Lather Up With Spinster Sisters Microsoapery
Kelly Perkins founded Spinster Sisters in 2011 hoping to create an alternative to “the witches’ brew of chemicals in many modern skin care products.” Today, there’s just one sister, Kelly, at the helm and, well, she’s married. But “Married Sister” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, so the moniker remains. The brand’s head-to-toe all-natural line now numbers 30 products, from beard balm to body butter. All are topped with a cool retro logo designed by a Fairview High School pal of Kelly’s as a Christmas present.
We sat down with Kelly to learn more about her and the story behind Spinster Sisters Co.
What inspired you to start this company?
Honestly, it was never intended to be a company. It was just supposed to be a neat handmade Christmas present for friends and family one year. I had read an article about Triclosan (nasty, nasty stuff) that is used in many commercial mass-produced skin care products, and that was all I needed to know. Google it, and you will be horrified at what you read. Anyway, it was really just intended to be a hobby… but it kind of just grew into a company organically over the years. More friends started asking for more “flavors” of soap, and soon I had 20 bins of soap laying around. After having to move 20 bins of soap from Boulder to Golden, my husband gently suggested that maybe I should try selling it. When I first started the company, that is all I offered. I started getting requests for more products, and it just kind of grew from there. Soon it was too much to handle as a hobby, so I quit my day job and went for it! So fun!
How did you discover that this was your passion?
Try making soap sometime. It is addicting. Well, actually, don’t try it; just buy from me! It's really fun. I was the Director of Operations and a Business Analyst for a large national corporate travel agency. The company was great, but I felt like I was dying inside a little bit each day. Sitting at a desk in front of a computer all day was just not my thing. I love that I now get to be creative every day. I rarely have to spend a whole day in front of a computer, and I am in control of my destiny. I used to wake up dreading work, so it is a beautiful thing to wake up looking forward to the day's challenges and opportunities.
Tell us a little about the store—its style and its charm.
It has a vintage-chic vibe, which complements our brand's products and packaging. And a big touch of sass mixed in.
What makes your face and skincare products different?
We are really focused on sustainability. We use renewable energy to produce our products, as well as all biodegradable, recycled and/or recycleable packaging. We use very high-quality ingredients and try to work with vendors that are also environmentally conscious. We grow many of our own herbs and botanicals, and what we don’t grow, we try to source locally. We also work with several fair-trade suppliers, like globalmamas.org for ingredients that we cannot source locally.
What do people love about your products?
People definitely love the quality of the products, but I also think they love the irreverence (read: sass), the packaging, the marketing, etc. The name of the company draws them in, for sure… then once they try the products, they see that it is not all just fun and games, but truly high-quality natural products.
This year Kelly opened an apothecary-like store in Golden. “Everything about my job is fun. I work with amazing people. I love talking to customers,” she says. “It’s all fun—except for accounting.”
908 12th St., Golden, spinstersistersco.com
Which Spinster Sisters products should you try first? Take a look at the Top 6 Best-Selling Products at Spinster Sisters Co.
