How Good Design is Transformative for Us Too...

A year ago we opened the doors of our workshop in Leverburgh to the the BBC Designing the Hebrides team, led by Banjo Beale and supported by his trusted group of work mates and a fantastic production group directed by John Featherstone. Our brilliant electrician Shonnie helped out along with his joiner nephew Iain who jumped into the chaos feet first. You can see it here on IPlayer  

It is a real bond of trust handing over your workspace to people you barely know, hoping that they can really understand what you do and make the space reflect that. Ours was a tough brief, it's a cavernous space with lime green rafters and concrete floors. We had tried but been defeated by the enormity of it, it was always on the 'to do' list but somehow as the days slipped by and became years, it never quite got to the top of the list.

It's interesting that when you're a small business, all your energy is poured into the job, into making it a viable business, the aesthetics become secondary by default. I think I also hadn't realised how interested people were in our processes, in seeing what we do and how we do it.

Perhaps when you've been doing something for so long, it becomes second nature, the piles of Roses, Calendula and Chamomile that cover the work benches all summer long, have always been my private pleasure, I hadn't thought to share it with everyone. 

Discussing the project with Banjo helped me to realise that what we do up here on this windswept island really is unique and that throwing open our doors to invite people in would be good for us and for them.

In the intervening year, this has proved to be true. Every person that visits is amazed both by the space and the design but also the work that we do. For us, the sheer creative flow that it has unleashed has been marvellous. Chatting to people about the place, the plants and the design has now become a daily pattern. I love seeing their faces when they see a pile of Roses that can be touched and smelled. 

Our little workshop has become a place to revel in the plants we produce and to feel a connection both to us and the incredible place we live. Seeing Matt picking the petals off Calendula or Caroline making a balm or Alexander working on a tea or me deep in experiments is such a lovely treat for visitors, they are invited into our world for the brief time they visit. It is as nice for us as it is for them.

There is no doubt in my mind that inviting Banjo in is one of the best things I've done for A.S Apothecary because good design, changes everything, and in business, a good piece of design not only makes a space work better, it also sets the tone of the business, it creates an expectation for the products. 

What we make is so beautiful, so carefully crafted and potent and now, finally, we have a space that celebrates it.