Meet Julia Jakacki | Aesthetician & Nature Lover

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julia Jakacki and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julia, every day, we talk about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I’ve always had sensitivities to synthetic ingredients and smells. If I came in contact with something my skin didn’t like I would have a bad reaction to it for days. In high school I started making my own skincare products with basic, all natural ingredients and found that it helped with my breakouts and sensitivities. My passion for skincare grew as I got older, so when I graduated from high school I got my aestitichian license. That’s where I learned even more about skincare and product development. My formulas started becoming more concise and I started making my products for my friends and family. That’s when UglyDuk Studios started.

During the pandemic my skincare sales slowed down and that’s when I started learning more about candles. I was burning them all. the. time. while I was working from home and noticed that my ceiling was turning black from the candle soot. After I did some more investigation (aka..asking google) I started learning more about types of candle wax and the harvesting process behind the wax. Being the candle junkie I am, I quickly found that all of the candles I was burning were some kind of soy, coconut, or blended wax. I wanted a pure beeswax candle, but was not having any luck finding one that was scented or that had the same aesthetic I was looking for in my home, so that’s when UglyDuk Studios expanded to making ethically harvested, 100% pure beeswax candles.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are proud to stand behind our pledge to sustainability. We believe that everything we create should add value to your life while minimizing our ecological footprint as much as possible. We do this by prioritizing renewable and recyclable materials with all of our products. We use recyclable glass containers, all of the wax and oils are ethically harvested, and our shipping materials are biodegradable and recyclable.

We got to where we are today by listening to our customers and providing products that work for them in more ways than one. Creating products that the whole household can use has been important to our success.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

You need to check out Rocky Mountain National Park! Although I’m from Michigan and have only been to Denver a handful of times, I’ve found this national park is definitely worth the drive out if you have more than a day in the city. I love hiking, backpacking, and overall just spending time out in nature. This is a great spot to check out solo or with family/friends. I’ve found that getting there early (before 7am) tends to help beat some of the crowds. Plus you get to take in the sunrise. You can either drive through the park or pull off into one of the parking lot trail heads to spend time out on the trail. Either way, you’re going to get beautiful views.

If you have the chance to stay overnight I would check out Estes park. It’s located close to the main entrance and has a good selection of places to eat. If you like burgers, Penelope’s Old Time Burgers is one of my favorites. They offer a unique selection of delicious burgers that are perfect after a day of hiking.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a special thank you to my mom, Janet Kovacs, for supporting me through this entire process. She has been my biggest support since day one when I was making products at home in her kitchen. She has always encouraged me to stay true to myself and my company’s vision and has always given me a second set of hands when needed. Thank you!

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/UglyDukStudios

Instagram: @uglydukstudios