Community at the Core
How one woman found her calling with her community and for her community
After a decade of the hustle and bustle of working in finance in the heart of New York City, Harri Magaldi, the founder and owner of My Neighbor’s, was simmering with creative energy that she was ready to unleash. Harri took a job at Morgan Stanley right after college, and though she can attribute many skills she uses in her own business to those she learned in the Big City, it was her motherly need to care and heal her daughter that lit the fuse.
That world taught me a lot about grit and numbers, and how to stand up for myself, but I wanted to build something tangible, beautiful, and nourishing.
Harri Magaldi, the founder and owner of My Neighbor’s, was born and raised in the countryside of the UK before moving to Montclair, New Jersey. Part British, part Jersey, Harri has found purpose and passion in serving her community wherever she is. For the past five years, Harri, her husband, Matthew, and their daughter have let their roots dig deep in their Hudson Valley Community.
I’m a former Wall Street professional who traded fast-paced city life for the slower rhythms of the Hudson Valley. I’m a mother of (almost) two girls, obsessed with farmers markets, antique hunting, and reading ingredient labels.
When Wilhelmina, Harri’s daughter, was very young, she had incurable eczema. Harri channeled the creativity she had been storing away and decided to make a tallow balm out of locally sourced tallow. And, it worked! Soon, Harri was making balms for her friends, neighbors, and family. Her friend and designer, Nathan, and her planned to open a pantry shop, but as the tallow balms became popular in the community, they altered their plans to meet the demand. Harri plunged into research, formulating, and finding local ranchers to source from, Matthew built the website, and Nathan helped bring the dream to life.
From the farmers who supply the tallow, to my neighbors who test every balm, this business is rooted in community.
Since opening shop in May 2024, Harri has wisely harnessed all aspects of her life and skillset to enrich My Neighbor’s. She says that she has always had the desire to do something “creative and independent”, despite her previous disciplined and analytical career, but did not expect skincare to be the route to such a dream. Now, she uses her understanding of business and her ability to connect and network as assets in building her brand.
I’ve always been a little scrappy and love talking to people — so events and customer or buyer relationships are especially meaningful to me.
Her love of people and desire to connect and serve them is the cornerstone of My Neighbor’s mission. Not only does she source from her neighboring ranches and farmers and creates products to share with them, but she also interweaves her personal life and needs with her community. Harri is the biggest farmers market fan out there, and she actively gets her family’s vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat locally from CSAs and Co-Ops. Anywhere she can get to know her neighbors, share with them, or delight in their creations is her favorite!
It started as “My Neighbor’s Tallow” because it was about neighborliness, sharing what you have, and the spirit of community.
Harri’s days look much different now than her New York city routine of early alarms, subway rides, and monotonous numbers. Now, she starts her days early with a toddler, coffee, dinner prep, and some tunes to kick things off (a current favorite she noted is “Bartender” by T-Pain, and who can blame her? It’s a classic). Throughout the day, she alternates between packaging, emailing, and dreaming and scheming new ideas. She closes shop with home cooked dinners and walks outside with her growing family. Though difficult in a different way, she cherishes the time she gets to spend at home building her company with her, soon-to-be two, daughters.
Skincare was the entry point, but it led to changes in how I shop, cook, and live.
If you had asked the neuroscience and psychology major if she thought quitting her corporate job and rendering tallow in the kitchen was always part of the plan, I’m sure she’d say no. But the life Harri has now chosen for herself and her family is one she believes better honors those around her—literally around her: her neighbors! Harri started down this path to meet the needs of her daughter, but now, she meets the needs of people all around the country.
Harri models what it looks like to work with your community and for your community. She is determined to create products that uplift her neighboring ranches and farmers by creating intentional relationships with them and being a consumer of their efforts. Harri graciously provides for her neighbors by listening to their wishes and trying to meet their needs where she can. It doesn’t matter where we are; we all have a neighbor that we could break bread with, get to know better, or offer a helping hand to.
This brand is as much about people as it is about skincare. Every jar is a story of farmers, neighbors, and family woven together.
