Botanical Signature

Recently NASH partnered with fellow Sydney brands Botanical Signature and Hunter Candles for a Mother’s Day Giveaway of beautiful and luxurious homewares and personal pampering products for our followers on Instagram.

We caught up with Asako Takada, Founder and Creative Director of Botanical Signature, to find out more about what inspired her to create her brand of natural skincare and remedies.

Have you always been involved in this industry or did you change careers

Before I created Botanical Signature, I was a buyer for kids interiors, furnishings, and lifestyle products for 8 years. In 2012 an opportunity arose for me to be involved in a project researching natural skincare. Little did I know at the time that my curiosity would grow, leading me to undertake medical Aromatherapy and Ayurveda study.

Asako Takada, Founder and Creative Director of Botanical Signature

Did you grow up in Australia or moved here from another country? What influences do you draw upon from your home country and Australia and other countries?

Being born in the small historical town of Kamakura in Japan, known as one of the popular destinations for Buddhist temples and shrines, this place became my preliminary root. When I was seven, my father was assigned abroad, my family decided to relocate to Rome. My sister and I were fortunate enough to be able to explore many cities at a young age, which provided us with the opportunity to explore rich European cultures, and gave us experiences in language, art, architecture and history. After returning to my home country, my passion to go overseas continued. I completed a Bachelor of Business Management in Boston, and then my first job in Vienna followed. Australia is my fifth country to call home now. Although I never expected living in such various cultural places, it has been a treasured experience and it has developed my individual style. Over time, it led me to refine and simplifying my style. This has influenced Botanical Signature, and the values I have gained from my experiences are able to be reflected. Botanical Signature can express a sense of comfort in quality, and provides simple yet luxurious sensory experiences.

Botanical Signature was a number of years in the making. What were the main drivers for you to create the range?

Through researching skincare, I discovered that many major skincare brands in our market contain toxic chemicals. The list of products continues; not only in skincare, but also in our day to day products such as hair shampoos, detergents, even toothpaste, exposing us to many toxic materials. I started Botanical Signature to allow our customers to feel safe with our products, which were the result of my questioning. It took me 4 years to launch, but it’s been worth it.

The packaging for the brand is beautiful but very simple. What was the brief for the design?

As we are living in fast-paced lives, we designed our product for a life filled with a certain comfort and simplicity. Aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but also it has to be functional at the same time. Our initial approach was to treat our product as if it was fresh produce so we came up with the idea of cocooning the bottle in Washi paper, an ancient Japanese method of paper-making that has been passed for centuries. We found that it was an experimental process which also brought a sense of nostalgia.

What inspires you now when it comes to expanding the product range?

Living in Australia had a great impact on my life as Australia’s wildly diverse nature and landscapes inspired this brand. Here, people enjoy living with nature and appreciating the country’s unique lands. This reminded me of Japanese culture, since ancient times, nature has been always admired and revered.

How do you incorporate your products into your day?

I love using plant based oil products as it nourishes, enriches, and even removes your makeup without damaging your skin. My morning usually starts with a few drops of the Brightening Face Oil Serum [Vitamin C], which revitalizes my skin with elegant, understated scents of Neroli. I massage the Healthy Glow Hair Oil on to the end of my hair to help keep my hair styled when I go out. Finishing off my long day, I enjoy our Aromatique bath salt. My current favorite is “Deep Zen” which is Yuzu (Japanese Citrus) infused bath salts.