PHE beauty-care industry is.
orever trumpeting the bene-

| ioba;-alpha hydroxy acids or

Fenckova is convinced she’s found a

Peinner iri tea tree oil,

“The oil is‘derived from the needle-
¢ leaf: of the Melaleuca tree of
ia, Billed as “nature's most

tent and versatile antiseptic,” it can

found in its purist form as a treat-
ment for scratches, bites and burns, or
as a key ingredient in skin- and: hair-
care -product’ lines like Australian
Bodycare.

Venckova first heard about tea tree
oil five years ago when she began
using it in her Vancouver beauty salon.

“] was amazed at how many prob-
lems it.. solved,” says: the West
Vancouver resident. She soon saw its
potential. Venckova bought the distri-

ution rights for Australian Bodycare
in Canada and sold her salon two years
ago so that she could devote herself
fully to her growing business.

- Today she has a sales team in every

rovince. Last month her company

ad its best month yet, with sales gains
of 35%, Though it is relatively new to
North America, tea tree oil has been a
top seller in Europe for several years,

whic
‘bottle” and used it to treat a variezy of
ailments.

Sunday, August 18, 1996 — North Shore News - 14

north store

MARIE Venckova (right), the Canadian distributor of

| Australian Bodycare says salon owners like Jill
Alexander of Runaway Bay are catching on to the bene-
fits of tea tree oil. A household name in Australia where
it originates, tne natural antiseptic is being marketed as
a key ingredient in the Australian Bodycare line of

| shampoo, conditioner, face wash and body lotion.

says Venckova who can produce sever-
al articles from magazines, including
ones from Sweden, Finland and Spain.
(British magazine Harpers & Queen
rated Australian Bodycare’s hand and
body lotion among the world’s Top
100 beauty products.)

The Aborigines were the first to
discover the restorative powers of
Melaleuca. Legend has it that mem-
bers of the Bundjalung tribe found

their wounds would heal faster follow-
‘ing a dip in a lagoon surrounded by

Melaleuca trees. Over hundreds of
years the trees had shed their leaves
into the waters creating, in effect, a

large antiseptic bath,
Early settlers recognized the valu-
able properties of the oil of Melaleuca,
f became their “medicine sit in a

Since the 1970s, tea tree. vil has

been harvested from Melaleuca trees
grown on plantations in the northeast
coastal region of New South Wales,
still the only area in the world where
the plant will grow. (Attempts to grow
the trees. in California have cn
unsuccessful, says Venckova.)

The trees are cut at the base when
they reach a height of five feet, The oil
is obtained by steam distillation of the
needle-like foliage. One tree yields 35
mL, of pure oil, enough to fill wo
small bottles, says Venckova.

Not all tca tree oil is created equal,
says Venckova,

“With the growing popularity
there are many companies that just
want to cash in,” she warns,

A vial of pure tea tree oil should
contain 100% . essential oil of
Melaleuea altersiifolia (There are 160
species of the Melaleuca tree, but only
M. alternifolia, has antiseptic proper-

ties, says Venckova.)

Australian standards. dictate that
the oi! have maximum 15% cineole (a
toxic component) and mini.ium 30%
terpinen (the antiseptic component).

Customers can also look for a
Drug Identification Number (DIN)
which is awarded by the: Ministry of
Health and Welfare. “If a product
claims it’s an antiseptic it must have
that number,” says Venckova.

Australian Bodycare is available in
20 salons on the North Shore, inelud-
ing Runaway Bay, Beverly Ball and
Zera's Esthetics in North Van and
Avantage Esthetic Centre, Julie's
Esthetics and Yoko's in West Van.

Venckovn expects: interest in the
product to continue to grow.

“It’s a slow process because tea tree
oil is so new. But I believe one day it
will be a household word. [ think it
has a huge future,” she says. :

ehind the scenery

g ‘

you’ve seen the movie

icein a Blue Moon,

u’ve scen Edgemont:
fillage resident John

ae hilton’s work,

a

He's not the guy in front
the camera, or even the per-
n behind the camera, He's
hind the scenery.
‘Chilton’ created the: kids’,
ket, ship in the children’s
tasy film and calls it one of
MBs best works.
Chilton explained the
Ncket ship was supposed to
the result of children using
r imagination to create the
vehicle from a motorcy-

ma <The space ship had to be
thir: the. bounds of a child’s
agination, functional in
ary, and quasi-logical, said
iiton. Somewhat like the
rin Chitty Chitty Bang
ig, said Chilton in explain-
B his task,
“YT just liked the way it
¢ together,” Chilton said
bm the office of his compa-
“Camel Productions. “It
a good idea.” . :
Chilton. created the furni-

a wardrobe ‘rack, -and

boxed Havana cigars and
French champagne for the
owo-part television miniseries,
The Titanic. —

He's worked for a variety
of. corporations including
Texaco, Parker Bros, Nabob,
Ikea and Zellers, doing more
than 2,000 commercials, He
made the lemon-car in older
Chevron commercials and an
ice sculpture of clear acrylic
for Molson’s. ,

He also works for shop-
ping malls and exhibitions,
dance companies and develop:
ers. Basically, he said, anybody
who will pay him to create
scenery. Enough to. provide
Camel Productions with rev-
enues of $500,000 to $1 mil-
lion a year.

Not surprisingly, the 45-
year-old Coventry, England
native likes the variety in the
creative business he’s buile for
himself over the past 12 years.

“Nothing stays the same,”
Chilton said. “if you have a
very low boredom threshold,
as I do, you have something
new to work on all the time.
That I get paid ar all is a fan-
rastic thing.”

When the News visited
Chilton’s East Vancouver stu-
dio last week, he was working
ona miniature meadow, com-

i

plete with grass, for a toy

commercial.

An American candy com-
wany filmed a beach and
lifestyle commercial in the lot
bordering his 12,000-square-
foor studio.

The production company
used a bright green ski ramp
Chilton’s firm built
designed.

Camel employs 20 people,
including carpenters, painters,
prop. makers and model, mak-
crs.

Business took off after
Expo 86 for Chilton.

With the extra. work the
fair provided, many praduc-
tion houses expanded beyond
their capacity, When the fair
— and the work — ended, the
firms couldn’t sustain their
overhead, he said.

Fortunately, Chilton had
cheap rent at his Venables stu-
dio. His present location is
near Boundary Road ‘and
Highway 1.

Chilton rides at the back of
a tight production schedule.
He said the decisions about
what needs to be produced
are made over a_ period of
months in New York,

But when it comes to pro-
ducing the product, he gets
days.

and |

thy
nt’s John Chilton | —._-

NEWS: photo Paul McGrath —

SEVEN-year-old Axel (left) enjoys side benefits such as toys aric visits to movie
sets from the prop and set creation business his father John Chilton runs.
Chilton’'s company, Came! Productions, designs and builds scanery for produc-.
ers of movies, televisions shows, and commercials, as well as exhibitions.

For example, he was given
the parameters of what to
build for a toy commercial he
created scenery for on a
Tuesday, got the materials
together on a Wednesday, and
built the = scenery: on
Wednesday and Thursday. His
creations were required by
Friday, lit Saturday and short

Sunday. ;

“It's like we're right at the
bottom of the little funnel,”
he said.

Chilton’s job fits well in his
role as a single parent to his
seven-year-old son Axel, Axel
gets a few side benefits from
Dad’s job, like leftover roys
and visits to movie sets. Axel

also likes to hang out at the
spacious studio, ~—_ which
includes large areas for car-
pentry and painting.

And because the job’s not
9 to 5, Chilton can work his
job around his son...

Camel has a web :page at °
wwwicconline.com/home/ca
melin/camel-heml, © - 000