|
Danielle Hill, Former Sustainability and Outreach Coordinator at Boyle's Naturals, interviewed Katie on 4/18/18, and here is a transcript. Danielle: So exactly what is Boyle's Naturals? Katie: Ha! Boyle's Naturals is a natural products manufacturing company...and its genesis is the deep concern I have about harmful ingredients in many of the mainstream products we use on our bodies and in our homes...ingredients shown as harmful when ingested, absorbed, inhaled, etc. So we make and sell products but we are also providing simple workarounds to reduce exposures to toxins. And we go beyond the hazards in product ingredients...like...a simple one is: If you have Teflon pans, check them for scratches. If little black flakes come off with your fingernail, then replace them or better yet, get stainless steel pans. Danielle: Great. Ok, so you live in Simsbury, CT now. Where did you grow up? Katie: I am a New England girl through and through. I grew up on the North Shore of MA in Melrose, went to high school in Peabody and did my undergrad (in geology and Spanish) at Northeastern in Boston. I spent every summer of my life on Lake Winnipesaukee in NH and now have lived in CT for almost 16 years. So I have deep roots in three of the six New England states and I'm supah proud of that! |
|
That's why I want to be everyone's New England supplier of toxin-free personal care and home products, etc. It's exciting and there's so much more to come!
Danielle: So a less lofty question: Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks?
Katie: Ok, do you really need to ask that? Dunks 100%. I do go to Starbucks but I will NEVER use their pretentious words for sizes. It's small, medium and large people! I look them straight in the eye and say, "Gimme me the big one."
Danielle: What's something you've never been able to do well?
Katie: Oh my God, running! I run and run and run and run and huff and puff and feel bad for myself and watch my husband run marathons and just generally have an insane amount of energy that I will never understand.... I rarely hit that mile 3 plateau I have heard so much about and I just struggle the entire run. But it's still good exercise so I do it!
Danielle: Speaking of your husband, tell me about your family.
Katie: Ok, so yes, my husband Brian is the biggest family man, makes all of us laugh every single day, and our two girls adore him. My girls are 6 and 3, and they are the most outgoing, energetic, did I say energetic? little personalities with so many things to say and ask us about. There's a whole lot of love in this house; love, snuggles, but a whole lot of Barbies strewn about, sibling arguments, dancing in tutus until someone hits their head and multiple major screaming tantrums every day. I am told, "You're not the best mama" almost daily right now....and that is kind of, well, less than ideal.
Danielle: What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Katie: Beautiful instrumental music, holding my husband's hand in the church we were married, the intimacy of feeding my babies as infants, and holding them as they fall asleep today.
Danielle: So what is the future of Boyle's Naturals in the next year?
Katie: Finishing the website? Ha - we aren't even done with the transition from Boyle Public Health! And launching our new underarm scrub, PIT GRIT, next month which is very exciting! We'll be adding products like our quarterly subscription service to stock your home with all the soaps you need every 3 months - you tell us the # of bathrooms and we'll send you what you need! We want to add more wholesale clients in New England and possibly link up with a distributor for PIT GRIT. And in the fall, I'm hoping to offer an undergraduate student "Soap Scholarship" for students who are majoring in degrees focusing on social good, like public health, environmental studies, sustainability and green technologies. And we'll be producing more content for all of our followers to read! Like always, I wish I had more hours in the day, but one thing I know is that I am truly blessed and being at the helm of this company makes me excited every day.
Katie's "real" bio can be found here. Thanks for reading!
Danielle: So a less lofty question: Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks?
Katie: Ok, do you really need to ask that? Dunks 100%. I do go to Starbucks but I will NEVER use their pretentious words for sizes. It's small, medium and large people! I look them straight in the eye and say, "Gimme me the big one."
Danielle: What's something you've never been able to do well?
Katie: Oh my God, running! I run and run and run and run and huff and puff and feel bad for myself and watch my husband run marathons and just generally have an insane amount of energy that I will never understand.... I rarely hit that mile 3 plateau I have heard so much about and I just struggle the entire run. But it's still good exercise so I do it!
Danielle: Speaking of your husband, tell me about your family.
Katie: Ok, so yes, my husband Brian is the biggest family man, makes all of us laugh every single day, and our two girls adore him. My girls are 6 and 3, and they are the most outgoing, energetic, did I say energetic? little personalities with so many things to say and ask us about. There's a whole lot of love in this house; love, snuggles, but a whole lot of Barbies strewn about, sibling arguments, dancing in tutus until someone hits their head and multiple major screaming tantrums every day. I am told, "You're not the best mama" almost daily right now....and that is kind of, well, less than ideal.
Danielle: What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Katie: Beautiful instrumental music, holding my husband's hand in the church we were married, the intimacy of feeding my babies as infants, and holding them as they fall asleep today.
Danielle: So what is the future of Boyle's Naturals in the next year?
Katie: Finishing the website? Ha - we aren't even done with the transition from Boyle Public Health! And launching our new underarm scrub, PIT GRIT, next month which is very exciting! We'll be adding products like our quarterly subscription service to stock your home with all the soaps you need every 3 months - you tell us the # of bathrooms and we'll send you what you need! We want to add more wholesale clients in New England and possibly link up with a distributor for PIT GRIT. And in the fall, I'm hoping to offer an undergraduate student "Soap Scholarship" for students who are majoring in degrees focusing on social good, like public health, environmental studies, sustainability and green technologies. And we'll be producing more content for all of our followers to read! Like always, I wish I had more hours in the day, but one thing I know is that I am truly blessed and being at the helm of this company makes me excited every day.
Katie's "real" bio can be found here. Thanks for reading!