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Fed up with battling skin issues her whole life, Julie Clark created her own solution by starting a holistic skincare company, Province Apothecary.
Julie Clark never imagined her life long battle with eczema and allergies would lead her to become an expert in natural skincare. After trying everything from ointments to steroids, Julie took matters into her own hands. She left her career as a costume designer and stylist, and went on to study aromatherapy, herbal medicine and esthetics. Her home-based business of creating natural products in her kitchen slowly grew into the now wildly popular and Goop approved Province Apothecary.
When I started the brand, it was all a collaboration with everyone I knew, whoever could do anything and everything to help. It was a brilliant community of creative minds coming together.
I’m an arranger, haha, so I like finding the pieces, people and bringing them together to make the magic happen. It’s a huge part of our business. And it’s always been a goal of mine to build a supportive community for people who want to take care of their skin. I felt really alone when dealing with my skin issues, so that drove me to support others.
Just start and don’t stress too much about everything being perfect.
It took me a little while to get the courage to put stuff out there. It’s okay if you change things along the way. Looking back, people were so supportive no matter what. It took me a little too long to get out there, so I wish I had taken the risk earlier and to work through it all in public rather than privately.
There’s a lot of little things that can feel so stressful when they’re happening. For me, it’s how not to take it so personally and have it ruin everything good that’s going on. Having a therapist has been very helpful, having an outlet to talk to about all of this.
The business started from a failure. My failed relationship led me to take a chance and move to Toronto from New York. At the time, it felt like the biggest failure, and I’d never bounce back from it. But looking at it, if that opportunity didn’t come up, then I wouldn’t be where I am now. In the moment, it seems like nothing can get better from there, but in reality, it’s amazing to look back and see how the universe has pushed us in this direction and forces that change.
The biggest risk is starting a business; it feels so daunting sometimes. It was really taking that leap and quitting my day job as a costume designer and stylist and committing to starting a business.
The moment my son leaves for daycare, I have to start working. Before I had him, I would take care of myself a little more, but now I get to work as soon as possible. The zone for me is anytime my son isn’t at home, and I can focus.
It’s the stillness and silence, the moments when you can’t do anything else. Creativity sparks when I’m driving, riding a bike or walking. Also, my husband and I bought a farm four years ago, so working with plants and growing them has been life changing. Lastly, our clients are a huge source of inspiration, finding out what they want and need.
What we do is change the way we talk about the product. For us, ingredients and plant medicine are everything. Before it worked by saying, “this was made of real plants,” and now I feel like people don’t care as much, and they want to hear about the vitamins, omegas or antioxidants. All of these nutrients exist in our products, in the plant matter. It’s just that now we’re talking about those benefits in the language that is popular. I’m obsessed with pure plant-powered skincare, the purity, raw ingredients, the whole plant, instead of extracts. So, it’s not changing our product line but about what we share with our customers.
Having our spa has been a brand difference. Most brands don’t have a physical location where you can see that esthetician and work with them to treat your skin. It’s not just about selling the product; we’re here to help clients with their skin needs and provide education - it’s more than just skincare for us. Also, the big thing I love is the custom serum, a personalized product for each person.
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