Women
to Inspire
Featuring Victoria Wright, founder of Souksouk.co.uk
Victoria Wright has proven herself to be an ethical warrier in founding souksouk.co.uk, offering 'Little Green Beauty Boxes' delivered to your door containing 5 quality, natural and eco-friendly products - a wonderful and creative way to find out about new brands and try something new! There are also Bespoke and Limited Edition boxes which make a treat or a beautiful gift and a magazine is included in each and every box too. Victoria's energy and commitment to promoting safe and cruelty-free products is quite boundless. Read more here:
ISO: Tell us a bit more about you –
significant others, (including any pets), and where you live:
VW: Well, I live in London but I’m a total
northerner at heart, coming from Sheffield, a city I’m hugely proud of. I live
with my fiancé who is a photographer which is very handy! He helps me a lot to
produce imagery for the website and his background is in magazine editing so
that also comes in useful as we produce a monthly magazine which is included in
our boxes. I also have two bunnies. They’re getting on a bit now (they’re
eleven and twelve) but still bouncing around like youngsters!
ISO: What inspired you to set up
Souksouk.co.uk?
VW: I’ve always been interested in natural and
organic beauty and I’m very principled about using beauty products that haven’t
been tested on animals. I came across the beauty box concept and thought it was
fantastic. However, I couldn’t find one that featured the sort of products I
like, or that stood for something meaningful. I really liked the idea of
creating a box that could feature a wide range of products, from established
brands as well as smaller, artisan producers. Supporting brands that are making
a difference by proving it’s possible to create high quality, beautiful and
effective products without the use of cheap chemicals was really important to
me. So the Little Green Beauty Box was born!
ISO: Explain the key features of Souksouk and what makes it special, plus any
news:
VW: SoukSouk.co.uk is an ethical business so we are passionate about
introducing beauty consumers to greener, cleaner, more ethical products. The
Little Green Beauty Box is our core product. It’s a monthly subscription-based
box featuring five (or more) natural, organic, chemical-free and cruelty-free
beauty products, which is posted out to subscribers once a month. We also
create the monthly Little Green Magazine which contains tones of information
about the natural beauty industry, new products and innovations, inspirational
women, trends and issues that get under our skin. All the materials we use have
either been completely recycled or come from FSC certified sources and all are
100% recyclable.
We have also just started selling Limited Edition Beauty Boxes - we
currently have a Christmas Box and an Autumn Box - and Bespoke Boxes which we
can tailor a bit more towards customers’ specific needs. And we have a small
online shop too where we sell beauty products that make great gifts such as
Soak Yourself’s Bath Ritual Recipe Kits and MuLondon’s White Chocolate Elbow,
Knee, Heel Cream.
Next year will be more of the same. We’re constantly striving to
collaborate with new and interesting brands as well as producers who are
genuinely doing the right thing and breaking new ground. We also want to do
more campaigning on behalf of causes which affect women and the beauty
industry.
· ISO: What do you most love about running your own business?
VW: Probably the thing I love most about
running this business is the knowledge that I’m playing a part in helping to
grow an industry that is key to us acquiring a more realistic and holistic view
of beauty and gaining access to purer, more sustainable formulas. So many of us
are seduced by the industry into buying ‘quick fix’ products that are packed
with cheap, chemical-based ingredients and we’ve lost sight of the role that
health, wellbeing and stress management plays in the way we look and feel.
On a day-to-day level, I enjoy having the
freedom to plan my own schedule and work at times that suit me. I like the
challenge of setting up a business from scratch and having the opportunity to
meet some incredibly talented people. I also think we’re lucky to have some
very knowledgeable customers who appreciate what we’re trying to do. It’s a
great challenge to consistently surprise them with each monthly box.
· ISO: What advice would you give to
someone starting out in their own business?
VW: Starting your own business, especially in this economic climate, is
a real challenge. Getting your head around the financial aspect is really
important, as is having a plan – all the usual things a business book will tell
you. But in my experience, self-confidence and a strong belief in what you’re
doing is absolutely essential to ensure you weather the tougher times. When I
gave up a well-paid, secure job to start my own business, I found that many
people would be supportive and confess their own desire to take the risk and go
it alone, while others would ask me how long I’m going to ‘give’ the business
before I write it off and return to employment. They meant well but it’s an
early test to confidence. In my case it emboldened me to go on and prove that I
could do it! Ultimately, you need to have a higher purpose to aspire to,
something that motivates you beyond making a profit. Because, when the profits
don’t suddenly materialize, something else has to get you out of bed!
· ISO: How do you take time out?
VW: I try to go to the gym or do yoga every other day (an impending
wedding is good motivation!) but it’s not unusual for work to take precedence
over this. Start-up businesses take up a huge amount of time but require large
amounts of thought and creativity which in turn require some space. So I find
it really important to schedule time out, to spend time with my fiancé and my
friends, or to visit a gallery or just take a walk along the river – anything
to clear my head, tune into the ‘real world’ and get some perspective.
· ISO: If you had to pick just 5
beauty products to live with, what would they be?
VW: My skin is going through a particularly erratic phase which I think
comes from testing so many different products, not all of which are suitable
for my skin. I always, always return to my tried and trusted Green People
Cleansing Cream, Fruitful Nights and Vita-Min Cream to try and calm my skin
down a bit. Then it would probably be raw Coconut Oil (which I use for pretty
much everything) and my Avril Organic Mascara.
ISO: Which people have most inspired you in your life?
My mum has taught me a lot about work ethic and my late Gran was a bit of a trailblazer, working from an early age and having quite an unconventional family life. But women like Anita Roddick and Joanna Lumley have been big sources of inspiration in relation to putting yourself out there and standing up for a cause you believe in.
· ISO: What advice would you give your 16 year old self?
ISO: Don’t give up A-level Business Studies! I did actually give this up to focus on more ‘arty’ subjects because I simply couldn’t get my head around all the business jargon. It all becomes clear when you physically start your own business and the jargon is put into practice. If I could influence the curriculum I’d suggest challenging students to go through the motions of setting up a business (even if it’s just selling socks on ebay) and running their own books. It would become so much clearer and meaningful to students like my 16 year old self.
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