Accepting the nuances and inevitable unpredictability that each season brings - especially with our climate changing so much. It goes against so much of our modern-day instinct and need for control, and takes practice, but it's wonderful once you make peace with it. It's an important part of practicing being more present in general and our ability to respond to challenges and unexpected situations more calmly. Looking forward to certain moments in the calendar - like English cherries, strawberries and probably my absolute favorite - Tulip time. It makes us more attune to the natural world and that, in my eyes, is always a good thing.
There are quite a few! I think one of the real difficulties is people understanding the true cost of British cut flowers, as Supermarkets have really messed this up for all of the UK growers trying to compete. Flowers in supermarkets are usually sold as loss-leaders, so you pick up a bunch care-free at the end of your shop because they're a bargain. This means when a highstreet florist is charging a fair price, in order to make their business work and pay their suppliers properly, the instant reaction from shoppers is that they're too expensive. Flowers are a luxury, and their value should be reflected in their price - anything too cheap will mean that there's someone (or multiple people) along the supply chain coming out at a loss.
Also - top tip, a lot of people seem to think that the flower market is actually IN Covent Garden - it's not- it's near Battersea, on Nine Elms. Confusing name, but still - can you imagine a huge flower market next to Sephora and Starbucks? The market also stocks a very minimal amount of British blooms, as everything there is imported from Holland and further afield.
Flowers are always there to remind me to slow down. The resilience of certain varieties, especially those that bloom in the earliest days of Spring, like snowdrops, is humbling and helps restore hope when things in the world feel dark.
I absolutely love gorse. It's so spikey though, it literally can't be touched! But the yellow swathes that cover the cliffsides and hills always fill me with joy. I'd love to make something out of it one day! Squeeze the petals between your fingers and it smells like pina coladas in the Spring!
The growers and farmers, all of them! They deserve their own national holiday. Those who protect the land they grow on, and make this central to their every day practice, are the most inspiring to me, and they do this whilst bringing so much beauty into the world simultaneously.
An incredible initiative that's been running since before the pandemic is the charity Bread & Roses. They use floristry as a tool to help refugee women settle and get them into work by building their confidence, communication skills through a series of workshops.
I also have to mention the 'Why buy Roses in February' campaign run by SSAW Collective, of which I am co-founder with two brilliant women Lulu Cox and Liv Wilson. We've been running this Winter campaign since 2020 to raise awareness of the complexities and problems arising from consuming food and flowers out of season. The rose in February is a perfect example of how our consumer-driven society has become completely out of touch with our natural cycles.
I run. And if I can't run, I go outside for an hour at least. Swimming in the sea has also been something i've started doing more of, and it's the best thing for the mind and soul! It's that snippet of time carved out every day to be alone, it sets me up for whatever's happening next, clears the cobwebs and means I'm a nicer person to be around for the remainder of the day!
We’ve spent the last few weeks setting new intentions for how we want to approach this year. Part of that is thinking about how we consume food and the impact it has on our environment and wellbeing.
So we’re starting 2023 off by trying something new: Regenuary.
It's a movement started by The Ethical Butcher that brings awareness to regenerative agriculture and how it plays a part in mitigating climate change, supporting biodiversity, and healing soil.
Regenuary is a response to the fact that we’ve generally become pretty disconnected from what we eat and the land it comes from. You don’t need to worry so much about whether you’re eating sausages or kale… Instead it's about considering how produce has been grown or reared and how farming practices should protect, restore and rejuvenate the land rather than damage it. Regenuary is in opposition to industrial agriculture, which is damaging to our overall environmental health: it creates soil and water pollution, toxins and antimicrobial resistance. It's also a huge contributor to global carbon emissions.
Regenerative farming works to foster soil health rather than degrade it, championing seasonal, local, and organic farming practices that reverse the damage done to the environment by the industrial food system. Healthier soil means better quality produce, more carbon being absorbed from the atmosphere and protects our ability to grow food for the longterm.
The principles of regenerative agriculture take in everything from soil health and the carbon cycle to biodiversity, land management, animal welfare and more, and draw from decades of scientific and applied research by the global communities of organic farming, agroecology, holistic management and agroforestry.
Think about where you buy your produce and the restaurants you eat at. Where is the food sourced from and what type of practices do those farmers use? It's not just about eating good food. It's about knowing where it comes from and how your choices impact both people and planet.
]]>Combining meditation and mindfulness techniques with practical wisdom, Waking Up is a guide to unlocking the mind and learning how to meditate.
This was referenced a lot. For inspiration and thoughts, you can read Libby Delana’s wondering book ‘WALK’. You can also connect to a wider community or morning walkers via #THISMORNINGWALK
Bothy Project is a unique and independent charitable organisation operating in a set of rural contexts, providing creative residences in bespoke small-scale, off-grid creative residency spaces to explore creativity, landscape and living simply.
Where wellness meets stationery - the Positive Planner is a gentle daily companion that helps you get more organised while most importantly improving your mental health and wellbeing. A great starting point for someone looking to make self-care a regular practice.
]]>A beautiful collection of feminine, quality and wearable vintage pieces at Laura's studio in London. She believes in a thoughtful, slow shopping experience. Choose the amount that can be spent in the studio.
A collection of books to inspire positive action, for anyone wanting to lead a more sustainable life and make something worth sharing.
Simple and versatile, these beakers can be used for coffee, water, flowers or jewellery storage. These are designed and handmade by individuals living at Grange Village, a residential estate for adults with learning disabilities.
Share the gift of discovering short walks across the UK. Once a month, for six or twelve months, they will post you or someone you know a map detailing a walk along with some information about the area.
Each walk varies in distance and is located across the UK - you can either choose to receive a random selection or pick the locations you would like to be sent.
Skincare and aromatherapy made with organic plant-based ingredients, sustainable packaged and female-founded. This gift set is a trio of aromatherapy roll-ons to balance the mood.
Four magazine issues to uplift friends and family throughout 2023. Each issue features informative and inspiring articles about what's going right in the world, brought together in a beautifully designed and certified carbon neutral magazine.
Ethically sourced, single-estate, extra virgin olive oil that's refillable, flavourful and beautifully designed.
Give support to those who need it - by buying this gift in the name of your loved one, you will be giving someone access to housing, shelter and safety.
FELT is a place where you can discover, collect and enjoy the handmade. Collection 03 is live now and includes (amongst paintings, textiles and photography) a limited edition selection of ceramics that will bring the finest, playful craftsmanship to any home.
Gift someone the choice of a bottle of wine, a wine tour, a nice meal or even a stay at the bed and breakfast. UK winery Tillingham are committed to farming in a diverse, poly-cultural way, believing it's not only a highly sustainable approach, but in conjunction with biodynamics, aims to restore soils to an optimum level of organic matter and microbial and wider ecological diversity.
A high performance knife made of SF-100 High Carbon Stainless Steel and a handle made of waste plastic which they go out and find. This waste source is always changing depending on what they collect. We love this Fruit Salad edition.
A book filled with ideas and wisdom for caring for your soils and delicious recipes by chef Lulu Cox - with beautiful paintings by artist Nancy Cadogan, with a bag of Climate Compost wrapped in a red ribbon to feed your friends’ plants and bring life back into their soils.
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I take lots of photos and sometimes make quick sketches when out in nature - local weekend walks or away travelling. I’ll look back at this imagery, sometimes months later, when I’m looking for references to help inspire an image. I often make several digital sketches first before committing to a design and colour palette and then will work it up in either paint or oil pastels. Colour has always been incredibly important.
In the past I was much more drawn to illustrating people and busier scenes of city life (still show up in my work sometimes) but in the past few years I’ve been hugely inspired by the natural landscape and its quietness. Trees feature heavily in my work, I don’t seem to ever tire of them. The seasons changing always inspires a new series of drawings or even a new way of working - I’m able to see something in a new light.
Taking walks in nature is always a great time to reflect - the quietness allows you the opportunity to think. I wanted to explore this idea in my artwork for Reia. A woodland path takes you through winter and into Spring - a glimpse of brighter/lighter things to come and a time to set your intentions for the year ahead.
For me, self-care means finding moments of calm and quiet (which is much harder now I have a young child). It could mean an hour in bed reading by myself before sleep, or a walk in nature with my family. Self-care is taking a moment to concentrate on myself.
It's World Mental Health Day on 10 October. We wanted to share some of the different practices we've been discovering that nurture mental health, for those that could use it.
If that title makes you roll your eyes, just hear us out.
It has long been suspected that music can act as a kind of medicine. Today, research in neuroscience and music psychology is starting to reveal how music can trigger healing in the brain and sound can have a positive effect on your mental health, diminishing anxiety and stress, lowering the heart rate and activating the parasympathetic state in the nervous system, to encourage a sensation of deep calm.
It sounds obvious, we know, but spending time in nature can be powerful. Whether it's escaping to the great outdoors, visiting a local park or tending to plants indoors, spending quality time with nature has been proven to have a positive effect on our mood – even a small green space with a couple of trees can have a significant impact on your nervous system and help you relax.
In addition to providing exposure to fresh air, vitamin D and some light aerobic movement, getting outside for some gardening has been proven to be an effective method for reducing cortisol levels and combating stress. And if you're looking for something a bit more low maintenance, indoor plants also offer improved mental well-being by reducing stress levels, increasing productivity and improving your mood.
For many of us, breathing is an automatic process we don't take notice of. However, the simple act of inhaling and exhaling can have a great impact on our mood, thoughts and emotions.
Breathwork is the conscious practice of deliberately manipulating how you breathe—and bringing awareness and intention to it—with the goal of calming the body and mind. It calms the nervous system, helping to relieve stress and anxiety.
There are several different breathing techniques to try like the Wim Hof Method, Deep/Belly Breathing and the Box Method. Why not see if one could work for you?
It may seem childish but there is science behind why colouring is so relaxing for adults: it has the ability to relax the fear centre of your brain, the amygdala. It induces the same state as meditating by reducing the thoughts of a restless mind. This generates mindfulness and quietness, whilst, at the same time, feeling safe in our environment thereby reducing stress, anxiety and depression.
You don’t need to be an artist - or in the presence of kids - to enjoy it.
Maybe you have an established yoga practice, or you’ve worked out how to achieve that euphoric runner’s high, or perhaps it’s ecstatic dance that gets you out of your head. Regardless, movement has a way of bringing your attention away from a busy mind to reduce stress.
As well as the physical benefits of moving your body, it's the physical mindfullness that draws your attention away, slowing and calming your mind.
]]>That's why we've designed a returns process that is hassle free for customers and works hard to avoid any more plastic bottles ending up in landfill.
Once used, our refill pouches can be dropped straight into a postbox. We've pre-printed the pouches with a returns label so you don't need to worry about a stamp or envelope. They are sent direct to our recycling partner to be completely recycled and repurposed.
Our recycling partner, Enval, uses an innovative process known as pyrolysis to convert the pouches back into their basic elements; raw aluminium and a plastic oil, which can then be repurposed into new products.
We designed our process to be as simple as possible to close the loop on your bathroom recycling.
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Our Co-Founder Celia recommends the six sustainable fashion brands that are worth knowing about. When reviewing this list, remember it's best to interrogate the individual item label as well as finding trusted brands and collections.
Challenging the idea that sustainable fashion needs to be expensive, Omnes prioritises natural, recycled and deadstock materials but still delivers it in an affordable way.
They're transparent across the supply chain and declare how they research and monitor their production process. They also use fabrics that are 100% one fibre over blend to aid in the recyclability of every garment at the end of its life. Every stage of the production process is meticulously researched and monitored.
With such an affordable price point you may be dubious about the worker conditions, but they state that all of those producing clothes and accessories for them are fully audited to ensure they meet high standards when it comes to Health and Safety, Environment, Business Ethics and Labour Standards.
Denim has a reputation for being one of the most unsustainable pieces of clothing because the process of making them consumes so much water (10,000 litres!) and the dyes used are often toxic to waterways.
Those with elastane (to add stretch) should also be avoided because it's derived from fossil fuel production and isn't biodegradable. If you want that extra comfort and stretch, best to look for up to 2% elastane and opt for recycled options wherever possible.
HOWEVER! If you are in the market for a new pair and don't want to go vintage/second hand, Seventy + Mochi is a British brand championing circular fashion in a different way. They use recycled materials and use only recycled or organic cotton, or hemp, which is pretty cool. When using stretch yarns they only use eco made elastane or roica.
Thinking MU is a Barcelona based fashion brand committed to transparency, traceability, fair-trade and circular fashion. It uses a high proportion of recycled and organic natural fabrics.
Check out their TRASH collection - a waste-free project of newly upcycled clothes made out of fibres recovered from post-consumer recycled materials along with new sustainable fibers.
Fruity Booty is a female-led brand who make limited edition collections of underwear and swimwear (made in East London and Portugal) using recycled materials and deadstock fabric.
Underwear and swimwear are often unsustainable because the designs rely on synthetic fabrics, so opting for a recycled option is the more responsible choice. The fact that they use deadstock materials means they're saving leftover textiles from other brands going in landfill.
This is a classic, modern and gender neutral brand that aims to make conscious consumerism the norm, not just a buzzword or a box tick. Going beyond making their products with recycled materials or, failing that, responsibly sourced natural fibres, all of Riley Studio’s garments come with a lifetime guarantee.
Plus, there’s the option of repair or taking part in their recycling programme whereby your old clothing can be put back into their production cycle.
They're mission is to set the standard for transparency and sustainability for the industry. Their most impressive claim is that they use zero plastics in their clothing. They don't use any polyester (even recycled) in any of their fabrics or zippers.
They also display real transparency so you always know what you're buying. They disclose everything from manufacturers to origin of fiber and trims.
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