In honor of International Women’s Day, meet the successful founders behind Lucid Communications’ incredible roster of women-led brands
This International Women’s Day (March 8th, 2021), Toronto/LA-based PR firm Lucid Communications is celebrating the victories and contributions of our incredible clients. We are proud to have women from all walks of life on our roster who continue to shape their respective industries, showing us time and time again how powerful women are.
Each one of our thought leaders is highly skilled and trained in their field. These women boast extensive knowledge and wisdom in areas such as mindfulness, movement, natural beauty, home decor & organization, and sustainable lifestyle. Today, we share their extraordinary journeys to success.
Check out the strong, inspirational, and intelligent women behind Mindful Collective Co (B Yoga & Halfmoon), Province Apothecary, Okoko Cosmetiques, Flax Sleep, Lorette Lingerie, NEAT Method Toronto, The Bare Home, and Pretty in the City.
Andrea Morris of Mindful Collective Co (parent company of B Yoga and Halfmoon)
As the Founder & CEO of Mindful Collective Co— the parent company of sister brands B Yoga and Halfmoon— Andrea Morris’ mission is simple: to support people everywhere in living their best and most balanced lives.
Morris’ passion for yoga began in Sydney, Australia, while she was completing a Masters Degree in International Business. She knew she would someday make yoga her career, but she wasn’t sure what that would look like. Fast-forward 9 years and Morris found herself employed at The Stewart Group, her family’s fifth-generation manufacturing and technology company. She was working with an innovative type of rubber and quickly realized that the material’s distinctive qualities—durability, sustainability, and a grippy surface— could make the perfect yoga mat.
After endlessly prototyping and fine-tuning The B MAT, B Yoga was born in 2014. Sparked by The B MAT’s success, B Yoga continued to grow beyond just mats, creating elevated, performance-driven essentials for all kinds of movement and meditation.
In spring 2018, Morris and B Yoga acquired Halfmoon, another female-founded, Canadian yoga and meditation brand. Where B Yoga speaks to the contemporary yogi, Halfmoon is rooted in tradition, making each brand a perfect complement for the other.
Morris currently resides in her hometown of Toronto, ON, with her husband, Fraser, and two daughters, Madison and Everly. As she helps B Yoga and Halfmoon grow across North America and internationally, she knows she’s fulfilling her vision of inspiring all people to live their yoga.
B Yoga’s products can be shopped online or purchased through their various retailers.
Halfmoon’s products can be shopped online or purchased through their various retailers.
Julie Clark of Province Apothecary
After struggling with allergies and eczema all her life, Julie Clark began crafting natural, organic beauty products out of her kitchen. Despite her busy schedule as a costume designer and stylist, Julie found herself drawn to holistic skincare, using her time off to experiment with oils, waxes, and herbs— all in pursuit of the perfect skincare regime. In 2010, Julie began studying Aromatherapy, Holistic Health, and Esthetics in Toronto. Here she formed the foundation of her skincare expertise, experimenting with raw materials and natural ingredients.
For Julie, natural beauty goes beyond simply organic ingredients; natural beauty means a pledge to helping clients feel good in their own skin. “I gather so much inspiration from my clients, the weather, and the seasons,” says Julie, of her individually-tailored approach to skincare. Her facial treatments often include hand-blended masks using local produce and seasonally appropriate, farmer-friendly ingredients. While PA has long outgrown the kitchen, Julie’s devotion to fresh, seasonal, and organic beauty continues. Now a certified holistic esthetician and aromatherapist, Julie remains committed to innovation, sustainability, and small-batch skincare of the highest quality.
Province Apothecary is available at 175+ retailers in Canada and the US, as well as online. They have been featured internationally in print and online by POOSH, Vogue, goop, Refinery 29, CBC, and more. They have also expanded their Holistic Skincare Clinic in Toronto, offering Custom Organic Facials and Full Brow + Lash Treatments. With a highly skilled team of experts and a stunning new space, PA’s clinic is a vestige of calm in the ever-hectic city.
Oyéta Kokoroko of Okoko Cosmétiques
Oyéta Kokoroko is an experienced cosmetic formulator, product designer, and creator of eco-luxury cosmetics from Montréal, Canada. She moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in 2016, where she founded her company Okoko Cosmétiques. Okoko is built on Oyéta’s passion for combining high-level formulations, luxurious textures, and delicate scents to beautify and rejuvenate any complexion.
Oyéta is inspired by the spectacular mountains, exquisite fauna, and extraordinary power of the Pacific Ocean, which together define the lush nature of the West Coast rainforest. Her product formulations also benefit from her multicultural heritage and sophisticated French-Canadian style. The result is Okoko Cosmétiques, a luxury skincare brand that creates sustainably-sourced, high-performance, and science-backed products.
Transparent labeling, ingredient purity, and environmental consciousness are at the core of Okoko’s mission. From sourcing to production, they invest in research and development to bring you products that are both sustainable and effective. Using only the purest botanical extracts and oils, many of which are sustainably wildcrafted, the Okoko range is rich in high-quality and precious ingredients that will work to transform your skin. No exaggerated claims or cheap fillers here!
While paving the way in green beauty, Oyéta has taken her years of knowledge and skills to launch OKOKO House Of Brands. This platform is dedicated to mentoring like-minded indie brands who are ready to take their business to the next level. To learn more about OKOKO house of brands, visit okokohouseofbrands.com.
Okoko Cosmétiques can be shopped online and shipped internationally, or purchased in person at any of their various stockists.
Anna Heyd, Oana Papuac, and Vivian McCormick of Flax Sleep
Originally in the fields of law and hospitality, these three passionate businesswomen made the switch to entrepreneurship in the fall of 2017 with the founding of Flax Sleep. Anna, Oana, and Vivian came together to share their appreciation of beautiful things, ethical business practice, and fantastic sleep. They saw a gap in the Canadian marketplace when it came to buying simple bedding online at accessible prices, and felt inspired to fill that void.
Quality materials, high production standards, and ethical manufacturing practices were their top priorities when they set out to find a factory with which to partner. Once they identified the perfect manufacturing partner, they traveled to Shenzhen to learn about the process of turning beautiful linen into the most amazing sheets, to see the quality of the working conditions for the craftsmen and women that are responsible for production, and to establish a long term partnership with their factory. From here, Flax Sleep was Born.
In addition to offering you luxurious linen bedding, the women behind Flax Sleep believe in providing #ASafePlacetoSleep to women and children in need. That’s why they are committed to donating part of their proceeds (and all returned goods) to Atira Women’s Resource Society. In doing so, they are reducing waste and providing essential products to members of their community that need it most. As ethical manufacturing is also a top priority, Flax Sleep actively partners with modern manufacturers to ensure clean and safe working conditions for all.
Laure Stromboni of Lorette Lingerie
Laure Stromboni is a Parisian designer and the creator of Lorette Lingerie. Founded in 2017, her Toronto-based intimates brand was created to empower women with the freedom to express themselves unapologetically. Their luxurious and small-batch intimates are inspired by Laure’s french heritage, blending contemporary cuts with unique embroidery techniques that weave a story into every garment. Offering a diverse range of bralettes, panties, bodysuits, camisoles, and more, Lorette invites women everywhere to revel in their unique feminine expression and self-confidence.
Lorette’s collections are designed in collaboration with female illustrators and graphic designers and are handmade locally by an all-female staff in Toronto. Each embroidery is thoughtfully chosen to represent symbols, concepts, and archetypes that resonate with women everywhere.
In addition to exceptional design, superior craftsmanship and environmental consciousness are central to Lorette’s ethos. Their hand-made garments are created using deluxe overstock material from Canadian and Parisian couture houses, ensuring superior quality without waste. By making the conscious decision not to outsource production or transport new materials, Lorette is able to offer a fair living wage to everyone involved in their garments’ development, all while reducing their carbon footprint.
Lorette Lingerie can be shopped online and shipped internationally, and local pick-ups are available for Toronto-based customers.
Jen Rowe of NEAT Method Toronto
NEAT Method Toronto is the organizing company that will transform your home or office from chaos to composed. Specializing in organizing, unpacking, and downsizing homes & offices across Toronto, they make the spaces you have functional for the life you live by focusing on creating uniquely personalized systems.
Jen Rowe, Owner of NEAT Method Toronto, offers an honest approach, a sharp eye for detail, and a personal sense of refined style. While Jen has spent the better part of her nearly 20-year career in corporate communications, she has always been a passionate organizer at heart. After becoming a parent to her now 5 and 7-year-old children, Jen began to dive deeper into the best ways to maintain a neat home— even during the most chaotic phases of life. She started to expertly maximize the space in her family’s East end home, making it highly efficient for their lifestyle. In 2019, she parlayed this skill set into a career with NEAT Method and now uses her extraordinary talents to help others live clutter-free.
Ashley James of the Bare Home
The Bare Home started as a passion project. Ashley remembers becoming very conscious of sustainable living during her time in Germany. She loved the simple things people were doing in their daily lives to be more environmentally conscious and quickly began to adopt this “new” way of life.
After 7 years, Ashley and her husband decided to move back to Canada with their young family. She knew Canada was going to be much different than what she had become accustomed to in Europe and was feeling inspired and excited to bring some of that lifestyle home with her. She had caught the entrepreneurial bug around that time and was actively looking to start her own business— but it had to be something that she could truly feel passionate and good about.
At first, the Bare Home was more than cleaning products. Ashley was offering a variety of fair trade foods and other zero-waste products. However, she quickly noticed that customers were most interested in the refilling options for her laundry and cleaning products. From here, the Bare Home was born.
The Bare Home is now Canada’s premier destination for sustainable, environmentally friendly, and beautifully-scented cleaning products. They are proud producers of eco-cleaners and natural soaps that are safe for you, your home, and the earth. The Bare Home’s products are made with only the highest quality organic essential oils, and feature unique at-home refill stations. Boasting a wide range of basic yet beautiful dish soaps, hand soaps, all-purpose cleaners, laundry essentials and more, The Bare Home provides clean convenience that you and your family can feel good about.
The Bare Home’s full range of eco-friendly cleaners can be shopped online here, and shipped to both the US and Canada. Be sure to use their store locator to check out their various North American stockists for in-person shopping!
Nathaly Nairn of Windfall Cider
Windfall Cider is Canada’s newest urban cidery based in Vancouver, BC. Created by Nathaly Nairn and her husband Jeff Nairn, Windfall is here to turn the world of cider on its head. They find the best BC apples, the purest juice, and experiment with old-world techniques to create a one-of-a-kind cider like you’ve never tasted before. Windfall stays true to their local roots, using only fruits and botanicals native to the Pacific Northwest. The result is a diverse roster of crisp, distinct, and playful ciders that you’ll want to drink year-round. Like a little sip of good fortune in every can.
Windfall was founded after a trip to Mexico City, where Nathaly and her husband fell in love with Spanish cider. After exploring cider-making as a hobby for several years, Nathaly and Jeff took the plunge and established their very own cidery, Windfall Cider. In an industry overrun with sweet and general ciders, Nathaly set out to create crisp, refreshing, and unique blends. After learning what she could from old-world methods passed down by generations of cider makers, Windfall experimented until their cider was just right— and entirely different than anything else in Canada.
Windfall’s bright and playful ciders can be shopped online and shipped to BC residents, or delivered across Vancouver, or purchased at select restaurants and private liquor stores.
Veronica Tran
Pretty in the City Founder, Veronica Tran, is one of the first estheticians in Toronto to train in the art of eyelash extensions in both Toronto and New York. She holds several certifications in various techniques, a diploma as a Skin Care Technician and Permanent Make-Up Technician, as well as several certificates for infection control. Attending workshops, seminars, and conferences on an annual basis, Veronica is always up to date with the newest innovations and industry standards. Her latest accomplishments include several master classes for Volume Eyelash Extensions and Microblading with well-regarded industry professionals such as Irina Levchuk, Daria Chuprys, and Branko Babic. Veronica is also one of the first in Canada to be certified with PhiBrows.
Veronica established Pretty in the City, Toronto’s most trusted lash and brow bar, in 2005. She believes that quality work takes time, and therefore, every appointment at PIC allows for individual customization, proper implementation of skilled techniques, and sanitation protocols. At Pretty in the City, Veronica ensures that customers experience unparalleled expertise and professionalism in a friendly and relaxed environment. It comes as no surprise that PIC has been named as one of the best places in Canada for microblading by Fashion Magazine online, one of the best places for microblading in Toronto by BlogTo, and one of the top salons for lash extensions in Toronto by Narcity Toronto.
Veronica’s work has been featured in many high profile publications including Flare, FASHION, Elle Canada, Elevate, and Best Health.
