Amsterdam-based Welovehumans makes natural products for the face, hair, and body. Sara, founder of Welovehumans believes that “if you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin.“ Read about Sara’s journey and the making of Welovehumans in this interview.
Tell us a bit about yourself?
My mother is English, my father is half-American, half-Welsh and I grew up in the Netherlands. I have a seventeen-year-old daughter, a dog, two cats and many plants! I’m 41 years old and I live in Amsterdam. I love traveling, learning, exploring and dancing. My dream is to build and be a part of a network of people and businesses with similar intentions to Welovehumans.
What is the story behind Welovehumans?
I have a deep fascination for nature and our place of balance within it. In the last years, I started to learn about the healing properties of plants and nuts. Simultaneously I started to take a closer look at the ingredients in products I regularly used on my skin and hair. When I discovered how many ingredients in the products I used, also appeared on different carcinogen lists published, I was shocked. I started to think about how I put faith in a brand (admittedly, mainly based on their packaging) and never really focused on the content of the product. Besides, who really understands all those things listed on the ingredients label?
These two tracks led me to start making all my own products based on simple natural ingredients and experimenting on what worked and what could be better. Welovehumans was born from the idea that we are a part of nature, and can work together with the natural elements around us. We do not need to dominate nature and try and make substitutes. We’re already a part of something perfect. So let’s work with that.
What was your biggest challenge in developing your brand?
My biggest challenge was and is figuring out how to expose these great products to a larger audience. This is why I’m so happy to be in collaboration with La Boutique. Great intentions and great products seem like a good starting place for us both!
Do you have a favorite spot in Amsterdam? Why / What does it represent to you?
The city, for all its metropolitan status and feel, has some beautiful, untapped wild nature. It’s these secrets, hidden inside the city, that I love the most. I love the artistry of the city but I feel most at home in the depths of the forest. And it is the contrast that creates such a beautiful balance, which for me represents Amsterdam.
What does local craftsmanship mean to you?
Before Welovehumans, I relied on major companies for nearly everything in my life. Local craftsmanship reminds me how much we can do for ourselves and for each other. That kind of independence just fills me with pride.
Best book you’ve ever read?
Too many to list, but I re-read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand over and over again.
You have your own late-night talk show, who do you invite as your first guest?
Easy; Stéphane Kattie from La Boutique!