Andrea Catlin makes body butters, facial moisturizers and other products that smell good and can make your skin feel soft. But that’s not the only reason she created her chemical-free body care line.
She believes the essential oils and fragrances used in Catlin Naturals, her 40-product line, offer an “emotional wellness experience.”
Some of the product names alone are meant to lift a person’s spirits. Take sweet euphoria, for example, a “fragrance blend of luscious, fruity floral undertones, sweet apricot and a hint of citrus.”
Catlin can picture her products helping customers deal with the stress of daily life.
Perhaps it’s a multitasking working mom, rubbing some of the fragrant body butter into her skin and being calmed by the scent and the act of self-care.
“I just want people to connect with my products and just kind of slow things down and just be in that moment,” she said. “I can relate to my customers because I know what it is to be dealing with serious stuff and just keep moving because we need to take care of it. But we really need to learn to take time for ourselves.”
Catlin’s customer description isn’t hypothetical. She thrives on interacting with customers, including through the chat function on catlinnaturals.com and at Fairfax Market, the first major retailer to carry her products. Catlin is one of the Fairfax Market vendors Signal Cleveland is highlighting as part of our coverage of the market’s program mentoring local entrepreneurs and selling their products.
At the market’s first anniversary celebration in January, Catlin sat up a table in the store’s local health and beauty section and chatted with customers who stopped by for samples and to buy products.
“‘Let’s have a conversation,’” she would often say to customers as they approached the table.
“You learn about your customers that way,” Catlin said. “You make a connection, build community by engaging with them about the products and fragrances that they really connect with.”
For example, she came up with her prosecco hibiscus fragrance at the request of customers who are wine aficionados.
She refers to Catlin Naturals as “luxury body care.” It’s not because of the price – body butters sell for $15 – but because of the ingredients. Catlin said she uses high-quality ingredients that are less likely to irritate customers’ skin.
Catlin started her business in 2018. At the time, she was dealing with a lot of loss and grief and began making body care products as self-therapy. She made so much product that she began sharing it with others, who encouraged her to go into business.
“I had secretly wanted to have my own business, but I hadn’t connected with the right thing yet,” Catlin said.
