makejoy x OOAK: Matter Company
This summer Makejoy x One Of A Kind want to help you get to know some of our favourite makers through a series of quick interviews in partnership with our friends at OOAK. We will be sharing a feature on makers about their businesses and what joy means to them as creative business owners.
Denise Williams, Founder of Matter Company
A holistic skin care company, handmade in Toronto. The ingredients are the product.
Toronto-based Denise Williams founded Matter Company, a luxe range of all-natural skincare products, in 1996.
After pursuing environmental studies, and inspired by a profound interest in the natural world, Williams turned her attention to the traditional practices of herbalism. She apprenticed with a renowned herbalist and learned firsthand about growing, harvesting and wild-crafting herbs and plants, earning a certification as a Therapeutic Herbalist.
Armed with knowledge about plants and their medicinal properties, Williams began creating skincare products that were not then available on the market and that were good for the body – both inside and out. Skin salves and first aid ointments were formulated in her kitchen, using all-natural ingredients such as shea butter, plant and herb extracts, and scented with aromatic essential oils; and without chemicals like parabens and petrolatum.
The resulting skin-soothing formulas were gifted to friends and family, and became such a hit that Williams decided to launch a full-fledged natural skincare line focused on the healing power of herbs. Thus, Matter Company was born.
Denise, how do you cultivate joy?
Gardening is one way I am able to cultivate joy. It offers an opportunity to access and nurture a relationship with nature. I am also part of a community garden in the city and this aspect of being stewards of this space and land through organic practises is very meaningful to me.
If joy makes us invest more deeply in people around us and in our communities, how does your business allow you to get more connected to your community?
We have an incredible community of customers which give me so much joy and purpose in doing what I do. We've always been able to connect with them through the One Of A Kind Shows and have developed relationships for over the past 15 years of being there. Social media has been a way for us to continue to foster and connect with our Matter community. Next month we will be doing a Live Chat with a female run rock climbing group around herbal applications for sports injury and first aid.
Do you think there is a connection between joy and success?
Yes I definitely do! Having others appreciate what you do and in turn get joy from our products if very rewarding. How we can be helpful in the day-to-day rituals in people's lives and create holistic solutions gives meaning and purpose.
Share something that triggers a joyful memory for you from anytime in your life.
So many things can trigger joyful memories. I was recently listening to Daniel Caesar's "Love Again" and it brought me back to being with my family in New York City last September for a family wedding. It felt so visceral: this feeling of being in that city, brought back to a time and place. I had a perspective of how joy happens all the time and we really have to take note of these times.
Learn more and shop your favourite body care products from Matter Company when you click here!
Want more joy? Here are more amazing maker from our feature series with OOAK: