We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bronwyn Ainsley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bronwyn below.

Bronwyn , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I am a teacher with over a decade of experience, teaching in both public and private schools. Towards the end of the school year in 2023, I experienced a situation in my classroom that forever change my mindset as a teacher. That situation left me traumatized as a teacher, and wondering if I wanted to continue being a teacher at all. While taking some time off to work on myself, and reflect, it left me wondering, what should I do now? I’ve always been creative, artistic and enjoyed trying new recipes, making things for myself and others.

After having some horrendous reactions to mainstream bath and beauty products, I bagan making my own. The first I made was lip balm with beeswax from a neighbour.

During my time of reflection, it was my husband, Nick, who encouraged me to think about sharing my products that I had made for our family for years with others, who might be like me. Despite never having run a business, nor having any sort of desire to run a business, I took his words to heart started formulating a plan in my head. I was familiar with Etsy as I sold some of my digital designs through the platform so I started there. It was a slow start with many hiccups along the way. The launch in the fall of 2023 went ok, I had a few sales and a growing Instagram account. I was happy with the direction the business was, and even got into a Christmas market locally.

In the new year of 2024 is when things really started to move fast for my business. I filled out applications for various markets, and although I was turned down by many for not having a sufficient Instagram following or social media prescence or experience I had a few who took a chance on me and the outcome was more than I could’ve imagined!

In February, a local instagrammer purchased my “Being Cheeky” tinted tallow cheek and lip moisturizer going on a number of raves about the product and that was when I started to get the influx of regular customers who now have become friends.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Bronwyn Ainsley-Travis, and I originally didn’t want to be a teacher or a business owner. I wanted to be an Archaeologist. Plans clearly pivoted!
I grew up, rurally in southern Ontario on an acreage where my mom had beneficial plants, herbs, and other medicinal plants throughout the entire property. I grew up, climbing trees, running outdoors barefoot, and eating fruits, veggies and berries straight from the plant. In someways I guess my childhood allowed myself and my siblings to be a bit feral, but in the best way!

I eventually grew up and went to university, like most. I graduated from McMaster University with an honours and anthropology and archaeology. While there, studied cultural practises around the world and throughout time. I guess that’s where I really fell in love with old world practises and how simple and holistic, they truly were. They made use of plants and every single part of an animal, and there was no wastefulness. It was also so neat to find out nearly all the ingredients that were used didn’t cause harm to humans.

After graduating, I started having reactions to many mainstream bath and beauty products, they began to affect my health, and I was diagnosed with an auto immune disease as a result. I had to ditch many of the mainstream products that most people are able to use without problem. However, it seemed as though anytime I would find a natural product that worked and didn’t cause any kind of reaction inevitably would sell out to a larger umbrella corporation. Eventually, the new ownership would change the ingredient or stick in one of the ingredients that I was highly allergic to and then I would have to start the process all over again spending so much time, effort, and my hard earned money. so I got fed up! I decided to put my own skills and education to good use and research; creating products where I knew exactly what was going into them. I knew 100% that they were not going to cause reaction for me, but also was going to do some good for my body. Now I strive to make sure I am as healthy as possible by being very picky with ingredients that I put in my products for my own health and to maintain the health of my family members, my husband and my child. There is the reason that I decided to title my business name without compromise, because I won’t change ingredients to increase sales revenue, and I won’t sell out!

My products are primarily meant for people like myself, who want to avoid all the harmful chemical additives, or the man-made ingredients that were never intended to be put on or in our bodies. I strive to keep my recipes as simple as possible and using ingredients that you would find mostly in your kitchen cabinets or would be planting in your own garden. If I can’t make it myself, I try to source it as locally as absolutely possible. Our beeswax actually comes from our neighbours down the road and the grass-fed grass-finished Halal tallow I use in my tallow moisturizers and “Being Cheeky” cheek and lip tint, is locally sourced in the lower mainland of British Columbia.

I don’t know which product I’m most proud of however, the two that seem to get the most reviews are my original “Tickle me Tallowed” nourishing skin balm it’s whipped with a smooth, fine texture, and includes the benefits of Calendula petals and leaves as well as frankincense, lavender and carrot seed, oil to moisturize and heal various skin ailments. Also, our “Being Cheeky” tinted tallow Cheek and Lip moisturizer, kind of like a natural blush, but way better! Both have rave reviews and I’ve had very positive feedback and results shared from clients. I also do have some surprising new products coming up for launch very soon.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It’s no secret that I primarily work with animal fats or animal byproducts such as beeswax. This does not tend to go over well when I encounter some vegans. I know some who follow a vegan diet and support me pretty well, and I am grateful for that.

As a whole I don’t judge them for their dietary choices and health choices. It simply doesn’t work for me and my own health needs. However, I was at one particular market, where I received really awful verbal comments, stares, and even rude hand gestures. It was a two day market and I had one sale the entire first day. I felt quite defeated and I really did not want to come back for the second day to further put myself in a situation where I would have to subject myself to these comments, etc. all over again. However, I put on my big girl panties, and I followed through on the commitment I had made to be there. It is so important to follow through on your commitments as a business owner.

On the second day, in response to the people who made comments or gestures; I just smiled back and gently reminded myself “my products are not for them” and that’s OK. I think that’s another important thing for business owners to remember is that your product is not going to be for everyone, you will inevitably have critics and that’s OK.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I previously shared how I started making my own products for myself however, the main thing that taught or gave me the “know how” to combine ingredients for an express purpose, came from my mom. When I was younger, she used to make a beeswax salve very similar to our “Chapped, Cracked, Worn and Weathered” hand and heel salve. I can always recall the smell of it cooking on the stove, low and slow for days sometimes. My mom had an understanding of what plants could do and how to choose and combine plants in a way that it could be healing. Building off that understanding was my actual “education” I learnt so much about plants I hadn’t known when studying in university. Through that process I pretty much became a professional researcher too.

My husband works in a trade, where he’s often exposed to the elements, year-round, and in the winter his hands especially significantly worn. One particular winter was quite nasty and I ended up calling my mom for the recipe to make it for my husband‘s hands. So I went down the street and grabbed some beeswax from the honey farm. We already had organic coconut oil and olive oil on hand, dried lavender that I had previously grew my garden. All that was left, was to get some calendula petals, which I was easily able to source online at the time, now I grow my own. My mom’s recipe wasn’t quite exact though, so as I started making it, I started with smaller proportions and ratios and recorded everything I did. Working through it until I got the consistency that was very much like hers I also had a variety of essential oils on hand that I knew were great for healing, worn skin or stimulating skin cell growth, so I added some and recorded it all in case I needed to make it again, which I did.

One of the greatest lessons that I have learned in making my products has come from within the tinkering and creation stage: recird everything! Record every single step you do in the initial test phase so that you don’t have to work backwards to try to re-create it. I have had a few headaches where I have forgotten to record something. Also, never create when you have divided attention. It never ends well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://withoutcompromise.ca
• Instagram: I’m on Instagram as withoutcompromise_bath_beauty. Install the app to follow my photos and videos. https://www.instagram.com/withoutcompromise_bath_beauty
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutcompromisebathandbeauty?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits

I do my own product photography.