What does a typical day in the life of Chloë look like?

My day always begins with a cup of tea.  It used to be the only cup of tea that I had sugar in but I recently took part in the Zoe study and realised that it spikes my glucose levels, so now it’s sugar-less but still joyful.  I then get the children ready for school, drop them and head to the office.  We’ve just refreshed our branding on the core Bramley range so that has taken up a lot of time, more than we initially thought it would, because you have to change literally everything so it’s almost like starting all over again!  It’s been really well received though so I’m very relieved because it’s quite nerve wracking when you show it to the world.  My role is Founder & Creative Director, so I work very closely with the marketing team to ensure that we get the brand message across to our customers – both retail, online and in the hotels.

After work it’s home to see the children and make supper.  By the time we’ve put the children to bed I’m so tired that I usually just head to bed myself and read a book (I’m currently reading Ali Lowe’s The Running Club, which I can’t put down!)

Who or what inspires you?

I get inspiration from all sorts of different places and people.  I think Instagram is an amazing space for inspiration and ideas.  Our mini flower soaps were actually based on a box of chocolates I was given – they were just so pretty that I decided to get a mould made using our own flowers and turn them into soaps! 

Who is your ultimate muse? 

I know it sounds a bit silly, but it has to be nature.  I am constantly amazed by the beauty, resilience, and constant-ness that you get from nature. It really does uplift the darkest of moods and you can’t help but feel better after a walk.

What is your favourite product?

That’s like asking me which is my favourite child, I love them all equally!  I use most of our products everyday and it does fill me with joy every time, if I had to choose, it would be our Hand Wash or Room Spray.

And why?

I love the Hand Wash because it was pretty much the first product we created, and it’s been at the start of lots of people’s introduction to Bramley because it’s in so many loos!  I didn’t really like room sprays before we created ours, it’s full of sweet orange, geranium and spearmint essential oils and smells divine. 

What new products are lined up this year?

We are really excited to be launching a skincare collection later on this year.  It feels like a natural progression for the brand as we have been asked so many times for it by customers and hotels.  The products are all treatment-led so really designed with results in mind, we want everyone to leave feeling as relaxed and restored as a weekend spent in the countryside.

Your packaging is adorable – so on brand, did you design it?

The new packaging needed to be an evolution of our previous design, so we have moved from photographs of flowers to floral icons created using botanical inks.  We worked with an artist, Flora Wallace, to create the new artwork and loved seeing all the different inks that she produced from different elements such as the daffodil, buttercup & turmeric ink that we used for the conditioner label.  We have moved from white lids to black so that we could introduce PCR (post-consumer recycled) plastic into the packaging.  It also makes the brand feel a little bit more ‘grown up’, which, after 14 years we felt the time was right!

You also do products for pets & children – this is such a great idea, who came up with that?

I created Bramley pre-children so I hadn’t really thought about bath products for them, but then I had my first child and spotted a gap in the market for a natural range that looked good in your bathroom and also appealed to children.  Little B was initially just a Hair & Body Wash but has expanded with demand to a complete collection for children.

Digby came about because I was fed up of using all my Bramley products on my dog, who rolls a lot!  Dogs have a different pH, so we make sure that any products we make for them are safe to use.  Again, we only launched with one product, Digby Dog Wash, but post lockdown and the puppy boom, we have extended the collection to include sprays and balms.

Do you find your surroundings help to channel the Bramley ethos? 

Definitely. I love living where we live in the middle of the British countryside, and I want everyone to experience that feeling of time spent in the countryside, wherever you are, the feeling that leaves you feeling relaxed and restored.