WHEN Josh Lawlor and Jason Moore began making their own body scrubs in their Newcastle home four years ago, they immediately had a dream for their fledgling brand Scrubba Body.
"I was saying we should open a shop and Jason was saying 'We have five products, that's ridiculous!" says Mr Lawlor with a laugh.
No longer: having grown their range to 75 products, Scrubba Body has opened its first stand-alone store in Marketown West. The move comes a year after the duo, partners in business and life, sub-let space within a retail shop on Darby Street, but decided to leave in view of securing their own space.
"Finally we have enough to fill a shop and enough to do in a shop and even level-headed Jason agrees!" says Mr Lawlor, who quit his full-time job a year ago to focus on growing the business.
The new Marketown store serves as a retail space, a manufacturing studio and a venue for their DIY body scrub workshops - alongside similar events for other Newcastle makers.
"It is a relaxed vibe because people are coming to get our things because they want to relax," says Mr Lawlor. "If they want to see things getting made they can, it's interactive, and that's why we are doing the workshops. We don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot, I am not teaching all we do, but it's fun."
READ MORE: Back where Scrubba Body began
Scrubba Body has grown organically from the original body scrub that Mr Lawlor and Mr Moore made from ground coffee beans, coconut and almond oils, cinnamon and salt in a bid to help the eczema they suffered.
It now sells body oils, magnesium sprays, hand-made soap, bath soaks and bath oils, face masks and lip balms. Every product is vegan and made with natural ingredients. The store also stocks Mayde Tea that can be sampled in store.
Last year, the business ramped up its trade shows to build its wholesale operation - it now has 70 stockists in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore - and had a stall at markets most weekends.
"We ran out of room at home and over Christmas, we were shimmying between boxes to get to everything," says Mr Lawlor.
Scrubba Body makes 70 per cent of its range in-house and outsources production of a few strong-selling products that are time-consuming to make.
Lip balms sell like hot cakes, the toasted coconut lip balm being a best seller.
With winter nigh, Mr Lawlor plans to introduce lip scrubs with a difference.
"It is great in winter when you get dry lips and the one I have been playing around with has almond oil and sugar," he says. "Most of them you scrub on your lips then wipe or wash off but I'm trying to make that you put on and lick off and eat."
