This month’s artisan interview features an amazing creator of gorgeous, organic skin and body care products, Beauvivo. We love their work! Here is a bit of our conversation.
Q: Tell us a little about Beauvivo and your work.
A: We believe that beautiful skin is one of the key components to having a beautiful life. Our all natural products are made with organic ingredients and help assist in this process (naturally). Regardless of your race, your size, if you’re male or female; You are a beautiful person both inside and out. Be the natural YOU!
Q: How did you get started and what is behind the name of your shop?
My interest in this began at a young age but my first time making soap was about 4 ago. My grandmother made soap when we were young and would sit the batched soap on the kitchen table to cure for a few weeks with a stern warning “DO NOT TOUCH”. It was always amazing to me that someone I knew made soap but I never tried to do it because of those words of warning from my grandmother. I started researching a little more and making it myself as my skin began to break out while using commercially made products. Nothing worked. I remembered I never had these issues when using the handmade lye (cold processed) soap when younger. So I went back to what I knew worked. Trent Fouts and I (my husband) haven’t used commercially made soaps since. We’ve made it all ourselves. Interest in our soaps peaked after we gave a bunch out as wedding favors during our wedding in June 2016.
Q: What makes your products special?
Our products are designed to support natural beauty. We use all-natural and USDA Certified Organic products to provide a top notched quality product. Paired with the amount of research and our extremely long cure time for each bar; you have a longer lasting, high quality product that will do what it is designed to do; assist in helping you promote naturally beautiful skin.
Q: What types of problems are you trying to solve with your products?
The amount of harmful chemicals used in skincare today is staggering. We know a lot of other people have had some of the same issues related to use of chemically laden skincare products and we want to share what has and is working for us, our friends and family but also from customers who are currently using the products.
Q: Can you share a little about your devoted human line?
Yes, indeed. We sell our pet bars exclusively through Devoted Human. Devoted Human is an artisan site devoted to the support of artisans who love pet’s. They either have pet’s, just love animals or both. We started making pet bars when our Jack Russell Libby began having similar issues to what we were having (skin irritations from commercially made products). We made our own natural product to help restore the moisture in her skin and shine in her coat. Currently, we have one Unscented Colloidal Oat bar (Libby Bar) made with Organic Oils of Coconut; Olive, and Castor; along with Neem Oil and it’s enhanced with Vitamin E. We’ll have a few additional options coming soon :).
Q: How did you get started making bath and beauty products?
Once you start making one all-natural products it’s like an addition and you have to keep making more. Although my interest in this has been present for quite a while; I started making them myself when I absolutely has to because of skin conditions due to using commercially made products.
Q: Do you have any training as an artist or in particular techniques, or are you self taught? After quite a few years of research and botched batches, I am primarily self taught.
Q: Where and how do you work?
It is myself and Trent Fouts (my husband) who make up our team. We are fortunate to have a shop at home. We have about half of our garage/shop that we are slowly turning into a full soap studio. It’s about a 20×50′ space. Pretty nifty setup. I work on Beauvivo almost every day. I have to try and pull myself away at least one day a week because I tend to eat, think and sleep something I’m passionate about.
Q: What have you learned so far about running a handmade business online?
Timing is everything and it is non-stop. You are either in it for the long haul (as a business) or it can quickly be pushed aside as an expensive hobby. We are in it to help change lives and make this into a full-time business. It takes a lot of work but it so worth to hear that someone else is having positive results with our products. Also, be organized from the very beginning. Once your business launches publicly you will not have much time to backtrack and establish a system of organization. It may take a while to set up and if you need to get help but it is hands down one of the most important things to invest your time in.
Q: Any tips to share with other creatives?
Find ways to keep those creative juices flowing. If you’re constantly creating I believe you are one who is constantly progressing. Also, keep a small notepad in your pocket or purse to jot down ideas, potential blends, color schemes, etc as they come to you. It helps solidify the creative process. Oh yeah, always try to have fun and enjoy it. Once you add the business aspect to your creative venture it can get a little stressful. Making sure you have fun will help remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Q: What are you currently reading, listening to, or looking at to fuel your creativity?
I like Dan Brown books. I still have quite a few more to read of course since I’m a slow reader. His choice of vocabulary in his texts sometimes spark creativity. Also, I look at Architectural Design Magazines, Gardening Magazines, Fashion Magazines and just recently quilting magazines. You can probably notice that a lot of our products have more earth tones…..influence of landscaping and gardening design at it’s finest. We absolutely LOVE natural earth tones. They’re sexy, they’re bold, they’re real, they’re unapologetic, yet warm, cool and inviting at the same time. Calming even.
Q: What else would you like our readers to know? (How can they find you, etc.)
You can find us via our website at www.beauvivo.com and be sure to join the Beauvivo Family by adding your email when you visit us to become a subscriber. Please like us on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/beauvivo1); Instagram Page (www.instagram.com/beauvivo or @beauvivo). We would love to see you there.