Meet Georgia, the founder of Denver-based Jo's Body Shop. She specializes in hand-crafted body products that are eco-friendly, handmade, and all natural...and we're big fans! We currently stock one of her flagship products - an all natural body butter made with 100% real, simple ingredients like shea butter, grapeseed oil, and cocoa butter. No added fragrance or color, which means you'll enjoy a natural scent that's a bit like chocolate. Yum.
But...Body Butter is not all she's making! Read on to learn more about Georgia and Jo's Body Shop!
How did you get started? What were your first steps and how did it evolve from there?
In December of 2019 I wanted to make the perfect gifts for a few of my cousins - and I’d been into making DIY natural body products for a while so i decided to make a homemade body scrub for them the week before Christmas. Little did I know that Jo's Body Shop was born in my kitchen that day.
In early 2020 I perfected what is now our original Jo’s Body Scrub formula and had decided that Jo’s Body Shop was going to be a one product brand with a refill program where customers could return their jars for a discounted refill… but COVID-19 quickly put a halt to that idea. However, it didn’t really stop me. I decided that Jo’s Body Shop would continue but that I’d make more products than just the scrub to address people’s needs - and we’d figure out how to do the whole refill thing later but still be as sustainable as possible in the way that we formulate and package our products. I formulated a yoga mat spray, hand sanitizer, and a pain salve because my grandma was experiencing pain - and with those 4 products I opened up my business on May 1, 2020 during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tell us about the space where you make your product.
I currently live with my parents - so I have a pretty small space to work in. I’ve basically converted our family’s in-home bar area into Jo’s Body Shop and I make everything in this space!
What's your favorite thing that's been said about your product?
One of my customer’s said that she uses her yoga mat spray on EVERYTHING because she loves the smell so much! I have to admit that I do the same thing too! I sometimes even use our yoga mat spray as a post-workout deodorant if I’m on the go because it’s skin safe, a great deodorizer, and smells amazing!
Are there any other great local artisans you're into right now?
Not in particular but I will say that lately I’ve been trying out some body products from other small businesses which has been fun! I think that a lot of people think that because I have Jo’s Body Shop that means I can’t support other small businesses like mine and that couldn’t be further from the truth.
A happy Jo's Body Butter customer!
What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
This morning my brother made French toast! So I ate that! Not bad for a teenage cook to be honest lol.
Do you have a favorite local restaurant?
I don’t really have a favorite restaurant but I have some favorite coffee shops: Sonder Coffee and Tea and It’s Coffee Denver! I love getting an oat milk matcha latte from Sonder and their quiche is really good! The chai at It’s Coffee Denver is super tasty and so is their green Chile croissant! The next time I go there I really want to get their rose latte! It’s pink and comes topped with roses!
Rose latte at It's Coffee Denver!
Quiche at Sonder Coffee & Tea
If you enjoyed this blog, check out some of the other artisan profiles we've done in the past:
- Zora Tabin of Wild Zora Foods (grass-fed meat and vegetable snack bars made in Loveland)
- Trish Kurnick of New Beat Foods (gluten-free quinoa crackers made in Longmont)
- Cordelia of Formulary 55 (luxurious spa products made in Pueblo)
- Brett of Light Provisions (the best smelling and best designed, candles in Colorado. In our humble opinion. Made in Co Springs)