The Modern Day Apothercary
The Alchemist’s Satchel is a place where herbs, oils and aromatherapy meet the everyday and ordinary. We harness what already readily exists around us and bring it to you, with a personal touch. Every box is a gift – whether to you or someone else – it is always packed so it feels truly special to open. We take great care in this, because a treat should be a memorable experience.
Our Recipes
Our blends are modern twists of grandma’s recipes, made with sustainable, kind to nature (and skin!) ingredients. They pull on knowledge passed from generations in mine, and probably your family, too. Every blend is our own, yet inspired by existing herbology and aromatherapy recipes. We learn from the Old Knowledge and harness from the plants around us to bring you all you’ll need to restore your own equilibrium, and find your most peaceful self.
Our Family
Every product is handmade, and often made to order. Our decorative flowers are grown and dried in Cornwall, by Bells’ grandmother. Therefore, like a few other aesthetic details, candle decorations may vary depending on the season and harvest. They are then dried in flower presses made by her father.
Our Ethos
Being holistic about wellbeing, for us, means taking every step into account. This means making sure that what looks after you and your wellbeing also looks after the earth and our future. It means being kind to you, and everyone (including the bees!) Our commitment is not simply being vegan, or eco packaged, it’s thinking about carbon footprint and the location of our suppliers, the sustainability of every ingredient and supporting small businesses wherever we can.
Meet the maker
From foraging to formulating skin care, I’ve always had a passion for nature and learning all that our beautiful earth has to offer; but I’m also all about giving back and keeping the balance. That means finding the most sustainable way to bring you beautiful products powered by the best nature brings, so we’re looking after her as she looks after us. Some of it is science, some of it is research, a lot of it feels magical.
After many years of making gift baskets for friends and family, I decided to see if anyone else out there might like my take on pagan hampers. After some steep learning curves (editing product photography alone took days, I won’t even go into cosmetics testing or label designing!) I started a small Etsy store, thinking “what’s the worst that’ll happen?”
Well, three years ago, The Alchemist’s Satchel became my full time job. Which is funny, because I distinctly remember my mother laughing at me when I told her at age 4, having emptied the 12th expensive bottle of shampoo into the bath that month, that I wanted to make potions for a living when I grew up. So, there, Mum.
Over time, we’ve grown, and some of our offerings have changed. Alongside delivering our products to your doors, finding you at markets and wholesaling to stores, we now have a focus on bringing you experiences. We aim to empower you to come together to make, create and blend your own scents and products. With two locations, Manchester and Penrith, we bring you adventures and moments for respite, taking time for yourself while guided through an experience of your own; it’s as close to bringing you with us for a day of making as we can make it!
Thank you for joining us on this little adventure, from the dreams of a small child in a shallow bath to sailing the seas of our 6th year together.
Peace and Light,
The Alchemist’s Satchel