I first discovered Jack's Daughters while visiting friends in Kansas City. This hidden gem of the Midwest is near and dear to me for three reasons: it is where I serendipitously met my husband, it's the first place that I lived where I had my own apartment, and it is also where the idea of Story & Teller first sparked. Whenever we visit the friends we made there, I set aside a day to go explore all it has to offer - stopping into long-held favorites and new businesses alike.
On our visit last March, as I was still hunting for a storefront for S&T, I popped into Duet and fell in hopelessly in love with every single fragrance from a local maker: Jack's Daughters. I added them to a spreadsheet I'd been compiling with potential partners and reached out upon returning to Minnesota to see if they were accepting further wholesale collaborations. To my delight, they were, and now we have their full line in our store, including signature candles and incense cones, plus limited run liquid soaps and hand lotions.
We think you'll adore their products as much as we do, and wanted to give you a little view behind the curtain to learn more about this dynamic sister duo: Amanda and Jaclyn.
What was your journey to starting Jack's Daughters?
Our idea to collaborate on a fragrance collection came about from our mutual love of scents that are unusual and evocative, meaning they have the power to transport you to another time, memory, or place. Jaclyn and I worked together in the home decor and interior design business at her previous retail store, and we were always excited about new home fragrance and perfume lines we discovered to add to the store's line up. When Jaclyn closed the retail store, she really wanted to stay in the industry, but be on the other end of it, servicing other retail stores and the idea to develop a line that would revolve around the home was born.
How did the conversation come about to collaborate?
We started the conversation about working on our own fragrances together after seeing an opportunity to take our industry knowledge and apply our own spin to it. We definitely had opinions on what worked well for retailers after both of us having over 10 years of experience in retail. Jaclyn is more of the big picture person, and I am more detail-oriented, so we make a good team in terms of collaboration! We launched the line a couple years after our dad passed away, and decided to name the line after him because he was always so supportive and excited about our ideas.
How did you learn about making your products?
Due to our time in the industry, we had a lot of connections so we started with a great foundation. However, the bulk of it has been trial and error. The one thing we were not prepared for was packaging setbacks and material delays. As a retailer, you don't see the process of how the products you are selling come to be and there have been a lot of frustrations along the way. We are now on our third or fourth iteration of boxes for the candles! But with every change we learn and make improvements and we are both really pleased with how the line looks from an aesthetic perspective - both on the shelves at retailers, and in the end user's home.
Where do you draw inspiration from with your fragrances?
Our fragrance collection was initially very seasonally inspired, and we set out to create scents that evoked distinct seasons and moods, for example the lightness of floral blossoms of Elysian Fields No. 3 for the Spring, and the warm earthy musk of Cheroute No. 4 for the Fall. We are both drawn to different scents depending on the time of the year, and find ourselves lighting different candles and switching up perfumes depending on this seasonal shift. Much like in the way that eating produce and dishes that are in season is always so much better, the same concept can apply to fragrance. Of course, the scents also are very much inspired by nature and every scent has a blend of botanical, herbal, or woodsy elements.
What is your current favorite fragrance in your collection and why?
Amanda: A current favorite of mine is Thé Lavande, which combines darjeeling tea leaves with lavender buds and lemon for a relaxing and grounding mood.
Jaclyn: With Spring approaching, I am in Elysian Fields mode! I'm wearing the roll on perfume as well as burning the candle at home. The orange flower notes are so fresh and uplifting, perfect for this time of year.
What sets your products apart from others in the home & personal fragrance industry?
While there are certainly brands that we look up to and admire, we also try not to focus on what everyone else is doing and stick to the ethos of our brand. We were never interested in following current trends, our approach has been to create a timeless aesthetic that looks like it could have been around for ages, without looking dated. Our environmental impact is important to us, so we take that into consideration with every product we produce. We consider things such as: can a product be successfully displayed on a shelf without a box to reduce waste? We have chosen to use glass bottles for our soap & lotion that can be recycled and refilled (we offer a refill program for those locally in Kansas City), we recycle all of the packaging from our raw material shipments to our retailers orders or online orders and we try to stick to suppliers that are operating ethically - this can be hard to determine sometimes! We also collaborate with local and women owned businesses as much as possible. The main thing that sets us apart though is our experience as interior designers - how the product looks in the home is important to us - and our small business retail experience, making us equipped to understand a small business's needs. We are also not interested in partnering with larger corporate brands, it's small business or bust for us!
Tell us about your new perfume line!
When we started the line in 2020, we had four products: candles, incense, soap & lotion. We have grown and expanded the line very slowly and thoughtfully. We both continue to do interior design work, so having the time to do things fast and furious was never an option. After a lot of consideration and customer feedback, we decided to test out the roll on perfumes. Our first order sold out in two weeks! We were definitely not expecting that. We are so excited about the response and look forward to adding more scent offerings in this product soon. New scent development takes months for us to get it where we both love it and want to use it in our own homes - every product must pass this test! We have a scent in the works right now that we are hoping to add to the roll on perfume line up.
Describe your ideal day.
Amanda: An ideal day for me would probably look something like a slow Sunday, my favorite day of the week, with a very unrushed morning including coffee in bed and a bit of snuggling with my sweet kitty. She is now getting on in years, and so I cherish these times with her. I am lucky to live in an area with plenty of access to nature trails and hiking, so a long walk in the woods among the trees and in the fresh air is a perfect morning activity, and even better if it can be a bit more of a leisurely hike that includes a stop for a midday picnic. I also do enjoy cooking, so making something special for Sunday dinner is always a nice way to spend the late afternoon and evening, usually accompanied by good tunes and a bit of wine (bonus if there is a cheese board involved). But, if we are talking about a regular workday with my interior design clients and Jack's Daughters, I find an ideal day to be one in which I can check off my to-do list and feel like I have accomplished my goals for the day. I try to make this achievable by writing down my list of to-do's that morning and physically checking them off once they're done - it's so gratifying and keeps me from getting pulled in too many different directions!
Jaclyn: My ideal day also starts with coffee in bed! Every morning I do at least a 10 minute meditation, pull a tarot card and then do a 20-30 minute yoga session. This routine keeps me grounded and is the best chance for me to start the day off on a positive note. From there, an early brunch, late breakfast and then a nice walk or hike. Happy hour followed by an early dinner, then possibly a movie or some tv time at home, snuggled in with my family.