Today we’d like to introduce you to Parisa Morris.
Parisa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I wasn’t always as comfortable with my skin as I am known. For years I pampered my skin looking for that dewy celebrity glow, and even though I never had bad skin, it was still dull and uneven. It was lacking something, but I wasn’t sure what.
In 2014 I had just moved in with husband and Co-founder, Jeremy Morris, when I finally reached my breaking point. At the time essential oils and holistic healing were beginning to catch on—a few years before the word natural flooded the beauty industry—when my husband and I both had a revelatory moment: could we formulate something to fix this issue ourselves? After a little research and scouring local shops we acquired a plethora of pure essential oils ranging from the known staples such as Tea Tree and Lavender to the more obscure oils like Marjoram and Yarrow. We also snagged some other natural ingredients like Witch Hazel and Aloe Vera. From here our serendipitous apothecary journey began.
From what I recall, the first thing we made was a natural makeup remover that actually worked while also restoring my skin to the image I had dreamed of. After this, I began to gradually take out products that carried alcohol and other irritating ingredients until my entire bathroom cabinet was almost purely organic and edible.
Fast forward a couple months and we were becoming infatuated with natural beauty which resulted in the creation of moisturizers, beard oils, and even cleansers. Friends quickly became interested and after a while, we realized it wasn’t sustainable to continue giving out free product, so after some diligent months of research, design, and formulation we launched our website.
Town & Anchor has been such an amazing and accidental success; something we are so proud of and blessed to have. For me, it’s really exciting to know that I’m a part of something that is helping others with their appearance and outward confidence, while also shifting the paradigm of the beauty industry towards a less toxic and humane space.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road, but I’d be surprised to hear any entrepreneur share that it has been for them. I remember when we would take each order individually to the post office and stay in line to mail it out. I had no idea how to make shipping labels online, let alone know that was even an option.
There are upsides to being a business owner in a very competitive industry, but so often you lose sight of how things could be easier. You learn things the hard way and in turn, come out stronger and wiser because of it. It took us a while to learn how to ethically package glass bottles or how to deal with frozen ingredients being shipped in the winter without cracking open, but we figured it out.
Looking back at it now it makes me laugh, but I know during the process we struggled and I felt really discouraged. I still wouldn’t change a thing. It was overcoming those obstacles that has given me the confidence I have today. It’s knowing that now if something doesn’t go according to plan, I still got this. You just have to learn to fail and fail better the next time.
TOWN & ANCHOR – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We specialize in botanical skincare where we ethically source all ingredients from the earth and sea. Everything we make is handcrafted and all our ingredients are fair trade, vegan, and cruelty-free.
These words may seem like buzzwords, but they’re a lifestyle and I feel like beauty shouldn’t have to sacrifice values. What we put on our skin is important and I believe where we get it from is just as important. We cherish the less is more approach with everything we do. I feel like the skincare industry is saturated with this idea that we need more and more to feel beautiful, but if something is good and works we should need less. I’m mostly proud of that.
I’m proud of being able to create a product without sacrificing my values and understanding that we don’t need a lot of products to be successful. I want our customers to be able to look in the mirror without makeup and feel comfortable and confident. If there’s anything I want TOWN & ANCHOR to be known for, it’s that.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far was when I decided to launch the “reviews” section on our website. I’ve been able to obtain information directly from our consumers as to how our products are working for them. I cannot tell you how excited I get when they share their positive results. Or when a customer volunteers before and after shots of their skin after using our face oils.
Knowing that we’ve been able to help someone with their complexion with cruelty-free and 100% natural products we’ve formulated all by ourselves is a dream come true. I think every business owner dreams of that. The moment they realize that what they’re creating is not only working but changing lives.
Pricing:
- All our luxury skincare products are affordable and range from $20-30.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.townandanchor.com
- Email: town.anchor@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/townandanchor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Town-Anchor-Skincare
Image Credit:
Ayaka Sano
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