For creative people, a work space is just as important as the work.
Take Steve and René Bartosh, entrepreneurs and owners of La Beauté Pure de Coco, who make a face and body scrub made simply out of sugar, essential oils and coconut butter.
When I asked the Bartoshes for permission to have them photographed in their work space, they told me it was a very small space, a porch attached to their house. What they did not tell me was how lovely it was.
The room, only about eight feet square has windows on three sides, covered in sheer, white curtains. It is just big enough for a desk, a chair, a behemoth Eurodib industrial mixer, a dorm fridge that houses the essential oils and sits upon a simple shelf that also stores various mixing tools and a 25-pound bag of granulated sugar on the bottom. In the middle of the room, overhead, a crystal chandelier adds a layer of sparkle to the seemingly infinite space.
In addition to bags of sugar and essential oils, the Bartoshes buy coconut oil in bulk — 468 ounces at a time — to make the different products: lavender, vanilla, marjoram and peppermint coconut scrubs. Cinnamon and cassi is offered seasonally and at the end of April they are planning to roll out two new scents, tangerine and ylang ylang.
The business is one year old Thursday, April 2, but has been in the making for sometime.
Steve was a U.S. Marine and for four years was a vehicle operator with an artillery battery. One day while on a mission operating a cannon, a cargo blind (a 150-pound net) was shoved off without warning and landed on Steve’s head, knocking him unconscious for a short period of time, he said. Steve said they doctored him, and put him on light duty. “In the Marines,” he said, “they give you a Motrin and tell you, ‘Change your socks.’”
Later he found out that he had a hairline fracture in his neck that didn’t heal correctly and therefore had large calcium deposits and irregular curvature as a result.
After becoming disabled in his tour of duty, he decided to take advantage of his GI Bill. He first went to wind turbine school in Vancouver but after graduating as a wind turbine technician, found that the physical requirements were beyond his abilities. He decided to then attend Clark College to finish out his GI Bill and study business. The requirements of the GI Bill changed right before he received his associate’s degree. But he really wanted to get his bachelor’s degree. “Evergreen popped up on my radar,” he said. Both his brothers had gone there. Evergreen, however, did not have a business degree so he tackled environmental studies.
During this entire time, he was dating René who lived in Aberdeen and worked for Anchor Bank. She had a skin problem that left her hands dry and cracked, so much so that they would often bleed. She would try to moisturize them, often wearing gloves to bed, Steve said.
She thought she had tried everything until Steve’s studies opened their eyes to natural based products, one of which was coconut oil.
“René is the reason it was created,” said Steve, ” I had the idea, she had the solution.”
“He told me ‘you should look into this. All the commercial products were really bad on your skin and for the waterways.’ So I researched. There was lots of trial and error and I was my own Guinea pig. We gave out samples to our friends and people became hooked. They wanted more.
“It snowballed from there,” said René.
They chose simple scents that are pure with no alcohol.
They split responsibilities on the weekends covering as many markets as possible. They love that they can take their young (and charming, I might add) 5-year-old son, Lance with them. “He’s at every event and many of our return customers know his name,” said Steve. When more than one event is out of town, he usually goes with whoever has the pool at their hotel. “He’s picking up a lot of the business,” and then added, “He doesn’t have an option.” The Bartosh’s like that Lance sees his parent working and how they make their living.
Their business is cranking.
Currently, they are slated to be on the shelves of the new Whole Foods in University Place when it opens in May. You can also find their product at Lake Quinault Lodge, Organics 101 Market in Montesano, on Amazon, at the Sunday Fremont Market in Seattle, periodically under a tent outside at Jay’s Farmstand. At the Seabrook Saturday Market as well as at Spa Elizabeth in Seabrook. Diana Wilson, owner of Spa Elizabeth, who makes her own scrub but offers La Beauté Pure de Coco for sale as retail, says she offers it because, “It’s the most natural and basic sugar scrub you are going to be able to find. People really want the results of using natural products and that’s what we believe in at the spa.”
Richelle Barger may be reached at rbarger@thedailyworld .com
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