We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jinx Malcolm a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jinx, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I am known to be a very cautious and sure person. I like to gather as much information about a situation, concept, or project before I execute it so I can be as efficient with my energy as possible. This also helps prevent mistakes so there are fewer to correct later. I can spend hours researching and learning how to make my projects as close to the vision in my head as possible. However, at the beginning of the ongoing pandemic, I had to give up my successful massage therapy practice in order to protect my health and the health of those around me. Well, my both my partner and I thought the pandemic would be over by September 2020 (what a pipe dream!) and obviously, or maybe not obviously to everyone, COVID is still quite prevalent. The first case of AIDS directly linked to COVID was diagnosed this year! (Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37604249/) After my partner’s brother died of a COVID infection in 2021, we knew we needed to create a business we could take outside, something we could do or sell at markets and festivals as well as online. On a whim, my partner saw a youtuber who made a living making soap and we decided to give it a try! It’s been about 2 years since we started Sud Buds LLC and I just launched Crafty HiJinx as an add on business. I crochet wearables, bags, blankets, and more! I wear a lot of hats! Crocheted and otherwise :), so I also write! I am working on a horror novel as well as a memoir essay. We put everything we have left into these ventures. It is the biggest risk we have taken in our lives!

Jinx, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a nonbinary disabled person who crochets, writes scary stories, and makes soap! The things I crochet? I make cardigans, hats, scarves, tops, bags, blankets, and I’m getting into amigarumi. You name it, I’ll learn it! The joy on the face of a client who has received a custom crochet piece makes me happy dance every time! The stories I write? Well, they will have you laughing as much as they will have you white knuckled, on the edge of your seat! The soaps I make? They’re a moisturizing dream! We use hempseed oil in all of our skin care products including our incredibly moisturizing lip balm and heavenly body butters. Hempseed oil is incredibly healing and pulls the moisture into the skin. It’s gentle, cleansing, and our products contain no THC, CBD, palm, or phthalates. Palm oil products, even sustainably certified products, are linked to heavy deforestation as well as child-labor. As our business grows, we aim to source all of our ingredients from small and local farmers. We are committed to the liberation of all in all of our endeavors and we hope to build community through that mission.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We talk with our neighbors! We are genuinely interested in the well-being of our community. We ask how they are, how do they like the products, what do they think about what is going on in the world. We mask in all public spaces, and at markets, we hand out masks. We talk with and educate folks about how COVID is airborne. It is the whole reason we started this business, after all. All of our products speak for themselves! People say it’s the best soap they have ever used and won’t use any others. If you put on the body butter after using the soap, the water from the shower is locked into the skin. We have one neighbor who purchased one of every lip balm because she “must have one at arm’s reach at any time!” As the climate gets hotter and drier, it is imperative to keep your skin hydrated and moisturized.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Even though I have to work more than 40 hours a week at times, I have had to unlearn demanding constant productivity from myself. It’s a lesson I am still unlearning, to be honest. When the pandemic began there was a lot of stress which triggered an underlying condition called endometriosis to show up in full force. Endometriosis is a systemic inflammatory disorder in which tissue similar to the lining of the inside of the uterus grows on other organs and organ systems. It is one of the most painful conditions known to humans (though some can experience no pain at all). You need around $25,000 and a well-vetted specialist for effective treatment. Another reason making soap is a great option for me as a disabled person is that I can make a bunch at once when I feel good and it sits and cures while I feel ill. But, this came with a lot of days where I pushed myself too far either right before or right after a flare. I paid the consequences in tears and pain. I had to learn that my rhythms don’t match up with capitalism and I have to be okay with that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sudbudsco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craftyhijinxm/
• Other: Sud Buds instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sudbudsco/