HAECKELS – Organically Crafted Seaweed Skincare

Introducing Haeckels – organically crafted wild fragrances and seaweed skincare harvested from Margate’s coastline.

Haeckels was founded in 2012 by filmmaker and coastal enthusiast Dom Bridges. Disillusioned by the production ethos of many larger skincare companies, Dom set out with the aim to create simple, handcrafted products that truly embodied his surroundings – Margate’s heritage and natural coastline. Over the years, Haeckels has grown from a passion into a business; taking on members of staff whilst staying true to what the brand was founded upon: to play an active part in the local community, conserve marine life and craft simple yet potent natural products.

By using plants and herbs, which are indigenous to England we make products which help to heal, care and scent the body.

Haeckels has now set up their Margate lab, tucked away in the back of their first ever store. The lab is busy and fully working product development and production lab, where the brand’s perfumes are mixed, bottled and sealed by hand.

Haeckels’ natural products are all handcrafted, locally distilled and formulated using locally growing botanicals that offer the very best anti-oxidant properties. Hand harvested seaweed forms the base ingredient of all products in their skincare range, which is based on the tradition of Thalassotherapy; a treatment that uses ocean water, seaweed, ocean mud and marine minerals to enable the body to replenish, re-mineralise and revitalise.

Two of our favourite products are the Seaweed / Carrot Seed Facial Serum and the Eco Marine Extract Facial Cream. The former is a concentrated hydrating facial serum rich in botanical oils. Boosted with carrot seed, this natural source of vitamins B and C is an excellent lightweight, non-greasy and rapidly absorbing serum to nourish, tone and moisturise your skin. The Eco Marine Extract Facial Cream is a daily moisturiser containing potent doses of a powerful wrinkle active, which strongly stimulates the production of structural skin proteins. Rich in omega 3, this anti-inflammatory and protective antioxidant not only hydrates your skin but improves the appearance of fine lines and skin elasticity. Haeckels not only have a beautiful philosophy, but the brand around Dom Bridges makes simple high quality products that are crafted with full passion.

INSTRMNT - a Minimalist Steel Watch

Introducing Glasgow-based design studio Instrmnt. Founded by Pete Sunderland and Ross Baynham, the focus of the young multi-disciplinary team lies in creating considered, user-led products for every-day use.

We took a closer look at the studio’s debut product range – Instrmnt 01, a minimalist steel watch that takes inspiration from the industrial design of the mid 20th century. With a strong interest in the functional, utilitarian products and tools produced during that time period, you will find design cues ranging from the simple, readable dials and analog ammeters and voltmeters to the revolutionary minimalism of Dieter Rams.

We thought, we're designers, we love watches, why don't we make the watch that we want to wear? Why don’t we make the watch that is perfect for us?


The layout of Instrmnt 01 has quickly become an iconic part of the brand. And one of the beauties when receiving the watch lies in that it ships unassembled with tools provided for you to assemble the watch yourself. Another key principle lies in the use of high quality materials alongside trusted, proven technology. Instrmnt 01 comes in four different colourways (01-A, 01-B, 01-C, 01-D) and features a Swiss Quartz Ronda 585 3H movement, a calf leather strap crafted by one of the last remaining leather strap manufacturers located in the Bavarian Forest, and recyclable packaging manufactured in the UK.

The watch comes 'exploded' so you get pins, the casing, strap parts and a tool, which are nicely laid out. It's like an instrument that you put together.

Since its launch in 2014 further products have followed, including a 2-speed city bike built in collaboration with Freddie Grubb and an initial foray into furniture design with the creation of a multi-purpose day bed which was designed in collaboration with Edinburgh-based craftsman and furniture maker Namon Gaston.

Ultimately, what you will be wearing around your wrist is a beautiful watch that has been designed with consideration and precision – a watch that pairs high quality components with simple, utilitarian design. “We want to know the time and the date. That’s it.”

VOLUME - Artisan Donkey Milk Soaps

Situated on the heights of Ampuis, amidst the quiet hills of the regional park of Pilat and the wine heritage Côte Rôtie, Volume France produces artisan soaps from donkey milk. The soaps are handmade and produced in limited numbers, with batches often being of no more than twenty soaps. Based on the idea of natural cohabitation and committed to combining quality raw materials and local expertise, Volume France was founded by Laetitia Crevier.

VOLUME is simply the pleasure to use soaps made from the milk produces by the donkeys that I raise at Ampuis.

The team. Laetitia and her donkeys – an unexpected biodiversity and cohabitation between Bourbonnais and Sardinian donkeys – raised and milked by hand at Asinerie des Hauteurs. But what is it that makes donkey milk so precious? Enhanced by its biochemical composition, donkey milk is first and foremost used in the medical, nutritional and dermatological areas. And it’s composition of essential, anti-inflammatory acids (Omega 6,3), antiseptic enzymes (Lysozyme) as well as antioxidant vitamins and minerals (Retinol) make it indispensable for the human health.

The soaps are made using cold saponification, an environmentally friendly craft process that not only allows Laetitia to formulate an individual and harmonious blend, but also to preserve the quality of the ingredients. Once removed from the molds – one by one – the fifteen to twenty soaps per batch are stamped and numbered.

The story of Volume France is one of passion, dedication and meticulous attention to craft and honest produce.

NORMAL – Japanese Minimalist Watches

In 2006, American designer Ross McBride founded the Japanese watch brand Normal Timepieces as a space to express his personal thoughts on design. Experiencing both US and Japanese culture throughout his childhood and adulthood respectively, Ross has been greatly influenced by pioneering mid-century American design as well as the Japanese sense of minimalism and craftsmanship – elements that become evident in the brand’s approach to design.

“That which is normal can be assumed as self-evident, or open to an exhaustive debate. In truth, there are as many points of view as there are people. Where we find consensus, we find community.”

In our opinion, it’s not only the brand’s approach to considered functional and minimalist design; but it’s first and foremost the sensibility and subtlety that one can find in its timepieces.
Since the launch of its first range – which consisted of the models ‘Extra Normal’, ‘Time Zone’ and ‘Time = Money’ - Normal Timepieces has expanded its selection of timepieces to now include the Fuji Range, the Extra Normal Range as well as the Digital Grande Range.

FIVE ELEPHANT – Specialty Coffee Roastery

During our last trip to Berlin, we had the chance to visit Five Elephant Coffee – a specialty coffee micro roastery nestled in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. Truly passionate about quality, their goal is to source the best coffee in the world in a way that is both socially and environmentally responsible. With the aim to open up the ‘coffee conversation’, Five Elephant not only visit their partners at their farms, but foster a sustainable relationship and open dialogue with their farmers year-on-year. And if you have the chance to speak to one of the guys, then go for it; their passion for and knowledge about coffee is fascinating.

Currently, Five Elephant offers five different coffees, ranging from Idido (Ethiopia) – the coffee that got them hooked on specialty coffee -, Juliette Ab (Kenya), El Naranjal (Guatemala), Bifdu Gudina (Ethiopia) and Kamwangi Aa (Kenya).

The roastery also has a beautiful coffee and cake shop, which is definitely worth the visit the next time you’re in Berlin. And the smell of freshly roasted coffee only adds to its atmosphere. Make sure to enjoy a slice of their homemade cheesecake and a freshly brewed cup of coffee – sip by sip. Location: Reichenberger Strasse 101, 10999 Berlin

ONEOFTHOSE – An Olfactory Design Project

oneofthose is an Italian fragrance brand with probably one of the most intriguing conceptual approaches towards perfume creation that we’ve come across so far. 

Founded by Alberto Borri, the Italian brand creates artistic fragrances based on the elements in the periodic table; think Oxygen, Helium and Sulphur for example. In collaboration with master perfumers such as Evelyne Boulanger, Antoine Lie and Nicolas Bonneville, oneofthose develop fragrances inspired by the origins of the cosmos. The result is a captivating collection of olfactive interpretations created to invoke a sense of human origin, cosmic memory and personal expression.

It is not only the brand’s underlying philosophy that feels unique, but also their packaging: the perfumes are sealed in a hermetic polystyrene shell, which must be broken in order to reach the bottle. 

2016 saw the release of Curium [96Cm] – the latest addition to the brand’s collection of fragrances. Curium is one of the earliest radioactive elements discovered; and is named after Pierre and Marie Curie, the scientists who discovered and isolated the element in 1944.
Evelyne Boulanger, the nose behind ‘Curium - Obsessive Caress’, explains that she tried to capture Marie Curie’s unique personality with this perfume: “I was inspired by a brilliant mind, strongly accurate yet vivid, joyful and imaginative. A creation which could be an enveloping force, a concentrate of emotions, able to push the boundaries of conventional thought…” What you can expect is a radiation of ambrette seeds and colourful traces of pepper, cinnamon and red berry (top note), contrasting with trails of iris and violet (middle note), and rounded off with notes of deep vetiver and bright musk (dry out). 

The Italian perfume house oneofthose marries family tradition with conceptual, innovative thinking, and is doing an impressive job in capturing the essence of the elements they intend to call upon.

SAKHI – Organic Skincare Made from Nigella Oil

SAKHI is a new skincare brand from Copenhagen that formulates natural skin and hair remedies based on organic Nigella oil. Copenhagen based, and of Afghan-Persian origins, founder Farah Sakhi created a brand that fuses a contemporary Scandinavian approach to pure skincare with timeless Eastern traditions of healing and well-being derived from the bioactive Nigella Superseed. Beautifully conceptualised, Sakhi’s clean design and packaging only reinforce the brand’s philosophy. 

So what is it that makes Nigella oil a naturally efficacious skin remedy? First and foremost, Nigella oil is the pure, concentrated extract of the Nigella Sativa Superseed found in parts of North Africa, Southwest Asia and Southern Europe. The oil carries more than 100 chemical compounds and essential acids as well as proteins, minerals and vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, and C. It is this unique combination of potent micronutrients that gives it its extraordinary anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties. 

Tried and tested, we are huge fans of Sakhi’s Face Oil – a unique blend of 11 carefully selected organic plant oils, ideal for all ages and skin types. Besides Sakhi’s signature pure, cold-pressed Nigella oil, this remedy is supercharged with nourishing fatty acids omega 3 and 6, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. As your daily dose of nourishing protection, it is both preventive and healing. Despite its richness, you’ll find it an easily absorbed, ‘dry’ blend formulated to provide moisture without that greasy feeling.

INTERNOITALIANO – Neri Stationery Objects

NERI is a collection of pens and mechanical pencils designed by Italian designer Giulio Iacchetti for InternoItaliano. The brand’s stationery and desk objects fall outside the traditional mechanism of the opening/closing systems of classic pens: the placement of the leads as well as the regulation of their length is done by simply turning the contrasting thumbscrew.

Founded in 2012 by Giulio Iacchetti, InternoItaliano designs furniture and design objects inspired by the Italian culture and way of living. At the heart of the brand is a production system constituted by a network of workshops and manufacturing companies that embody the excellence in the Italian craftsmanship. Internoitaliano is a project pertaining to the notion of ’Italianità-Italianity’, which distances itself from the, at times, abstract approach of the so called ’international style’ of design. Criticising this school for creating a gap between design object and people, InternoItaliano is a project born to be close to the people. All their objects are designed to be immediately recognisable in their functions, possibly near to an archetype, and made of one material or tending towards that. In that way, the objects of InternoItaliano recall a sort of Italian classicism. Above all, the studio designs with a touch of irony, a characteristic central to Italian Design.

FEIT – Unisex Hand-Molded Sandals

Footwear company FEIT added this beautiful, hand-molded leather sandal to its range. Inspired by the Japanese Geta flip-flop, the FEIT Leather Sandal is given a robust feel and look with two substantial straps and a wider footbed. The straps are attached with 8 simple hand stitches, and the hand-molded footbed is lined with cork and natural latex for flexibility. The sandal has a distinctively clean, unisex look for the summer. 

FEIT is a neoluxury footwear and accessories company based in New York City. FEIT’s minimal modern aesthetic emphasises construction techniques and the quality of the materials used. All FEIT products are handmade in limited volumes.