The Founder Story: Why Clara's Sensitive Skin Started a Skincare Brand

Every "organic" baby skincare brand says it cares about ingredients. Not many can point to the exact moment that turned into a business. Clara's Corner Organics can.

It started with a bin full of plastic, a stack of "natural" bottles whose ingredient lists didn't match the label, and two small children who kept getting sore, dry, red patches of skin. This is the story of how that turned into an organic skincare brand, Made in England, told by our co-founder Tor.

The problem: labels that didn't add up

Before having children, Tor never imagined spending so much time reading the back of a skincare bottle. That changed fast.

"We kept seeing the word natural on bottles, but when we looked at the ingredients on the back, they just didn't match up. As new parents, we were astounded by the amount of plastic we were throwing out, and we felt we could not be the only people going through this challenge." Tor, co-founder of Clara's Corner Organics

That gap, between what packaging claims and what's actually inside, is a familiar frustration for a lot of parents. Tor, and her husband James, went looking for children's skincare that was genuinely organic and didn't rely on single-use plastic, and came up short.

"We couldn't find any children's products that were genuinely organic and not using single-use plastic. So, through our own learned experience, we decided to create Clara's Corner Organics." Tor, co-founder of Clara's Corner Organics

This is a story of two parents who couldn't find the product they needed, so they made it.

Meet Tor & James: two children with sensitive skin, and a lot of trial and error

As the founders of Clara's Corner Organics, the "sensitive skin" is from first hand experience.

"We have two children under three who both have sensitive skin. Our children constantly have little rashes, dry bits or sore bits. This is just day-to-day life, and I think lots of parents experience this." Tor, co-founder of Clara's Corner Organics

That day-to-day reality, the red cheeks after a windy walk, the dry patch behind a knee, the eczema flare that shows up out of nowhere, is exactly what shaped the range, starting with the brand's balm.

Why organic: the ingredient philosophy behind the balm

Clara's Corner Organics didn't start with a full range. It started with one product, built to solve one specific problem.

"I wanted natural, everyday products I could use that were gentle, with ingredients that I could trust. We were passionate about using ingredients that were organic and grown here in the UK, that were gentle and would support my children's skin barrier. We started out with the balm for that very reason." Tor, founder of Clara's Corner Organics

The goal wasn't just "natural", it was organic ingredients Tor could name, trace, and trust, sourced and made in England, chosen specifically to support a child's skin barrier rather than just sit on top of it. It was to create a product to help with all those little patches children get; the red cheeks, the wind burn, the little bits of eczema, the dry patches.

Calendula and shea butter were chosen because they're known for soothing and healing compromised, sensitive skin, and because a small amount is genuinely effective, which matters when you're using it on a toddler multiple times a day.

From kitchen-table problem to Clara's Corner Organics

What makes this an unusually credible origin story is how ordinary it is. There's no dramatic pivot, no rebrand, just a specific, repeated frustration that two parents decided to solve for their own children first.

Tor & James already run an indoor soft play area, 'Clara's Corner', so connecting in with that local community felt like a natural progression into Clara's Corner Organics. It's where they started selling and testing the range with real families and real problems to solve.

Clara's Corner Organics prides itself on UK-grown ingredients; formulations built around real, repeat problems like eczema-prone skin and windburn; and a deliberate stand against single-use plastic.

Why this story matters if you're choosing a skincare brand

Clara's Corner Organics started with two parents watching their own children struggle with eczema, windburn, and dry patches, and getting fed up with "natural" labels that didn't match the ingredients list. So they built what they wished existed: organic skincare made for real sensitive skin,  in packaging that skips single-use plastic entirely. Simple, traceable and trustworthy.

That's the story behind every tub of balm. Not an afterthought, but the whole reason the product exists.