Ruth Darling, Peak to Peak. Local Nederland and Jamestown mountain dwelling moms, Corrie Bradley and Rainbow Shultz didn’t set out to be Women’s Health advocates, but now these issues are the focus of their careers. They both say they couldn’t have imagined it any other way. “I guess it was inevitable that this is where we were headed,” Rainbow said, smiling.
Longtime friends, the two women found themselves having a conversation one afternoon, laughing about how personal lubricants seemed to have been made for men by men, which was probably why they were designed to be slippery without the sensitive skin in mind that would be affected.
“Why not treat this product like we treat products made for the face and hair?” Corrie explained. “We have a wealth of knowledge of the many incredible qualities that active botanicals bring to body products. Why wouldn’t we be using them in our intimate areas, where our body’s skin is most sensitive?”
Based on this premise, the two women’s conversation quickly expanded to other mountain women of all ages.
Rainbow explained, “We held informal groups to talk to other mountain women, to see what type of need there was out there. We had absolutely enlightening conversations with our women friends and neighbors. It was really pretty mind blowing, how much information we were sharing in these wine and snack fueled groups. We realized that there is a huge conversation that we’re not having about aging, and not only is it fascinating and important, it’s also a lot of fun to share.”
Corrie is a Licensed Clinical Herbalist and holds a vast wealth of knowledge about plants and their properties. For her, it was an inspiring project to work on.
“To formulate a product that you know is made specifically for women felt important,” she shared.
The two women are proud of their two products. The Elixir and Serum contain many botanicals that one might normally expect to find in a fancy face cream. Maitake, Reishi, Jasmine, Wild Pansy are a few of the ingredients in the products.
Corrie has spent years developing products in the skin care industry. She also knows intimately the hydrating qualities of Hyaluronic Acid. This ingredient is found naturally in the body and has been known recently as the Skin Care Industry’s “golden child.” Its popularity comes from the incredible amount of moisture that it pulls to itself.
One afternoon while Corrie was cleaning up her studio from another product, she spilled some hyaluronic acid and found it impossible to clean up because of its slippery nature.
“That was my a-ha moment,” Corrie explained enthusiastically. “The combination of botanical ingredients and hyaluronic acid have been incredible. The stories that women are sharing about how this product has changed their lives has actually been emotional. It’s been more emotional than I’d realized creating a self-care product would or could be.”
The two women have both lived in the Boulder County mountains for a long time and say that that they love the natural beauty in the Rocky Mountains, and love raising their kids and families here.
“Jamestown is home to the best people anywhere,” Rainbow said. “I love the people who live to the beat of their own drum, and who also love these mountains.”
They both expressed that they received a lot of support for this endeavor from area mountain residents. They suggested that a community made up of free-thinking mountain folk was a great place to start this business.
Now that their product is available on their website, the two businesswomen have continued their communication and organizing with the community. They say that they welcome invitations to speak about issues around women’s health and aging as well as the fun and information sharing conversations that come from them.
Their next event is being held at The Rags Warehouse in Boulder at 5:30 p.m., February 5, 2020, where snacks and discounted products as well as clothes will be available.
For more information, and to learn more about their two flagship products, reach out through their website, www.larklove.com.
(Originally published in the January 30, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)
