THUNDER BAY -- “I’d rather try something and fail than not try at all,” says Elsie Tranmer, founder and owner of Hail Cosmetics and Ritual Skin Co. She started the former when she was left dissatisfied with the selection of cosmetics available for environmentally conscious people like herself.
"There were a few natural brands I liked, but with most [brands] the colour selection was sparse, and [the products] didn’t have the aesthetics of a MAC product.”
Seeing no reason why a cruelty-free, natural product can’t also be sleek and stylish at the same time, she started producing her own in October 2016. Packaged in a chic matte black case, the lipstick comes in various matte shades with edgy names such as Shifty and Trickster. Tranmer makes them all herself, in small batches of up to 40.
She opened Ritual Skin Co. on the Ruttan Block (on Court street) almost a year ago, in October 2018, to have her own retail store where she can sell not only her own products, but a carefully curated selection of her favourite skin care products and cosmetics.
“I look for brands similar to myself,” she says. She brings in products made by Canadian, independent small companies and companies owned by women. Toronto-based Niu body, founded by two women, is very popular, as is Wildcraft, another Toronto-based company that makes all their products in small batches and packages them in cool, minimalist designs.
There are also local products available, such as Bare Organics and Naked Kitty Naturals, another local producer founded in Thunder Bay. (The company is now based in Regina.)
Tranmer does most of her advertising on social media. Many customers come to her store because she is the only business in Thunder Bay that stocks these particular brands. There is a lot of foot traffic as well, since the Ruttan Block houses many popular businesses such as the Loop, the Sweet North Bakery and mars. clothing.
Tranmer’s quest for the natural, stylish and local extends beyond her products. “I spent a lot of time designing this space,” she says. “I wanted to make it feel really cool, like a big city. I was inspired by old Montreal boutiques; the cool, sleek, weird look.”
Local tattoo artist Teemu Kilz created the large mural on her wall that you can see as soon as you step in. “I told him I wanted a minimalistic one-line-art piece; I wanted it all faces, eyes, lips.” Her walls are accentuated by artwork, most of it by local artists such as Alex Sappy.
It’s been almost a year since the store opened, and Tranmer is optimistic. “I’ve doubled my inventory since I opened,” she says and hopes to do some research and development on an in-house skin care line in the future.
