How I Built a Personal Care Brand to Prove I Could Lead Creative
The $10,000 investment that started everything.
Three years ago, I hit a plateau. I had spent the last decade in fashion working for companies like SSENSE, Aritzia, Domrebel moving product and capturing attention. But I wanted more. I didn’t just want to sell the brand—I wanted to build it.
After closing Necessary, I realized I had the eye. But I didn’t yet have the portfolio to prove I could lead on creative. I wanted a seat at the table for identity, direction, and strategy. I wanted to help founders bring their ideas to life from the ground up.
Even though my background was in fashion, what started to pull me in was CPG. After years of selling clothing and shoes, I became more interested in personal products things people actually used every day, like skincare, snacks, and supplements. There was more room for creativity, stronger brand loyalty, and the opportunity to build something that lived in someone’s routine not just their closet.
At the same time, the “outdoor enthusiast” archetype was having a moment. Everyone I knew was joining hike clubs, wearing Arc’teryx to grab coffee, Salomons were on the runway. The aesthetic was shifting but personal care hadn’t caught up. Most of what existed was either overly functional or completely flat in tone.
I wanted something that felt designed, useful, and cool.
So I started building Natural Rascals @naturalrascals
The concept was clear: three products—a natural bug repellent, a salve, and a candle. These were products you could throw in your tote before a hike or leave on your bathroom counter without compromising aesthetics.
I started by defining the brand identity. The outdoor industry is an odd space to break into from a design perspective—lots of legacy brands, lots of visual noise. If Natural Rascals was going to exist in that world, even temporarily, it needed to look like it belonged.
For formulation, I partnered with my friend Jordana, who already had a scent business. She was making incense, balms, and oils, so we collaborated to create our three SKUs:
Hiking Mist – a bug spray that needed to smell like Le Labo but function like DEET (spoiler: not easy).
Basehand Salve – a balm that melted like coconut oil but didn’t feel greasy.
Vermont, – a candle that doubled as a bug repellent and smelled like Boy Smells.
For design, I worked with two incredibly talented creatives: Kayla, who designed the logo, and Taylor Dawn, who brought the packaging to life. It was the first time I had ever led a design project, and they both took my chaotic, reference-heavy vision and turned it into something tangible. To this day, this experience influences how I work with clients.
Once the formulas and packaging were finalized, I handled production, operations, and fulfillment myself: ordering vessels, printing labels, dealing with box suppliers, and building the site.
I launched in August 2022. I did get a few orders that weren’t "family and friends," but again, what was important to me was using Natural Rascals as a business card. I wanted people to see me as a Creative Director. I knew that after this batch sold out, I wasn’t going to be able to produce it again. Jordana had shut down her business and moved to LA, and if I really wanted to build this, I needed to get a chemist and go all-in, which cost a significant amount of money.
I was sending product out for gifting, posting on LinkedIn, and treated it like my next business, even though I knew it wasn’t built to scale.
Still, I got interest. A small batch got picked up by Livestock, and suddenly my little DIY personal care brand was sitting on shelves next to Arc’teryx, Nike, Salomon, Merrell, Snow Peak, Margin, and Salt & Stone.
That was a surreal moment.
P.S. they still have the Basehand Salve in stock :)
So, Where’s Natural Rascals Now?
There are a few bottles of Hiking Mist still sitting in my closet, now technically expired. But the project did exactly what I needed it to do. It was proof of concept; proof that I could take an idea, build it from scratch, and bring it to market.
Natural Rascals opened the door to what is now Nobody Knows Studio—my creative agency where I help brands with identity, social strategy, and digital design.
And if there’s one takeaway here, it’s this:
Make time for your creative practice.
Even if no one’s asking for it. Even if it’s self-funded or a mockup. Because you never know what project will lead to that dream job
^Sheesh was that too corny?
P.S If you want to help me bring Natural Rascals back to shelves…email me nobodyknowsstudio@gmail.com
Very interesting! Love it 💜