Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Washington.
Tiffany, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Though I have always been interested in skincare, candles, and body products, it wasn’t until I turned 36 that I officially began Pineapple Home Apothecary. I always intended to be an Art Historian and was working as a university professor teaching, writing, and traveling to lecture while raising our young children and completing my Ph.D. When our toddler son’s skin became extremely sensitive, I decided to search for an alternative to what was then a very small selection of natural skincare products made with sustainable ingredients. Because I couldn’t find anything suitable for him, I began looking into how to make healthy alternatives.
I’d say my earliest interest in what I ended up doing occurred during my childhood when my paternal grandmother would let me use her luxurious hand creams and soaps from Europe when we visited. My maternal grandmother, on the other hand, told me how they had to make their own soap and skincare in their small village in Romania. Both of their stories and experiences fascinated me and, in my 20s, while in graduate school and honing my skills in research, I delved into the world of skincare to educate myself as a consumer. It was also in graduate school when I had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe where I happily examined as much of their skincare as I could while I was traveling for research. This, combined with continued and deeper exposure to the art and architecture that remains meaningful to me, set the ball rolling for what would end up becoming Pineapple Home Apothecary.
Eventually, my husband and I moved our family to a little township where we have enjoyed exploring our land. Its natural features inspire and intrigue me so much so that I have tried my hand to grow ingredients that ended up making their way into several products. My apothecary essentially is a marriage of all that I love–research, being creative, promoting sustainability, and my appreciation for art.
Many of my candles, soaps, and lotions are inspired either by artwork, scent memories from travel, or an event or period in history. All of them are beautifully packaged and are made only with sustainable ingredients produced by growers who demonstrate ethical practices and a commitment to the environment. I source oils literally from around the globe. A portion of my profits are donated to UNESCO World Heritage Fund because I very strongly believe in their mission and good work and I want to give back to an organization that protects and manages many of the locations and structures that inspired my career and now my business. I also want to help make the world a better place for future generations.
As I honed my skills making soaps, lotions, and scrubs, I began to delve more deeply into research of clinical skincare. The chemistry fascinates me and I have loved learning about patented ingredients that create visible results as an alternative to injectables and potentially unhealthy harmful components. I now create a few pretty incredible facial products geared toward addressing serious skin concerns. I love the challenge of creating these highly technical facial products.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t fixate on road condition. I focus more on how I handle what I encounter. I have certainly had my fair share of failed experiments, but each has been a learning experience. More than anything, the bumps in the road have occurred when I was pressed for time because of parenting duties, work, etc., and I had to find ways to set aside the time I didn’t have to fulfill orders.
I have had no mentor and have literally taught myself everything I know so it can be a struggle, but I thrive on being challenged. I define my personal success with respect to Pineapple Home Apothecary as enjoying the ride, growing from challenges, continuously learning, and helping others to rethink how and what they use, while hopefully inspiring them with the stories behind my products and the enjoyment of their use. If there are bumps in the road, I look at it as part of the process.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As an Art Historian, my primary area of focus is the primary market for Regionalist prints from 1934-1945 and the government and corporate patronage of artists during that period of time in the United States. I am known for my research of Associated American Artists, a company which was founded to bring signed prints to the middle class through their sale of these artworks via mail order, department stores, and, eventually, their several galleries. I have studied, lectured, and published about how this art was marketed to a new class of art consumer, and what it meant for the changing world of how galleries operated in America, and what this availability of art did for both the patrons and the artists involved. My secondary area of specialty is early Christian/Byzantine art, a vastly different world, but one I also love.
I am most proud of (aside from my kind, unique and motivated children) achieving my PhD while having two children and teaching at two universities while preparing to relocate. Having children while being a student in an intensive and lengthy (10 years long) program is demanding enough, but I also had to navigate switching advisors and the politics involved in all of that while making sure my own students were thriving, stimulated, and enjoying my courses was no small feat. I look back on that time and can’t figure out how I managed it all. And, then, starting Pineapple Home Apothecary and creating really successful products that people buy and love and find results from, is another major source of pride. Creating this company from nothing, having no employees or mentors, and being the maker, the marketer, the shipper, and the salesperson is sometimes tricky, but I am so grateful to be able to show my children that ideas can become reality if you work hard and never give up.
We’d love to hear about what you think about risk-taking?
In my personal life, I think much of what I do is take risks, but I don’t necessarily think about things in those terms. I don’t believe a person can grow if they remain complacent and play everything safe. Starting a company from nothing with no education on how to do so while also being a parent to two young children and working was a risky way to decide to spend my small amount of free time. Because being a mother is my main priority, I had to find a way to pour myself into my apothecary business while not letting my children suffer or perform suboptimally at work. I think the answer to managing it all lies entirely in the drive I have to follow an interest. I am an all-or-nothing person. When I am interested in something I want to know everything about it, master it, find a way to immerse myself in it and succeed in that. I can honestly say that, so far, all has fallen into place. As far as “major” risks, I don’t believe I have taken any because, in my comparative analysis, I look at my risk level as minimal compared to what some on the globe are doing. It is really all how you look at things. Because I feel as though I generally am able to succeed when I put in effort, the overall “risk” is small if I believe I can find a way to figure things out.
Life is so short. I have every intention of spending it wisely, even if that means it takes me a while to figure out what that is and that there are some failures of unknowns along the way. I want to leave an imprint upon this earth and all with whom I share it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pineapplehomeapothecary.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/pineapplehomeapothecary
- Facebook: facebook.com/pineapplehomeinteriors
