MAKERS | Q+A WITH ARTIFACT SKIN CO.

NAME  |  Narae + Elie

BRAND  |  Artifact Skin Co.

LOCATION  |  Hamilton, Ontario

Coffee or Tea?  |  Coffee in the AM, herbal tea in the PM.

Currently Listening  |  Once I Loved, by Astrud Gilberto

Favourite Quote  |  "...people will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelou

In 10 words or less, what do you do?
We mix magical potions your skin and hair will love!

What motivated you to start your business?
In 2012, the idea of starting our own skincare company began when I (Narae) was working as a cosmetician while Elie was finishing up architecture school. At that time, the green beauty community was not as broad as it is today. We couldn't find clean, effective, beautiful and fun products that we would like to use ourselves. The face masks were traditionally presented in a line of products - and seemed more like an afterthought. What we wanted to do was make the masks the main attraction. We definitely saw the need in the market and the need to fill in this void motivated us to immediately drop everything and begin this crazy journey.

What has been your most rewarding experience since starting your company?
There has been two most rewarding experiences since we started our company. The first, when we got to 'physically' hold our first finished product in our hands. It's so rewarding knowing that this product went from an idea and sketches, to formulations and testing, to final product. We've come out with a few new products now, but it's the same fuzzy feeling each time! The second, as cliché as it may sound, is when we get love notes from our customers. We always appreciate it when they take the time to tell us how much they enjoy our products. It's really sweet and it makes our day - even when we haven't been outside for a few days! It motivates us to create more effective, clean, and beautiful products for their daily routines.

What does a typical day look like for you + your crew?
It always starts with a cup of coffee (and a glass of water).

The great thing about working with your husband/wife is that you actually get to have breakfast and drive to work together. On our drive to our studio, we usually to listen to podcast stories from other businesses, to get our minds focused for the day. No day is quite like the other - however, in the studio, we are mostly in producing to fulfill orders, responding to emails, and photographing/marketing products. We never stop researching, learning and formulating. After the end of each week, we have a tête-à-tête to regroup and set our goals and tasks for the following week.

 

How did you grow your business from a hobby to a full-time job?

When we started Artifact, Narae had just finished her architecture degree and I (Elie) was working on my own design projects. We jumped feet first into this whole thing. We really believed that we could succeed and knew that this would need our full attention. We sold whatever we could in order to fund our first line of products. In the beginning, while we were working on creating our own brand and researching/formulating products, we started a blog teaching people different ways to take care of your skin, using everyday ingredients. This helped us learn a lot about what people were interested in and also gain an audience for when we eventually launched our online shop.

Work / Life balance, how do you maintain it?

Most business owners would agree that the balance between both work/life is sometimes hard to keep, especially when the owners are husband and wife. It always seems that you are working, if not, you are thinking about it, especially in the early stages. Moving our business out of our home and into a studio space has helped us organize our lives and keep our home for living and our studio for working. Even though we work long hours, we are grateful that we are able to carve our own path.

 

What’s the next milestone for your brand?

Our next milestone is to open up an Artifact flagship store, where customers can test out unreleased products and for them to physically experience our brand.

SALT WISH LIST  |  Artifact Skin Co

1. Dennik Sweater - Creative Blue

2. Sparkle Choker - Gold Plated

3. Third Towel - Sand

4. Air Plant - Tillandsia Xerographica

5. Hanging Himmeli - Suomi 4

from SALT Shop - Journal https://saltshop.ca/blogs/news/makers-artifact-skin-co

SUNDAYS |

Sundays are the week’s way of telling you to be free. To some of us, that means packing up the car and heading to places unknown. For others, it means more time spent in warm sheets, maybe an extra cuddle or two.

Sundays are for comfort and skin, soft lighting and doing whatever your heart wants. They are for no schedules and no responsibilities. They are for getting lost in a good book, carried away by another world. They are for savouring good coffee. Cozying up in your favourite cottony attire. Or no attire! #NoPantsSundays #NoPantsNoProblems 

Sundays are for nourishment. Give yourself permission to fill your brain with nourishing words, from a book, from a song, from your own internal monologue, whatever grabs you. Nourish your body, whether that is by staying in to recharge or getting active, listen to your energy levels. Fill a jar with water and get hydrated. Feed yourself with whole, colourful food. 

Ever heard of a Kitchen Party? It’s basically the term for when you have people over, and big inviting living room or not, everyone always ends up in the kitchen together. Sitting on the counters, the stools, the floors. Just talking, eating, cooking, bonding. You don’t need a crew to have a Kitchen Party though, you just need the kitchen. You are party enough all on your own! Get cooking, get creative.

Break out that Vegan Buddha Bowl recipe that you have been saving on Pinterest for weeks and get creative. If you’re in the mood for comfort, go off recipe a little, add in some baked yams and switch up the dressing for some miso gravy. #SoloKitchenParty #NoPantsParty

In this go-fast, right-now, immediate gratification world of smart phones and drones and e-mail instead of letters, make the time to take real notice of your surroundings. In mindfulness, there is meaning. Don’t just stop to smell the roses, stop to plant some. Interact with your environment, finding a new level of connection with nature, with your home, and with yourself. Go on, we know you want to. 

 

SHOP THE LOOK  |  

Adriatic Tunic  |  $84 

White Mug  |  $25

Coffee Dripper  |  $45

from SALT Shop - Journal https://saltshop.ca/blogs/news/sundays