Skincare Successor
If you had told Brigit Blair that her solution to soothing her children’s eczema would one day become an internationally recognised brand, she might not have believed you. Twenty seven years later her daughter Juliet speaks to Metropol’s Georgia Summerton about taking on the CEO role of that very brand.
Born in England to Cantabrian parents, Juliet spent her first four years immersed in different cultures and places. This is where she suspects her love of travelling was born.
“I’m one of three kids and, somehow, we all caught the wanderlust bug. We’ve all spent time living in different corners of the globe, and have actually all started our families with partners from other parts of the world. Within our wider family now we have a great melting pot of cultures – Kiwi, German, Canadian and Japanese.”
Juliet recently succeeded her mother as CEO of skincare company Linden Leaves. While this role holds an extra special significance, her experience has set her up to hit the ground running.
“I studied fairly eclectically at university, dabbling in law and languages before settling on architecture. From there I worked in film, then marketing, slowly growing more and more interested in the bigger picture of business, and how business can and should fit in the context of modern society. Brigit Blair, my mother, began the Linden Leaves story back in 1995, and it truly was your typical kitchen table start up in many ways,” Juliet explains.
It was her children’s suffering from bad eczema and allergies that led Brigit to consider the chemical contents of the products recommended at the time. It also started her thinking about how these kinds of products, contained in their ugly chemist packaging, simply failed to ‘spark joy’.
“She felt that alongside the ‘nature knows best’ ethos of blending product formulas from quality, natural ingredients, there must also be an intrinsic wellbeing factor in beauty and appreciation,” says Juliet. “Results were important, but products could do more than just help improve people’s skin.”
Like all businesses, the now much-loved and recognised New Zealand brand
has faced its own set of challenges, Juliet reflects.
“Oh there have been a few setbacks for the business over the years! The first fully fitted out international brand concept store we invested in ended in a pile of rubble when the building collapsed in a tragic event in Seoul. The global financial crisis challenged our early progress, effectively curtailing several blossoming distribution partnerships – our Canadian distributor at the time lost her best 80 stores in a single overnight decision by the store chain to close that part of their business. Later Brigit broke her neck at the upper spine, closely avoiding paralysis, yet managed to continue to lead her team from home in a neck brace throughout her recovery. Then came the Christchurch earthquakes. And then the recent years of Covid-19. Business is never as easy as you plan.” It proves true that going through the ups and downs of running a business will teach you a few things, and in the end make you stronger.
Brigit and Juliet’s best advice for women wanting to start a business is: “Work out what risk you can sustain should the worst happen, then have courage and take action. Be prepared to go all-in, work like a demon, be endlessly resilient, fail fast and learn from it – pick up the pieces and try again.”
Looking towards the future, for Juliet it’s mostly excitement as she moves into her new role.
“As her daughter and successor in the leadership role, it’s exciting to be able to bring some fresh energy to the table and wonderful to take up the opportunity to build on the sound foundations in place. I am truly in awe of my mother’s dedication, and her patience, resilience and pure, determined hard work over the last quarter century.”
Brigit, who will remain as Chief Brand Ambassador and Executive Chair, is looking forward to a slight change in focus and a little more time on her hands. “I am looking forward to exploring and learning more about the areas of skin health that I feel passionate about. Over the years I have noticed the relationship between our skin health and how we feel. When we feel good our skin is healthy and when we are healthy our skin is good. The smell, texture and the way products feel on the skin can be mood-lifting and build resilience. Small moments of self-care are so important.”
“I am also looking forward to the luxury of time – something that has been in short supply for too long. Time for family, friends, travel and just time to smell
the roses!”
