Welsh Lavender Co.

Up in the wild, windswept hills north of Bannau Brycheiniog, there is a farm red red, rich, earth that smells of rain. The lavender here is tended entirely by hand, with no chemicals, and then handmade into products in Wales. Black Mountains College regularly brings students to the farm to learn coppicing and regenerative horticulture.

Nancy Durham and her team are true lavender pioners. In 2003 they became the first farm ever to grow lavender in Wales on a field scale — and lobbied until the Welsh Assembly formally recognised it as a crop. They collaborated with Monocle editor-in-chief Tyler Brûlé on the beautiful packaging and with Helen Lowe, a leading artisan in cosmetic cream development to create their range of lavender products.