The Founder Series ~ April Installation
Somehow we’re already halfway through April and so many things have been going on behind the scenes that I wanted to start sharing with you all to bring you along on the journey. Because the truth is, you, our loyal community, are the motivation and inspiration behind making all of this possible. I hope by sharing more on this journey it inspires deeper understanding of the
INBLUEM movement, as well as providing an insight into how it all works as I know so many of you are aspiring entrepreneurs and activists in your own life. My dream for
INBLUEM is to support women in all aspects of their empowerment and coming home to themselves, and I couldn't be more grateful to walk this uncharted path together. The ‘founder series’ will focus on updates of product development, nature/science innovation and how we prioritise health and wellbeing in all aspects of our business. So I guess we’ll start from the top!
Product development
If you’ve been with us from the start you’ll know that
INBLUEM has thrived for the last two and a half years based on a range of 2 potent serums - the Finger Lime Repair and Kakadu Plum Radiance. We did this for a lot of reasons - Mostly and firstly, to lead with simplicity. And secondly - it ended up being a lot harder than we thought to create truly sustainable formulations in an industry so used to shortcuts and greenwashing. See, I have a not-so-small dream that
INBLUEM will one day flourish to create sustainable self care solutions for all of our everyday needs, providing an alternative for those of us who truly champion transparency and integrity in the products we put on and in our bodies. But right now we are a small, self-funded, family run business and this is a journey that I believe deserves time and devotion to not fall victim to the harmful standards of the beauty industry. The biggest things I have been working on for our core range are a: gentle cleanser, deeper moisturiser, liquid soap, beauty tools and of course the long awaited sunscreen.
So a bit of a background on me is that I’m an environmental engineer by trade with a deep trust and understanding of nature. But I believe my true authority in this space is being a woman in the modern world, yearning for simple, truly natural solutions that actually work (which is more rare than you’d think!). Everything in
INBLUEM is guided by the principles of biomimicry - which simply put is creating solutions that replicate the greatest scientist of all - nature. Almost 2 years into the journey of designing potions and it never quite feeling right, I returned to my initial creative practice when formulating the serums which was to strip it all back and lead from intuition to harness a fresh approach to the ‘standard beauty routine’ and ask myself ‘what would a
INBLUEM girl do?’. So I stopped trying to create a sustainable solution to what already existed and instead, decided to ask my skin what it truly needed. What I arrived at was: a Seed to Skin journey that embodied a solution to a modern issue, zero synthetic preservatives, a simple ingredient list, zero waste, innovative extraction process’ to create solutions that were still alive as nature intended, Australian grown and made, organic, cruelty-free and most of all: ACTUALLY NATURAL. But how?
Nature/Science Innovation
I’ll be honest when our team set out with the mission to design the seemingly impossible, I didn't know how we were going to do it. So while it may sound corny - I put it to the universe. And this is something I feel called to share because while I view the world through a scientific and practical lens, I also believe that if you want a miracle you have to make room for it and this is extremely valid in business. A combination of manifestation and research led to discovering the most unique, astrologically guided alchemists and herbalists to help create the next range of uniquely extracted, zero-preservative, wild harvested potions which are now in their final stages of development and almost ready for you. We’ve been trialling them for the last 6 months and let me just say I am so excited for what they will bring to the world and their innovative approach to nurturing the skin to health on a holistic level.
If only it came together as easy as one paragraph! An insight into some of the challenges we’ve faced along the way:
Finding experts who fully align with our values
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Discovering a natural preservative that will keep our potions alive without requiring synthetic additives
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Creating innovative packaging solutions available in quantities that are realistic for small business (most manufacturers want orders of a minimum ten to one hundred thousand units!)
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Safety testing formulations to ensure they maintain their quality over time as well as the density of active ingredients
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Creating high-quality Australian made, natural formulations at an accessible price
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Travelling to meet growers in person to ensure ethical & sustainable harvesting practices are utilised from seed to skin
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Identifying the most effective, native plants that support a sustainable initiative (ie. one of the native plants we’ll be using is a direct substitute for another imported plant which is in extremely high demand even though it results in negative environmental impacts & limited supply)
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Hiring & expanding the
INBLUEM team to make our dreams possible
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Doing all of that while respecting my femininity and priority role as a mother! Which leads me to the next point...
Holistic Health within the Business
In this section of the founder series I want to share supportive techniques that help our team to thrive. As a team of mostly women, an impactful tool we’ve introduced is tracking our cycles and encouraging unapologetic communication surrounding this. Why? Because I believe in a work culture that sees our monthly bleed as a gift, to be respected and supported. What this looks like is sharing a calendar and charting when our individual cycles begin and end. This calendar is referred to when planning upcoming activations and events, allowing us to consider the seasons of our cycle and ultimately work WITH our bodies rather than against. A practical example of this is when we’re planning a community event which calls for me to be outward and social, we will gear it towards ovulation time where my hormones are most supportive of this. On the other hand, when I’m leading up to my bleed I’ll reduce ‘productive’ work and focus on editing and refining creations that may have come through in the earlier stages of my cycle. There is so much to be said on this and if you’re wanting to learn more just reach out to the team and we can suggest the best point of contact for you.
So there you have it, a brief update on happenings within the Bluemiverse. Thank you all so much for being a part of this journey, the next few months are going to be a big one and I already look forward to checking in with you again next month.
With love, Monny x
(Founder of
INBLUEM)
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