Welcome back to Create the Space! I’m Cody, and today I’m joined by the incredible Jill Rowe, co-founder of Cultivate Apothecary. Jill shares her journey from a fast-paced life in New York City’s art and restaurant worlds to building a deeply rooted, nature-inspired business in the Hudson Valley. We talk about what true luxury really means, the power of slowing down, and how simple rituals—like connecting with nature and caring for your skin—can bring so much meaning to our lives. Jill’s story is all about creating space for creativity, self-care, and genuine community. If you’re looking for inspiration to simplify your life and to learn about Jill's life-changing skin care line, fill up instead of burn out, and reconnect to what really matters, you’re in the right place.
Jill Rowe’s creative path has been shaped by art, hospitality, and an enduring connection to nature. She began her career in fashion and the NYC art world before turning to film production and culinary work, opening her own restaurant in upstate New York and later running Danny Meyer’s Union Square Café . Cooking, community, and the art of caring for people through the senses became the foundation of her work.
Seeking a life more rooted in land and craft, Jill moved to the Hudson Valley, where she met her husband, photographer and author Matthew Benson, who restored Stonegate Farm into a vibrant ecosystem of organic produce, botanicals, and creative living. There, Jill co-founded Cultivate Apothecary, a skincare and wellness brand that unites her skills as a chef, sommelier, formulator, and gardener. Working directly with the botanicals she grows, she creates products and rituals designed to reconnect people to nature, nourishment, and themselves.
Website: CULTIVATE APOTHECARY
USE DISCOUNT CODE: https://cultivateapothecary.com/discount/spacewithcody20
FRIENDS, THIS IS THE BEST HOLIDAY GIFT EVER!
Cody [00:00:02]:
Hello, friends. I'm going to try and keep this intro short. Happy holidays. I hope you're having an amazing holiday season. I want to get right to this episode because it is so perfectly timed. Please listen to this. This person is so incredible and has such an incredible product and she is.
Cody [00:00:18]:
Sharing a discount with us.
Cody [00:00:19]:
So if you have not finished your holiday shopping, definitely listen. Definitely check the link below. Anyway, without further ado, welcome. Today I am interviewing Jill Rowe and her creative path has been shaped by art, hospitality, and an enduring connection to nature. She began her career in fashion and the New York City art world before turning to film production and culinary work, opening her own restaurant in upstate New York and later running Danny Meyer's Union Square Cafe. Anyone else remember that spot? Cooking Community and the art of caring for people through the senses became the foundation of her work. She was seeking a life more rooted in land and craft, so she moved to the Hudson Valley where she met her husband, photographer and author Matthew Benson, and they were restored Stonegate Farm into a vibrant ecosystem of organic produce, botanicals and creative living. There, Jill co founded Cultivate Apothecary, a skin and wellness brand that unites her skills as a chef, sommelier, formulator and gardener. Working directly with the botanicals she grows, she creates products and rituals designed to reconnect people to nature, nourishment and themselves. I say this a million times during this podcast, but I am such a huge fan both of Jill and of her products. So without more blabbering, I already said that. Let's listen up.
Cody [00:01:40]:
Welcome, Jill, Good morning, Jill.
Jill Rowe [00:01:43]:
Good morning, Cody.
Cody [00:01:45]:
Thank you so much for being here.
Jill Rowe [00:01:47]:
My pleasure.
Cody [00:01:48]:
Yeah. You know, it's funny, we started this conversation talking about technology because Jill is having it's time for a new computer. And I was just in that phase for years because I am so stubborn, as I was saying. And it just got me thinking about like upgrading in general because we're going to talk mostly today about Jill's beautiful, amazing skin care line, which I guarantee you is an upgrade from anything that you've been using. I can personally attest to that because I have used her skincare products and yeah, I want to get to. We're not going to talk about this right now, but I do want to get to like this resistance that comes up when we upgrade things because I do think that it'll be relevant to the conversation. So I'm just putting a little pin in that as I think it was interesting where we started. But before we do, let's just tell everybody a little Bit about who you are, where you're talking to us from, like the biographical information.
Jill Rowe [00:02:42]:
I am Jill Rowe and I am the co founder of Cultivate Apothecary, which is a farm grown botanical skincare and wellness brand. We're based here in the Hudson Valley. I'm actually on our farm right now. The wonderful thing about the good and the bad, I suppose and bad I say that lightly because I can't complain about where I live at all is the farm is right here outside my window so I get to see it. And when you're an entrepreneur, we're all working so many hours anyway. But when you're actually, your business is right here, it can be difficult to stop and not do anything because you there will always be something to do. But the benefit I get is I love what I'm doing. I get so inspired by just walking outside and seeing what's going on on the farm because it's Chang. Every day we have a supper program that we do in addition to our skincare line. So on evenings, we just had one last night, we do them seasonally, usually mid June through the end of September. And people come and we sit out in the flower farm and we have a wood burning pizza oven and a proper little kitchen. And so we do these beautiful pizzas with as many ingredients from the farm and then we make farm salads and whatever's right now our tomatoes are in season so we're making these beautiful sort of caprese salads and I make a botanical drink from our, one of our berries that we grow here that's really, really great for your antioxidants and great for your skin. And we just share the evening with people and you know, a friend of mine came up and she'd never been to the farm before and there's something, you know, she's known me for several years and there's something about knowing someone in a certain context. She's known me through zoom, she's known me through business events, she's experienced our skin care. But she said when she came here, she said you can't. No matter how many beautiful videos I look at or pictures, when you come here, you truly understand what is happening here. Like there's so much going on, but also it's for us, it spokes on a wheel. You know, it's the idea of the overarching idea of self care, of trying to do that as much as possible in relationship with nature. And then also how do we share that with our community far and wide. Like what are the things we can do. I used to have my own restaurant. I used to be a chef. So for me, being able to make things for people is just something that fills me up. So at the end of the, even though we're busy all week and we're doing this and you know, I'm making sorbets because I also make sorbets out of our botanicals, the elixir, and I'm making sorbets and we're planning the day and I'm doing the marketing for it and I'm making sure everybody's, you know, I's are dotted, T's are crossed. And you get there and you do that and you welcome. And at the end of the night you're just filled up, you know. And so I think that is the essence of living a well lived life is if the things that you do, no matter whether it's the scheduling or the technology with your computer or whatever it may be at the end of the day, does it fill you up or does it deplete you? I think that's a great sort of testament to figure out if what you're doing with your life is what is really going to benefit you in the long run. It doesn't fill you up in ours. It really, really fills us up, you know.
Cody [00:06:21]:
That's so beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing that. It's so beautiful. And there's. My mind is just going, going because there's, you know, I had this. I met you, I met Jill at an event out here where I live on Long Island, a writing event with.
Cody [00:06:35]:
Oh God, mom, brain. Laura.
Cody [00:06:37]:
Laura.
Cody [00:06:41]:
And.
Cody [00:06:43]:
And I don't know, like, I just felt this like very, you know, I tried your product and it was lovely and beautiful and yes, we're going to talk about that.
Cody [00:06:50]:
But there was something else.
Cody [00:06:51]:
I was like, I really want to connect with this person. And now I'm starting, you know, the more I researched you in the in before this interview, I got it. But also just talking to you and feeling your energy, I get it. And it's that, you know, first of all, that is my definition of luxury. Right? Like farm to skin, which is what your brand is. Back to the land. Like when people talk about luxury these days, I just think there's so much nuance.
Cody [00:07:14]:
Right.
Cody [00:07:14]:
Because what is luxury to you? Like, luxury doesn't have to be. It can be, but it doesn't have to be designer handbags. It can be, but that's not luxury to me. You know, luxury to me is investing in things that are bringing us back to nature, that help my family feel well and whole, that give us time, that give us space, that give us, you know, all of this stuff. And so, yeah, it's just making so much sense as to why I felt this desire to have this conversation beyond the obvious things.
Cody [00:07:42]:
And.
Cody [00:07:43]:
And my mind is racing with all the different directions I want to go, but I want to start there, just about this land, because it seems like you're really in relationship with your space. And of course that's coming from my feng shui background. That's interesting to me. And I'm curious how you found this land, like how you know, you're a multi hyphenate, as you said on say on your website, and you've done a lot in your life and that's amazing. And so how did this phase come in? How did this land come to you?
Jill Rowe [00:08:11]:
It's interesting because.
Jill Rowe [00:08:14]:
I lived in New York City for 30 years. I was raised in Southern California, but I moved to Europe when I was 18 and then moved to New York when I was 21. And that I think Europe really changed me. It opened my eyes. I had no idea what the world was about until I spent over a year there. And then in the subsequent six to eight years, many, many months out of the year there. And it opened my eyes to different cultures, different way of living, different languages.
Jill Rowe [00:08:45]:
Different cuisines, all of that. So it just turned me on. And then to be able to go to New York City, I was voracious in terms of just learning and soaking it in. And you know, I started out in fashion and then I was in the art world, and then I was producing independent films. And then I opened up my own restaurant. And then I just went on to manage a very incredible restaurant, Union Square Cafe, for eight years. So I think all of it just enhanced more and more this idea of how I love being in relationship with.
Jill Rowe [00:09:18]:
The arts in all of myriad ways. And so I got to a certain point where I understood I needed to get back to my own creativity. As much as I loved working at Union Square Cafe, it was a dream that I was helping to continue to fulfill very happily for someone else. But it also gave me this very deep desire to go back to my own creativity and what was it I wanted to do. And I had no idea. And I did give myself some space to do that with, giving myself some time off, and that just kind of blossomed into allowing myself to take in a lot of different things. What did I want to learn more about? What did I want to do physically, mentally, spiritually. I started journaling all the time, which I cannot recommend enough because I think if anyone's going through anything daily, journaling, it surprises you, because if you allow it to come out, it really is your subconscious sharing itself with you in ways that maybe your. Your ego mind is not going to do, because your ego mind most of the time is. Is not going to be as fearless as you should be. And I think your subconscious mind allows you to be more fearless. So I just took some journeys and I ended up traveling a lot, living down in New Orleans, and a friend of mine was up here in the Hudson Valley. I had spent no time in the Hudson Valley in my life, sadly, because when I first came here, I was. I was mesmerized. I was, what. How. How do I not know about this?
Jill Rowe [00:11:03]:
And I ended up coming here to do a project that was very much in keeping with all of the things I'd ever done. And it was about arts and industry, and there's so much art and industry history in the area where I live, and trying to put that together and give that back through a public offering. And so I worked on that for several years, and that included, you know, what was natively here in industrial arts, what was natively here in the incredible architecture in the Hudson Valley, where there's, you know, it was the breadbasket of America back in the 50s and 60s. So many, so many farms and farmland. And I ended up meeting my husband, now husband, and he has had this property for 25 years.
Cody [00:11:45]:
Oh, wow. Wow.
Jill Rowe [00:11:46]:
And so he came out of the city, he was raised in Europe, American. Came back to live in America when on and off, in his teens and then twenties, went to college in New York and came up here, was with a former partner, and he just from scratch built this farm. It wasn't here. And over the years, he just slowly created this. And then as he created more again, it's that idea of you just never know. If you take the action, it may be something specific, like, I'm going to build this field. I'm going to build a farm for my family. And then you realize, oh, that's bigger than my needs, my family's needs. What can I do with this? And that was sort of what he was confronted with in that. That even that first iteration of a portion of the farm. And so he decided to feed the community. So he started a csa, which is supported agriculture. And so people would come and pick up shares and he would turn them on to all these interesting sort of vegetables and Fruits that you wouldn't normally get at a market. You know, like hakurai turnips and kinds of bok choy and Japanese eggplant and just different things.
Jill Rowe [00:13:02]:
And then just started feeding his community that way. And then when we met, we can. I, I am an autodidact. So I was just like, I've never farmed in my life. I don't even know what this seed is versus what that seed. Just show me what do I do? How do I learn this? So I was just out there every day on the farm when I wasn't working on my project, just literally weeding, planting, learning, you know, all the Latin names of the plants. And slowly we. I just evolved and kind of flow with what was happening here. And then that creative. My project ended and that creative bug hit me. And we had an apprentice program also because we needed support for the farm. So rather than just getting somebody and paying them and saying, you know, thanks for your work and see you later, we're like, well, what can someone. How can people benefit from this? So we have a building that had been a former horse stable that Matthew had renovated into a small cottage. So we had apprentices that would come and live with us during the season, like for four or five months. And then they would help support us during the season. And then we would teach them how to do small scale regenerative farming, small businesses from that, like flower farmers or skincare products or whatever. And so we had, I think it was 2017, we had an apprentice that had just come out of an herbalism school in Colorado and had recently moved to the area. And she asked, can I make some products what you're growing here and sell them at the CSA on Saturdays? And we said, absolutely. That's why you're here. Good for you. Entrepreneurial spirit. And so our CSA members, we would put out the. There was different tinctures and salves for your hands and things like that. And people were like, what is this? And we would, you know, she would tell them what it was and they were like, it was made here on the farm. They were like, look, give it to me. I don't care what it costs, just give it to me. And I think both Matthew and I at the end of the season were like, there's something here. There's something here that we can do that could be really interesting. And we're both highly creative. And so we were. Matthew was definitely ready to kind of go on to the next iteration because he'd been doing the CSA for 10 years. And so we just started deeply researching, well, what's already here that we can use and what are its benefits and what does it do and how can we make something from it. And you know, I think my, certainly my being a chef, I was also a sommelier. So my, my ability to kind of pair scents with food, you know, food when I was doing wine, that would enhance that meal, literally translated to, I, okay, I have this beautiful product. How can I enhance its benefits with its essential oils, its profile, and how do I do that and do it in a very unique way? And I think in some ways ignorance is bliss in that I wasn't trying to mimic anything that was already out there. Didn't interest me. I just wanted to do what can I, what can I create that I would like to use on my own skin? So that's how we started and then slowly allowed it to evolve and.
Jill Rowe [00:16:26]:
I think everything naturally again. Then we launched three months before COVID And you know, and that was kind of daunting in a way. But because we had the farm, because we'd already been in community, I'd been doing yoga for, at that point, I didn't even know 30 years.
Jill Rowe [00:16:44]:
I said, well, let's bring the yoga here. I mean, we can do yoga outside on the flower farm. So we started doing yoga out on our flower farm like five years ago, and we still do it every summer. And then, you know, I was like, okay, well, how am I going to get people to try our products if they literally don't know who we are? I can't go into any stores at this point. So we started doing wellness weekends and I had become friends with this incredible massage therapist in Manhattan and I also had access to, and she did as well, different estheticians, facialists. So we put up a beautiful tent in the flower farm and we would do hour long facials with our products and hour long massages. I co created these therapeutic massage oils with her and people loved it because you're out on the flower farm and you're hearing the birds and a breeze is passing through and you're just lying there in nature and. And the estheticians loved it too, because they're like, they're bare feet, they're like grounding. They're having these very unique experiences with this person on the table. Very different than if you're inside four walls. So everybody just had these very special experiences and we just kept doing those. And as I was a chef, my son is a chef, we had the, you know, food from the farmer, like let's start a supper program. Okay. So we started doing that, and so that's in its fourth year, and so it sounds like a lot, and I guess perhaps it is, but we're both kind of those people.
Jill Rowe [00:18:22]:
You have this life once, right? And we so enjoy doing it. And I think, you know, everyone loves coming here and sort of leaves changed in a little way or filled up in a little bit different way, and they walk around the gardens with a glass of wine, and they're, you know, or they're asking questions about the history of the estate because it is an old estate from the 18, mid-1800s. And so it's all different kinds of things going on at once. You're not just coming for pizza. You're coming for an experience. We're not just giving you pizza. We're sharing the evening with you. We're opening up our home to people to find a way to continue dialogues that are not about politics, that are not about what you do for a living. It's just about coming together and just sharing whatever is you're feeling that evening and having a beautiful experience, and then everybody goes on their way. You know, it's very. In the moment. We, we. I think we're both very present people, and I think that's another lost art, in a way, is. Is being present and. And not thinking, okay, I should be. I have to do this, this, and this, and. And yes, and yes. But take this time. Be with this person. Honor that. That moment. Honor that person that's standing there talking to you. Don't be looking around like, what's going. No, just. Just lock eyes. Just be there. And I think it's those. If there's anything I can share about my. The life I've lived and my time here, it's that the more you do that, the more that you are present, the more you're fulfilled, because there can. You can be doing things all day long and feel completely empty at the end of the day. But if you're present all day long, all those little moments add up to just filling, filling, filling, filling you up. And so at the end of the day, you feel like, yeah, that was a good day. Even if it was rough experience that it was rough. Don't gloss over that it was rough, you know, like, feel it like, God, that was hard. That was not my best day. Okay, what can I learn from that? I don't want that day again. I want better, more better days. How do I create those? You know, it's all that stuff. So, yeah, it's a lot, but this is the. This is the kind of mind I.
Cody [00:20:49]:
Have that I need a faster computer.
Jill Rowe [00:20:51]:
Jill.
Jill Rowe [00:20:53]:
At the end of the day, we've come away with, Jill needs a faster computer.
Cody [00:20:56]:
Yeah. Thanks for listening. Jill needs a faster computer. Just kidding.
Jill Rowe [00:21:01]:
I believe. But it's true. It's so true. But we're kidding.
Jill Rowe [00:21:06]:
No, but it's.
Cody [00:21:06]:
It's a big message. I mean, I'm not going to harbor belabor this, but we'll. Anyway. But. But, you know, I have so much to say about what you just said, and all of it is fine. But the most important thing is I was literally. You know, I'm a big believer in journaling as well. I try and journal every day, too. And I was journaling about this yesterday, about presence. And I feel like my having my daughter, she's 2, has been such a confronting experience. I didn't actually realize how I'm gonna. I don't know a better word than addicted. I don't really mean this word, but I can't find a better word. So I'm gonna go with addicted. I was to distraction. Like, I am a multitasker in my. You know, I be listening to a podcast and doing the dishes and listening to that podcast on 1.75, because I want to get through it faster, you know, and just constantly doing multiple things. And that's kind of been true. Even I was a kid in the 90s, so even in the 90s, like, I remember doing my math homework in front of the television. Like, I was just. There's something in me, and I'm still trying to work this out. Like, what is this thing? This is the question I was asking myself when I was journaling. What is this thing in me that feels uncomfortable with presence or that feels uncomfortable with one thing? And it's, you know, something that I'm really invested in figuring out because I want to be present with my daughter. And not that I'm not. I am. But not in the same. Not in the. As much as I would like to be. Right. There's so many times where we're playing and I'm thinking about dinner or, you know, whatever the thing is, or I'm answering a text and, you know, all these things. So, first of all, I really appreciate you bringing that up because I think it's so important, and it's so. We live in such a. We have a million different things that we can be distracted by. Right. And there's this lie, which is that the more you get done in a day the more fulfilled you'll be. Right.
Jill Rowe [00:22:58]:
It's a lie. It's an American lie. I hate to justify it, but it really is because we are that.
Cody [00:23:06]:
You.
Jill Rowe [00:23:06]:
Know, we are that.
Jill Rowe [00:23:09]:
I don't want to reduce it to a capitalism, but if we use that in the broadest term, as opposed to money, it is that and it, and it's great in its way. Meaning, you know, in America you can do and be whatever you want, you know, have those opportunities. You don't have to have a PhD in this or whatever. You know, you can go do that and. But then, you know, but every, sometimes things can also go too far. And it's the idea that if you have, like when we go, we spend time in France every year and, and as I shared, Matthew was raised in Europe, very formative years, like literally eight months to 16. I spent, you know, at least eight to 10 and more going there for many months, like living there, living there, not being a tourist. And Europe is a lifestyle. They don't, they don't work to live.
Jill Rowe [00:24:07]:
If I'm saying that correctly. I mean, they're, you know, there's every shop closed for three or four hours during the day. You know, that took getting used to. They take our. I know that we've sat in little cafes and little towns and there's, you know, construction workers, like, dirty with cement and dust all over them, and they're sitting there having their full, beautiful meal, glass of wine, cigarette afterwards, hanging out, you know, not like, you know, this or not out of their car or getting McDonald's or whatever. And so they, they, they have a different concept of their days.
Jill Rowe [00:24:43]:
And it's not rushed and it's not. Sometimes that can be very hard, you know, to. For us Americans who want everything quickly and, and they're just kind of like, like, let's slow down, let's slow this down. So I think there is something to be learned there, but when it is instilled in you, generation after generation, that's hard. That's hard. So it's no one's fault that they're not able to be present, but there hopefully are opportunities of, as you said, you're, you're noticing that because you have a child now and not only do children.
Jill Rowe [00:25:22]:
Need a lot of attention because they're. For many years until they are, they're helpless. You know, they don't know how to do anything until they've done it for the first time. And then they learn and da, da, da. And I see it because I have grandchildren. I can see I'm a very different person with my grandchildren than I am with, than I was with my child. You know, I had my son when I was 26 and I was still working. I was living in Manhattan, I had full time job, I stayed home with him the first year but after, after that I was working full time. His dad was in the restaurant business so he was working in the evenings and things like that. So I can see that.
Jill Rowe [00:26:01]:
None of us will ever be perfect parents will never be able to do and be and spend the kind of time with our kids. It's just, that's just not how this world works. But I do think that it's more what I always said to my son was whenever, you know, he, you know, teenage boys, they, they go through it, right? And I always used to say to him, it's not, you are not bad, you know, you are not wrong. The things you're choosing to do are not the things that you should be doing. I never wanted him to feel like he was bad or he was doing something wrong. So throughout all that though, when he was going through all these changes and, and you know, going through his childhood to adulthood, I think the key is not to.
Jill Rowe [00:26:54]:
It'S not about quantifying time and things like that. It's really about consistency. If you can show your child who you are consistently, then they really do get a beautiful vision of who you are. It doesn't have to be hours of presence and things like that. But then let's say you're thinking like you just shared this moment.
Jill Rowe [00:27:18]:
I was playing with my daughter and I was thinking about making dinner. Is maybe I. She's two, so yes, that's young. But still it's interesting how young they just want to get involved. It's like, should we talk about what we're going to have for dinner?
Cody [00:27:31]:
Right?
Jill Rowe [00:27:32]:
Help me make dinner. Should we go and figure out what that's going to be? So it's just those moments, it's like thinking about how can I switch from being this adult who's become self sufficient away from my parents, right? I've adulted, I'm out on my own, I have to make my own money, I have to make my own bed, I have to make my own food, do my own laundry. How do I kind of like include that my child in that journey and not feel bifurcated like oh shoot, I really need to do the laundry right now. Or okay. Because the other thing is, is when I was growing up we had chores, we were, we learned how to be in A part of a household. I think a lot of generations probably post my sons. I don't remember what he is. I think he's like on the edge of being a millennial. But is this idea of that they didn't do any chores or learned how to do or learn how to cook or do any of those things. And I think those are those sort of lost arts in a way, because if you are going to take your child all the way through to adulthood and want them to fledge fully, they need to know how to do all those things, how to take care of themselves, feed themselves well, and not live on ramen. And you know what I mean? You know, and so, yeah, I think in those moments, maybe it's. It's.
Jill Rowe [00:28:51]:
Not thinking I'm not being the perfect parent, but it's like, okay, so this is my life right now. I'm crazy busy. I'm here on my own. I have to figure out what we're doing for dinner. How can I make that inclusive and just kind of do what I need to do and not feel like I'm not there with my child?
Cody [00:29:09]:
Totally, yeah. That is just life. And she loves, she loves to be involved, you know.
Cody [00:29:15]:
Have miserable visions of cutting her with a knife, you know, because she's so close to the knives. But yeah, it's true. It's true. And, you know, this sort of is a great segue into talking about your products. And I'll say why, which is that, like, you know, there's so much need in me. And I think a lot of people that listen to this show to like, make things black and white. Like, you know, either we're fully present and da, da, da, da, or we're not present at all and we're terrible. And it's like, no, no, there's a lot of, of space in there for, you know, like you're saying to just like, reframe things. And I think one of the things that I'm really passionate about is helping people reframe what they need to live a wellness, you know, because wellness has gotten so out of hand, right? Like, you've got a million different. And I am not knocking any of these things, guys. I have some of these things. You have a million different biohacking tools. You know, you need the two hour morning routine and the two hour bedtime routine and, you know, all the things and all the this and all that.
Jill Rowe [00:30:14]:
That.
Cody [00:30:15]:
And I'm so passionate about, okay, sure, if that's your. If that's for you, but if that makes you Feel chaotic then. No, no, no. What we really need is to go back to regulation with nature, right? We really, it's simple sunlight, feet on the ground. And so, you know, when I tried your product, I really feel like there is something, you know, beyond the like beautiful formulation. It feels really good on my skin, all of that. I truly, you know, you had prompted us when we used it to like take a moment, take a breath, smell it on your hands, have that be a moment. And I did that and I truly feel it gives me this little moment, tiny. You know, with two year old it could be longer of really just pausing and like really I feel everything you're talking about in that product. The land and the place and the intention. And so, so yeah, I'd love to sort of talk more and more about your products and just sort of like.
Cody [00:31:15]:
You know, how that came to be.
Cody [00:31:17]:
What your, how that, how you're doing that. Is there a special. What's going on in there?
Jill Rowe [00:31:21]:
You know? Well, I think it's a number of things on the more sort of skincare angle is again, I.
Jill Rowe [00:31:33]:
Spent a lot of formative early adult years in Europe where you can go to the local pharmacies and just get sublime products and straightforward, you know. And it was always kind of a three step thing. It was, you get your cleanser, they had essences there. That was just part of what they did. Specifically in France where I spent a lot of time and then your moisturizer and that's it. That was it. And it was again, I think because I had been a model and I think because I was constantly running around with a lot of makeup on.
Jill Rowe [00:32:10]:
Traveling different climates, different kind of atmospheres, I wanted to make sure my skin always looked good. So I took care of it, you know. So as soon as I got home, I took the makeup off, I took a nice hot bath, I just cleaned my face. And that would be something I would do every day. Every day I would come home from working, take a long luxurious hot bath, bath, wash my face off and then go out to dinner and then go to the nightclubs and then stay up till three in the morning and you know, all of that good stuff. But my face got cleaned. I never went to bed with a dirty, you know, with, with makeup on my face. So I think it's also that it's, it's a, it's simplicity and consistency is really about skin care for me. And then as that evolved, moving to New York and just again caring, it's like maintenance. I would get facials every Month. You know, I would care for my skin in that way that because I was living in New York City, you're in subways, it's grimy, it's dirty. You can fully get your face really, really clean. And so that's just that little extra thing. And I think when, you know, coming here in the farm and food, and I have such a passion for food, and the idea of that we could grow things here that we could use for skin care.
Jill Rowe [00:33:31]:
The idea of that was, again, the whole basis was, well, what do we want to make? And how many. You're thinking about what is the line going to be, really? We immediately came up with two ideas that are sort of based in.
Jill Rowe [00:33:51]:
What I did when I was taking care of my skin and then also food. And so we in. When you're cooking, I think it comes out of French cooking. It's called a mirepoix, and it's usually carrots, onions, and celery. And so we came up with, well, what's going to be our sort of mirepoix that we put in each one? So there's this. This really strong sort of foundation for each of the products that comes from our product, our botanicals. So we created that. We call it our estate blend. And that goes into pretty much every one of our products in some variation. And then beyond that, it was this idea of the essentials. What do you really need? So, you know, when we launched in 2019, it was, you know, Korean skincare was very popular. The 12 steps, all of that. Not something that I would ever want to do. I think Korean skincare can be beautiful, but again, not knocking anything. But we're not Korean. We don't have Korean or Asian skin. They have very specific skin that has evolved over centuries. They look the way they do because of the evolution of their own consistent ritualistic care. So we can't translate that and do that all for ourselves. We don't have that kind of skin. We're never going to achieve that kind of skin. So we're sort of setting ourselves up for.
Jill Rowe [00:35:23]:
Unhappiness there. Well, I tried all these products, and it didn't work for my skin. You don't have that kind of skin to begin with. It's not going to happen for you, likely. Also, I think it's so much that it becomes stressful. I didn't do my 12 steps. Oh, my God. I didn't do.
Jill Rowe [00:35:40]:
For us, it was, again, just, what are the foundations of care and what are the rituals in a way that people don't get enough time for. You spoke about that. And so what we built in to the brand was this idea of it coming from the farm. This, this kind of mirror pois of, of ingredients and this idea of a core grouping, simple, focused for your skin. And then that added layer of. We wanted to make it beautiful visually and scent wise so that you wanted to use it, you looked forward to using it. They were your bookends. How you began your day and how you ended your day and how you had those 15 minutes to yourself, just yourself. And I think that's another thing that we might touch upon is men for sure. But as women, we feel guilty if we take time for ourselves, if we close that door. You know the old commercial Calgon Take Me Away, it's like we have to be taken away. We have to close the doors in order to feel good about taking a bath.
Cody [00:36:51]:
We should feel guilty about it and be eating bonbon. Right?
Jill Rowe [00:36:54]:
Like, yeah, it's a, you know, and so for me, I wanted to give that to people. I wanted to give that beauty, that simplicity and that ritual and over and above that, what really helps us to differentiate and what you were speaking about, about how that makes you feel on your skin, they're all growing together. They're all growing together, all the ingredients, they're in the same sun, the same wind, the same rain, the same bees that, you know, coming and gathering pollen from different ones, you know, so they're, they're kind of having a full journey together and then they go into a product. And I have a friend who, when she first tried them, she said, I really feel like they're alive.
Cody [00:37:39]:
Yeah, that's such a good way of saying it.
Jill Rowe [00:37:40]:
Yeah. Alive. It doesn't feel like dead oils that have been sitting somewhere for God knows How long.
Cody [00:37:46]:
100%.
Jill Rowe [00:37:47]:
Yeah. So I think that is a lot of what you're experiencing. Is this what we've hopefully and it sounds like we have infused into the whole identity of the brand. But then also what you're actually experiencing on your skin are these beautiful oils, specifically the serums talking about that can go deeply into your skin and really hydrate your skin in such a uniform way that you just look better, you feel better, because your skin is getting the nurturing that it needs in order to thrive.
Cody [00:38:23]:
Yeah. I mean, I think you have something so special and I am really excited to. I mean, I can't imagine, honestly, this is, I'm not just saying this guys, but I really can't imagine using a different product now because I am that Person that, like, once I find something that really does it for me, it's like, why change? I'm also very excited because I feel like this is an excellent Christmas gift.
Cody [00:38:45]:
So.
Cody [00:38:48]:
I started thinking about my craft, Christmas presents now. And, you know.
Cody [00:38:54]:
But, yeah, it's. You know, I'm mindful of our time, and I just. Thank you so much, Jill. I really, really love what you're doing. I just. It's just so genuine. It's so real, it's so true. It's so alive. I'm really grateful for this conversation. And, you know, before we wrap up, I just want to give you a little space, a little time to say anything that's on your heart or anything you. You want to talk about, and then. And then we'll say goodbye.
Jill Rowe [00:39:19]:
Thank you. Well, I so appreciate being able to share who I am and what I do. And I think it's interesting because I'm in my third. Third, as they say, of life. And it's very interesting because.
Jill Rowe [00:39:35]:
You don't know this until you get there, but there is, at least for me personally, there is sort of this beautiful, I will say, responsibility.
Jill Rowe [00:39:47]:
That I want to give back. I want to share the journey that I've gone on, because it's not specific, just to me. We all go on our variations of it. But if I can give back any kind of insight, give anyone some idea of the possibilities for their lives, give them anything that resonates, that they then go, oh, I'd like to do that. I'd like to think about that. I'd like to explore that. I think I want people to understand that they can be anything that they want to be. Anything. I don't have. I didn't even go to college. I. Everything I've done, I did by learning and having a passion and a desire to do it and know more about it. That's all you need. Yeah. You go to college. I'm not saying you shouldn't go to college, but I'm saying that life is out there for you to experience. You just have to open the door and walk through. And I think that I have the life I have now because I just walked through a lot of doors. Yes to a lot of things. And I learned a lot along the way about myself. And I think the more diversity you have in your life, the richer it will be and the more that you can truly say, yes, I. I really lived this life. And that, for me, is what I want to be able to say at the end of my life, is, yes, I really Lived this life, and I'm very happy.
Cody [00:41:18]:
Yeah, I do know. I feel a kinship with you on that. I mean, I don't believe we're ever just one thing, and I think we're just always evolving, and life is. Yeah, exactly. You said it so beautifully. Just about experiences and having as many of them as we can. Good, bad, and everything in between.
Jill Rowe [00:41:35]:
Absolutely. It's all learning. It's all sharing and showing you who. Who you can be, who you are, things you need to work on, things you. You should be so proud of, you know, all of it. All of it.
Cody [00:41:48]:
Yeah. Yeah. And Cultivate. That's the. Cultivate. Apothecary is the name. I feel like we haven't said that yet. Cultivate Apothecary is the name of Jill's beautiful brand. And again, it just. For me personally, everything we've spoken to are really values of mine that I think we're all coming back to. Community, nature, you know, all of these things that I think there's a real movement, and I know that anyone listening to this podcast is on board. There's a real movement to come back to some of these more. I'm gonna call them wholesome, for lack of a better word, but, like, wholesome aspects of our lives that we need in balance with everything that is growing. You know, technology and all the things which I love, but just really coming back to the land and to creating space in our lives and to presence and to community and to, you know, nature, all of this stuff. So, yeah, it's just. It's really cool to experience that in a bottle. So thank you.
Jill Rowe [00:42:43]:
Thank you, thank you. It's been a pleasure.
Cody [00:42:46]:
Yeah. All right, well, bye for now, and thanks, guys, for listening. We'll talk to you soon. Bye. Okay, so today I want to talk to you guys about clutter.
Cody [00:42:59]:
If you've been around the gram for a little bit, you've noticed that that's a topic that I've been diving deeply into. And the reason I is this. I've been in some really cool spaces this fall and moving into the winter, and I'm talking to these incredible women, and they're all telling me that they really struggle with clutter in their home. And so I know that there are a lot of women and people out there that struggle with this, with stuff, with what to do with stuff, with stuff piling up with all sorts of clutter of all types. Digital clutter is another common thing that.
Cody [00:43:31]:
We are very susceptible to these days.
Cody [00:43:33]:
With all the amazing apps and downloads and files and all this stuff, everything's on the computer, right? And digital clutter can actually really be a drain as well, just like physical clutter can. So, anyway, if you didn't catch my workshop, the Secret Life of Clutter, I will drop the link for the replay down below. I am recording this on Thursday, December 4th, and the workshop is on Thursday, December 4th. So you guys are not listening to.
Cody [00:43:57]:
This before, but if you weren't there.
Cody [00:43:59]:
You can still catch the replay during this workshop. I am opening. So I have already opened. This is so weird. I'm speaking to myself in the future.
Cody [00:44:06]:
I have already opened the doors to.
Cody [00:44:08]:
A really cool experience that I'm doing for you guys. This January and February, there's two intakes, two cohorts, and this is called the Clutter Lab. So here we are going to take what we learned in the Secret Life of Clutter about the meaning of clutter, what clutter means, depending on where it lives in your house, according to feng shui, some of the emotional reasons that clutter piles up. Also the very intelligent reason that clutter lands where it does because it might be actually fixing a qi, an energy issue, an energy flow issue in your home. Anyway, we're going to take all of that that we learned in the Secret Life of Clutter and we're going to start to apply it in our homes. We're going to work together to start to make some headway and to clear without shame and without guilt and without. And without feeling like this horrible task that we just cannot get through. We're gonna have some fun. It is a two week guided process. Here's the format.
Cody [00:45:03]:
I'll just tell you straight up.
Cody [00:45:04]:
The format is you will receive 5 minute. You can listen to these while you do the dishes, while you're, I don't know, folding the laundry, whatever it is you're doing, driving five minute Daily Drops from me via a private podcast feed where I will give you a little tap, perhaps something really fun, or talk to you about a different area of an area of your home. Insight, wisdom, practical solutions, all of that will be in these daily five minute drops. We're also going to have an opening and closing zoom call where you can come and ask me questions and get feedback and we can join as a community. Then there'll be a telegram chat, of course, where we can support each other and you can share pictures of things that you're struggling with and I can give you lots of feedback. So that's the Clutter Lab. There's going to be PDFs, there's going to be all sorts of amazing things to really help you shift this pattern. Understand your clutter type. Everyone has a clutter type. Understand why you purchase the things you purchase and how to really change the relationship with your stuff. Change the relationship with your space and not just continually put deal with basement clutter on your to do list or organize bathroom cabinet. Anyway, that's the clutter lab. I am excited to welcome you into that space.
Cody [00:46:20]:
It is an insane price right now.
Cody [00:46:23]:
It's $47 so definitely join the link is down below. What else did I want to tell you today? Oh, I wanted to share this one little nugget which is kind of interesting. So one of the other things if you know me, you know I'm passionate about is home wellness and I have a lot of knowledge in this area. I have a clean living guide for conscious mothers. If you haven't grabbed that yet, it is only $11 which again, I don't know what I'm thinking here, but you can grab that in the link down below that goes through all of my favorite products for the home and for personal care food supplements. I've distilled it down into just this is what we use, this is what we've tested. I've spent I don't even know how much money on different products over the years and I don't even know how many hours of research. So I'm trying to save you from all that and put it all in this guide which I will continually update. And you'll get those updates for free. Anyway. Anyway, so I'm also very passionate about home wellness and I don't know how many years ago it was that I learned about candles and how they're actually really not great for the air quality and your lungs and even the non toxic ones and da da da da da. And I sort of said okay, bye bye candles. Except for the occasional just pure beeswax candle. But this holiday season I decided to welcome candles back into my life. I found a company that I really love that I have purchased. They're called Fontana Candles. They only use essential oils, organic essential oils for their fragrance. No fragrance quote unquote that I despise. You know, anything with the word fragrance in it is not for me. They are very lightly scented and they are beeswax based so they're fantastic. And I gotta say, I love candles so much and I've missed candles and it just reminded me that it's not for me. This is never about perfection. It's not living in like a perfectly Sterile, non toxic environment. Right. It's about finding a way to live that feels good to you and that can keep shifting and changing. Maybe there was a time where I needed to sort of let candles go and be a little bit more stringent about stuff. And now candles are back and they're having their moment. And I'm lighting one every morning when I wake up. And I'm lighting one before I work in my office and I'm lighting one at night when Montana and I do our bath time. And I just enjoy it so much. And so it's worth whatever is possibly irritating in the air, which I actually don't really think is happening for us. I don't think we're sensitive to that. So, yeah, there's different seasons and there's different times and there's different levels and ways to engage. But my whole jam and the whole reason that I am working and taking time away from being with my daughter and all this stuff is because I'm so passionate about helping you really, really discover how you like to live and to align your space with that so that your space becomes a place where you can manifest amazing things into your life. And that just supports you where you're at, where you're going, and is not a drain in any way. So, anyway, that is my impassioned soapbox for today. Light a candle if that's your thing.
Cody [00:49:22]:
And I'll see you next time.
Cody [00:49:23]:
Bye.