'Hoffmann's Homestead Goods' ten year of marketing

The Waseca Winter Farmers Market being held at Farmamerica has slowed down a little since the new year started. But that doesn’t mean Christine Hoffmann of “Hoffmann’s Homestead Goods” is going to take a break any time soon. In between customers, she had a few minutes to talk about it.

 

She greeted customers with a friendly “Hello, I’m Christine Hoffmann and welcome to my table.” She was dressed in a grey sweater and looked comfortable and warm despite the chilly day on Saturday, Jan. 3. On her sales table she had a homemade game built out of wood that had dice sitting near. Said Hoffmann, “My husband, Jesse, has been working with wood since he was a little boy. He’s a homebody and is always in his workshop, he builds all the wood items we sell. I don’t have any here today, but he also makes charcuterie boards.” She said Jesse is currently finishing a bar-top project for a friend. When asked whether Jesse ever joins her at the farmers market she replied, “Absolutely not, he is a homebody, I don’t mind, I like it here.” The Hoffmann home is just east of Otisco; Christine is a graduate of Janesville and Jesse is originally from Waterville.

 

Her two children are either grown up and out of the house or about to be, “My 17-year-old is almost done with school. 

 

“Cute story, she’s the reason I have this stand. Years ago when my youngest was 7, 8, or so, she made some homemade dog treats.” She pointed to four plastic bags filled with peanut butter dog treats or chicken flavored or oatmeal. They looked similar to cookies, but for dogs, with pumpkin flavor being added next year. Continued Hoffmann, “That’s where all this started, when my daughter made her dog treats, that’s what we started selling first.” She added proudly, “When my daughter first started out, she would give half of everything she made to the Animal Humane Society in Waseca.”

 

Besides the wood games and dog treats, she sells a homemade peppermint salve, bar shampoo, bar soaps, essential oils and shower steamers, melting wax, knit hats and chapstick. For those who don’t know, a shower steamer is like a bath bomb, but for the shower, “You just start your shower, throw it on the ground and the steam and water fill your shower with a pleasant smell and good vibes.”

 

Jesse Hoffmann also keeps bees and makes maple syrup, “We sell honey in one-pound plastic bottles, and when it’s in season, my husband also makes maple syrup. And I can always use the extra beeswax when I need to.” Jesse works at Waters Edge in Waterville. She works full-time as a public health nurse in Owatonna but has every plan to continue at the Waseca farmers market in the coming season, “In the summer I’ll be adding vegetables, chicken eggs and flowers when they bloom. Cut flowers for bouquets, zinnias, gladioli and dahlias. I hope you can stop by sometime!”