Greatest Expectations is so excited to have partnered with The Enterprising Kitchen for our CS Brides “An Evening of Bridal Luxury” swag bag insert.  If you are not familiar with The Enterprising Kitchen you are in for a real treat!  They are a unique nonprofit social enterprise providing exceptional natural soap and spa products for customers throughout the world, but located in the heart of Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood.  

The coolest thing about The Enterprising Kitchen is that they provide workforce development and support services to women who are working toward self-sufficiency and economic independence. Within the context of a business where they manufacture natural soaps and spa products, women receive intensive workforce preparation and skills development including: paid employment, work and life skills training, individualized career planning, high school equivalency preparation, technology training, financial planning and a variety of other support services. Located in Chicago, the enterprise enables lower-income women who have been unemployed and underemployed to maximize their individual potential and move into sustainable employment after 6-12 months.

Only the finest ingredients and purest essential oils are used to ensure the best experience and value for customers. All products are manufactured in small batches onsite at the Chicago facility and each piece is signed by the woman who packages it. The Enterprising Kitchen represent the renewed ability for women participants to make better choices on the road to self-sufficiency as well as the opportunity for customers to choose to purchase these exceptional natural products, which directly support women. The Enterprising Kitchen is a member of the Fair Trade Federation. TEK products are sold in over 300 stores across the U.S., online and at TEK’s Chicago facility.

A few months back we were lucky enough to get a tour of the facility and meet some of the truly exceptional women who work on these amazing spa products.  It really is wonderful to walk through and see everything being made from scratch, smell the oils and sample to goods.  We had the hardest time choosing which item to put in the CS swag bag.  The body butter is as soft as silk and I swear you would love the bath salts but in the end we decided on the cold pressed soaps.  They smell amazing, last forever and really reflected the concept and image we wanted to present … “Wash away your worries with Greatest Expectations”.

Here are some pictures of The Enterprising Kitchen’s products.  If you are lucky enough to be attending the CS event please let us know how our give away measures up!