Christie Jones Bird, founder of Jones and Rose Skin Care, said she didn’t expect her company to find space at St. Johns Town Center.
Her 13-year-old, locally owned company with a four-person staff occupied a small building on Christopher Road, a largely residential area of Lakewood.
Jones Bird said she was hoping to find a space near the Town Center, or have a pop-up shop there. The mall had a few openings, so she was able to work out a one-year lease.
The storefront is at 10281 Midtown Parkway, No. 123. It’s the former Tervis store next to P.F. Chang’s and Kilwins. It opened Nov. 15.
She said she considers the area the “shopping mecca of Jacksonville.”
“We’ve been relatively unknown and being at the Town Center gives us the opportunity that we’re a local business, come and see us,” Jones Bird said. “We can actually share the types of products we create with the city of Jacksonville. It was really a big deal for us.”
Jones and Rose sells skin care products with natural ingredients. The products mostly are used from the neck down, she said.
That includes body scrubs, lotions, body oils, shea butters and a body souffle – a mix of cocoa and shea butters designed to keep skin moisturized. Those range in price from $7 to $38.
Jones Bird said her products are handmade and her staff is trained to make the products and sell them.
She will hire two seasonal staffers to help with the storefront and plans to expand production as demand increases.
The company name is a combination of Jones Bird and her sister’s name.
The store has been well received, she said.
“Our current customers have definitely been supporting us,” she said. “We’ve also been able to educate a lot of the new customers about our products and so far we’ve had a warm reception.”
“We are going to definitely pursue some additional marketing avenues so that more people know about the products that we offer and that we’re located in a destination that is simple and easy to find.”
Jones and Rose joins other local companies at the shopping center, such as The Copper Closet, Mod + Mkt, Natural Life and M Shack.
Jones Bird started the brand in 2006, after leaving a job in research and development at a beauty company. She wanted to be able to create her own line of products, focusing on natural ingredients that worked well and smelled good. With a background in biology and chemistry, she was able to do that.
“For me, it’s really been a dream come true,” she said. “I never expected to have a retail store at the Town Center.
“To be able to create something from scratch from conception to execution is pretty amazing.”
