Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Bruder.
Hi Valerie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Valerie Bruder, and I am the owner of Aster & Co. After my first son was born, I started to look into more natural, clean & chemical-free things. I slowly started to take out synthetic fragrances after learning how “Perfumes & Fragrances” wreak havoc on our female endocrine systems. They are cancer-causing agents and are known to do so much damage to our bodies, so that was a huge wake-up call to me, a woman who already had hormone issues, struggling with PCOS. We got rid of toxic ingredients, cleaners, and products we use on our bodies. I started adjusting the foods we ate. I slowly let essential oils be a big part of our life instead of synthetic things. I then started to look into making my things. A friend and I began a small company hand-making items together. For four years, that was a big part of what we were. All natural, chemical-free things to help others slowly transform their lifestyles; in the fall of 2018, we decided to close that chapter in our books, and with that came a dream and desire for something else. Something more.
I started to pray and seek the Lord about my next. I loved making products and learning how to make them; I loved incorporating natural things into our everyday lifestyle. My husband and 3 boys had adjusted to the same. So as I prayed for where to go next, I felt led to start my own business. I wasn’t sure what dynamic it would be, but I wanted to do something and to be wherever God was leading me. My husband and I started to think, create, and dream; out of that, Aster & Co. was born. In that season of transition, it was a time of patience, seeking, and dreaming. Not only were we birthing a new company, but we were also pregnant with our fourth child, a little girl. New Life! The Aster flower is known to hold the enchanting eye of whomever they are given to. They are a story of Love. It is also known as a flower of Patience and Elegance.
We hope that as you experience these products with us, a flower with simple yet true beauty, we hope you learn to love them as much as we do. We hope you see that simple and beautiful things can come in small packages. We take great pride in everything we make! It’s so rewarding seeing these leave and go into your homes. We are so very excited and Thankful!!
‘He has made everything beautiful in its time.’ Ecclesiastes 3:11
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a smooth road?
The road to Aster (literally the road we live on) has been a pretty fruitful and smooth journey. I knew what I wanted and began with such a dream and passion. Covid has become such an amazing part of our story and was such a way that pushed us and helped us grow! Where we saw other people closing doors and their businesses slowing down, we saw ours growing and growing and staying the course. We landed an amazing opportunity custom labeling Hand Sanitizer ( one of our top products, a moisturizing and germ-killing spray that smells amazing, too) for a few local companies. We delivered hundreds of care packages for Nurses during the most challenging times and created over 800 bath bombs for a local Church that gave them out to their Women during Mother’s Day. Just door after door opening shows God’s faithfulness when we fully surrender our passions and desires to Him. Watching things change and blossom into such a beautiful journey has been so fun.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Aster & Co. is Your new favorite Non-Toxic, Chemical Free Bath/Body/Home Shop. We custom blend, create and make every product that leaves our doors. I have custom formulated each recipe and tested them until they have become what you can now buy. We were first known for our Whipped Luxurious Body Butters. Triple Whipped, ultra smooth, and creamy body butter. We lightly scent them with one of our Custom Blended Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil Blends. Each Scent we have built and formulated to bring you an array of aroma bliss! Aster & Co is becoming known for our Essential Oil Candles. Unique blends bring a healthy aroma into your spaces and make you feel good about burning! We use the purest and cleanest blend of Soy Wax we can, Organic Hemp Wicks, and pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils.
We create Household Cleaners from scratch, giving you a fresh and bright aroma with a product that cleans, degreases, and is wonderful to work with. Another product that sets us apart from local businesses like ours is the skin of our HealedUp Balm & Tallow Balms. These two products are power-houses for healing skin issues. They sell and recommend these to their patients. Eczema, psoriasis, dry skin, burns, cuts, bug bites, blisters, callouses, basically any skin condition you have, you can see amazing changes and results with these two products—testimony after testimony from local Wellness Centers.
We source locally as often as possible product bases. We get all of our Beeswax from a local BeeKeeper in Rogers, MN. Our Grass-Fed Tallow comes from Walker Farms in Princeton, MN. We use Essential oils from a local shop that formulates their own and our Soy Wax from a local MN-owned company. We desire to bring the local materials into our shop, giving our customers.
My favorite part of doing what I do is meeting with, talking to, and sharing products with customers that can help them in their day-to-day lives. We try to create products that you would go to Target to buy: Body Wash, Lotion, Cleaner, Face Wash, Toothpaste, etc., and give you a clean, non-toxic alternative to feeling good about and love using.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
For now, Aster & Co. is located in our home shop. We have a full Display set up for customers to come and shop directly off our shelves. We ship Nationwide and have even shipped globally too! We create everything from scratch and bring you amazing products you can find in a few local places. We carry a full list of items at Thistles & Threads in Osseo, MN. Minnesota Play Cafe in Maple Grove has a small selection of crowd favorites. Revolution Wellness in Plymouth (if you don’t have a Chiropractor or Wellness office, they’re an amazing place to land!) carries our full lineup. We also have some products in a few other places throughout the metro in offices, clinics, and wellness centers.
We love working with you to custom-create labels for you to sell a product with your logo. We have a full Wholesale website where you can order items to carry in your Salon, Wellness Center, Massage Therapy office, Chiropractic office, and More! You can carry our products as-is or work with us, a dour graphic designer, to custom label any product with your logo to sell. Let’s chat about this if you think you would love to carry Aster & Co. in your office. [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: www.asterandco.com
- Instagram: aster_and_co
- Facebook: @AsterandcCompany
Image Credits
Photos by 1) Life In Full Photography 2) Pamelia Anderson
