This year, I set out to grow my own botanicals for Alkemi, the beginning of my own little materia medica. With dreams of armfuls of flowers, jars of dried chamomile and homegrown ingredients for my bath teas, I hadn’t counted on five heatwaves, drought and a hosepipe ban. It hasn’t been the abundant harvest I imagined, but it has been a year of learning, growing and discovering what it takes to grow botanicals for a small business.

Bath bombs fizz for a minute. Bath tea works slowly — layered with salts, oat, and botanicals instead of a single burst of colour. Here's why Skin Soother is a soak worth steeping into.

Sometimes I feel a sense of overwhelm when I think about the national and global events unfolding beyond my immediate world. When things feel noisy or heavy, I find comfort in returning to small, familiar self care rituals — moments that help me feel grounded and present. The word ritual is used a lot these days, and I wanted to share what it means to me. From a non-religious or secular point of view, ritual can be understood as a repeated, intentional set of actions that cr