If you had told me a year ago that I'd be rendering beef tallow after work, testing skincare recipes on the kitchen bench and talking about fatty acids on the internet, I probably would have laughed.
Like most mums, life is busy. Between work, two young girls, farm life on Cloudy Peaks Station and everything else that comes with trying to keep a household running, there never seems to be enough hours in the day.
So why on earth did I decide to start a skincare business?
The honest answer is pretty simple. I wanted something I genuinely trusted.
These days it feels like every second product claims to be "natural", "clean" or "chemical free", yet the ingredient list still reads like another language. I found myself standing in shop aisles wondering what I was actually putting on my family's skin.
Living on a farm changes the way you look at things. You become more aware of where food comes from, how animals are raised and how much care goes into producing quality products. It made me realise that skincare shouldn't be any different.
I wanted to know exactly where my ingredients came from.
That was the beginning of Hearth & Hide.
Our tallow comes from cattle raised on Cloudy Peaks Station. It's rendered carefully, blended with a handful of natural ingredients and made into something that has become part of our everyday routine.
No miracle claims.
No promises that one jar will solve every skin problem.
Just simple skincare made with ingredients I know and trust.
Ironically, starting Hearth & Hide has probably made life busier than ever. There have been plenty of late nights, lots of mistakes, countless recipe tweaks and more label designs than I'd care to admit.
But it's also been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.
Every order still makes me smile. Every message from someone who's loved using the products reminds me why I started in the first place.
If there's one thing I hope people take away from Hearth & Hide, it's this: ask questions.
Ask where the ingredients came from.
Ask who made it.
Ask why they chose those ingredients.
Because whether it's food on our plate or skincare on our shelf, I reckon we should know where it comes from.
For me, that's what Hearth & Hide has always been about. Not chasing trends or trying to be the biggest. Just creating something honest that I'm proud to use on my own family and proud to share with yours.
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