Was W.S. Badger a planned venture, or something that happened accidently?
I was working as a carpenter in New Hampshire. My fingers were severely cracked and chapped from working in the cold one especially harsh winter. I was lying in bed one night with my hands wrapped in olive oil-soaked socks and covered in plastic bags, trying to relieve the pain. My wife, Katie, took one look at that and gently suggested that I could “do better.” I mixed up a batch of what later became Badger Healing Balm. It worked fast and well. My fingers healed and the idea for the business was born. I was going to call that first product “Bear Paw,” a good name for selling to hardware stores that were early retail outlets for the company, but the night before my tins were to be printed, I found out someone else had use of that name. A former co-worker told me that a badger paw was medieval and frightening, and suggested original art. Badger is an ancient totem; keeper of the knowledge of the world of roots and herbs. [Natural ingredients] have been a lifelong passion. I worked in a
