Toronto native, Erin Kleinberg, has done it all. Create an award-winning creative agency? Check. Co-founder of a lifestyle media site? Check. Dabbled in art curation? Check. But perhaps, she is best known for creating her body care and fine fragrance brand, SIDIA. Launched in 2020, SIDIA was created to honour Kleinberg’s late grandmother, the brand’s namesake. 

“She had to overcome so much in her life and built such a beautiful family,” says Kleinberg. “She truly taught us the ways [and] was a proponent of self-care before this billion-dollar industry.”

Kleinberg says her grandmother imparted to her three guiding principles: you must care just as hard for yourself as you do the world around you, family comes before everything, and your home and bathroom is your sanctuary. All those nuggets of wisdom, are key pillars of the brand today. Staying true to this has helped the SIDIA achieve massive international success. 

Here Kleinberg shares more about her business, inspiration, life, and of course, her grandmother. 

EW: Tell me about how your grandmother, Sidia, has influenced the brand SIDIA’s ethos?

EK: “My grandmother acts as our blueprint. Deeply ingrained in our ethos is a penchant to interweave and connect tradition and modernity. So many women can resonate with this feeling of celebrating their matriarchs. We hope, as you enjoy the brand, you feel a sense of ease, comfort, hygiene, and home.”

You’re a mother now, and the matriarch of your own family. How do you take or make time for yourself? Do you have a morning routine? 

“I have two kids, so this kind of creates something different every morning. I wish we could get into a full routine but it seems like there’s always something that happens, like a kid waking me up multiple times a night, that hinders me from a perfect routine. But on an ideal morning, I’ll wake up before the kids, hop on my walking pad, read a bunch of articles, cook some breakfast, get them ready, and then pretty much the day starts.”

“My non-negotiable in the morning though is fitting in even 3-5 minutes of breath work. I also spend more time caring for my skin than on [doing my] makeup, so I obsess over any type of lymphatic drainage on my face, whether that be my ice roller, Gua sha, Theragun for face, etc. If I’m in a hotel and don’t have any of these things, I will roll my face with pieces of ice. I’m working up to drenching my face in an ice bowl each morning. Stay tuned!”

Hand care is essential to SIDIA, but so often neglected in the skin and body care industry. Tell me about your choice to hero hand care?

“Consumers and brands neglect hands constantly [but] they are one of the first telltale signs of ageing. Our hands are [also] our conduit for connection in this life. They are what allow us to create, care, and love and they get beaten up. It felt like such a white space for us to launch with hand care specifically.”

“I’ve always loved exfoliating hand soaps but never found one gentle enough for me. And the amount of greasy hand creams I’ve thrown out is through the roof. I’ve always yearned for a non-greasy but mega-hydrating, lightweight hand serum. And that’s how we carved out space in the hand market, having won now [more than] 8 awards on the system. I love that the Beverly Hills Hotel asked us if they could have the SIDIA hand treatment as part of their top-ups in the spa, in a crowded space, it feels good to be serving a niche area for our clients.”

I love this quote on your website: “By designing products that invoke feelings of ease, we’re redefining what it means to reconnect with yourself as you move through your world and home.” Can you explain more about the idea of reconnection and why it’s important as a daily ritual?

“In my personal world (and I share this with so many women in our community), my bathroom has become an oasis, one of the only spaces I can truly unwind in. And after years of rummaging through people’s closets in my Coveteur days, I realized that [people’s] homes and bathroom space specifically, say so much about them. It is their true place of comfort and privacy; time spent with themselves.” 

“When we indulge in our rituals; bath, shower, skin, makeup, meditation or whatever that may be, it is such a special moment where you are alone with your thoughts, away from the hecticness of this crazy world we live in. BRALESS, our first candle, is the manifestation of this feeling. Coming home, stripping away the day, taking your bra off, luxuriating with a long hot shower, and finding some peace!”

What’s your favourite SIDIA scent? Can you describe it?

“SOAKED is my favourite scent from the collection. It smells like a lush green forest in Japan after it has just rained, and you’re indulging in a luxe outdoor shower experience. Juniper, jasmine, cypress, pine: it’s simply addictive. One TikToker describes it as smelling like ‘you just got f*****d by a very hot guy.’ LOL! I can’t make this stuff up! I do love that though [because] the name SOAKED of course is inspired by a drenched Hinoki moment, but also has a double entendre if you allow your mind to go there. At SIDIA, we love our little easter eggs and special meanings.”

What’s one thing you would change about the beauty industry?

“As much as society wants to pretend like beauty is moving ahead, I still feel like every makeup ad I see has a thin woman with flawless skin. I don’t get treatments that alter my face or [any] fillers, but what kills me is the treatments and surgeries people get to all look the same. That homogenization is the death of originality and truly ruins what is beautiful about the world. I’m also really looking forward to this concept of trends dying so we can go back to originality, personality, creativity, and people being true to their authentic selves.”

What are three beauty products outside of your brand that you’re currently loving? 

“I can’t live without the TheraFace PRO. It has every single device you can swap out for Infrared [light], microcurrent, hot and cold [rings]… it’s truly revolutionary and incredible.”

“The Intense Replenishing Serum from Dr. Loretta. My God, this Is the best serum I’ve ever used. The texture, consistency, and what it does for my face is a Godsend.”

“The Crown Affair Dry Shampoo. GOAT status and I’ll never go back to using anything else. The ingenious product that freshens like crazy and gives texture to my limp baby hairs.”

What was one piece of advice your grandmother gave you, that you would like to pass on?

“Because my grandmother immigrated to Canada with nothing, she took extreme pride in looking and feeling her best when she was able to do so. She was a total fashion plate, and always begged me to stop wearing sweats. She promised that if I looked and felt my best, I would show up to the world and for myself the best I could. [And] she believed that if you wear a matching set, you can conquer the world.”