Quintessentially English - Botanical Alchemy and Beautiful Home Accessories

12/08/2026

When you brother turns out to have the most amazing telescope to view the solar eclipse and he has a queue right across the Lacock village playing field to see it! Even he didn’t expect that!

10/08/2026

Putting the bath bombs out this morning. No rush, no script, just me and the shelves.

Nearly thirty years of making things by hand in this old building and these quiet little moments before the door opens are still some of my favourite.

Pop by if you’re in Lacock, they smell even better in person.

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09/08/2026

David filmed this because he thought I’d lost the plot!

I was wetting down a cement sculpture before the next round of work and apparently it looked like I was watering a plant. He’s not wrong.

This sculpture will be part of “Touch,” an exhibition at the Pound Arts in Corsham this September. The name felt right.
Everything you touch carrying weight.

Most people know me for the soap and candle shop. But sculpture happens here too, in the same space, with the same hands. Different materials, same walls.
Two very different things made under the very same roof! By teatime I was back making bath bombs so normal service was resumed thanks to David. He was happy he got to meet Alex Jones from the One Show that made his day!

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08/08/2026

Our customers absolutely love these Sunrise bathbombs packed with orange and grapefruit essential oils. When its as hot as its been this summer they are super refreshing!

03/08/2026

So the shampoo bars are back on the shelves and I hadn’t even mentioned it yet.

No announcement, no countdown, no fanfare. I just quietly put them out in our store and they’ve been walking out the door all on their own.

Customers have been asking for them to come back for a while now but I’ve taken my time, I wanted to get them right before I said anything. I have a new recipe, we have carefully tested it and I am so pleased with the results I think it’s even better than our original one. All natural, essential oils, same as everything else we make here. Nearly thirty years of soapmaking and I still get a little thrill when something sells before I’ve even told anyone it exists!

Consider this your official (very late) heads up. They will be going back on the website towards the end of the week.

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23/07/2026

Me ignoring everyone’s calls because I’m smelling soap for Instagram.
Thirty years in and I still can’t walk past a fresh batch!

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22/07/2026

Little did I know when I took these pictures on Roundway today that if I’d been there yesterday I would have seen a spectacular crop circle! https://youtu.be/juHmZB625i8?is=Ur4EnD9iA6PYPie3

19/07/2026

It was decoration day at the apothecary. 🌿 Today’s ritual: pressing dried flowers and petals into each soap loaf one bar at a time - no two at all the same.

Slow made, gently done.

18/07/2026

A lot of commercial “soap” is actually detergent-based — stripping oils out, glycerin included, and selling that glycerin off separately. That’s often why bars can leave skin feeling tight and dry.

The Cold process we make is a different craft entirely — closer to the apothecary tradition than the factory line:

1. It keeps the glycerin. Naturally moisturising, not just labelled that way.

2. No high heat. Botanical oils and essential oils keep their integrity — real flower oils, steeped and blended.

3. Full ingredient control. No filler — every oil and botanical chosen by hand, the way an apothecary always worked.

4. Cured for 4–6 weeks. Left to develop its own aroma patina, the way good things always should be.

The result for you: gentler on sensitive or dry skin, better value per bar, and an actual wash — not a detergent bar dressed up as one.

Slower to make. Yet better soap.

17/07/2026