Organic Index is the brain child of three sisters, Melissa, Emma and Rebecca who are on a mission to create beautifully curated and on-trend collections of natural, crafted and ethical makeup, skin and body products focusing on Australia and New Zealand makers.
Tell us about Organic Index…
Organic Index is a space we have intentionally created to curate a collection of natural, crafted and ethical makeup, skin and body products from makers exclusively from Australia and New Zealand. We want to educate shoppers that there is a different way and plenty of alternatives. With the level in natural and organic products now, you’re not sacrificing. In most cases, you’re actually levelling up and using products with more potent and effective ingredients.
In starting Organic Index, we saw an opportunity to bring together all the local, transparent toxic-free, and ethically produced brands we were, in some cases, already using ourselves and could see were being made here in our own backyard! As three sisters working together it seemed the most natural way for us to combine our individual strengths and create something we are all passionate about. The business represents us and our own personal values so everything is about our own integrity.
Ultimately, we want to be able to help people connect and be inspired to explore a healthier, transparent quality approach to skincare and beauty products.
What inspired you to start Organic Index?
We’ve worked together on and off throughout our whole lives and coming together to create Organic Index was a very natural progression. We are all young mothers and it was around the time our children were born that we started looking at what we were putting on our children. This sparked what has grown into Organic Index. For us it was really about creating a space where people and explore all the options available to them in a calm, sophisticated space – both online and personally. Australia and New Zealand have the some the best products in the world, and we wanted share that with people.
Rebecca, Emma and Melissa
Tell us about your career and background.
The three of us, although sisters who grew up together, really have quite different career backgrounds. Emma has always been a natural skincare enthusiast, constantly researching new products, events and trends which makes her skill-set perfect as our curator and space-maker for Organic Index. Rebecca originally pursued a career in regenerative-agriculture and business management, before transferring her focus across to the administrations and behind-the-scenes logistics of the business. Melissa is honestly our textbook mainstream to naturals convert. She has come from an HR / Corporate Training background, romanced by the beauty industry’s marketing campaigns for decades. Converting to organiceuticals 3 years ago, Melissa is also studying at the College of Natural Beauty and is a qualified makeup artist.
Describe a typical work day for you.
Paddington is such a beautiful part of Brisbane to work in, the street is filled with converted workers cottages and we lucky to have a beautiful view of the green suburban landscape to start each morning at the showroom. We have a room at the back of our showroom with a table that lets us open up our laptops and work on our online presence as well as be available for our customers who want to visit our store. We are always on the lookout for new brands and we dedicate a great deal of time to researching and trialing new products that we want to bring on board. We spend a lot of time with our customers’ journey as well and this is a super rewarding part of our day as we get to really see the benefits of all of our ground work. Events are always really special for us as well, as this is really how our community is growing – seeing like-minded individuals connect and knowing we provided that space is truly special.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
I know it sounds old fashioned, but just keep putting one step in front of another. Keep going. Everyday work on your business, every time you have the opportunity to talk about your idea, do it. Get your idea / business in front of people who are invested in you and will give you constructive feedback on how to move forward and improve. Go to any “campfire conversation” nights…listen to other people’s stories, learn from them, hear their journey and their fears and understand that some days will be so very hard but they are worth it..
What’s next for you, and Organic Index?
There’s a lot happening! We are now working with three external auditors who are experts in what we put on and in our body. They’re going to be reviewing each product we sell so our customers can trust even more that the products we bring into store are truly as clean as possible. We also have our eye on the horizon to open a second showroom and are currently on the search for the ideal spot. We would love to have a place where people can visit and try product on. Skincare and makeup is such a tactile industry and we really want to help our growing community enjoy every part of their journey. Our events have been received so well that we feel this is something we can really evolve organically as our business grows so we’re about to kick off a monthly event series with our makers, hosting makeup master classes or DIY skin care treatments. We want to bring the space to life and let people connect with the products and us. The vision for Organic Index is more than just us. We have a community of amazing makers and we feel a responsibility to set a space and platform to help them reach a new level and bigger audience.
