This week’s Business Spotlight features Esker Fields, an Irish skincare brand built on a simple but powerful idea: caring for your skin should also care for your wellbeing.
Founded by Maria, the business creates eco-friendly, handmade skincare using natural ingredients and essential oils, designed not just to nourish the skin, but to bring moments of calm, balance, and restoration into everyday life.
Esker Fields is a small Irish business creating eco friendly, handmade skincare using 100% natural ingredients and pure essential oils. But for founder Maria, it goes beyond skincare.
It’s not just about treating the skin; it’s about promoting overall well-being through natural, effective skincare, she explains. What makes Esker Fields unique is its focus on how the products make people feel cared for, calm, balanced, restored, and radiant from the inside out.
The brand has grown from a deeply personal journey. Maria originally worked in education, building up a literacy service over two decades, but a period of severe stress and a family loss led her to rethink everything.
I promised myself I would no longer put off pursuing what truly mattered to me, she says.
That decision led her into holistic therapies, eventually launching her own practice before focusing fully on skincare in 2020. When lockdown arrived, she used the time to rebrand and launch Esker Fields online.
Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength, earning national recognition and awards while building a loyal customer base.
From the beginning, Maria saw a gap in the market for something more meaningful than traditional skincare.
I wanted to create something more than skincare, an Aromatic Sensory Experience that brings the luxury of a spa into your home.”
Every product is designed not only to nourish the skin, but also to calm the mind, ease stress and create a sense of ritual in everyday life.
That connection to wellbeing is rooted locally. Based in the countryside, Maria says her surroundings play a big role in her work, while the Drogheda community has been central to the business from day one.
The local community has been a huge part of Esker Fields from day one. People here have backed me, spread the word, and come back again and again.”
She also credits local platforms like the Drogheda Cottage Market and early support from The Design Gallery as key steps in growing the brand.
There have been plenty of milestones along the way, but one stands out in particular.
If I had to pick just one proudest moment so far, it would be winning Solo Business Woman of the Year in the Network Ireland Louth Branch awards last year.
Like many small business owners, Maria says the biggest challenge has been believing in herself.
I’ve always had absolute, unshakable faith in my products, but believing in myself as the person to grow and lead the business has been a much bigger learning curve.
Support has been key, from mentors and networks to family and customers.
The letters, texts, DMs, and little conversations at markets or events mean more than people probably realise.
Today, Esker Fields continues to evolve in a busy and competitive market, but Maria has stayed focused on what makes the brand different.
It’s about how the products make you feel: calmer, more grounded, more at peace.
Looking ahead, there are new products in development, upcoming workshops and plans to bring Esker Fields to larger events across the country.
But for Maria, success is still rooted in something simple.
Success for me now is actually quite simple. It’s being able to keep doing what I love, creating natural skincare products that genuinely help people feel good in themselves.
And if Esker Fields can give people those little moments of calm in a busy life, that feels like success to me.
