Kari Morford and Eric Singletary started Desert Supreme, which uses indigenous botanical ingredients in their products.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATE ABBOTT
Why did you move to Palm Springs?
We had been in Seattle for 20-plus years and were tired of gray and rain. We wanted to move to a desert but hadn’t picked one. And then we came here for a little vacation in 2013, and we loved it. We thought, “Gosh, wouldn’t it be cool to live here?” But we wrote it off as a pipe dream. We ended up moving to L.A. for Eric’s job [in tech], and then we both got permission to work remote. We were like, “Oh my God! Let’s go buy a house in Palm Springs.” And so, we did.
What’s the inspiration behind Desert Supreme?
I’m a certified aromatherapist. I had a small line of aromatherapy balms when I was up in Seattle, and it was doing really well until the economy went in the dumper. When things started to settle after we moved here, I decided I wanted to do something again. I was thinking about only making a desert balm, but Eric was growing a beard, and I was like, “Maybe I should do a beard oil, too.” When I started reading about all the desert botanicals, I became super inspired to do more.
What kinds of plants do you use in your products?
Jojoba is a superstar of a lot of the products. It’s an oil that is most like the natural oil in our skin. It doesn’t clog or cause any extra oil buildup, which can be a problem sometimes. And then creosote, also known as chaparral. It’s homely looking and is referred to as desert scrub, but it’s an amazing plant and has some powerful skin-healing properties.