Less than three years after beginning to sell her hand-made vegan lipstick on Etsy, Axiology Beauty founder Ericka Rodriguez is fulfilling an order from Sephora, a 2,000-store beauty specialty chain.

The Sephora order is worth 75 percent of Axiology’s total 2016 sales, Rodriguez said, so it could help fulfill her vision of creating a full line of cosmetics. But first Axiology has to clear several logistical hurdles while carrying some big financial risks. Rodriguez won’t be able to rest until some 10,000 tubes of lipstick are off the shelves and in customers’ hands.

“This is all a test run,” Rodriguez said. “If we don’t sell well, they’re not going to keep us.”

Axiology has two employees and about 90 wholesale customers and still makes lipstick in small batches at an east-side industrial space.

Sephora first contacted Axiology in February to ask for samples of the product. Rodriguez sent them off and didn’t give it another thought.

“Historically Sephora hasn’t catered to natural beauty brands,” she said. “I wasn’t hopeful we were going to get a shot.”

Through a spokeswoman, Sephora declined to comment on its interest in Axiology or the green product trial.

On March 15, a Sephora buyer sent Axiology a contract offer, plus a host of other demands that would need to be met to fulfill its order by June 12. Rodriguez said she knew she could fulfill the order, but she would have to act quickly to scale up the business.

“It’s the double-edged sword of success,” said Pam Stevenson, a Bend start-up strategy consultant and business advisor with Scale Oregon. “She’s got her work cut out for her.”

When taking on orders from national retailers, small businesses bear the risk, Stevenson said. The first is simply fulfilling the order on time and without defects, she said. The manufacturer also shares the responsibility of making sure the product sells because big retailers reserve the right to force them to buy unsold inventory, she said.

Rodriguez had already researched her options for contract manufacturing but put it off because of the expense. With Sephora in the wings, she borrowed money from her father, who took a second loan on his home, to finance the order.

“I’m very fortunate I have people in my life I can turn to,” Rodriguez said.

Now Axiology employee Chloe Raymond is preparing the company’s formulas for use in manufacturing, and she’ll have to travel to Los Angeles to oversee quality control, Rodriguez said. Meanwhile, Rodriguez is staying in contact with the Chinese manufacturer that supplies Axiology’s lipstick tubes and the Bali company that makes the recycled-paper packaging. She’s also overseeing a marketing plan for the Aug. 1 launch.

Axiology, made from plant-derived oils and mineral pigments, will be part of a green beauty product display in 35 stores, mostly in California, as well as Manhattan and Chicago, Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez, who is vegan, formulated the Axiology lipstick in her kitchen, at first as a hobby, because she couldn’t find a product that met her ethical standards while also offering the bright, fashion-forward colors she wanted to wear. She came to believe there was a gap in the cosmetics market and set about trying to fill that niche.

Although Axiology is vegan, meaning no animal testing and no animal-derived ingredients, Rodriguez doesn’t want it sold in Whole Foods or other natural-product chains.

“Our customer is going into a store looking for that whole outfit,” Rodriguez said. “And they’re willing to spend $30 on a lipstick if it’s natural and is good quality. Everything we do, we try to keep the customer in mind and what they look for in aesthetic and performance.”

Majoring in entrepreneurship at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California, Rodriguez had always wanted to start a business. After leaving New York City for Bali, an entrepreneurship hub, Rodriguez, 30, landed in Bend in early 2014 with her boyfriend and fellow entrepreneur Eric Dubs, a mountain-biking enthusiast. All the while she was fine-tuning Axiology.

Rodriguez launched Axiology in November 2014 but quickly outgrew the Etsy platform as spas and boutiques began adding the product.

“It looks like she’s on her way to creating a really strong brand,” Stevenson said. “That’s how you create value in this industry.”

—Reporter: 541-617-7860, kmclaughlin@bendbulletin.com