This week my house has been full of builders - Jimmy, Jammy, Billy, Stevie and Scottie. They travelled up from Glasgow to help us out and I'm profoundly grateful to them. All are in their 50s and 60s and after a lifetime of physical work, there is barely a functioning back or knee between them. They have worked hard all their lives perfecting their skills, joinery, plastering, tiling and general building. Their banter fills the house, punctuated by peels of laughter and the odd sing song. It's great.
I mention this because to watch them work is quite wonderful, they understand materials, process and finish. They problem solve constantly, are deliberate in their actions once they've decided on the plan and the quality is exceptional. To see the work of a really good plasterer is a joy - glass like smoothness across a large surface, it makes our attempts look very sad.
In a very different sphere, we work. Over decades, I have done the graft, learnt the skills, perfected my practice. I have formulated with care, made on repeat, grown and distilled thousands of plants, macerated many more. I know the value of every ingredient and understand how to put them together into truly effective products - it has been a life's work.
Skincare and wellness are not learnt in a moment, just like a trade, they require training, application and practice. Information to rely on is rarely to be found on youtube or instagram or facebook which are so often trend led and sometimes actually unsafe. The difficulty is in knowing what and who to trust. My advice is to look at the maker - if there's a website linked to their account, have a good look at it to see whether it rings true and if it doesn't ask questions or walk away. If there isn't a full list of ingredients on a product, don't buy it. Transparency is key.
Really good products need formulating well, testing, approving by an independent cosmetic chemist and making with care. Social media, especially connected with health and skincare, often has makers with no regard or understanding of allergies, no mention of negative interactions with commonly used drugs or even precise quantities of essential oils in recipes. I see common plant names used rather than the latin which can cause confusion. I see products made in kitchens with pans, spatulas and bowls used for food, I see unsterilised bottles, creams made without a preservative and unfettered foraging for ingredients without a thought of their environmental impact. It is action without consequence.
I learnt a phrase this morning, it was in the Leaders in Conversation podcast from my friend Anni Townend - hyper connected, under bonded. It was talking about the issue of being connected to so many people but bonded to so few. It struck a chord. In relation to the difference between us and so many on social media, we really try to keep it real and we try to connect properly with people who choose to follow us. We reply to everyone and all the information we give is carefully considered.
It worries me that somehow in the morass of information we are losing the connection, the skill, losing the appreciation of how hard it is to do something well, the need for graft. We seem to live in a world of the instant expert.
It used to be said that to call yourself a gardener you needed to see 20 summers, I quite like that. I've lived for almost 62 summers and seen 40 properly, and even with that I learn something new every single day. New knowledge adding to solid foundations. It is what makes our work so wonderful.
When you buy Wild Eve, a Heartease Tincture, a Wild Beauty Balm or an Isle Mist, even our coffee, what you get is decades of experience and learning brought together into a single jar, pot or bottle. It's sound practice, coherent philosophy, ethics and knowledge and that really matters, especially now.
1 comment
Wonderful