In conversation with Bramley Founder, Chloë Luxton
17 / 10 / 24
Tell us about yourself and how you came to create Bramley?
I live with my husband, Charlie, and three children, two dogs, a tortoise, a hamster and some ducks, in a village in Wiltshire. We moved to the countryside from London over 15 years ago to take on The Beckford Arms pub. There were 8 bedrooms at the pub, and I wanted to put some really special products in the bathrooms, but when I looked at what was available on the market it was all single use plastic bottles, so I decided to create my own. Bramley can now be found in Fortnum & Mason, John Lewis and hotels such as The PIG hotels and Artist Residence.
Describe your brand in 3 words
Botanical magic – as that’s only 2, I’ll add in brilliant, ‘Brilliant botanical magic’!
Where do you find inspiration for your products?
I find inspiration everywhere but especially from nature – and it might not be from plants themselves, it could be a painting of a flower, the smell of the seaside, a recipe in a magazine or a blog article about an artist.
What are your favourite Bramley products that we have here at Millbridge Court?
Do I have to choose just one?! I have used all of the products that you have at Millbridge Court every day for the last 15 years (apart from the bubble bath) and I love them all. If I had to choose just one, I would say the Hand Wash. We wash our hands up to 8 times per day and our hand wash makes it a joy rather than a chore.
We’ve noticed that you have just celebrated your 15-year Anniversary, congratulations! It’s our 10-year anniversary coming up very soon. What do you think the key is to designing products and a brand that people come back to? And what has been your biggest achievement to date?
I think the key thing is to think about your customer at all times. If you lose sight of what they want and need then you will go off brand. When we design new products, I always have the hotels in the back of my mind – is the product useful for them or their guests? Are these ingredients as natural as they can be? Is the packaging sustainable and pretty enough etc etc?
Our biggest achievement to date has been working alongside the Princess of Wales during lockdown when she launched a campaign to help families living in poverty. I was delighted that she actually knew about Bramley!
We’re excited to have Bramley join us for our 10-year Anniversary Party on 28th October. Tell us a bit about what you will be offering to our guests on the night of the event.
Tamasin and Hephzi will be bringing our new natural skincare collection along for guests to try, offering advice on the best skincare for your skin type and giving mini hand massages if you’re in need of a little relaxation!
And lastly, what are your top tips for prepping your skin for a big event?
I think the key word here is prepping. I would start preparing my skin the night before with a double cleanse using our Rose Geranium Cream Cleanser and our Spearmint Face Wash, a face exfoliation with our Apple Peel Face Exfoliator followed by our Rosehip Nourishing Face Mask and then our Linden Blossom Restoring Night Serum and finally our Raspberry Seed Illuminating Face Oil. I would then use our Walnut Shell Invigorating Face Scrub as part of my skin prep just before the event to give it a lovely natural glow.
