Greetings, friends! My name is Balbo Garibaldi.

Welcome to The Dragon’s Beard! Spring is in the air, and that’s not all.

Ho! We have something to celebrate! Ha! I’m so excited!

Yes, it is the month of May, and the first day of May marks the Third Anniversary of Tabletop Beard, so tonight… tonight… tonight…

The Reveal

WOOSH. ZING. GLIMMER. FWOOOOOOOH!

Suddenly, colors braid together with a chiming rush, and everything reshapes mid-breath as if reality is being rewritten.

The world changes from the cozy Dragon’s Beard Inn to a home office in the cloudy Pacific Northwest.

Seated at his table, in front of two monitors and an aquatic ecosystem, is a man with a Sega’s Altered Beast – Rise From Your Grave t-shirt. He spins his chair around. No, that’s not Balbo, that is someone else.

Hi all, my name is Kevin James Breaux, and I play Balbo Garibaldi (and many other characters) on the Tabletop Beard blog.

Yep, I’m the voice of Balbo Garibaldi, your favorite jovial innkeeper and quest giver. But that’s not all. I have been writing a lot of what you read at Tabletop Beard since the beginning.

You might be wondering how a simple fantasy novelist like me teamed up with an amazing brand like Tabletop Beard.

Ho! Well, it was written in the stars, friends! Ha!

Sorry, a little bit of Balbo slipped out there.

I should say that it was fate!

You see, like most authors, I was out there looking for ways to make some much-needed extra gold. I found a listing on a job site (quest board) for a blog writer, and I applied. Next thing you know, I was teaming up with one of the soon-to-be Tabletop Beard brothers, Jason.

We worked on a separate project for over a year and became close friends. Jason is like family to me now. In fact, I like to tell people I’m the fourth brother at Tabletop Beard, but I also like to tell this joke…which I wrote BTW.

Ahem… Mic check.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Hey everyone, did you know that I am not the only person with the last name of Breaux (sounds like BRO) working with Tabletop Beard? I’m not. Alex Breaux is partnered with them too.

So, I like to say that Tabletop Beard consists of three brothers and two Breauxs.

Pause for laughter.

Thank you. Thank you.

Seriously, though, writing for Tabletop Beard is a dream job. I truly love being a part of this brand.

Why Fantasy?

Well, I grew up in the 80s playing all sorts of tabletop games and role-playing games. Dungeons and Dragons, Car Wars, RISK, Conquest of the Roman Empire, Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, Zelda, Ultima, Baldur’s Gate, and more.

I loved all things fantasy and still do. And yes, I have watched Hawk the Slayer. (lol)

Fantasy books and art are the foundation of my author background. I wrote my first series of books in the epic fantasy genre. Since then, I have written an urban fantasy series and a standalone Viking Age dark fantasy (potential series), too.

I love fantasy! I love RPGs! I love to write!

I guess I shouted those things to the heavens enough to finally be heard. Because the brothers at Tabletop Beard believed in me and took me in right away. As a matter of fact, I have never felt so welcomed and respected before at any job or on any project.

From nearly day one, I have offered my creative help to grow this brand in many ways, but my largest contribution is my level 20 writing skills. I’ve written 98% of the blog posts.

Basically, I am the team’s resident Bard.  

Let’s be honest, if I were sitting with the Tabletop Beard brothers right now, and we were preparing for a quest, after Justin’s sword, Shane’s bow, and Jason’s axe, I would stand up and declare, “and my writing!”

(Does my pen sound better? Maybe keyboard?)

Why Beard Care?

Because of the community. Anyone can make anything. But when you make something to support a community that you are a part of and do so to elevate everyone in that community, well, that is truly rad.

I have not always had a beard, but I have been aware of skin care for a long while because my wife is an advanced esthetician who has spent her entire life learning skin care techniques and sampling products.

When you are surrounded by things that smell good all the time, you tend to gravitate toward more good-smelling things, and the beard oils at Tabletop Beard smell outstanding.

That leads me to my big news!

Tabletop Beard decided to honor me by letting me pick a scent and create a class to represent it here in their beard care product catalogue. I named it Chronicler!

For the scent, I decided that honeysuckle should be featured. I grew up in a small town surrounded by naturally growing honeysuckles. My dad liked to call it a weed, because it was literally EVERYWHERE.

As a little kid, if you were outside, you were near the honeysuckle bushes, enjoying the scent and sampling the nectar.

My wife helped me with the finer details of the Chronicler scent. We both wanted it to be favorable to men and women. I think we did very well! Let me know what you think when you grab a bottle.

The Chronicler Class

For the class and character that would represent the new scent, I took a moment to reflect on my life as an artist and author, and it dawned on me. The Chronicler character is a great match.

The Chronicler has an insatiable thirst for knowledge. With his quill and enchanted journal, he travels the realm, chronicling the tales of heroes, villains, and everything in between. The Chronicler is always eager to learn and share his fantastic stories.

Overall

I hope you enjoy the scent and feel the heart that beats behind it.

My biggest takeaway from my three years with Tabletop Beard is this:

When you are in the right place with the right people supporting the right product for the right reasons… Damn, it feels good, and I’m very lucky to be here.

Thank you for having me, Tabletop Beard – Shane, Jason, and Justin. Happy Anniversary! 😊

-Kevin James Breaux – Resident Bard