MEET THE FOUNDER OF ESKER

Esker was launched in 2018 by the lovely and talented Shannon Davonport.

After a decade working in New York City as a trend forecaster, she decided that it was time to build her own brand. From the start, her vision was to create a brand that has integrity and honesty as its cornerstones and to make clean, safe products that nourish the body and elevate the way we care for it. All products are formulated from a versatile range of responsibly-sourced ingredients to create restorative, clarifying and firming products.

By leveraging high quality, natural essential oil formulations that are beneficial to the skin, Esker aims to transform simple body care routines into meditate rituals that heal, restore and hydrate skin.

How would you describe your brand in one sentence?
We make mindful body care to turn your bathroom into your personal sanctuary.

How did your brand come about?
After a decade of working in New York City as a trend forecaster, where I helped major corporate brands shape their strategies based on her insights across beauty, design, art, and consumer trends, I decided to launch Esker as a way to act on my own ideas and build the brand I wanted to see in the world.

I wanted to create a brand with integrity and honesty as its cornerstones, and to make clean, safe products that nourish the body and elevate the way we care for it. As I discovered the benefits of plant-based beauty and body care, I fell in love. I enrolled at the New York Institute of Aromatherapy where I received my certification in aromatherapy and became a NAHA Aromatherapy Advocate. I noticed that body care was consistently an afterthought.

Around the same time, I became pregnant with my first child and became even more aware of my body and its need for a product that was safe to use, filler-free, non-greasy, and—most importantly—relied on the power of plants to nourish skin. Esker was born right around the same time as my little one, and I introduced the line with three custom-crafted body oil formulas aimed to celebrate the diversity and power of plant oils, and to function as a necessary step in any body care ritual. I pulled from a versatile range of botanicals to create a restorative, clarifying, and firming oil, each one carefully formulated with responsibly-sourced ingredients to nourish skin from head to toe.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a brand?
Finding the time to do everything I want!

I have a lot of ideas of products I want to make, people and brands I’d love to work with and content I’d like to develop but I never seem to find enough hours in the day!

What are you most proud of as a brand?
I’m super proud that we’re bringing newness to the body care category. A lot of brands just stick to the typical bath salts and lotions and I feel like between our formulas and our tools, we’re really taking things to the next level and providing our customers with exciting products.

What sets you apart from other brands in your category?
We have a small but really tight collection. Everything is meaningful and mindful, we only will launch a product if we feel we have a way to improve on what’s out there in the market already.

What is your best beauty hack?
I’m a total SPF freak. I’m very fair and skin cancer runs in my family so I’ve been wearing sunscreen (especially on my face) for years. It’s the best anti-aging practice ever, it prevents unnecessary skin damage.

Did you have any plans for a holiday this year? If so where?
I wanted to take my toddler and new baby to Maui for a family vacation. It’s not the most adventurous travel but it’s so perfect for little kids.

What is your LITTLE FIND? Speaking of SPF I absolutely love the COOLA's line of sun care!

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