R&D Natural Living
Say hi to Raa & Des!
About R&D Natural Living
Raa and Des are the two halves to R&D Natural Living!
The “D” is Des. She is half Thai, and half African American. She enjoys gardening, dancing, singing, music, and various other activities in the creative fine arts department.
The “R” is Raa . He is multi talented; being classically trained in piano, as well as being a trained musician in various other instruments. While also being talented in various other fine arts, he is also an Eagle Scout.
Raa and Des met during their sophomore year of high school (2011-2012) while he was in band and she was in colorguard. They have been together ever since.
When did you first get started?
During the 2021, during the COVID19 lockdowns.
What inspired you to start your business?
During COVID19 shutdowns, we were looking for ways to keep busy while also finding ways to make money. Des was working as a full time manager at a kids clothing store, while Raa’ was working as a full time musician, playing multiple events & providing music lessons. Wanting to work together full time, Raa began to research different ways to extract essential oils from the flowers & herbs Des already grew at home. We were already making natural beauty and body products, since Des was allergic to most mainstream skincare items. Thus started R&D Natural Perfumery. After coming up with new recipes with the things we grew while also growing new things, we expanded into R&D Natural Living.
What is your favorite thing to make/produce?
Since we grow and process everything ourselves, it’s hard to choose.
For Des, it’s the Chimi Chimi Bang Bang, a basil chimichurri. The flavors are out of this world, and it’s perfect on steaks.
For Raa, it’s our scent Kiss from a Rose, which is the first scent he made for our business.
Where are you from/where did you grow up?
Des was born in Okinawa, Japan and was raised in Houston, Texas.
Raa was born and raised in Port Allen/Baton Rouge, Lousiana.
Share a fun fact about yourself you'd like your customers to know!
Raa and Des are avid roller skaters. Envision the main crew from Roll Bounce, the movie. We love to spin, groove, and glide wherever we can.
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