandemic model. Nothing will be back to pre pandemic levels for quite a while (restaurants, social shoppers, people in town for concerts, sporting events and conventions..) At a certain point, like most businesses, if demand were to diminish past 50% of 2019, we couldn't stay open without accruing massive debt. Luckily, we we are still ahead of where many other small businesses find themselves at the moment. In the end however, everything negative creates a ripple effect. Something every business will be experiencing in the not so distant future.

In order to qualify for the PPP, restaurants will have to bring back at least 75% of staff for at least eight weeks. With social distancing protocols in effect, most restaurants will have a fill capacity of no more than half pre-pandemic while bar business (where a good chunk of their money is made) will tank. Like many small businesses, restaurants live on a thin financial existence. PPP takes care of some of the staff overhead for a short time but it leaves little left over to cover rent and utilities, especially when you are already two months in the hole from lockdown. Salons will be fine. Tough as it might be at first, salons will make up the difference quickly. With the exception of a few guys who bought clippers and buzzed their heads, the majority of the salon business is sitting at home champing at the bit to get an appointment. Most smaller mom and pop shops fall somewhere in between. Many, if not most, will never fully recover.

success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm

Having opened and closed several businesses, I am no stranger to failure. It is an innate component of small business and nothing to feel ashamed about. Statistically most small business do not survive. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20 percent of small businesses fail within their first year. By the end of their fifth year, roughly 50 percent of small businesses fail. After 10 years, the survival rate drops to approximately 35 percent. Throw in a global pandemic, a depression and/or a natural disaster.. it skews the numbers sky high. The financial pandemic, like the virus itself, will first kill off the small businesses that are weakened by preexisting conditions like high debt to income ratios, unworkable business models, bad management.. and then older/young businesses that are just not strong enough to survive the losses. Many will blame their closure on the pandemic. Most would have failed in the long term, but this sadly hastens their demise. Feelings aside, it is simple arithmetic.

Small business have become the partisan hot potato of the moment. I would suggest you not allow yourself be pulled into that emotional argument. The politicians are writing the gospel of small business while the press are spreading that narrative like a million tiny apostles. They are vilifying some larger small businesses, who also have employees who need to feed their families, for taking the PPP. I agree that publicly traded companies should find their own funding but you make up your own mind. It’s not for anyone else to form your opinions. Small businesses are important when they fulfill a public need/desire. When that desire wanes, businesses go away.

After sixteen years in business, Sarah and I remind one another to be encouraged by the support you’ve shown for the work that we do. It is in our DNA to run our business as if at any moment it could all go away. It helps us to attach to the daily result rather than some shallow, elusive idea of success. The relationships we form with you and the things we make are everything. When I think of my friends in business, I know that good, talented, smart people will always find a way. Some places are sure to close but creative people always reinvent themselves. New places will blossom. I know this from personal experience. My enthusiasm has never diminished.

Change can be difficult. It can feel uncomfortable. Like Alice falling through the looking glass, the process of change and a different view point changes our connection to the world around us. Perhaps this new point of view will teach us things that ultimately create a better world for everyone. In the end, it won’t matter what we wanted. What will matter is what we did with the things we had.

I wish you all health and love and joy. Please donate whatever you can to your local food bank. Looking after one another with care and kindness is the most important thing we can do.



not all who wander are lost

four minute read

Having spent a good portion of my life struggling to make ends meet, there are many things along the way that I did without. What were the options? For the most part I didn’t mind. I found ways in which to cope. As my career progressed, as I grew older, my life became about chasing dreams. Fortune. Love. Ego. They’ve all played a role in the choices I’ve made. Now that my struggle is less real, I’ve become somewhat spoiled. On my fiftieth birthday I promised myself that my modus would become travel. To see the world and roam wherever I please. Not so much the grand tour of any place but to live for a time, however small, as a quiet anonymous visitor enjoying the perks of escape. My memories of each adventure have a unique flavor and aroma. Each chance encounter is a story all its own. Time spent reading in European cafés and parks, wandering ancient cobblestone streets and markets, the majestic Alpine hills, the vast desert trails, and the glorious ocean. Whether spending time alone or with a treasured friend, most opportunities to run away from ordinary life have been a joyous undertaking. Travel has also been an opportunity for me to daydream about people and place, to imagine where the next adventures might begin. Every date and time of departure on the calendar shepherds me through the occasional days that run from mundane to disastrous. At a certain point you realize that youth is fleeting so waste no time. Knowing adventure awaits makes life my much sweeter.

live with no excuses and travel with no regrets

Mexico is my favorite budget destination. My last visit was heaven. It was a beautiful, bittersweet late winter escape. The sea and sky were perfection. My companion delightful. The hotel splendid and its staff superb. I was treated like a prince within the palace walls. It was indulgent and decadent and though my behavior during this trip could best be described as slothful, the weight of the looming crisis was palpable. My mind was on how to prepare for what was coming next. Though this trip arrived just as a month’s worth of stocking, storing and planning for the inevitable was completed, I could not ignore the concern for how we were to manage if there was no money coming in. Knowing is a spidey sense. For whatever reason, Sarah and I could clearly see that there would be a massive disruption caused by this pandemic. Reuters was reporting on it every day since Christmas, as did DW News and the BBC. I felt in my gut by mid-February that Mexico would likely be my last adventure. For this year anyway. Regardless of what my iCal stated, my charmed life was to be preempted.

Given the gravity of this particular moment, I am well aware that I have way more than so many. That I am fortunate in most things. But this meaningless little essay isn’t about all that. It is about coping skills, and how the function of travel in my life works as an anti-depressant. Like most people, I’m simply trying to get through this pandemic one day at a time. I don’t really mind being here alone or nothing being open. Cancelling plans has always been my heroin. If I like I can cross the street and go into my workshop. Unlike the staggering number of people who have to worry about how they will feed their family, I have it pretty easy. Just sit tight and wait out the storm. Other than to use my credit card to help feed people through the local food banks, I feel like I have no immediate purpose.

I cancelled Miami in May. Miami has become ridiculously cost prohibitive anyway. What had been intended as a half week get-away to spend time with old friends is now just a few more empty days on a calendar. The miss for me isn’t the place, it is the memories I might have made with my friends. Provincetown may still be a possibility this summer. Or it may be a ghost town. The plan was to go for a few days to see my friends, and to scatter Henry and Emily’s ashes off Long Point, where Ricky and Drifter’s ashes were scattered in years gone by. Don’t know if that will be possible. Whatever emotional closure I might be hoping for will likely have to wait. And then there is Iceland.

I did a lot of great things in the past, but I live for today and for the future

Of all the reckless, ridiculous things I’ve done since 2013, the Iceland trip isn’t even close to the top of the list, but it certainly was an impetuous act of insanity that I could enjoy. The problem with the internet on a cold gray morning at five a.m. is that it offers the user any number of options. Having booked a larger party cruise last summer with Vacaya, the opportunity to book a much smaller adventure cruise (only 187 people) to Iceland popped into my email in-box. It appeared too delicious to pass up. “Fuck it” I told myself, then I hit the buy button and smiled. Fact: I was in a funk over the tanking the salon. The thing I created, that I thought I wanted, was slipping away fast. In the course of its demise, it risked taking duross & langel down with it. Worse, the person I had become in those first few salon years was someone I came to loathe. All the energy expended struggling against opposing forces left me desperate and sad and angry. I needed to escape from it all. Burying the bodies in a shallow grave in the basement was not an option. Neither was taking fentanyl. Instead of drifting headlong into another depression, I chose to swallow my disappointment, make peace with the long term financial realities of losing a business, and to cope my way out of an impossible situation by spending retirement money on Iceland. A fantastical and amazing future adventure that has gotten me through some bleak moments.

No regrets about money spent, though Iceland might not happen. If the company does not cancel, and if I were not offered a future voucher, would go ahead and take the trip? Sure if.. Maybe. Given the current climate, who can say? What I do know is that we will adjust. For me, part of that adjustment will be about how to plan future travel. Where to go, how to get there and what types of adventure await? Travel is not over. Not in my imagination anyway. While I am not making any particular plans, I am dreaming. Like Scotland and Mexico, Iceland is now a part of those dreams. So long as I have some beautiful escape from reality on my calendar, I can cope with almost anything. In my imagination, everything is still possible.

the coming unknown

3 minute read

If you’ve never experienced an anxiety attack, now would be the perfect time. I am not advocating panic mind you. The current situation is creating enough anxiety and upset for almost everyone. For me the anxiety often shows up randomly. Unattached. At least this particular experience gives my fleeting anxiety a way to focus. Once a day I wonder ‘Is my chest tight? Do I have a fever? What did I touch?’ I have to remind myself constantly that I am fine. I feel well. As quickly as this anxiety rises, it falls away. Knowing anxiety as a life long companion has made it easier for me to navigate life during stressful times. It’s a strange little mercy for sure.

who you calling thirsty?

Thirsty? That would totally be me. Obviously I am acquainted with a certain amount of pent up energy that is exacerbated by forced isolation. You never want or need anything so badly as when you are told you cannot have it. Judge me however you like. I am old enough to know better but too old to care. Besides, if all the newly expectant and about to be expectant mommies are any indication, there is a lot of pent of energy out there.

why i pray

I’m talking science here. What I do know is that prayer works. In this link you can learn more about two randomised controlled trials of remote intercessory prayer (praying for persons unknown) that showed a beneficial effect in patients and their health. A systematic review found that 57% of the randomised, placebo controlled trials of distant healing showed a positive treatment effect. What this study shows is that remote intercessory prayer said for a group of patients is associated with a shorter hospital stay and shorter duration of fever in patients with a bloodstream infection, even when the intervention is performed 4-10 years after the infection.

And if the science were wrong, how does it hurt? How much better would our lives be, our world be if only we abided by the laws of karma? Put good energy out, good comes back. Which reminds me to remember to feed the neighborhood birds.

Like most of you, I feel powerless in the face of this crisis. Not afraid. Just powerless. Restless from the lack of ability to do anything that makes a difference, except that is, to stay home. I continue to clean and to paint and to garden. I am baking and baking and then making sure I exercise to burn it away. Sleeping nine hours a night. The last four days without sun has been glum. Today I awoke to a sunrise. It felt glorious. I will endeavor to enjoy whatever comes for as long as it lasts. As my anxiety reminds me, it could all be so much worse.

I pray for us all and for the people we love, and for ways to fight and treat this virus. I pray to get back to my ridiculously ordinary and privileged life as quickly as possible. And I continue to pray for gratitude. My whole life has been one great big improbable miracle, and I am so grateful to be alive.

social distancing is my life

4 minute read

Being awkward is not a burden. It is what it is. Having the propensity to over share, babble or say something inadvertently stupid, I find it easier to duck social interaction rather than feel out of place. With enough effort I can control myself for short periods of time, though I am constitutionally incapable of holding my tongue. I have a knack for saying what I see. It’s not always fully informed but it is my point of view. I leave plenty of room to hear someone else’s point of view, often I find people get dug in to their opinions and won’t engage in a civil discourse. People sometimes find me amusing for short bursts of time, and while I certainly don’t lack the love and affection I need from the world around me, I simply preserve it in the best way I know how. Though I have no energy for unkind, verbally aggressive or superior people, socially they abound. I’ve never quite managed how to gracefully react. Staying at home and social distancing are my life.

To date, the coronavirus has stretched the limits of most people’s imagination. Social distancing can be difficult or boring. Being alone can be troubling. Depressing. Difficult. For introverted natures like mine, this time is much easier than for most. Unfortunately, it has only just begun. They tell us two weeks but what they know is two months will be too long for most, and two years won’t be long enough to outlast this thing. Most people won’t be able to process this reality so we are given information in bite sized pieces. Fear and panic are coming next. Before this pandemic is over, we will be, all of us, forced to face the worst of our personal demons. Yet almost none of us are truly alone. FaceTime, social media, streaming services, internet, food delivery, grocery delivery.. imagine if this had occurred thirty years ago. The idea makes me shudder. What a wonderful world we now live in and how thankful I am to be as connected as I choose to be.

Sarah and I have been talking about this happening since mid January. We decided to begin to order raw materials with the idea that we might not be able to get what we need six months down the road. While “gathering our nuts for winter”, we worked to be as rational and level headed as possible. Especially with co-workers and loved ones. Incrementally getting our people to a place where they would be prepared and could talk through their fears about the then impending pandemic. When you spend your whole life not fitting in, it’s easier to recognize emerging trends. Especially when people are dying. It’s wholly human to think that what is happening “over there” to other people will not effect us. We understand why many people chose to listen to what they wanted to hear. People put their trust in the idea of fake news. Personally I have to wonder ‘is anyone still buying into this thinking?’

While my ability to view the world through a different lens affords me an outlier status, in this instance, we are all careening toward the same precipice together. We are all out of work and struggling together. Sarah, Allison and I closed up the online shop before the order came. We struggled with the idea that even with stringent safety protocols in place, then found out we had been exposed, so until we followed orders to quarantine for fourteen days. Then we go back and work to get our goods to our customers safely. We will have months and years ahead to sort through a lot of information. We can all bitch about how we got here later.

only nineteen years left to live

5 minute read

Statistically, life expectancy changes from year to year. Like most of you, I expect to live a lot longer than seventy-six, but as of today, that’s how long the average American male will live. Statistically. I do everything the doctors tell me I should be doing and have an active, healthy lifestyle but in reality, life carries no guarantee. Fact: We all die. So I ask myself, if I only had nineteen more years, how best to use them?

what is worse, being poor or alone?

Been on OK Cupid for about a month. Have enjoyed a few dates and chats but mostly meh. There doesn’t seem to be a great deal of engagement. A lack of honest-to-god flirting. I’ve asked around and I am told that this is on par. With no trace of snark I’ve got to say that it’s no wonder why so many guys are single. If you are not good at flirting, how about throwing out a question or two? Or perhaps texting a fun fact? Fun Fact: Vanilla ice cream is my favorite flavor. It’s kind of dumb.. yeah, but you have to begin with something. The apps are not magic. Magic needs to be created and nurtured and valued. I also don’t mind my beliefs being challenged in a fun and thoughtful manner. If intelligence is such a turn on why are more guys not upping their EQ? There are worse things than dying alone.

embracing failure and all it’s wonderful lessons

This space is not where I usually champion our business. That said, 2019 was a great year. All things considered (business closings, debt loads, taxes, headaches..) Sarah and I can be both proud and grateful. We learned a great deal to put into practice for the year ahead.

Most people dream of retiring. Some talk about what they will do after. I do it now. The recent push in minimal packaging and thoughtfulness toward the environment (finally) electrifies us and keeps our moral compass pointed directly toward our goals as a company. Though Sarah is the north star that guides us toward greater sustainability/responsibility, this year we struggled mightily to stay the course. We have been emotionally, mentally, physically and creatively drained by the four years of salon upheaval. And that is what it was. Upheaval. We embraced as much as we could but at some point, you get buried by a mound of shit. Sarah and I do what we have always done since childhood, brush off as much as you can, keep moving forward and allow yourself to cry silently when no one is looking. It works for us. So judge if you must as you down another cocktail or smoke up that bowl. We all judge.

As the new year gets under way, we are sorting through all we have learned from the past four. As our workshop gets decluttered from the rush, it’s time to focus on why we got into this business in the first place. Recipes. Formulations. Pushing the boundaries of what we can offer. Not colors or scents or cute packaging. New good things that replace old good things. For the better. For the environment as much as anything else. Some day our store will become a green refilling depot of all good things bath, spa and body care. As we lobby to change the rules of the FDA, we can at least begin in the simplest of ways. If statistically I am on my way out (laugh), what a lovely endeavor to embrace for all the time that is still left.

selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure. It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do. There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends.

Jane Austin knew about what she wrote. Being a selfish adult, I’ve learned to embrace the reality. It’s like being gay.. or vain. It’s what I am, but it’s not all I am. There is so much more that defines me as a person. I think at a certain point we have to embrace our flaws but not allow them to control our behavior. I still strive in all things.

When the new national statistics on life expectancy dropped last week, I took notice but was not alarmed. It was a good reminder that time is fleeting. To make sure we are living the lives we envision. Because one never knows. You might not wake up tomorrow. Which is why I believe that how we live is far more worthwhile than how long we live. Be it alone or in a pair, I plan on living long enough to have another go at love. That is if he’s fun in the sack and doesn’t drone on about politics.

the engines of change

duross & langel

3 minute read

christmas 4 (1).jpg

This time of year always has it’s pros and cons in retail. If you are like most retailers, you meet with reps, look through catalogues and online, and you order what it is you wish to sell for the season. Duross & Langel however is not like other retailers. We make our products rather than sell someone else’s brand, so it’s a ballet of man power, materials and packaging that begins mid year. The trucks arrive every week with new loads of materials, and after a bit, it spills over and takes up space everywhere. When we had the third floor, we had the space to store it. Now that I am back to my old beloved workshop, I am fairly squeezed. If you come by the shop you will find the staircase stacked with materials. We do not mind though. This time of year celebrates everything we do, everything we make, and offers us exuberant levels of creativity that will build the world we will inhabit for the year ahead.

This season began earlier than most. While we try to avoid making “Christmas” too early, we also are beholden to the requests of our customers. A balance is struck in that while we won’t really decorate until Thanksgiving, we begin offering everything we are making by the first of November. Personally, I have begun a mad love affair with glitter. And mica. My soaps fairly sparkle this year and it’s incredibly fun. Same goes with the bath bombs. Our fizzy maker is using vast amounts of confetti and sparkle in certain bath bombs to make your holiday pop! Seeing the delight when customers are shopping lets us know we are on track.

The generous outpouring of love and support I have received these past few weeks has been overwhelming, and most appreciated. I know we all love our animal companions and find the idea of loss incomprehensible. Yet it is a simple fact of life. Having nowhere to go with my grief, I’ve created a line of candles specifically for grieving pet lovers. Growing up in a devoutly Roman Catholic culture, I was taught to light candle, remember the love of the departed soul, and to celebrate the passing as a part of life’s journey. While I’ve left many of the religious aspects of my upbringing along the roadside, the traditions are still deeply resonant for me. The act of lighting candles for the dogs offers me a few minutes every day to sit and remember. To think of the happy memories. To thank them again and again for the love and companionship they gave me. Sarah and I have decided to sell these candle for you and your friends who are grieving the loss of a pet. We will be donating the profits from each candle to Segar Dog Park.

This Thanksgiving I’ve decided to skip my family and volunteer to serve dinner at a local church. It affords me the opportunity to get out of myself and be of service to others. Since I am so blessed and lucky to live the life I’ve been given, I feel as though this is an auspicious way for me to begin the holiday season. In a world where my contribution to commercialism funds the life I’ve built, I feel less crass about my largesse by attempting to help others. It is a purely selfish act with positive results.

And finally, it wouldn’t be a holiday without a mention of politics. Lately I have taken to the opinion that the left has got it as wrong as the right, and that most of us, if really pressed, would admit that we land somewhere in the middle. So much negative energy goes into the reporting and discussions about politics that our entrenchment focuses it’s ire on one side or the other. I submit the idea that neither side it correct. That both sides have it wrong. There is good and bad in both, and as long as we refuse to see that, we will never come to consensus. Divisions cannot be healed if neither is willing to see both sides. I believe it is that simple. The self-righteous ideologies of the left and the right keep us all pretty much fucked. Even if you remove the flimflam con artist from power and conversation, you still have all the underlying issues in place. The haters still hate and they will give you twenty good reasons why they do.

If history has taught me anything, it is that there is never just one person or one thing that is the cause of our problems. We cause our own problems and we must admit our personal shortcomings and narrow-mindedness in order to begin correcting course. Peace on earth and goodwill toward all humankind begins with willingness. That is my wish for this holiday season, and my goal for the year to come.

mercury in retrograde

2 minute read

It has been said that in order to break a pattern, what is required is fourteen days of doing things differently. As I sit here this morning, alone, I am reminded that sometimes changing our lives requires a bit of effort.

Recently I joined a gym. Though I often work out at home, I thought that getting out of this place might help with creating new patterns. It has for sure but it doesn’t mitigate my sadness. Yesterday I found myself in the packed gym steam room, silently sitting with tears streaming down my face, like a faucet inside me had been turned on. The tears seemingly attached to little or no specific feelings, yet I know this is the involuntary manifestation of my grief toward the death of my dogs. Try as I might to normalize, my inner self takes over and spills out.

Twenty years. That’s how long it has been since I was last alone. Adopting my first dog as an adult in the autumn of 1999, I’ve been responsible for four dogs over the last two decades. More to the point, these animals have been responsible for me. Mostly for the affection I crave. Sad as any loss can be, mourn as I might, beyond the initial grieving process is the reality that any love shared has now left the building.

Without Henry and Emily there is a void in my life. In order to avoid being pressed flat under the weight of the void I stay in motion. Feelings ease over time, but for now they remind me of the massive amount of love and affection, and to be profoundly grateful for the fourteen amazing years I was blessed.

the quiet little voice

Recently, an acquaintance asked if I might be concerned about people’s perceptions of me after reading this blog. I’d be foolish not to answer yes. To some degree. But after years of writing my thoughts and feelings, it would be foolish to harbor any regret either. It is what it is. While many of us are trying to put our best foot forward, I also go into each day with an attitude of fuck it. Authenticity isn’t simply an idea. Like love, authenticity should be a verb. Hiding behind some mask of perception has only led me to sorrow and grief. What you see is what you get. Mmmostly.

40% of me never shows up on this blog. The depths of my hopes, fears and aspirations do not live here. Not completely. Any foreboding sense of loss and rejection can certainly be discussed but never laid bare. I easily write my thoughts about sex, the negotiation and mechanics of the whole mess, but definitely not the truest intimacies. The filter that exists between the idea and the actual moments spent in my arms is vast. Though I postulate the ups and downs of former relationships, the successes and failures of my businesses, my feelings about the world around me, marriage, divorce, dating.. there is a largesse of the private me I choose never to announce openly. Raw humanity. Luckily, at the moment, there is very little dramatic tension in my life and I really like it this way.

It has taken decades to learn that my self-worth cannot be tied to what I’ve produced or created, otherwise the need for approval will erode the most creative bits. In my writing for sure but also in my daily tasks. Experience is a great teacher. When I first began duross & langel, there was this amazing response to the product, but also to me as a maker. People seemed to love what I was attempting. Over time however, some did not. I wasn’t ready for success because what I had created was too personal to me. It’s been that way with every project. No matter what I do, what I try to control, everything is a process of letting go. I am ashamed to admit that I was not always my best self along the way. As I pursued my hopes and dreams, who I was, who I am comes into play. When scrutinizing our missteps, it’s helpful to remember that there is light and darkness in everyone. Self forgiveness has been key to me moving forward, seeking opportunities to spread love and then allowing myself to receive love in return.

Dating is teaching me patience. Often when I match with a guy there is interest and flirting but then they start backing up. “Life is busy. I am busy. You’ve caught me at a busy time..” The cry of the unavailable man. Brave with his swipe finger but timid when it comes to meeting. At the heart of the issue, I think everyone wants some kind of a connection, however it manifests itself. Anyway, it’s just a date right? If you’re not interested in actually knowing me, chatting with me or fucking me, just swipe left. Nothing personal.

Admittedly I date for the flavor of romance. Yes, that also includes my sex apps. Doesn’t have to be all-consuming-passion-clinging-love-me-forever kind of romance. More like an occasional snogging and maybe a bit of sex before I send them packing. A week perhaps under extreme circumstances. Beyond that? If the chemistry is good, three or four times a month with a steady guy who lives about an hour or two away. Enough to enjoy a healthy romping intimacy until something, if anything, develops down the road. Friends ask me what I want in a man. I have a good idea but no definitive answer. I trust myself to know what I don’t want, but that is not the energy I want to be sending out into the world. My profile says I am looking for kindness, humor and courage. Sometimes in the arena of dating these qualities are in short supply. I guess it all comes back to the conversation about vulnerability. Standing naked in front of a complete stranger and risking rejection once they get to know you. Yet everything I’ve ever achieved, anyone I’ve ever loved was worth the emotional risk. And because of this I have a wonderful life, my independence, peace of mind and I still maintain most of my dignity.

Speaking of dignity.. forty-nine days to go until the cruise. If you’ve followed along, you know that I’ve gotten really into the whole process of preparation for this vacation. Theme parties, meet and greets, chat groups, etc. Instead of obsessing about the closing of the salon and grooming lounge and what I like to refer to as my semi-retirement, I think about things like correct luggage tag holders, boarding times, restaurants, T- Dances, appropriate clothing (or inappropriate depending upon the party), itineraries and wearing a speedo. It’s actually been a blessing as the whole process keeps me from spending too much time alone in my head. I am (I believe) as prepared as a person can be. To all of my friends who have been listening to me go on about this trip for the last year.. sorry to have taken so long. Thank you for listening. And thank you for being my friend.

Henry and Emily are fast approaching the end of their life cycle. For more than a year their kidneys have been failing. Walking them around the block is becoming a laborious chore. Soon I will be forced to make the inevitable decision. It’s a matter of perspective. I won’t adopt without first acknowledging my responsibility at the end. Being their human is a simple brief: love them, give them food and shelter, and protect them from all harm.

One day very soon my life will be vastly different, and I am left wondering if everything I’ve been doing this past year has been to prepare me for what is yet to come.

creating duross & langel

duross & langel

the short story of how a seemingly implausible idea has become a philadelphia institution


As we are about to celebrate fifteen years of duross & langel, I was reminded that not everyone is familiar with how the whole thing came-to-be. Made me think that perhaps it’s time to write the basic framework of who we were, are and strive to be. To the best of my recollection, here we go.

2004 was one of those years where I found myself in the hallway. Do you know the saying ‘when one door closes, another door opens?’ Well if this axiom were to be believed then perhaps sometimes we get trapped between the doors in the hallway. No way in or out and we have to patiently wait for another door to open. In the changing fortunes of small business, the Atlas Hair Company was back to being a one chair salon while my 3 year adventure as The Philadelphia Soap Company just closed it’s doors. My gig with American Crew had ended a few years before and nothing was happening in my life, professionally speaking that is. I had accidentally fallen in love with James Langel and we were living together. It was financially a lean time, struggling to make ends meet. I had a steady income from my salon business and a little extra coming in from my gig at Joe Grooming. James left a job he hated for something else, though whatever that would be had yet to manifest. One of his goals was to return to school for his MBA. I wanted another go at what I had created with the soap company but differently. I wanted to recreate my idea as a venture that reflected my personal style and esthetic while attempting to be more than cute and soap. I wanted to build amazing formulas that would focus on actual skin care, where the formulations would be a reflection of healthy, natural living. The only way I could see accomplishing this goal while having to pay the bills was to partner with someone. I pitched this idea to James. We could form a business partnership. Something he could do while getting his degree that would also help us grow and pay bills. He would work the front desk making appointments and selling stuff while I cut hair during the day and made product at night. The bargain was struck. 50% of the business and the name duross & langel.

The business grew quickly. I worked a million hours. James went to work for IKEA but kept the books for D&L. By this time we were married and building a life together. Though he offered ideas and feedback, James pretty much kept to his lane. It was my job to build the business and it’s profile. Turns out we made better copy as two married gays who created a concept venture. We were delighted for anything that would get people to notice the shop. Eventually however, as the creator and the face of the company, I got the lion’s share of the press. To be quite honest, my ego never minded. James was a highly competitive husband who liked to “win”. I would happily acquiesce to his requirements in order to maintain a happy marriage but where duross & langel was concerned, not so much. Skip to the end of the end of that story.. I loved my work. I loved my husband. The marriage had run it’s course. At the close I just wanted three things: a divorce, sole custody of the dogs, and the majority share of the company.

If you understand the nature of our business today, it is focused around the product. Sarah and I definitely are a story, but it’s the story of the last thirteen years together working, sacrificing and growing our little enterprise. Sarah is now the one who runs the show while I pretty much stay in my lane and spew ideas. As my business partner and the one who interfaces with all aspects of our clients, Sarah now filters my ideas into something that will possibly work or be left on the mat. It has been an amazing experience to carve out an equal partnership with Sarah, the person I find myself married to in this venture.

duross & langel is a small, local company. We are equally (and proudly) an LGBTQ+ owned and women owned business. This October we will be celebrating 15 years in operation. We formulate and produce quality natural, hand made bath, spa and skin care products. Everything begins in the second floor workshop where recipes and formulas take shape. This working skin care kitchen produces many of the 100% natural handmade items you’ll find in our store. We also employ a local, family run FDA approved lab to produce larger quantities of our formulas, especially things like sulfate-free body wash and shampoos. Our creams and moisturizers are renown for their qualities, and for their rational prices. When you compare our labels to any of the bigger fancy name brands, you might be very surprised at how well we not only measure up, but exceed expectations. Though some products are processed and while we are allowed by law to call them “all-natural” we think that’s cheating. You’ll find that we make things as naturally as can be produced by law for this level of efficacy. Our bags and boxes are made from recycled paper. We have also begun to use compostable plastic-like materials for soap wrap and smaller bags.

When you shop our store, you begin to understand who we are and what it is we are attempting to accomplish. You are welcomed but not sold. We strive to be helpful but most often you’ll find we hang back so that you can experience the shop at your own pace. Always within arms reach, you can ask us to step up or answer any question. Since we make it ourselves, we are happy to share whatever information you require. Though we can be a bit cheeky when faced with the occasional rudeness. We assume most people don’t mean to be rude. Personally, I am a horrible shopper so I strive to be less judgmental of others under these circumstances. No one who is passionate about what they create ever wants to hear “does this stuff really work?”

The most difficult moments for us come when someone asks about our business plan which, truth be told, is a highly inappropriate subject to broach, especially when standing in the middle of our store. “Well don’t you want more stores? I should think you’d want to grow. Don’t you want to be successful? You know what you should do?” It’s the business world equivalent to asking for dick pics. What we don’t say is that sometimes we are offered massive sums of money to do things that would drastically change the nature of our lives but thus far, VETO. Sarah and I like our lives. We like our vibe. We enjoy the simplicities and complexities of our daily life as is. We make enough money to pay the bills, take care of our staff, travel and put some away. We are focused on improving our daily lives, a commitment to our staff and to our communities. We are intentional about the way we move our lives and the way we run our business. It’s not that we are opposed to expansion, just that we have yet to find the right fit. And the whole point of working for ourselves is to create an environment where the business can be a refection of our lives and our values and do daily what makes us happy. Or so we believe. One of the more sobering things about having been an entrepreneur for the last twenty-five years is seeing how many seemingly successful businesses, some encumbered with anachronistic eighties values and millennial MBAs, while others simply not viable in today’s economy, have gone out of business. Sarah and I do not believe that on our dying day we will be wishing we worked more hours or screwed over anyone so that we could have notoriety and make a bit more coin.

We couldn't be more proud of the world we've created. Though the original idea was mine, whatever success we’ve enjoyed has been a group effort. We are profoundly grateful to everyone who has shopped, supported and worked with us. It’s a fun little store that makes people smile. An improbable concept that is now a local favorite. Let’s enjoy that for a while.

Check out our website for more info: www.durossandlangel.com