ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Hello, hello, hello
My name is Natalie. Welcome! Here is my story...
My tiny ginger head greeted the world on a snowy Christmas eve, on the south eastern tip of England, a place called Kent. I’m a dreamer, a thinker. A human on a human journey. I was born in the lovely year of ´85, a great year of music and films. I´m highly sensitive, curious, I am in love with nature and trying to speak her secret language. I am driven to understand how things work, why we are here and to find purpose in my own work and life.
Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson
I studied Art and design, then works in metal – silversmithing and jewellery design. But I’m a girl from humble roots, and I have always worked. In fact, my work experiences are far too many to mention here, and cover a grand array from the monotonous, to intricately creative, from night shifts to 5am starts. I learnt how to work in demanding physical jobs, I learnt what it is to be a London commuter, I learnt the map of London driving a delivery van, I learnt how to pour an excellent pint of Guinness, to cook, to serve. I also learnt patience and skills in delicate artisan crafts, working as a traditional bookbinder, and just before I decided to launch my own business I became proficient in the art of being a chocolatier.
So now you know where I came from, but what brought me here?
Did I mention I’m a bit of a dreamer? I always saw myself as something of a natural born mountain woman, when I’m old I see myself pottering around in nature collecting herbs, caring for and harvesting my crops, possibly with long grey dreadlocks, smoking a pipe, surrounded by animals. As soon as I could, I set out on the mission my inner wild-woman desires. First, I travelled to Spain to volunteer on a permaculture farm. By coincidence, just before leaving I met a lovely Spanish man, my soulmate, luckily for me he returned to Spain, and 10 years later we are still here. The journey wasn’t all sunshine and flowers though, I worked in some awful jobs just to earn money to stay, but I submerged myself in a different culture and learnt another language. So, there are two sides to every penny. When we could, we rented our own place, an old finca, with a garden like a jungle. The house would crumble down around us but was our tiny piece of freedom. For me, it was an opportunity to practice my passions, gardening, permaculture, animals and natural medicines.
I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful, an endless prospect of magic and wonder. Ansel Adams
I was working as a Chocolatier, but while rolling truffles and mixing bowls of chocolate, inspired by the process and ingredients I was using, my mind would wander, designing skincare products with beautiful high-quality natural raw materials. I had been making my own skincare and remedies by request to heal varying skin conditions my friends and family needed help with. Many of the recipes for creams, balms, oils and lotions turned into the first babies of my natural skincare line. I felt the birth of these creations becoming a project, a vision becoming clearer and clearer. I was full of thoughts for this venture designing itself inside my mind, I cherished it, making it a reality - a business. So, my brand Alchemy skin and soul was born. With the support of loyal loved ones and invaluable help from my soulmate, aiding me in graphic design and photography to manifest my ideas, I submerged myself in this passion, left my job and got down to my work. I can tell you, it’s been a road of challenges, but I am tenacious, I work hard, and put my heart and soul into every littlest detail.
5 years on from the birth of my business Alchemy skin and soul. I dedicate myself and my time to running my business, creating products, learning from nature, still loving animals. I create my skincare and remedies by hand in my little studio. I care about the impact we make on all levels and I want to transmit that in all of what I do. I believe in people, caring for our communities, our environment and the beautiful animals who live here too; we could do with treating them, and their natural habitats better.
On the face of it, I run a natural skincare brand, but the beauty industry has no real importance for me. I wish for my products to become a part of something that reaches way farther down past the skin, and into our souls. The world of beauty, fashion and skincare try to obsess us with quick and superficial products, a wasteful and throwaway affair, tricking us into losing the true meaning of self-care and in the process as well as polluting our planet. We neglect ourselves in the attempt to meet impossible standards of so-called beauty, so the essence of our own health and happiness is forgotten. Is it not true that a person glowing with health and happiness is not the most beautiful? You see, the real uniqueness of beauty is what lies inside.
So, if I can share anything with you today, it is this. It is my desire to offer creations with a pure purpose, and nothing less than nature and love inside every package.
Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven. Rabindranath Tagore
You can see some of my bookbinding and artisan works here...