Meet Owen Lysaught | Founder & Creator

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

Hi Owen, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
We don’t take shortcuts. Our products and our packaging are vetted and tested over and over again. We take pride in sourcing local, organic, and ethically sourced ingredients. We use packaging that is actually biodegradable within a couple of years, not a few centuries. We want to make a difference in the world with our products, Saving the Bees & Seas!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve spent most of my career (10+ years) in the restaurant industry doing everything from dishwashing, serving, bartending to managing and eventually part ownership in a local restaurant. The hours are long, paychecks never feel worth it, and stress levels are always high. I’d say you’re never comfortable no matter what position you hold in the industry. This prepared me for the unknown of starting my own business.

Before Radwax Factory was born, it started as a hobby in candle making. One year, I was stressed about money & gifts around Christmas time. I found an ad for local beeswax on Facebook Marketplace and decided I’d be making beeswax candles as gifts that year. I picked up a few pounds and some mason jars, then went straight to testing. The 1st batch wasn’t great, I started on a stove top using boiling water to melt the wax in a smaller pot. The wick sizing was hard to nail down as well, so things were interesting to start. I got them down a few rounds and some wax spills later.

Fast forward 3 months to the start of covid lockdowns, my work closed for over 2 months and that’s when I decided to give things a try on social media. I posted some photos of the candles on Instagram & Facebook right around Easter & Mother’s Day. I ended up selling a couple 100 of them. Lots of support from family and friends. I was shipping coast to coast and making deliveries almost every day for a few weeks. Things slowed down a bit after but my inspiration was through the roof. I wanted to create a whole line of beeswax products that were better for us & the planet. I started experimenting with clean & simple ingredients I could find to make nourishing beeswax products. I made it a point to source local and sustainably sourced as much as possible. I created some I really liked and handed them out to friends and family. Feedback was pretty good & I found some great earth friendly packaging for our products too. I knew I was onto something. I was tired of the limited options for clean natural skin and hair products, none of which had sustainable packaging. One of my life’s mottos is, “Be the change you wish to see in the world” and that is my driving force behind the company.

I decided to open up shop out of my garage. Since everyone was working from home during the covid shutdown, my street had more foot traffic than usual coming through. I’d say hellos and spark conversation with the neighbors. I’d only lived in the house a few months. It was a blast getting to meet people in the neighborhood and becoming known as the “beeswax” guy. I started selling consistently out of my garage and knew it was time to bring it to market. My first farmer’s market, which we’re still at today was Leucadia Farmer’s Market at Paul Ecke Elementary on Sunday’s. I love the vibe, vendors, and customers at this one. Definitely my favorite.

Some hurdles we’ve enjoyed overcoming have been long lead times and working on designs with packaging companies. It’s a huge back and forth with design work and making sure the little details and intricacies are spot on before putting through the final go ahead. We already had to move on from one supplier we’d been working with for almost a year since they didn’t have high resolution printing and didn’t find this out until we received an order. Our first cement vessel guy for our candles went out of biz, so that was a scramble finding someone local at an affordable price point. Timing was a bummer here as it was busy summertime at our farmer’s markets. We’re moving ahead and stoked with our newest cement candle vessel manufacturer. Praying all goes according to plan, we’re looking to hit local boutique stores this winter/ early 2023 with our skin and hair products.

Always know that the beeswax we use is from a 4th generation family farm that started here in San Diego and their bees continue to pollinate organic farms throughout California & Colorado. Our jojoba oil comes from a farm off the HWY 8 and all but 2 of our ingredients are sourced here in the USA. We always choose organic and responsibly sourced ingredients. We believe in creating products that are good for us and the environment. Save the Bees & Seas!

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.
Where do we start. Man, we are so spoiled in this city. I’m going to start with my favorite, food! Definitely going to Harry’s Coffee Shop in La Jolla for the BW Benny & a milkshake. Harry’s Taco Club for their surf & turf burrito and scallop tacos. El Pescador for the freshest seafood in all of San Diego. Nectarine Grove & Goodonya for all things healthy & delicious. Lengua tacos at El Pueblo with green salsa (sorry Brady). Oysters, sushi & a mouth watering 18oz bone-in ribeye steak at Pacific Coast Grill for sunset, Whiskey house downtown San Diego for their Vietnamese wings and an old fashioned. Can’t forget the buffalo chicken pizza at Best Pizza and Brew. Margs at Alce 101 crafted with honey & another favorite down the street from me is Pina. Haggo’s Tacos & Birdseye in Leucadia for the win. Sunset cocktails at L’Auberge Del Mar & Monarch Ocean Pub. Best poke around made with love at Lighthouse Oyster Bar & Grill.

Now, some healthy activities to burn off all those calories. Take some E-bikes from La Jolla Cove and ride all along coast highway 101 up to Oceanside. Golfing and hiking at Torrey Pines. Annie’s Canyon Trail looking out over Cardiff. Lobster diving and surfing at too many spots to name. Take the coaster downtown and catch a Padres game. Can’t miss a picnic at the beach with a bonfire and watching the sunset. Never a dull moment in this city.

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?
My brother Hunter & good friend Trevor at Degree 33 Surfboards out of Carlsbad have been huge mentors and supporters of mine. All of my family and friends that have backed my products, believed in and helped mentor me. My surf students and their family’s who supported me during the birth of Radwax Factory!

Website: www.radwaxfactory.com

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