Maybe you have wondered what is behind our name Hello Sue. And maybe the answer is more surprising than you expected. Because Hello Sue not only sounds beautiful but also tells an equally beautiful and special story: The story of our dear Susanne – the good soul and creative mind behind our products – whose life experiences are the inspiration for our work today.
The calm and warm aura of Susanne is unaffected even by the gray Hamburg sky outside the window. While she stands in her studio, surrounded by various plants and intense scents, working on new oil creations, Susanne indulges in memories. She emphasizes that she is a "now-person" and would rather live in the present than in the past or future. But today, she makes a small exception. And takes us on a narrative journey through what was and led to what is now.
The calm and warm aura of Susanne is unaffected even by the gray Hamburg sky outside the window. While she stands in her studio, surrounded by various plants and intense scents, working on new oil creations, Susanne indulges in memories. She emphasizes that she is a "now-person" and would rather live in the present than in the past or future. But today, she makes a small exception. And takes us on a narrative journey through what was and led to what is now.
Susanne's intuition: An inner compass
"As a child, I asked my mother why I wasn't born in England," Susanne begins laughing to tell. Even then, she felt inside that she was drawn to distant places – or, as she calls them, her "power places." Because intuition is more than a hunch for Susanne; it is her inner compass. This leads her as a young woman to various places and foreign countries, bringing her into contact with unknown cultures and their natural healing methods: "No matter where I was, I always sought contact with the people living there, especially older people, who shared their knowledge and experience with me."
Susanne discovers her fascination for essential oils, their scents, and unfolding potential on her first trips to India – a fascination that will accompany her for a lifetime: "It is very special how much the perception of smells through the nose and thus conscious inhalation can influence our mood," she raves. "This can trigger very different emotions and memories." An effect that Susanne today uses and appreciates as the basis of each of her creations.
When she returns to Germany, the desire to also use the collected impressions professionally has solidified. She begins training as a physiotherapist, learns the anatomy of the body as well as massage techniques and movement exercises. Nevertheless, the training is too theoretical for her: "I saw it more as a kind of basis for advanced seminars and further training because the training could not fully satisfy me yet," explains Susanne. "The desire to learn more was always there." This is followed by Pilates training, an apprenticeship as a medical assistant with a dermatologist, and three years in which she learns spiritual healing. What can one imagine by that? "You deal with the different chakras of the body and find access to the soul with the help of the subconscious," she explains. This allows you to process and resolve certain things that you might otherwise close yourself off from. In all the training Susanne completes, in all the further training she attends, and in all the knowledge she gathers over the years: The deep need to not only look at people and their bodies superficially but to penetrate their depths and recognize the beauty and gentleness within runs like a red thread through her life.
Susanne discovers her fascination for essential oils, their scents, and unfolding potential on her first trips to India – a fascination that will accompany her for a lifetime: "It is very special how much the perception of smells through the nose and thus conscious inhalation can influence our mood," she raves. "This can trigger very different emotions and memories." An effect that Susanne today uses and appreciates as the basis of each of her creations.
When she returns to Germany, the desire to also use the collected impressions professionally has solidified. She begins training as a physiotherapist, learns the anatomy of the body as well as massage techniques and movement exercises. Nevertheless, the training is too theoretical for her: "I saw it more as a kind of basis for advanced seminars and further training because the training could not fully satisfy me yet," explains Susanne. "The desire to learn more was always there." This is followed by Pilates training, an apprenticeship as a medical assistant with a dermatologist, and three years in which she learns spiritual healing. What can one imagine by that? "You deal with the different chakras of the body and find access to the soul with the help of the subconscious," she explains. This allows you to process and resolve certain things that you might otherwise close yourself off from. In all the training Susanne completes, in all the further training she attends, and in all the knowledge she gathers over the years: The deep need to not only look at people and their bodies superficially but to penetrate their depths and recognize the beauty and gentleness within runs like a red thread through her life.
Hello Sue – the essence of life
If you ask Susanne what she understands by holistic skincare, she doesn’t have to think long: “For me, it’s about not only considering the skin and its properties but also the human senses, primarily the sense of smell.” Early on, Susanne begins to create her own oils based on this approach: freshly inspired by the impressions of her travels, this forms the basis for today’s Energizing Face Oil and Deep Repair Face Oil. A few years later, while working in a massage practice and finding that the body oils available on the market at that time do not meet her standards, she takes up her passion again and develops more oils. And then everything takes its course: one of her regular customers is so enthusiastic about Susanne’s creations that he encourages her to do more with it. And she does, together with her son Felix. They come up with a concept and a name, carefully coordinate ingredients, and develop a design. Until Susanne’s very personal life is contained in small bottles and jars made of high-quality glass and bears the wonderful name Hello Sue .
Photo by @maggymelzer I www.maggymelzer.com
What does Susanne wish for the future of Hello Sue ? “That people understand what this is all about,” she answers thoughtfully. “Skincare doesn’t just stay on the skin, but goes under the skin.” That’s why it’s so important to her that the oils are completely natural and contain no harmful additives: “People underestimate what the chemicals contained in many cosmetics do to their bodies.” But not only skincare itself plays an important role, also a healthy lifestyle and the willingness to deal with oneself and one’s feelings: “Many people constantly worry and are destroyed by it because they distract themselves from their own fears and needs with these worries.” In a fast-paced time marked by uncertainties and constant change, this is not always avoidable. And yet: self-care is known not to begin externally. A short break from all the worries sometimes promises one thing – laughter: “None of my patients should leave without a laugh,” Susanne says with a smile. “Because only then do I know that we have found an approach to a solution.”
Photo by @maggymelzer I www.maggymelzer.com
On Susanne's large work table with the massive wooden top now stands a small jar filled with salt crystals that emit the intense scent of rosemary: a first recipe for a body scrub that Susanne is still perfecting. Just like our existing products, it is also meant to delight our dear Hello Sue customers someday and bring a little smile to their lips. Because our dear Susanne is especially good at that.
