Interview by Mercedes Arnold

All photos taken by Mercedes Arnold Creative, LLC.

MVM: Can you introduce your business, state your pronouns, and talk about yourself a little bit and how Pickle’s came to be? 

Kristin Mutchler: My business is Pickle’s Potions & Lotions and my pronouns are she/her. I never had a business plan. It grew very organically out of my daughter’s needs, as she was born with eczema. The doctors wanted to prescribe steroids when she was three days old. That made me start thinking, what can I make for her instead? I know I can make something. So I dove into research and formulated all these iterations of potential healing salves. Then I started making things for other people in my family. Everything I made, I called it, “Pickle’s body butter, Pickle’s lip balm, etc.,” because my whole family calls me Pickle. I’m still Auntie Pickle to my nieces and nephews. 

MVM: Haha! You don’t eat pickles? 

KM: I do! I guess when I was small I was obsessed, but I do respond if people call me Pickle. 

MVM: What was the first product that you made? 

KM: I think it was the eczema elixir, and it’s been refined over the years, as I read and researched ingredients, oils, and herbs. It’s a really good one, I’m proud of that one. 

MVM: Yeah, that’s awesome! My favorite is the cuticle serum, it is so awesome and feels really good. So, how did your business start? Did it start in Winthrop? 

KM: Actually, we lived in Wayne, and I was making potions at the house. The house we were living in had two kitchens. There was a kitchen upstairs, so I could take over that and I started making all my products. One of the women in Wayne who was managing the Holiday Stroll, was like, “You need to bring your products to the Holiday Stroll!” I told her I didn’t ’t really have any products, but she said, “Yes, you do! Bring those things you make!” So I talked to my husband and he whipped up a logo so I could at least have a sticker on the products. I brought them to the (Holiday) Stroll, and they were super popular. I sold out of everything.

MVM: That’s awesome!

KM: Yeah, it made me think, wow people need this, they want this. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t fancy looking, they just wanted something that’s natural and safe. This was seven years ago when it wasn’t as popular or common as it is now, it’s grown a lot. 

MVM: That’s amazing, is the logo that you have now, the original one that your husband made? 

KM: Yeah.

MVM: That’s so fun! 

KM: I know, he never changed it. It’s kind of catchy and different and confusing. People think we sell pickles. 

MVM: Haha! I love it, I think it’s super fun and definitely catches your eye, and it’s very unique. When I see it, I know oh that’s Pickle’s Potions & Lotions. How did you come to open your storefront in Winthrop? 

KM: In 2016, I started doing events like the farmer's markets and whatever shows that popped up, makers markets, and craft shows. I was in school at that time to be certified as a US teacher, we taught overseas, but we needed a [US] certification. So, I was teaching and I was learning in school and making these products and had an Etsy shop. It was only online or at the markets. The business wasn’t too big, I could manage everything and the kids. Then I started teaching at the Winthrop grade school for a couple of years. The business kept expanding and in  2019, I was like, I just can’t do this anymore, I can’t do that [teaching] full time, and the business because the business is much too big now to just do it after school and on the weekends. 

MVM: This was right before the pandemic?

KM: I resigned in the summer of 2019. I moved [the business] into a community house in Wayne where I could rent some rooms. I moved the business out of the house and into there and it felt like a huge thing. It was amazing, and then the pandemic hit, and the funny thing was, the business didn’t really go down even with no markets and events, it went up because of the online orders. Etsy sales went nuts and that place was just no longerfunctional for our needs.  It was a house, not a lab, it didn’t have the right spaces. Then Nicki [Nicole Stanford, Freckle’s Salvage] across the street was like, “Well, you know, Kim is renting this space in here. You should take it!” I was afraid it was going to be super expensive and prohibitive, and it was completely accessible. I was like, oh my gosh, I am going to do that! But I never intended it to be a store. 

I just wanted to work out of it. All we did at that time was Etsy and the market shows. My husband’s like, “We have a storefront, you might as well turn it into a store, set it up as you would at a market, and let people come in. You can still do your work, you can still do the shipping.” So we went for it, it was amazing. 

“I like Maine…because it feels more authentic and personable. They’re not customers, they are friends. It’s not just a buy-sell relationship, there’s much more to it.”

MVM: That’s awesome! Was that in 2019? 

KM: That was in the Summer of 2020. This will be our third summer open. It’s grown a lot. 

MVM: Do you make the products here or have another room?

KM: I went down [the street] and I am renting a big giant room, 1200 square feet, it’s amazing.

MVM: Is it just you making all of the products? 

KM: It’s me, I had an apprentice but then she moved to Florida. I have another employee, Andi, she’s an herbalist, she’s brilliant. She has five years of clinical herbalism under her belt. 

MVM: Wow!

KM: She’s helping me in the workshop now I love it, I love having somebody I can ask serious herbal questions about and she knows all the answers to everything. It’s wonderful.

MVM: That’s awesome! How did you initially do your research on your products and decide what to make them from? 

KM: I took lots of courses, I did aromatherapy and basic herbalism, plus a certification in organic cosmetic science. Then I read a ton, I am by nature a researcher. It was a lot of deep research. I was a nursing major as well, so I have a science background. It didn’t feel weird to jump into chemistry. 

MVM: That’s so cool! How old is your daughter now? 

KM: She’s eight. 

MVM: Oh cool, I have an eight-year-old too! 

KM: Oh you do!? 

MVM: Yeah, he’s a wild man. 

As two moms sometimes do, we start to talk about our kids and their lives and the activities we participate in. We reminisce about the summer, when we watch our kids play at the beach. We start to talk about our local community. 

KM: It’s a fun community and they are [Winthrop residents] so supportive of me too. They are always coming in here, even if they aren’t buying things, they’ll walk by and come in and say hi, it’s amazing. 

MVM: That was going to be one of my questions, how has being [in business] in Winthrop, and in Maine, influenced your business and/or business decisions? 

KM: I like Maine, specifically, because it feels more authentic and personable. They’re not customers, they are friends. It’s not just a buy-sell relationship, there’s much more to it. I feel like if we were somewhere else, I wouldn’t have that. 

MVM: Maine is a close-knit community and you feel good about it. You know where your products are ending up. 

KM: I love it, people can come in and I can do custom things for them. 

MVM: I saw that! Do you formulate special routines? 

KM: I do, we can develop custom routines in the store and put products together for people. I have people who come in who have allergies to everything. I try to come up with something that they can use that’s safe for them and natural and effective. I like it, I don’t feel like I could do this elsewhere.

MVM: Are you still selling on Etsy and on your website, right?

KM: Yeah. 

MVM: Do you find your online sales are increasing? 

KM: They aren’t as high as before the mask mandates ended, I think people miss the experience of touching and smelling and talking with others and shopping locally instead of just online. 

MVM: I think so too, especially with skincare products, you want to smell them, and see them. 

KM: Right, and you want someone to talk to about them, like, “Is this good for me or not?”

MVM: Are you always in the shop mixing and making? 

KM: Most of the time, yes. I come down here sometimes and run the store myself, but most of the time I’m up there. There are so many things to make now. 

MVM: Does it smell good up there?

KM: Oh yeah. It’s a little overwhelming right now because I just made tick and bug spray. It has a bug repellent smell everywhere and I made some Hoof Healers with tea tree oil and peppermint. It’s pungent, but it’s not bad, just very scented in the workshop right now.

MVM: Is the tick repellent a new product?

KM: No, I have it out in the summer, it’s a good product, people love it and it works really well.

MVM: Yes, tick repellent is important, especially here in Maine. Is it safe for pets?

KM: I do make one that’s safe for dogs. 

MVM: When I think of skincare, I don’t think of the science behind it, but there is so much! I usually focus on if it’s scented or not.

KM: Yeah, that’s one of my biggest pet peeves, people who sell products when they are just doing that [companies placing ingredients in a product to make it smell/look good]. Someone brought me a facial oil and said this is awesome and smells great. No, it had lemon essential oils in it, which are phototoxic. I’m like please don’t put that on your face, maybe use it at night but don’t put it on your face. 

MVM: So, think about what’s in your products and look at the ingredients list?

KM: Right. One of the things I want to do is help teach people, educate people to learn more about the ingredients that are in their skincare products, why something works, and why something doesn’t. Just because it's natural, doesn't mean that it's safe. You still have to be careful, it doesn't matter if they're natural or synthetic.

“My dream is that I could invent products…do the research and create new things, and everyone can continue to make the products I already have and run the store.”

MVM: I'm glad you brought that up. Natural beauty is really big right now, and there are a lot of natural skincare companies that are likely throwing random ingredients in there and mass producing them. With your business, I know that you are paying attention to your ingredients. 

KM: Yes. I took a course in cosmetic formulation. I have a background in the actual formulation of cosmetics, so this concerns me. They’re [companies] are selling products, like water-based products, like lotions without a preservative, that's just asking for staph infections and bacteria. It makes me so anxious. Yeah, that's going to look bad for all of us, everyone who makes something natural.

MVM: That’s a good point. What is your favorite product that you sell? 

KM: I use all of them. I like the facial oils, but I like the blue tansy moisturizer. I like the body butter. It’s like saying which child do you like more?

MVM: Haha, I won’t make you choose! You have other products too, I saw you’re making candles! 

KM: Yeah, we have really nice candles, they are coconut wax which is more sustainable than soy and doesn’t burn as hot. 

MVM: They smell amazing! Are you planning on doing any markets coming up? 

KM: We still do a lot of the bigger maker’s markets, especially in Portland. 

MVM: Do you have any events coming up? 

KM: We will be doing the Maker’s Market in Portland at Thompson’s Point in May. We’ll do some farmer's markets and other big festivals. 

MVM: So the next place where people can find your products outside of Winthrop and your website will be at the Maker’s Market in May? 

KM: We do have some products in a store in Portland, Main Body and Bath. 

MVM: Awesome! What do you envision for the future of Pickles? 

KM: I’m in the process of going through some business process building, making handbooks, legitimizing everything. All that scary growing-up stuff. 

MVM: Haha, right!

KM: I’m trying to make it so I can make it so it can function without me being here. I would like to be able to spend more time with my family. My dream is that I could invent products, I could do the research and create new things, and everyone can continue to make the products I already have and run the store. 

MVM: That’s so exciting. You haven’t had your storefront for that long and you’ve been able to scale up that much and now you’re doing all the things to legitimize! 

KM: It’s so grown up!

MVM: Exciting! It sounds like you have a lot of women around you and a lot of women that encouraged you to, you know, take the path that you were starting out in. 

KM: It’s been all women. My husband does do all of our designs; he designs the packaging, and he makes it look cool here. But yeah, the women have been the ones to push me forward. You know, my friend in Wayne, other customers over the years have pushed me forward, to aim higher and reach for more.  

MVM: And this is built from your idea!

KM: Yeah, it’s such an organic thing. I feel like a lot of women’s businesses probably don't start with a business plan, it is very organic. It's kind of like they're making stuff for their family, or they're cooking things for them and then it just grows. I think women in Maine and women in business can really benefit from some guidance. It’d be great for more people to help us all, you know, create these functional, successful businesses that will carry on. 

MVM: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there's no guidebook and it seems like everything, as far as business-related educational materials and things like that are really geared towards men. When I was looking at business plan stuff, it’s all these messages about men, you don't see a lot of women. 

KM: Yeah, there isn't. Yeah, and all of the information in Maine, the websites are so dry and hard to understand. It's not easy. I did go to SCORE, there is an amazing woman at SCORE, the one in Augusta, named Linda and she helped me so much, like figure out things like you need to get an LLC, you need to register your company, you need to do this, etc. 

MVM: Yeah, no one's telling you. I mean, unless you reach out to someone like that. No one's telling you what to do. Right? 

KM: I have a friend, who’s been in business for a couple of years, she had no idea that SCORE even existed. She’s super proactive and forward-thinking but she didn't know [about them]. If we could all know that there are options, there is help out there for us.

MVM: Yeah, absolutely. What does being a woman-owned business mean to you? 

KM: It means that I never stop. You know, I'm here. I'm at home. I'm still a Mother, then I come here and I'm doing this, and it's completely consuming. Like all-consuming. I really want there to be a way to separate some of this because it completely takes me. I feel like we have to work harder than men might have to, just because we don't have that bro code, etc., but I love how many women-owned businesses are popping up! And the fact that across the street, I have Nicki [Freckle’s Salvage] who is a powerhouse. She’s my guru. I mean, that whole thing that she's built over there with all those other women. It's incredible.

MVM: Yeah, it is. 

KM: And I love that just like in this small area, we have hundreds of women-owned businesses who are growing and prospering. It's nice to have a community and not feel alone. 

MVM: Yeah, absolutely. It does feel very lonely when you’re first starting out. because you don't know who else is out there; what they're doing, and you know, whom to talk to? And where to go for questions. And yeah, it's like you feel kind of it was for me, it was discouraging, a little bit when I first got started because I didn't feel like I had a support system. But when you start talking to other women, and then like it just kind of escalates and like, you know, builds and it's so cool to know how many women-owned businesses there are, what they're doing. 

KM: Yeah, I all of it, all of the steps, all the progress in my business has been because of women encouraging me to take the next step.

MVM: I'm sure you're passing that along, encouraging other women and their businesses. 

KM: Definitely. I think everyone I think everyone who works here has their own side business that they do. It’s not a competition - which is the best thing. 

“Once you step out, you’ll realize you’re not alone because there are so many other women who will support you and what you’re doing.”

MVM: From what I saw, in the beginning [of my business], it feels like it's very competitive but it's not, there are so many women that encourage you and build you up. It’s a community of makers and doers. 

KM: I love it. I’m part of multiple groups on Facebook that are like that. Women across the county in every position you can think of, and they’re all badass and it’s amazing. They are so supportive of each other. 

MVM: Do you want to recommend another woman-owned business here in Maine? 

KM: Besides Nicki? 

MVM: Sure!

KVM: She’s amazing. Sandra, of the Grey Goose Gourmet in Wayne. She does pepper jelly, she is a firecracker! She is amazing, she gave me a lot of advice and help when I first started out. She is a go-getter, I really like her and recommend her. 

MVM: Is there anything else you want to pass on to other women in business or share about your experience?  

KM: Oh man… For women to not be afraid to do it. There are people who will support you even if you think you’re alone right now. Once you step out, you’ll realize you’re not alone because there are so many other women who will support you and what you’re doing. I started not knowing anyone who could help me. I was trying it on my own. Everyone was like, “you can’t do that, that’s not a real business!” Then there was the woman who said, “Hey, you should bring your products, we’ll sell them.” And step by step, all the women that support you along the way.  Take the leap!

MVM: Take the leap! 

KM: Do it! There will be someone, lots of people, to support you. 

MVM: I love that!! Thank you so much for sharing. I am so excited.

Links

Freckle Salvage: frecklesalvageco.com

Grey Goose Gourmet: greygoosegourmet.com

Thank you to Kristin Mutchler for sharing your story with the magazine.

You can visit Pickle’s Potions & Lotions at 130 Main St., Winthrop, ME

Hours are Tuesday - Sunday, 10 - 5pm

Web: picklespotions.net

Instagram: @pickles.potions