Meet Scorpion & Toad founder, Mac.

Welcome Mac, thank you so much for connecting with me! First, I am eager to ask what inspired the creation of your brand, Scorpion & Toad?

I was called to create Scorpion & Toad for a multitude of reasons really but the heart of the matter is that I wanted to create something beautiful, both inside and out, that never cut corners. I have been lucky enough in my career to work for both corporate and indie beauty brands, but something I noticed was that there was always a compromise in the vision, whether it was changing out an ingredient for a less expensive/ effective one or changing packaging to something less visually pleasing. With Scorpion & Toad, I was determined not to let that happen and to truly bring my original vision to life. The first task was to create impeccable formulas meaning that they are not only clean but incredibly effective (what’s the point of skincare without serious results, right?). The next step was to assemble a team of talented glassblowers to create the beautiful vessels that would house these formulas. After many weeks in the hot-shop, we created shapes and colors that really mirrored the beauty and complexity of the formulas inside. I am tremendously proud of the team here and products we produce

Can you tell us a bit about your slow beauty formulation process and what makes you different from most?

My love of formulation runs deep. Ever since I got my first luxury skin product as a gift for my 16th birthday, I have been obsessed with ingredients and understanding how they work. After college and esthetician school, I worked for several beauty brands and was fortunate enough to be exposed to many types of formulation methods. With time, it became clear that the methods and ingredients I am most drawn to are rooted in ancient ritual/formulation In our lab, we start by sourcing the highest quality ingredients possible and even grow some ourselvesorganic oils, dried herbs and flowers, dragon’s blood resin, floral waxes, acids, etc. The key with these incredible ingredients is really patience. In order to formulate these ingredients properly and get the most of their medicinal properties, they must be infused over many days at low heat. In our lab, we use the hot water baths with every formulation and watch as the sweet smelling steam fogs up our windows While this method can be days long, it allows the products to truly transform into medicine for the skin and become extremely potent

Something I love about your products is that they come in these exquisite hand-blown glass vessels and you offer product refills in eco-conscious packaging when your customer is ready for more. I read on your website that some of your refill pouches aren’t to the level of sustainability that you’re aiming for. I really appreciate that you are doing everything you can to be sustainable, yet aren’t requiring perfection to implement your refill system, while still aiming to grow and being transparent about your process! Will you share with us more about why you created this refill system, how it works, and how you're working towards your sustainability goals?

Getting any business or process to be genuinely 100% sustainable might be the most difficult challenge we’ve faced and it isn’t perfect…yet. The first step I made in order to be more sustainable and reduce our carbon footprint was to have our full size products doubled (ie. a standard cleanser is 3oz, ours is 6.7oz). Not only did this allow us to have larger vessels that really make a statement on the vanity, but it reduces our shipping frequency by half Next, was the introduction of refills Ideally, I want to have all of the refills come in biodegradable packaging, but due to the narrow availability of truly biodegradable packaging and the nature of some of our products, currently half of our product refills come in biodegradable bottles, while the other half are in recyclable pouches. While this is certainly progress, we are constantly working and striving to reach 100% sustainability We are hopeful in the next few years as our company grows, so will the offerings of biodegradable packaging and we can make a complete switch.

I’d love to hear about your journey with glassblowing, as well as herbalism. When did you start? What is your relationship to these art forms?

Scorpion & Toad really showcases two artforms formulation and glassblowing. The formulation side is where I personally take the lead as I run the lab. As explained earlier, formulation has been a part of my life for many years now and is something I feel deeply connected to and confident in. The glassblowing side has been a new adventure. As I was working on the formulas in 2020, I knew I wanted them to be housed in glass, but had absolutely no contacts or experience with it. I traveled the country looking for glass artists that were both masters of their craft and understood the vision for this company. Now, nearly 3 years later it’s incredible how much I have learned about the complexities of glassblowing.

While I do not personally craft the vessels we sell (I leave that to the masters), I join them in the hot-shop on Monday nights to learn and out of a desire to fully understand every part of my business. Something that I find cool now is that I can tell who made each bottle simply by looking at it each artist has their style that I’ve come to recognize.

You and I have connected over our shared love of luxury and how it can merge with sustainability. How do these two things connect for you in your daily life?

In many ways, luxury and sustainability should really go hand-in-hand. If you purchase something that is luxury, it is high quality and, if treated properly, can last for years or even forever In short, the initial cost is higher, but then it can be used indefinitely I think this idea can be applied to almost anything clothes, skincare, and even food. This concept has definitely seeped into my life personally gone are the days of wearing anything “fast fashion” or making impulse purchases. I now really try to make sure I am buying quality and taking care of what I purchase Furthermore, my fiance and I moved to a farm and spent our first year putting in the hard work and upfront costs: building the garden, a chicken coop, fencing, etc. Now, those initial costs have been negated as we are able to feed ourselves, friends, and neighbors indefinitely and that feels luxurious.

Yes! That is the sort of luxury I want in my life. I completely agree. Wow, Mac, Thank you so much for speaking with me and sharing about this gorgeous offering you’ve created. You are so inspiring and I hope our readers feel it as much as I do! One last question- do you have any holiday promotions our readers should know about?

Yes! Scorpion & Toad is turning 1 year old this month - so in honor of that and the holidays we are doing our first big sale, 20% off any product and a beautiful wooden gift box with each vessel. We’re so excited for people to discover these types of products and level of luxury and they truly are the most thoughtful gifts!

You can shop the entire collection at scorpionandtoad.com or follow on instagram @scorpionandtoad to watch how the products are made in the lab and hot-shop.