Meet Katrina Oprisko | Founder, Earthwell Refill

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

Hi Katrina, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought process was I didn’t want to work in an office that was sealed up all day and I wanted to contribute to my neighborhood. We had just returned to San Diego and were thinking about what our next steps would be. I knew what I didn’t want, but wasn’t quite sure what I did want to do. We thought about opening an ice cream store but ,I wanted to do something that would have a positive affect on San Diegans. We have always been environmental conscious, we used to take our recyclables to the recycling station in Old Town or our Christmas tree to the lot across from the Mission Bay entrance on Sea World Dr. I also thought about how there are so many small business owners and I thought if they could do it so could we.

What should our readers know about your business?
We are the longest-running refill shop in San Diego County. We’ve been open for 8 years and have refilled more than 20,000 single use bottles in that time. We sell non-toxic, all natural personal toiletries and household goods. We are located in Kensington, in the central part of San Diego. Running a business is never easy. There is always some issue to handle, be it low inventory, shipping delays, or in our case, not being able to uses our parking lot for the past year. I’m proud of our determination and fortitude in keeping the business running.

We want people to know when they come in, they are getting high quality products at an affordable rate. We are open to everyone. We don’t have a fancy store, that may intimidate, we have worked to make our space very accessible.

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.
The Lafayette Hotel – great place for a visual experience, the people, the decor, the pool. Its all good at The Lafayette.
Cabrillo National Monument- Its beautiful out on the point. Great national park.
Balboa Park- The Prado, the sculpture garden, the Mingei Museum
Ocean Beach- the vibe
El Flaco on Park and Lincoln- great taco shop
Mable’s Gone Fishing- great restaurant to experience food.
Bike ride around Mission Bay in the morning.
Kate Session’s Park- great picnic spot
Ketch on Harbor Drive, great view of the Harbor
SDFC game at night
Catch a show at the Casbah or drive up to Belly Up.

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 husband has been supportive of every step in opening Earthwell Refill. He has repeatedly reminded me to not forget the basics of what we are doing and has encouraged me to take the big leaps to keep our store growing.

Website: https://www.earthwellrefill.com/

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Linkedin: Katrina Oprisko

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Image Credits
Daniela Zuñiga of Darling Darlene Photo