The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Skincare store ready to welcome new faces to workshops and events
Amum who started creating skincare products in her kitchen opens a new Perth shop today. Clare Dunnery has been successful selling her Black Palm Natural Cosmetics range online for the past two years.
She has now set up retail premises on George Street, which also has an events space for workshops.
All the skincare products are handmade on the premises from ingredients sourced in the UK.
Clare’s business idea was born in her kitchen the same day she gave birth to her second son.
“The day I went into labour I made some postpartum healing balms in my kitchen, but I got a bit carried away,” she said.
“I made a kilo that I put into little tins and I kept one for myself.
“The rest I put up online as a random act of kindness and gave them away for free.”
She added: “I got such good feedback on them I did another batch of 50 and gave them away as well.
“People really liked them so I thought this is the time to launch my business.”
Black Palm has a facial cleanse range, body lotion, deodorant and a multipurpose balm.
There is also hand sanitiser and an aromatherapy candle in the range.
For clients close to Perth, Clare offers refills on products to limit packaging going to landfill.
She said: “When I launched in 2019 I made everything from my kitchen.
“Luckily for me, in lockdown, I kept growing as people focused on shopping small and local.
“I launched more and more products and now we’ve got 16 different sizes and ranges.”
The entrepreneur recently moved her production to the George Street premises and is looking forward to welcoming people in for the first time.
As Black Palm is on the first floor, Clare has created an events space rather than a retail shop. She said: “We’ll do shopping events, workshops and collaborations with other small businesses. It’s all about supporting small and showcasing different brands in Perth that people may not have heard of, giving them the chance to shop them in person.”
Ahead of Christmas, Clare is taking her zerowaste cosmetics with a 70s twist to markets and stocking small Perth shops.
In the future, she hopes to open her own High Street shop.
“I feel like we’re getting there, and we’re doing lots of markets,” she says.
“But the dream would be to have a bricks and mortar ground floor property.”
Since Black Palm’s launch in September 2019, Clare has developed, created and sold all the products herself.
She enjoys the creative freedom and having full control, but admits she could do with some extra help.
For now, her two-yearold and five-year-old lend their hands as often as they can.
“I come here to pack orders with them, but because everything is in glass I’m a nervous wreck,” Clare laughs.
“My two-year-old is so into it, he loves to climb and touch and smell everything.
“He helps me to put packing peanuts into the boxes and tells his older brother to smell everything, but he couldn’t care less.”
She added: “I think my youngest will follow my footsteps for sure.”