Welcome to the Personality Spotlight, Krissy! You are such a
fun and fabulous gal, and it's time to get to know you better.
Please share with us how and where you grew up, and tell us
about your background.
Hi
Sharon thank you so much for this opportunity! I grew up
in a small suburb outside of Buffalo with my parents, sister
and 2 brothers. I am the oldest, so I consider that a reason
for my type A personality since I received the strictest part
of raising 4 kids.
I started dancing at age 3 and
danced professionally as dancer, singer, choreographer and
dance teacher for several years after high school.
Needless to say, I was wearing makeup at a very young age (and
loved every minute of it).
Shortly after returning from a
show I was doing in Colorado, my very close aunt got sick from
a rebout with cancer, and passed away within weeks. It
was then I decided to switch career paths and go into the
beauty industry because I wanted to stop traveling and be home
with my family.
I went first to nail school,
owned a very successful nail salon, then went back for my
cosmetology license and opened a day spa. My business
partner was into homeopathic healing and really got me into a
healthier lifestyle. I had a million books on herbs and
Bach flowers and how it connected to our bodies emotionally
and physically. But I truly loved making women feel good
on the outside, because it really affected how they felt on
the inside as well. Confidence is such a powerful and
magnetic life tool.
During my time as salon
owner/stylist/makeup artist/skin care specialist, I also was
recruited and trained by a few very exclusive and
international hair color lines. This gave me great
experience learning about intense color theory, as well as the
needs of other business women with what they needed their
products to do for their own unique clientele.
I met my husband during the
beginning of my dayspa venture. We married and when I
got pregnant with our first son Daniel (Danny), I swelled with
severe edema and had to leave on very early maternity leave.
This forced me to sell my half of the business as I couldn’t
be there to handle my clients or the salon, especially because
my husband traveled for weeks at a time. So, after Danny
was born (by emergency c-section and almost died from
prolapsed cord delivery- totally scary!) I did my clients at
home. The marriage was one that did not provide a happy,
loving place, to say the least. After my second son
Ezekiel was born, I decided it was healthier to end the
marriage. I risked a lot and put myself in a financial
hole by leaving, but I finally felt free, happy, and safe.
Then, I got the big idea to
start my own “little” makeup company to earn extra income to
support myself and my boys. My little idea is now a big
deal called Ferro Cosmetics! My father is my business
partner, and it employs many family members as well.
You are a strong advocate for all-natural beauty care.
On your website, it says that it didn't happen overnight.
What did lead you to creating your own line of natural mineral
makeup?
When I was doing my
clients at home, I got involved with a skin care company and
started doing home parties and freelance makeup. I had
MORE WOMEN call me at home complaining about irritated skin
and problems with skincare products and makeup then I did when
I was using very strong chemicals like bleach and ammonia on
women’s scalp and hair. So, I started investigating why,
as well as ingredients, and where I could find a 100% natural
line of cosmetics that actually functioned as good as
traditional makeup if not better. I spent thousands on
trying several different lines and still wasn’t happy.
So, I bought some minerals and did a little playing with
ingredients and blending colors. What I discovered was
my sister’s severe acne was covered, her acne healed and she
finally felt confident again, and my makeup looked better than
ever with my little trial formulations. I got hooked and
decided this was my calling.
Your site also says that your company, Ferro Cosmetics, offers
'eco-fabulous' products (I love that term!). What makes
your products different than most, and what goes into creating
each shade and product?
They are
eco-fabulous because every little detail is considered to stay
environmentally friendly when we formulate, package, and
create additions to our complete line. For one, we
absolutely only do business with vendors in the US as opposed
to China like 95% of the cosmetic industry does. This
costs more, but saves trees and fossil fuels from transporting
across the globe. Then, we even try and find talented
vendors located within the northeast to save on fuel. We
operate our office being “green” doing things like shredding
paper and using as shipping padding, green light bulbs,
turning everything off and unplugged, etc. Our jars are
made from one of the only 2 manufacturers in the US that make
loose powder jars using materials that are 100% recyclable in
all areas of the nation (some plastics can’t be recycled in
other areas of the US).
The FABULOUS aspect is the fact that I have listened to the
thousands of women that I’ve serviced throughout my 15 years
in the beauty industry, and created every shade and every
product from what the demand is. If we get requests for
a certain shade or finish, we bring it to market immediately.
We even changed sifters and sifter labels from feedback we
received from our clients. Our cosmetics are all for
women of all ages and what they would like to make them FEEL
as fabulous on the inside as they truly are.
What lessons have you learned about running your business and
what advice would you give to those that are just getting into
the all-natural beauty business?
Wow- well I learned you spend more trying to save money on
hiring experts like copywriters, graphic designers and web
programmers for sure! If I could do it again, I’d hire
the best right away, right at the beginning.
Also, fully understanding your brand before you begin any kind
of marketing or even manufacturing is very essential. To
me a company’s branding is like an expression of their
business morals and ethics besides their products.
Align yourself with like minded people and groups so you can
always stay inspired and supported. It’s tough keeping
your ground sometimes when you know you can order something
cheaper elsewhere, and even harder finding quality ingredients
and formulations to suit the market demand WITHOUT CHEMICALS.
Stay true to your soul and staying natural, because chemicals
will never be back in style.
What advice do you have for your fellow hair designers and
those working in salons about going all-natural?
My fellow salon
professionals should really step up their game in their
knowledge base on the natural products and cosmetics, because
women look to their professional for wise and true beauty
advice. I am amazed when I do meetings with salons how
much they don’t know about the market demand for these
products, and they will go anywhere to get them, including a
natural salon. If they know you are aware of current
trends and keep their health as a main concern, they are loyal
for life.
What do you do for fun (besides your business)?
I love spending
time with my boys and taking them to bookstores especially,
going to fabulous restaurants with my girlfriends for relaxing
great dinners, getting my hair done, and watching a good
movie. Right now I do get extreme enjoyment and fun in
my business because we just opened our first retail store, so
it’s fun watching it all come together.
If you could choose your favorite pampering session, what
would be?
A 90 minute
massage, facial, and day spa service I just love! It would be
perfect if it was on a warm beach!
What future plans do you have for Ferro Cosmetics, and where
do you see the future of all natural beauty care?
We have so many
wonderful new products, events, and plans for Ferro Cosmetics
it’s hard to keep up! We’re currently branching
internationally into Kuwait, and concentrating on distribution
throughout the US. We’re using our store to test market
a lot of what we have in store as well.
The future of natural beauty care I feel is a huge
growth in the immediate horizon. It’s exciting to have
such rapid growth, and as more women start realizing the truth
and the lies behind their favorite brands, it will only
strengthen the industry.
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