Neal's Yard Wild Rose Beauty Balm Collaboration

Last year I was invited  by Neal's Yard Remedies to re-design the packaging for a 10 year anniversary edition of their best selling Wild Rose Beauty Balm.

Having worked with them previously to create a bespoke brooch for their Bee Lovely campaign, I was delighted to be considered again for such a prestigious event.

The brief was to keep it simple. To honour the organic ingredients of the beauty balm; Geranium, Patchouli, Rose hip and Borage.

I illustrated some simple (yet beautiful) watercolour and ink drawings and sent them off. Little did I expect that my first draft would be enough. Neal's Yard loved them. We were on the same page....

Several months later, I was invited to their Head quarters nr Gillingham in Dorset. To gain access to such a place was a real treat. There I met with the Marketing Director Nicola Nolan who got me involved in the project. She gave me a tour of the building...(woah is all I can say) and I even got to step inside the production room. I was shown a mock up for the packaging and couldn't believe how beautiful is was going to look.

Several months later, the limited edition product was launched. It is so exciting to see our collaboration now in the shops albeit slightly surreal.

ta dah!

My designs as decals in the Bath Store. So lovely to see it in the flesh. 

I was also asked to create some mugs as press gifts.

And I was invited to be guest speaker at an event in Bath run by Neal's Yard Remedies consultant Sian Hendra. It was a slightly daunting prospect, but a brilliant opportunity to talk about working with Neal's Yard and how the project came about. I took along my original drawings which went down a treat. And a few of my friends came along for moral support (thanks Amy and Marjorie my lovely housemates and Charlotte Farmer who prepped me with a G&T before hand).

I opened a shop.....

I am thrilled to say that just over a month a go I opened a shop on the Gloucester Rd in Bristol with a group of very talented and creative Bristol ladies.

Introducing Paper Plane....Our creative Co-Operative.

Paper Plane came about in February 2014 when the 7 of us (having met creatively through pop-up shops and fairs in the Bristol area) decided that we would like to start our own venture together. We found an empty shop on the Gloucester Road in Bristol (one of the longest independent shopping destinations in Europe apparently). After the signing of contracts, we set about stripping, painting and re-conditioning the former 'Timeout Travel' coaches to Poland shop. An exhausting but exhilarating 3 weeks of hard work resulted in this amazing shop/gallery.

Paper Plane as it was!

Stripping the rather heinous green walls.....

After pulling up the carpets we found these amazing wooden floorboards. 

Painting the outside of the shop. 

Our launch party was a wonderful event with lots of friends, local residents and businesses coming along to support us. We couldn't have asked for a more positive response and since opening, we have be inundated with customers and local residents coming in to welcome us to the neighbourhood.

What a party we had for our launch night. 

We've used lots of reclaimed and recycled wood for the inside of our shop.

Paper Plane consists of the shop at the front and gallery space at the back. 

My wares on sale. 

 Paper Plane is an independent shop and gallery representing local as well as national design, craft and art. Run by 7 Bristol based makers, we also invite guest artists to sell in the shop. Our gallery space is open for artists from all mediums to exhibit in.

Visit our website Paper Plane here.

We're also on Facebook and Twitter.

And Pinterest....