The Alimond Show
Welcome to The Alimond Show --join us as we share our entrepreneurial guests' stories, uncover their secrets to success, and explore the unique paths they've taken to build thriving businesses in our community.
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The Alimond Show
Allie Savino of Plumera - From Pharmaceutical Roots to Natural Skincare Innovator: Embracing Health Challenges, Balancing Family Business Dynamics, and Spreading Positivity Through Organic Wellness Products
After turning her personal health challenges into a driving force for change, Allie Savino, the brilliant mind behind Plumera, shares her compelling journey from the world of pharmaceuticals at the NIH to crafting natural skincare products. Discover how her experiences with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and epilepsy led her to embrace the importance of healthy, natural ingredients. Allie opens up about her commitment to using organic flowers and essential oils in her products, the unexpected rise in popularity of her lip balms, and the intricacies of balancing the demands of social media marketing while running a family-operated venture.
In an engaging conversation, Allie reflects on how the support of her husband and the joy of spending time with her two children fuel her entrepreneurial spirit. She shares her ambitions for the future, including designing custom soaps for weddings and creating a custom order builder on her website. From mastering intricate soap designs to planning expansions into salons, spas, and farmer's markets, Allie's vision for Plumera is as inspiring as her belief in spreading positive energy through her work. Join us as we explore Allie’s unique perspective on resilience, creativity, and the impact of positivity in business and life.
My name's Allie and I run Plumera. We're a brand new company based in Winchester and we make natural soaps and lip balms and balms, and we're looking to expand our product line pretty soon as well.
Speaker 2:How exciting. 2025 is coming right around the corner here, so time to get to scheming and making things happen. Yeah, I'd like to ask you, um, if you could give us a little bit of a backstory about yourself, how you got started in your industry and all that good stuff.
Speaker 1:Well, actually I started off in working in pharmaceuticals oh wow, my background's in science, actually, actually. So I actually had what I would consider my dream job. I was working for the NIH. I always worked with animals in pharmaceuticals. So I was working at the NIH and I ended up getting sick, um, so I had to leave that job.
Speaker 1:Um, and throughout my illness, I found out I had a bunch of different medical conditions. Um, I found out I had Ehlers-Danlos, which is a genetic condition. I also ended up with epilepsy. Um, I was having a bunch of seizures and throughout the whole process I mean it was a pretty long drawn out process, but I um, I found out that I was I had holes in my skull and my brain was coming through into my ear and I had to have several surgeries to repair it on both sides, and the trauma to my brain caused permanent damage which caused my epilepsy. So now I live with that as well, which, thankfully, it's pretty controlled right now Um, but anyway, throughout that process, I started looking into making healthier choices and, because you know I was home for so long, I always was interested in making soaps, so I just started doing it and it was really fun and it was creative and I got really into it.
Speaker 1:And then I started thinking, like you know, everybody liked them. I would give them as gifts, and everybody raved about how much they loved their soap. So I thought it might be time to try to make it a business. That's wonderful.
Speaker 2:I love that you found this as like an outlet and it's like your passion and you're just spreading the good smells and joy to people too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So I try to. I try to like come up with really creative recipes and, um, you know, make them as fun as possible while being healthy and natural as possible as well.
Speaker 2:Why is being healthy and natural really important when it comes to making your products?
Speaker 1:Because I think a lot of people forget that our skin is our largest organ of our body and it does absorb things. So it is wise to be cautious about what we put on our skin, because it does absorb what we put on it to some extent. So by using we make soaps the old fashioned way, using cold process, which is the way they've made soaps for many, many, many years, and it's. It takes a long time and it's like a long process, but it's worth it and I feel like it's healthier for your skin barrier and the soaps just are nicer, I think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they look really pretty. I'd like to know what type of ingredient to use as far as scents and textures. I see some flower petals maybe?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I, I grow a lot of, uh, organic flowers at my house and dry them out and put them on the top sometimes and beautiful. Yeah, I use mostly essential oils to, um, as fragrances for the soaps. Occasionally, like for the pumpkin spice, this has a little bit of commercial scent in it, but I try to use natural commercial scents wherever possible. Yeah, but a large majority of them are scented with essential oils. Okay, and this one's a little unique. This is one of my favorites. It's a. It's a shave soap, so it's a. It's a harder bar and it's really thick and creamy. So you just when you want to shave your legs, you just rub it on your legs and it makes a nice clean shave, perfect, um, but I love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then talk to me a little bit about the lip balms.
Speaker 1:These are like Everybody seems to love the lip balms. They're just basic ingredients and I mean I I never thought I'm like there's not much special things in there, it's just basic ingredients. But everybody that tried them are they tell me they're like their favorite lip balm.
Speaker 2:So now's the season for that. My lips are so crusty right now you can't tell, cause I kind of covered them up, but I will be using some of that Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean I go through lip balm like crazy. Now, right, got to have one in every purse. Yeah, I make a giant one for myself. Look at you.
Speaker 2:You're having your secret compartment, Like this is mine only and it's the big kind. I love it. And then I would like to ask you for marketing. What are you doing to get your name out there? Because these are some awesome products I feel like people should know about, like the type of work that goes into it, the natural ingredients. Are you an avid social media user? Is it word of mouth? Talk to me a little bit about that.
Speaker 1:I'm not really. I'm working on my social media. I've never been really into social media, but I'm trying to get there. I have a little help with that, um, but I, I really am working on it, it's okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that, and you're here today. So yeah, baby steps right, exactly, love it. And then I'd like to ask you is it just yourself? Is it, do you have any employees?
Speaker 1:Um, we're like a small family business, so it's it's just my me and my family working together to help each other. Yeah, so it's kind of nice, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I love that. And then, um, what have been some of the challenges for you? Um, I know you've had some health issues, but as far as being like an entrepreneur, could you offer us some insight, maybe, on what it takes and how that transition has been from going from working to the pharmaceutical realm to more holistic?
Speaker 1:Probably just the business process in general, like the whole. I guess I guess the business part, I mean my brain, works in like a science way. So I scientist. Yeah, so I don't. I don't always understand, like, what needs to be done as far as, like, to make the business run. So that's kind of a big challenge for me, but I'm I'm working on it.
Speaker 2:I love that so yeah no, I love that you're sharing that and being honest, because sometimes it is hard to be like you know what, I don't know this and maybe I need some help. So I love the transparency that you bring with that and yeah we're always learning.
Speaker 1:My husband is really good at that part, so he's educating me on how to do all those things. Shout out to hubby.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and what do you like to do on your free time? I know that this is like your therapeutic thing, but is there anything else outside of this that you enjoy? Um?
Speaker 1:just hanging out with the kids and family. That's about it. How many kiddos you got? Two.
Speaker 2:Two Nice, I love it. Yeah, do they keep you busy?
Speaker 1:Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2:But, you have hubby to help, so that's great. Yeah, right, and then, um, where do you see yourself in the next five years as a person and with your business?
Speaker 1:um, well, I one of my main business goals is really I always wanted to get involved with, like, doing custom soaps for weddings. I don't know, that was just always something I really, really wanted to do. So I hope that I hope we get get involved with things like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that would be so good to like immortalize your wedding in this particular scent and you're like, look, this is the scent we use when we got married, like it's our set. That would be very cool actually yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:So we're working on um building into the website like a custom builder so that people can order custom soaps and things for, like, a wedding or other event which would be really nice.
Speaker 2:No, that's brilliant. I think that's great. Is there anything, maybe that I'm not touching on or I'm missing, that you would like to share with our listeners, whether it's about yourself, your industry, maybe some fun facts about soap anything at all, um?
Speaker 1:not that, uh, not that I can think of, but I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
Speaker 2:That's okay. I just always like to ask, cause I want to make sure we get everything. You know, yeah, and then, um, what is it like being your own boss and like overseeing everything? Like, do you sometimes feel like it can be a challenge for you or are you finding like, maybe it's, it's easier? Do you sometimes wish, like man, I wish I could have like one helper, like I know you have hubby, but anything of that sort.
Speaker 1:Well, I think it is a challenge because my, because of some of my medical issues, I tend to forget things, so I have to set reminders for myself. But yeah, so sometimes it can be a challenge working with my brain, yeah, but other than that it's nice because I have flexibility. Yeah, so that that part is really nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely yeah. And then, um, what is something that you've learned about yourself through this process, like through all the things that you've gone through through the soap making? Tell me some things that maybe you've learned about yourself that you're like Whoa.
Speaker 1:I did that. I guess just you know how far I've come with the soap making. I mean I used to make little one color soaps that were. You know. I think back and I'm like they were kind of ugly, oh, stop it. And now I see these, and I mean each batch I make seems to get better and better see these, and I mean each batch I make seems to get better and better.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, and how do you get these designs?
Speaker 1:to look like this um, usually it's just the technique that when you pour the batter into the molds, um, you just pour it in a certain way and and then you can use like I can use like a spoon, or I have this thing that goes in and I can make a swirly pattern with it. Yeah, it's actually all in the pour, believe it or not? Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:It looks kind of like you're painting and I'm just like, oh my gosh, how does she do this individually? You probably have your process. I don't really know about soap making, but this looks really cool and intricate.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it actually looks a lot harder than it is but they're beautiful regardless.
Speaker 2:Um have you considered maybe taking your soaps or like putting them like in salons or spas? I think that would be like a great little partnership to have.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is one of our goal, goals as well.
Speaker 2:I think it would just be so greater farmer's market to get your name out there. I could totally see these selling like hotcakes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I hope so, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:We're manifesting and putting that into the universe for you. Thank you, yeah, absolutely. And then, um, is there, um, anything or a message that you would like to leave for our listeners in regards to, maybe you have a saying or a mantra that somebody has said to you that's inspired you, and now you want to pass that torch along.
Speaker 1:Um, not really. Um, I mean, I just I. I've never really had a saying that I go by, but I just I like, I like. I believe in good and bad energy. So I try to use good energy um put good energy into the world. So I believe in that, I like that yeah.
Speaker 2:So that's beautiful. I agree with that. Yeah Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast and thank you so much for taking the time to be here and talk to us about your journey and your wonderful soaps. And where can people find this?
Speaker 1:Plumeraessentialscom.
Speaker 2:Beautiful, thank you. Thank you, absolutely All right, there we go. Hopefully that wasn't too.