Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexandria Corder. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alexandria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I’m Alexandria (Indigo) Corder, a licensed aesthetician, and herbalist. I created Red Clay Herbiary to celebrate the rich heritage of my family’s ancestral use of plants. Red Clay is an homage to Alabama’s red dirt roads, gardens toiled and harvested by my family, and plant medicine’s truest riches.

Alexandria, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Red Clay Herbiary was created in my home as personal care for myself and my family. I have been making beauty products my entire life. We began in 2020 in a small corner of my bedroom on the Southside of Jacksonville. I had no idea that my products would transform not only my life but the lives of many women around the city. We pride ourselves in teaching women how to spend more time with themselves. We teach that self-care should be holistic but doesn’t always have to be tied to productivity. Caring for yourself should be something other than another task to add to your list of things. It should be the safest space where you commune with yourself to release your energy.

Our products are intention-forward and help women create bath routines as rituals. We like to encourage women to take the time they use to shower or bathe as “me time.” Allowing the water to wash away the day, soap to cleanse their aura, our products to set intentions, and seal in the love they share with themselves. We take pride in producing items that are natural and as close to their original state as possible. Our luxurious look and feel speak to the softness in all of us.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Social media makes running a business seem like such an easy task. This is a huge misconception I had to unlearn. When I started Red Clay Herbiary, I had no idea how to truly run a business and the type of growth it would take for me personally and professionally to do so. Entrepreneurship has changed my worldview as well as my view of self. I would often find myself in this space as an imposter. I had to realize that I wasn’t an imposter, I simply was learning. My business taught me to give myself and others grace. Now I navigate obstacles, education and expansion with a more level head. I spend no less than three hours a week educating myself on things I need to know to run a successful business.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

Red Clay Herbiary has faced some hurdles. While we have only been in business for two years. We almost closed twice. In 2020 we experienced flooding in our inventory storage. The flooding ruined our inventory for the rest of the year. Thanks to our customers and community, we recovered the loss and moved forward. As recently as this past September, we experienced another flood of our inventory in a different location; we lost the display we use for pop-up shops, tablets, printers, and inventory. We have done our best to stay positive to continue serving the community we’ve created. We are on a mission to teach people how to care for themselves through body care and our work is not yet finished.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.redclayherbiary.com
• Instagram: Redclayherbiary
• Facebook: Redclayherbiary
• Youtube: Redclayherbiary

Image Credits
Latoya Goodman Avianca McQuay