Robert Badger
Connector Contributor

Alyssa Piper kickstarts Nature & Co. with the help of Transform Mill City program.

Student leader and entrepreneur, Alyssa Piper, has ignited her entrepreneurial spirit. She is sole founder of Nature & Co, a three-branched business consisting of all-natural beauty products, small space and urban home gardening and bohemian style art, furnishings and photography.

Nature & Co. sets out to provide people with affordable, all natural products. Their beauty branch will also consist of natural ingredients, creating products like makeup and lipstick.

These ideas started flowing two years ago for Piper. Her positive outlook and persistent efforts will soon bring her company a website. One she hopes will allow the whole country to fall in love with her products.

“The main mission is to build a new kind of relationship with nature, the environment and sustainability.  It is more about promoting a way of seeing the great outdoors than promoting going green,” said Piper.

Piper says she is excited for the future. Her energy and passion has led her to not only be a part of the honors program but an ambassador as well. She is also an active member of the program Transform Mill City, which brings people together to brainstorm on how to change Lowell for the better.

“The main vision is to alter the perspective of Lowell through whatever means possible,” said Piper.
What got Piper kick started in her Nature & Co endeavor was talking to people at Mill No. 5.

“It’s a new retail hangout space in downtown Lowell. They are all amazing there. The Boston Globe did a piece on them and said that it was Disney World for hipsters,” said Piper.

Piper said she hopes that people will start talking. The more people who are willing to help, the more Transforming Mill City will come to life.  She is waiting for that vision to manifest, that way she can acquire a retail space for Nature & Co., and not just be an online outlet.

“I want to see what happens with the economic growth in Lowell first. There are designers moving from Boston to the Lowell area,” she said. “One is Industry 11. Downtown is empty. Right now we are in this weird spot where businesses don’t want to move in because there aren’t enough people and people not wanting to move in because there isn’t enough business.”

Piper said she is very hopeful for her artistic branch, which she refers to as the “drift” branch. This consists of the bohemian style art, furnishings and photography. It allows people to share their passions through the arts.
“Inherently, when you start to relate to nature differently, you will subconsciously be more aware of your environmental impact,” said Piper.

The company also has a slogan, inspired by the great Henry David Thoreau. “She is our host. We are her company.”
“This play on words has a double entendre. One meaning: we, as in the human race, are her guests on this earth—we keep her company.  Another meaning: we, as in this organization, literally serve her—we are her company,” said Piper.

Piper has her eyes set on the bigger picture, hoping that one day her dream will continue to grow into a reality.
“The synergy of all of these branches—of promoting a new way of seeing Nature, offering all natural products at low costs and exploring her for the undiscovered leaves a large space for unthinkable engineering solutions.  We’re expecting only miraculous results.  We’re committed to solving worldwide problems,” said Piper.