April 2026 Newsletter
Since I’m in your inbox each month, I thought it was time to properly introduce myself – the Kara who mixes, pours, designs, and ships every balm, bar and bottle.
I’m Kara: a coffee‑loving, colour‑obsessed, over‑organised Kiwi girl with a passion for spreading good vibes and even better skin and haircare.
When I’m not in the workshop, you’ll usually find me hanging out with my family and friends, crocheting on the couch, or spending time at my parents place in the magical Marlborough Sounds.
Before creating Kara Kawa, I worked as a seamstress making custom jeans and ball gowns.
Then one day…
💡 My tattooist asked if I knew anyone making a kawakawa balm for tattoo healing. I didn’t, but curiosity got the better of me and I went home, did some research, and… well, all this beautiful chaos unfolded from there.
💚 I made my very first tub of Healing Balm in 2018 and handed a few out to friends and my tattooist to try.
A week later she messaged saying it was a hit and more importantly, worked.
She wanted to stock it in her studio; my first customer! From there I had stalls in local markets, creating many friends along the way.
Shortly after, customers were asking if I made anything else.
So naturally, I got curious and started developing more products…
And here we are.
I guess the moral of my story is be curious and get stuck in.
Other than Kara Kawa...
My talents include:
🎶 Singing the wrong lyrics with full confidence
🤥 Putting my foot in my mouth (figuratively, of course – I’m not that flexible!)
🧠 Learning new things quickly, which helps, because I handle every part of the design process myself, from formulation to packaging.
☕️ I love coffee, coffee ice cream and everything coffee! Hence the creation of my Coffee & Charcoal Soap!
🍣 I also love sushi, however I haven’t managed to crack a sushi soap formulation (yet).
