At the centre of my work are two key ideas, the healing of people and the planet. I truly see humans as being part of the ecosystem and know that our healing is intrinsically linked with our habitat. Ideas of progress and our modern way of being has brought both us and our environment out of sync, out of the natural rhythms and seasonality of being.
The seasonality found in the name Autumn Blossoms expresses this: we don’t have to flower all year round, we need times of renewal and healing. Although it took me until my autumnal years to realise this, I wanted to make it a theme and celebrate my autumnal blossoming. As a Venus-ruled Libran, I feel a need to express and celebrate this Earthly Wisdom and symbiotic relationship. Just like we don’t need to eat strawberries all the year round because the Earth isn’t designed that way, we need times to rest and recuperate, reflect and receive.
Our symbiotic relationship with the Earth is that it feeds us and provides us with healing plants. It is therefore our responsibility to give back to the Earth. This is about sourcing plants ethically and ensuring that we are avoiding over production to ensure the natural equilibrium is retained.
I have recently come across the Airmid Institute. It is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to the global education, research, and sustainable management of aromatic medicinal plants. This is so important to take a global view and take responsibility for the impact my business has on the global ecosystem.
Through the Airmid Insititute, I can become aware of species which are becoming endangered and share this information with the industry. For example, Cedarwood Atlas, the beautiful deep honeylike base note is now endangered. I was heartbroken to discover this as it is one of my favourites.