Good Clean Vibes with Jennifer Tinsley, Founder of FIELD Botanicals

August 15, 2023

EVOLVh is now available to shop at FIELD Botanicals, a clean beauty retailer located in downtown Augusta, Georgia, and we couldn't be more excited! FIELD Botanicals was awarded the 2022 Beauty Independent Beacon Award for Small Retailer and is a go-to destination for discovering indie beauty brands formulated with blends of plant oils, botanical infusions and extracts, plant based additives, and clean synthetics. We are honored to have our products stocked on their shelves alongside so many other beauty brands that we love and admire.

We are even more excited to introduce you to Jennifer Tinsley, the founder of this clean beauty haven. We had the pleasure of connecting with her to learn more about her story, what inspired her to launch FIELD Botanicals, and their ever-evolving standards and values. She also shared with us which EVOLVh products she's currently loving. We hope you enjoy reading her story as much as we did!

We would love to know more about your story and what inspired you to create FIELD Botanicals and eventually your own products!

FIELD Botanicals is a second career for me and quite a different professional path than the one I was previously on. I went to Savannah College of Art & Design for historic preservation, and for 20 years I worked in regional planning, housing & community development. I've always been interested in building communities, and I had a career where I was helping other communities build, but I was always away from my own community. I longed to be a part of a downtown retail fabric.

Why indie beauty? Personally, I’m a bit obsessed with wellness and health care, and how plant based diet affects the skin, so that played a big part in starting up FIELD. I had been making skincare products since 2015, just really playing around with different plant based ingredients to see what worked well on my own skin. After leaving my job in 2017, I took a year off to get a diploma in organic skincare formulation from Formula Botanica, and to learn how to become an entrepreneur. In 2018 (on the same day that we had our store grand opening!) I launched the FIELD Botanicals line with three adaptogenic deodorant body products. While initially these products saw some success, the pandemic led to us exiting all retail and we currently just sell in-house. Honestly, I find so much joy in the store educating people about all things clean beauty and that's where I focused my intentions these days.
How did you come to define the standards/values for the brands you choose to work with?

Our standards and values have and should always be dynamic; always be improving. Our core values for the store and the products we carry are Vegan, Cruelty-Free, and Indie. Our brand pillars are Integrity, Community, Sustainability, and Conscious growth. This year we’ve focused on better defining these pillars as well as creating a more extensive list of approved ingredients. That being said, it's not black and white. We look at every brand individually and go way deeper than just ingredients – we look at formulations, ingredient sourcing, and brand ethos. Is the brand just hopping on the latest trend or are they going above and beyond to create an ethical culture? There’s a broad range of things to look at, so we take a more holistic approach when vetting brands rather than ticking off boxes. It means a lot when indie brands who have partnerships with retailers that have a much larger footprint than ours value our our partnership and put great effort into the success of the brand in FIELD. I have to shout out Three Ships Beauty for their efforts in this regard. They’ve gone the extra mile with us and then some. And of course EVOLVh!
What has been the most rewarding aspect of being a small business owner/brand and sharing it with your community and the world?

We strongly believe in the strength of community, and we work hard to nurture community relationships. Fostering strong relationships and supporting each other are the most important things we can do as a member of a community, and can be truly transformative for a small business. When that happens, brands will thrive and sales will follow. Our customers feel validated and appreciated when we show community support, and they repay that with their loyalty and trust. This resonates further than our own community, and we have partnerships and relationships with international brands and other indie beauty retailers.
Congrats on winning the 2022 Beauty Independent Beacon Award for Small Retailers! What are a few other small businesses you love to shop from and support?

Thanks! That was honestly such a shock. We were in such great company with the other category entrants. And hearing from the judges that it was our connection to the community that led to their decision really validated what we're trying to do here. As far as other small businesses I love – Credo really sets the bar high for us all in the beauty biz. I have Credo loyalty points if that proves how much I admire them! Jeannie at Beauty Heroes has perhaps the most consciously curated selection of clean beauty stores. I also love what Sabeen is doing in Philadelphia with The Indie Shelf – it’s such a cute store and she’s always collaborating with neighborhood businesses. My friends Ken and Steve at H2O Closet in Old Town La Quinta are my go-to for all things luxury bath. And one of our best selling brands and dear friends of mine, the family run German brand No Make Up, recently opened up a beautiful store in Berlin to rival any Aesop store!
What other indie beauty brands are you loving in your everyday beauty routine?

“What do YOU use?” is a question we get every day. So I have a disclaimer that our team loves all the brands that we carry, but some products work better for us than others obviously. My personal go-to brands are Odacité and Otto Skin Goods for skincare, EVOLVh and Dip for hair, Elate Beauty for makeup, UpCircle and Routine for body care, and Solara Suncare for SPF.
In addition to being a destination for clean indie beauty, you host some fun community events and workshops! Could you share more about the types of events you host and any favorites that stand out?

Yes! We love a party at FIELD. We have an Augusta Pride fundraiser every June and get a lot of support from the community for that. We do a lot of pop-ups with both local businesses and our brands. We also have a lot of fun with workshops and DIY events. We had big events when we launched both Elate Beauty and Odacité. The Elate team will be visiting us for our 5th anniversary in October and we’re super stoked about that! Maybe an EVOLVh event is in our future?!
What are some of your favorite ways to unwind and take care of yourself?

A bubbly bath, gentle face mask, glass of wine, and the NYT crossword puzzle is a perfect #selfcare evening!
You’re based in beautiful Augusta, Georgia! What are some of your favorite activities or places you recommend visitors explore?

Augusta is such a great place to live. Most people know it for the Masters tournament, but it has so much more. There are plentiful outdoor activities, a great arts community, and events like Augusta Pride, Westobou and Arts in the Heart. Of course I tout downtown as THE place to be. Downtown has great restaurants and bars and a growing retail presence, as well as a lot of recent investment in mixed use developments and adaptive rehabilitation.
What is next for FIELD? Any new products or fun fall events on the horizon?

I mentioned the Elate Beauty event in October. We’re still working on the details, but we’d like to host an evening masterclass and a meet & great with the Elate team. Elate has almost a cult following in Augusta so we want to make sure that anyone who wants to meet them is able to do so. A big event for all retailers nationally is Small Business Saturday the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Our downtown merchants association is planning a big retail crawl for that day and it's always a lot of fun!
We're honored to be stocked at FIELD Botanicals. Do you have any EVOLVh favorites?

The honor is ours, truly. And is this a trick question? All of them of course! With my fine, straight hair, I particularly love the InstaVolume line and the UltraFlex hairspray. Such a soft hold without being sticky!

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To our EVOLVhers in Augusta, Georgia, we hope you'll be able to stop by in person to shop, discover, and connect with the amazing FIELD Botanicals team!