Interview with Farfalla Green Jean-Claude Richard

Jean-Claude Richard is a luminary in the field of natural cosmetics, aromatherapy and natural fragrances. His knowledge in these and related fields is enormous - and his life and personality are exciting, surprising and inspiring. These are excerpts from an interview that are thought-provoking, provide exciting insights and make you want to learn more.

Biomazing: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us, Mr Richard! First of all, we are curious to know what you did for a living before you founded Farfalla and how did you come up with the idea of founding a natural cosmetics company?

Jean-Claude: The same group of friends from the canton of Uri went to school together. We founded one of the first flat-sharing communities and lived in Ticino near Lugano for 10 years. We made music back then (musical theatre and street music), which was an important basis for all of us and ultimately also for our business. If you make music together and then argue, then there is no beautiful music. After that, I worked in a travel agency for a while, organising and leading adventure trips. We came across natural fragrances through a friend. I then came up with the idea of mixing cosmetic products myself using a kitchen blender. Our vision was to lead an exciting life.

Biomazing: Did you succeed?

Jean-Claude: Yes, I think so, it has remained very exciting to this day. Of course, at that age you also have a different idea of what is exciting. Back then, we experimented with these things for three years and then decided to open a shop. Our shop did very badly at the beginning and natural cosmetics were unknown. But we were lucky enough to be able to work with Ringier quite soon. That helped us a great deal.

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Biomazing: How did you come up with the idea of making cosmetics with essential oils?

Jean-Claude: The reason is actually that essential oils are very suitable for skin care. Essential oils are also suitable for therapeutic treatments and massages. From the very beginning, we had contact with a very special woman in the Cévennes who taught us a great deal. She taught us about plants, their habitat and the combinations of plants, and we still work very closely with her today. She completed our picture. We then invested the first money we earned with Farfalla in a distillery in the Cévennes.

Biomazing: Has the term "organic" changed since then?

Jean-Claude: I think a lot of terms lose their meaning when they become a trend because they are watered down. It is certainly very positive that the organic movement is broader today. But there is also a lot of industrial organic production today. There, "organic" is often reduced to the fact that products are not sprayed. But that is not actually "organic". Bio logoswhich means "fair to life". It's not right that you have to pay a lot of money for organic products today - it should actually be the other way round, as the products should be as nature intended them to be. We are living in a bit of an upside-down world in this respect. The "normal" is actually the "wild".

Biomazing: Is the quality of the plants better or purer if they come from wild cultivation?

Jean-Claude: Plants are like people - if you live in a house, you'd rather have neighbours who fit in with you. Plants are just the same - they grow in plant communities and there is a constant competition in nature to replace them. The first plant to grow after a forest fire in the south of France is the Immortelle. After a few years, wild rosemary grows, which is later replaced by the green oak and so on. You can observe this again and again. Not every plant likes being forced into a soil that doesn't naturally suit it. I think it's important to ask yourself what is actually logical and normal - this applies to nature and also to people today. It's important to think straight.

Biomazing: What was the first product you produced and sold, and how long did it take you?

Jean-Claude:  We were very quick with production and sales - we produced the essential oils in France, wrote the labels on a typewriter and sold the oils. At first it was a very nice hobby and it took us a while to finally leave our jobs because we already had families. I also really enjoyed my job in the travel agency, as I specialised in desert tours. But I was also very interested in the subject matter.

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Biomazing: What fascinated you most about it?

Jean-Claude: The fragrances. Fragrances are something that you can't touch and that you can only experience in the moment, you can't take them with you. This fascination was also the reason why I immersed myself in the subject. My training as an aromatologist and osmologist has helped me a lot.

Biomazing: What distinguishes Farfalla from other natural cosmetics brands, or how does Farfalla stand out?

Jean-Claude: We have always gone our own way and have never focussed so much on what other companies have done. The greatest wealth of our company is the wealth of ideas - from the beginning until today. We have countless projects that we would like to do and can only realise 1/3 of them. Perhaps that is one of our great qualities. We have a slower development process, but we always discuss until we agree. This is also what makes the quality of our products, because when four people agree, a lot of thinking has to be done. The growth of our company has therefore always been organic.

Biomazing: Thank you very much for this inspiring interview. Now we are sniffing farfalla with new eyes and a fresh nose! 

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Parts of this article were first published on www.thetwist.ch the predecessor of Biomazing; photo credit: http://blog.aromapraxis.de