We had the good fortune of connecting with Natalie Yon-Eriksson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Natalie, what do you attribute your success to?
The major factor in the success of www.earthandflax.com is that we are in a niche market. It has started out with homeowners who did their own research and took on their own restoration projects. It is shifting more and more towards professionals and new construction. It is exciting and great example of grassroots, word of mouth growth. I personally prefer this rather old-fashioned approach. We get to research and test products, pick what we like to work with, and promote what we believe in. This is a huge privilege and ideal from a small business owner perspective. What we are always looking for are products with a long history of use, simple formulations with few ingredients, and as solvent and petrochemical-free as possible.
This is the foundation that our customers have come to rely on us for and is incredibly important to the success of our brand.

What should our readers know about your business?
After working within both the nonprofit and the corporate sectors, I really gained a reappreciation for the business I had grown up in. As a young person, I had been interested in historic preservation and architecture but did not see myself following in the family footsteps. Yet after my professional experiences as an adult, I began to understand how much potential existed in sharing traditional, healthy, environmentally friendly materials for the architectural industry in the USA.

Individuals and families are trying to purchase safer and better products for their homes but what is largely available is greenwashed petrochemical options that do not perform well in the long run.
There is so much frustration and confusion in this industry; an industry that is primarily influenced by manufacturers and their bottom line vs. what works well, what is safe to work with, and what is healthy to live with for the homeowner.
The health and environmental benefits of traditional finishes for both historic preservation and new construction has shaped the business, leading to my focus on material education for homeowners and professionals alike.

While I am not a parent, the work I do can heavily impact pediatric health. Children are some of the most harmed by poor material choices in our homes. Lead exposure in old homes is of course one of the biggest and most well known examples, a danger the industry was well aware of and used anyway until the late 1900s.
There are more recent examples of this with modern coatings and products that off gas and impact indoor air quality, increasing rates of pediatric allergies and asthma.
We are now also recognizing the serious concern posed by microplastics in air, water, and soil. Recent data shows more than 50% of microplastics in the oceans are coming from the paint industry alone.
I would love to see big changes made on this front and quickly but such change is notoriously slow. Instead, I try to focus on small changes as I do believe it will be a grassroots shift in our expectations as consumers that will make long lasting progress and improve our built environment for all.

It does sometimes feel like each of the projects we are involved in is just a drop in the bucket. There is just a massive amount of plastic paint being used and building practices that are not in a homeowners’ best interest. Healthier, traditional materials can take more time, care, and skill than people are accustomed to. To change habits in the industry is a slow, patient process. We plant the seeds of change and it is rewarding to see how the interest, excitement, and knowledge grows around the country.

Risk taking?
Risk is different for everyone but I’ve always found it a little exciting. After graduating from college, I completed two years of Peace Corps service in Ukraine, something many would consider a huge risk. It of course did not necessarily feel that way in the moment but it certainly took me completely out of my comfort zone, away from family and friends, and required me to adapt to a new country, culture, and language.
There were many times that I wanted to give up and go home but I also had made new friends, learned new skills, and challenged myself in a brand new way. The experience certainly shaped who I am today and how I take on personal and professional challenges.
I owe a lot to that experience and to my Ukrainian friends and colleagues; my heart goes out to them during this terrible time.
Work life balance?
I have always struggled with a work life balance as I find it hard to disconnect from my work at the end of the day. There is always so much that I feel like I should be able to fit in. It will probably be something I continue to negotiate with myself, working to find time to stay active, healthy, and social. Without boredom, downtime, creative time, etc., I think we become hamsters on a proverbial wheel. We need to rest in order to see clearly and come up with good ideas. While I know this, it is often a goal I fall short of.
What makes you happy?
My happy place is also a source of great frustration at times and that is my own house renovation project. I bought an old rowhouse in Philadelphia a few years ago and am slowly making it a home, learning a lot along the way. There is so much personal strength in learning to tile your own bathroom, install your own hardwood flooring, and do all the painting and finishing yourself. Sometimes I want to have a good, long cry about it, but most of the time it is a huge source of pride and accomplishment.
I just finished my 2nd floor bathroom, including handmade trim and wainscotting, as well as, the clawfoot tub of my dreams. All plastic free paint on the walls of course.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The team at the Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons School of Design is a group of dedicated professors and students, working to create a comprehensive database for architects, designers, and anyone interested in materials to use as reference, shedding light on the importance of human health in the building industry.

Website: https://www.earthandflax.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthandflax/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earthandflax

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Earthandflaxstudio

Image Credits
Rocco Avallone https://www.roccoavallone.com/

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