Looking back at over 20 years of skincare with climbOn.

August 29, 1995, I was presented with one of those choices.

 

I was attending Past Life Regression therapy in Galisteo, New Mexico when I received a call saying our house in LA had burned to the ground.  All were ok except our new rescue kitten, Ivy.  Interesting that at the same time my house in LA was burning down, I was having a "regression therapy" of my ranch burning down in another time.  I was stunned.  Once the shock became more manageable, I realized I had an opportunity to change the direction of my life. 

 

At the time, I was running a successful Medical Transcription business. Yes, Medical terminology is cool. However, I had the urge to do something I felt made a difference in my life, as well as the lives of others.

 

 

I began doing local craft shows. My sister was Vice President of a hotel, so I offered corporate gifts. Attended Natural Product shows, etc.  I visited some folks in Colorado who were rock climbers. One evening after climbing, they came up to me and asked: "you make all these things for others, can you make something to heal our skin?"  It was that day Ivy's Body bar, which eventually turned into climbOn bar, was born.  At that time (1996,) there was no other lotion bars/skincare on the market specially formulated for the ravaged skin of rock climbers.

 

I continued to display at shows, large and small. It was at one of these shows a buyer from Whole Foods appeared at my little 10' x 10' booth and said she loved the products, call her when I get home.  It's fascinating how life leads you if you so choose to listen. Since, just before that, at the same show, a natural product rep came up to me and asked if I had insurance. I said no. She said to get some and call me. I did both. Thank you, Renee P. I still remember her name to this day.

 

Ivy's was growing well.  However, another change in life came quickly. In March of 1999, my husband died suddenly from a heart attack. He was only 38. If you've ever lost a spouse, you know there are no words to describe this pain/shock/grief.  It was at this time, running a national business was far too much for me.  My girlfriend took over Ivy's primary line. I took the climbOn bar out of the line.  

 

In 2000, while I was still recovering from my recent life change, I incorporated climb On Products, Inc.  I began formulating other forms of this top-rated product since the Lotion Bar was difficult to spread over larger areas. The climbOn Creme and climbOn Lip Tube were born.

 

Over the past 25 years, climbOn has morphed into SKINourishment. Every ingredient of every formulation is either 100% plants or beeswax, or mineral. All are minimally processed to ensure the highest amount of nutrition to the largest organ of your body, your skin. Since that's what we do. This is a promise that will always be kept. If you use only plants, there is no worry about "what's in your cosmetics." since, food grade ingredients are easily recognizable to our eyes on a label, as well as, our skin.

 

In 2009, my nephew Will came on board since he is that millennial and a technical guru. A small interesting piece: WIll was born the same year Ivy's was created.

 

In 2014, my husband (yes, I was fortunate to find a wonderful husband) Paul came on board to help with sales, customer service, answer phones, etc., whatever a small business needed. 

Fast forward to December 2017. We were exhausted mentally and physically. I remember sitting in my girlfriend's kitchen, not long after Lou's passing, saying, "I think it's time to take an investment to grow the business next."

 

Again, life opportunities. Which door do you choose? Paul and I have always attended trade shows in the EU each summer. It was the last day of the summer show, 2018, at Friedrichshafen Outdoor Retailer show that Paul came up to me explaining that we had a meeting with the President and VP of International Sales at the Black Diamond booth at 1 pm.  We met with the BD team. John Walbrecht and I hit it off immediately. The sustainability of our packaging and ingredients, the integrity from which products are formulated, along with our core values only offering 100% plants or plants + beeswax to our customers, to caring for the environment and its inhabitants were all platforms we deeply agreed-upon —the followup to a month later.

 

We received an offer from Clarus Corp. (owner of Black Diamond Equipment) to acquire SKINourishment and help us scale the business to offer our game-changing products to more people and make more of a difference in the world. Because everything from the meeting at the show was seamless and worked in perfect harmony, I said, "yes."