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Summerland-based Sage+Quartz creates natural skin care products

For Trina Scholte, coming back home to Summerland was all the inspiration she needed.

"I grew up here," she says. "I was raised in Summerland, I moved to Penticton out of high school, had my son there, and moved to Calgary in 2005. I was there for 12 years."

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who>

But five years ago, Scholte's father, still in Summerland, passed away. A couple years later she made a big decision. She'd leave Calgary behind and come back to her hometown to be close to her mother.

It was a great choice. Today, Scholte says she's "so happy" that she returned to the Okanagan.

"It's wonderful here, and my mom lives just two blocks from me. They say the ones who leave will always come back home at some point."

The move encouraged her to finally act on an idea she'd had for quite some time. She'd start her own business.

Scholte, you see, had always been fascinated with skin care. In 2003, she became a certified esthetician and worked with cosmetics company Aveda for the better part of the decade.

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who>

But after leaving Aveda in 2007, she says she had a bit of an epiphany.

"I didn't want to pay full retail for my skin care products. And I didn't like the unnecessary chemicals most of the big companies use. So I decided to make my own."

And that's what she did. Ever since, Scholte has been researching, developing, and creating skin care products for herself. And she's gotten pretty good at it. Good enough that she's been working overtime to make products for her family too.

So when she arrived back in Summerland, she decided it was time to take her knowledge and her products to the next level. And she began Sage+Quartz.

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who>

According to Scholte, "I originally started formulating my own skin care products because I wanted to know what went into my skin care for myself and my son. I wanted to be able to pronounce the words. I needed something that was natural, as close to organic as possible. No chemicals and no preservatives, because preservatives are chemicals too."

And she says her time with Aveda gave her a head start.

"I loved everything about them. Their products are natural, and they use environmentally friendly packaging. They support wind and alternative energy. Very forward thinking."

And that's what Sage+Quartz is all about - natural ingredients and sustainability.

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who>

"The trend seems to be going toward all-natural, environmentally-friendly, environmentally-sustainable body products. Anything that's reusable - and that fits perfectly with my philosophy."

To that end, Scholte's product containers are all recyclable and/or re-usable. The spray bottles, for example, can be used to spray other forms of liquid once they've served their initial purpose. And she does have future plans to expand into refillable options across her product line.

But that still leaves us with one rather obvious question: How does Scholte come up with her recipes?

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who>

"There's a huge learning curve," she says with a laugh. "But it helps that I was in the industry so long. Basically, I take the products I buy at the store and make them myself, minus the chemicals. And then I have to play around for a long time with amounts and weights."

Beyond that, Scholte isn't giving away any secrets. But her Summerland studio is certainly crammed full of doodads that would look perfectly at home in a chemistry lab.

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who>

"All my products are made with pure essential oils. I don't use any synthetic fragrances or fragrance oils," she explains.

"That does limit me to what I can make. For instance, I keep getting requests for a vanilla coconut body butter. But there's no such thing as coconut essential oil."

"It's interesting. Coconut doesn't have a scent. So that coconut fragrance that everyone thinks they want is an artificial fragrance. It's chemicals."

And where she can, Scholte does go local. "I try to support local as much as I can. I got my labels done at Sign Language Studio in Penticton. They'd never done labels for products like this, but they were amazing. They worked with me and they made it happen."

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who>

We first ran into Scholte as we were doing a profile on Summerland's Maple Roch Fine Canadian Maple Syrup. Turns out she infuses three of her products with Maple Roch's organic maple syrup and maple sugar, then sells them at Maple Roch and on her website.

And, she says, the maple syrup concept really isn't so strange.

"Maple syrup and maple sugar are 'humectants,'" she explains. "They draw moisture to your skin and ensure it stays hydrated. And the antioxidant levels of maple syrup are good for you internally as well as externally. I'm so glad I met up with Roch (Fortin, Maple Roch owner) so I can use a locally sourced ingredient."

Featuring both organic maple syrup and maple sugar, her "Whipped Body Polish" is an exfoliating all-over body scrub that sloughs off dead skin and environmental damage. And her "French Kiss Set" - consisting of two products, Lip Polish and Lip Butter - is a gentler version of the Body Polish.

Scholte points out that all the ingredients in the French Kiss Set are edible. Not that she wants you to scarf them down like an Okanagan peach. But, she says, "What you put on your mouth is going in your body."

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who>

And that's just a glimpse at the 25-product Sage+Quartz roster. We asked Scholte for a brief rundown of her faves and best sellers, and she obliged:

Good Vibes Air Mist: A blend of essential oils. Spray in the room, Spray on you. Cleanses your energy.

Amorous Love and Passion Air Mist: A blend of sandalwood, ylang ylang, and jasmine essential oils. Stirs the romance and the sensuality.

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who>

Satisfy Bath Soak: A blend of essential oils with similar aphrodisiac qualities, mixed with dried hibiscus, rose flowers, Himalayan salt and coconut oil. Leaves the skin soft and supple.

Patina Face Serum: Antioxidant-charged high quality oils such as hemp seed oil and sea buckthorn oil. Addresses hyper-pigmentation, dried and irritated skin, acne marks, and signs of sun exposure.

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who>

2019 promises to be a big year for Scholte. Saqe+Quartz products are already available at Artisans of the Okanagan, Koncept Kalifornia, and Maple Roch in Summerland, Lurtz and Co in Penticton, Hillcrest Farm Market in Kelowna, and the Pink Spotted Goat in Vernon.

She's also active in the market scene, dividing the warm weather months between the Summerland Rotary Summer Market and the East Kelowna Sunday Artisan Community Market. And of course you can buy her products at the Sage+Quartz website.

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who>

But starting on the 4th of May, Scholte will hit the big time with her booth at the most popular market in the South Okanagan, the Penticton Farmer's Market. "I'm excited to be accepted into the Farmer's Market this year. It's a stringent process to be accepted, so when I got the word I was thrilled. I'll be there all 22 weekends through to October."

And one final thing. Scholte is prepped to sell her Sage+Quartz lineup at additional physical locations. Interested parties can contact her through her website or via email at [email protected].



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