Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Reid.
Laura, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started Ethics around five years ago. I had come out of a very abusive relationship and found myself seeking solace and resolution on the trail. Mostly in Ojai which is near my home & Zion National Park in Utah as well as Big Sur. I found the quiet healing, the trail became a metaphor, the decision it offers at its crossroads sometimes. The rocky terrain is leading to the reward of the summit. It was upon the red sand soaked earth of Zion that I discovered I had to go a new way, that I had to choose joy. It was so unfamiliar to me, coming out of all that pain but I knew the next few steps in my life would determine its outcome. I started Ethics from those experiences. It is meant to be more than a candle or a product but rather an invitation into that majesty that can put things in perspective and offer answers if you let it.
Most of our packaging is recyclable, can be repurposed and is sustainable. We try to source it, as much as possible in the United States. All the artwork on our candle tubes is done by local artists we commission. We hand pour the candles and bath salts ourselves, and we use an organic coconut with a 5% beeswax blend for the candles, and all our fragrance is infused with essential oils and is Phthalate free. We try and be as natural as possible and strive to offer a place at the table for both the craftsman and consumer. We journey down the trails ourselves that have inspired our now 38 scents, gathering as we go, collecting inspiration from which to create the experience from using wax and wick. It is a labor of love from start to finish; a scent filled invitation into the back of beyond.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has been an amazing journey, but I would not call it smooth. We had so much to learn. The idea seemed both purposeful and romantic, but the reality is I had never manufactured anything before. It has taken a while to find a trustworthy and reliable supply change for what is needed for every candle.
We had to learn the chemistry behind it all. The shipping itself was an experience. It took us four days and every friend and family member we could muster to pack a large order in the beginning. We can now do in two hours what we did in four days before. Our efficiency has greatly increased, and that could only come by getting into the trenches.
My graphic artists would jump up from their chair and start filling salts or shipping. We all wore a lot of hats, we still do but not as many as before. We used to joke, are you a photographer, graphic designer, warehouse manager, shipper, etc? How about model, most of my team has been featured on our social media or in the catalog. If you can do all those things, then you are hired!
I got really lucky to have had such an amazing and talented group of young people working for me. I have four boys, so I had a wonderful pool of their friends, many who are going on to be doctors and chemists and marine biologists who were pouring and packing my candles. They have been the highlight of the entire experience. They became my family.
We had stairs in the beginning, and we would break all the pallets down to carry them into our 1930’s warehouse that was cool but so impractical. We had to pour offsite because if you turned the space heater on and the computer at the same time, one would stop working. We learned UPC codes and complicated selling platforms, and everyone hung in there and made it fun. Easy no, wonderful, yes
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Ethics Supply Co story. Tell us more about the business.
We are most known for our line of National Park candles. Those are the trails nearest and dearest to my heart. We are about to partner with a homeless ministry in the valley and gather inner city and disadvantaged kids who may never have been exposed to the wilderness and take them on hikes and into nature. We are working with a wonderful prominent local surfer who has agreed to teach the kids how to surf. We are calling it The Wilderness Project, and it will be up and running in the next few months.
That was always the goal- to give back somehow. To invite not just the ultra adventurer who is familiar with the experience of the trail but to offer a scent filled invitation from home into the quiet. We don’t try and define adventure for anyone, we feel it is personal, and we see adventure as anything that challenges you out of your comfort zone and helps you grow emotionally and spiritually.
I am most proud of how far we have come, how in a short time we have been able to grow and learn as a company and help share that message- that there is a whole big beautiful world waiting out there. That life is more than busyness that we often already have the answers we seek we just need a bit of time and quiet to let them out.
I am also proud that we try to keep things as natural as possible. We have limitations because of the product we create, but we try our best and have been able to employ members of our local community. That has been rewarding as well.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think the whole industry is changing. More and more people are shopping online, so we are trying to support our brick and motor stores as much as possible. There is value in the experience of being able to touch, hold and smell something before you buy it.
We would like to expand the line, of course, attaching each candle to a cause if we can. To help foster the idea that it is ok to have differences of opinion and varying ideas but maybe we can find a way to treat each other with more kindness and compassion. That is the message we are hoping to get across.
We would love to launch into more personal care products as well as products that translate from camp to home- a beautiful chair that can be used near your tent as well as in your living room. I think most people are concerned about where we are as far as humanity, and most people want to actively do god in the world, our goal would be to join them in that endeavor, through thoughtfully and well-crafted products that inspire.
Pricing:
- organic coconut wax with 5% beeswax for a very clean healthy burn
Contact Info:
- Address: 2051 Cabot Place Unit G Oxnard Ca 93030
- Website: ethicssupplyco.com
- Phone: 8002704316
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethics_supply_co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ethicssupplyco/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ethicssupplyco?lang=en
Image Credit:
Evan Yoshimoto, Robert Biggerstaff, Evan T. Price
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