WHY WE LOVE... NORFOLK NATURAL LIVING
We’re determined to keep shouting about the incredible local suppliers who we are so proud to be able to support and stock. This week we caught up with Norfolk Natural Living; a North-Norfolk based independent business creating beautiful all natural products for the home and body (which smell incredible!) available to buy from us in store and online.
Tell us a bit about yourselves?
Hi I’m Bella Middleton, I started Norfolk Natural Living in 2018. We now have three shops in Holt (Norfolk) - a Utility store, Perfumery and Wellbeing Pharmacy and most recently, a Garden shop. In our workshop in Kings Lynn we make each and every one of our products by hand; from our natural hand care and garment care products to our perfumes and Plant foods.
What made you set up Norfolk Natural Living?
Put simply - I wanted to bring a little joy, even pleasure to our everyday rituals. From cleaning our dishes, to washing our clothes - to going to work and falling asleep.
I wanted to make life simpler - life is challenging enough without having to worry about what’s in your products and what they are doing to the environment.
If I’m honest I don’t particularly like washing dishes, so I thought if I infuse my dish wash with aromatherapy grade blends - I can feel uplifted or relaxed whilst doing it!
Which led me to infusing all of our fragrances with therapeutic blends - and most importantly, using ingredients which are kind to the environment and packaging that is as equally sustainable as it is beautiful.
Who is part of your team?
As we make every one of our products by hand - we have a small team in our workshop in Norfolk who blend, bottle and create everyone one of our products. We also post all of our online orders from our workshop too - which is where I’m based most days. We then also have all our wonderful retail team who keep the stores open and customers happy.
Where do you source your ingredients?
Sourcing each ingredient has been really important to us - as we make all of our products in house in small batches we use UK suppliers for pretty much everything.
How has the current pandemic affected you and what are your plans for the future?
Having the shops closed was very difficult as we love having our customers come into the shop however we found that we had such a huge support from our customers who continued to buy online with us. So we felt incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful and loyal customer base. We’ve just opened our garden shop - so it hasn’t really held us back - I just think we need to keep the high street alive and Holt is doing a great job of that, as are our customers who keep coming back!
(Have you learnt anything along the way which has actually been positive?)
Lot’s of things are positive. I learnt we can survive a pandemic! That’s pretty positive! I learnt how important my telephone calls are to my family, how important hugs are! It’s been one hell of a year and we are all still working though it. I am learning to take each day as it comes - and that has really helped.
What's the best thing about the area you live in?
I love that Holt is a bustling town - full of independents and great food. It’s also a stone's throw from amazing beaches and beautiful green countryside. It might not be the sunniest spot in the world, it sure makes up for it with the people!
