Before launching our new wellbeing facilities, we spent a lot of time thinking about how we wanted people to feel in this space and the ways in which we could hit these different touch points. We did our market research (it was fun!), and as soon as we tried Chapter Organics we knew had to stock their amenities! We caught up with founder, Charlotte Nutland to hear more...
Tell us a little bit about how Chapter Organics started…
Chapter Organics quite literally started at my kitchen table. I started blending aromatherapy oils to support my own wellbeing journey during a time of my life where anxiety was doing its thing and affecting my sleep and happiness. Wellbeing and Self Care is something I pay really close attention to especially as i’ve got older. I believe taking care of yourself is a series of intentional practices you lean on daily or sometimes weekly. From fresh air, to friendships, eating well and exploring interests. Aromatherapy quickly became an essential part of my wellbeing toolkit.
I began by blending oils to support energy levels, anxiety and better sleep. I quickly realised how effective and transformative essential oils could be for my moods and emotions. The small practices of showering with uplifting and inspiring citrus oils or switching off those mental tabs and a runaway mind with grounding and centering essential oils such as Frankincense and Cedarwood.
I shared these blends with my friends and family and they too noticed the difference in their sleep, anxiety, mood and energy. I was driving one day wondering if i could turn my love of Aromatherapy and plant oils into something more? Now I had a loyal customer base of orders from friends? I saw a sign reading ‘Chapter.’ This word really spoke to me because I was creating blends to support each Chapter of our days, for every mood, feeling and routine. A year or so after Chapter Organics was born.
We first came across your products in the Rocket Store (one of our favourite restaurants in Cornwall!), and instantly fell in love with them. Tell us a little more about how you create these beautiful blends…
We’re inspired by stories. Each blend has a story behind it whether it’s the team at Chapters or a customers. We begin with a need, a mood, a feeling that needs support with and we go from there. Understanding how we can work with the healing and therapeutic aspects of aromatherapy. This is one of my absolute favorite things to do. We get out our text books out and pour over ancient recipes and formulations and look at the challenges we all experience today during our busy, modern way of living and how we can create blends that we can all incorporate into our daily routines to feel better balanced, connected, restored or invigorated depending on what we need from each wellbeing blend. The Self for example, our latest blend that launched last Autumn was inspired by our customers who often told us they felt like they wanted to apply for that new job, start that side business, join a netball club but just didnt have the confidence or the belief in themselves to do it. We wanted to create a blend they could bring out whenever those niggles of self doubt start to rise and for The Self to be their comfort, cheerleader and support to overcome those doubts and to dream big.
We know you are a regular in Cornwall, what do you love most about this part of the world?
I always say to people that for me Cornwall feels like you’re truly on holiday. I feel instantly relaxed like i’ve physically unplugged whenever I arrive in Cornwall. The mood and atmosphere feels like things are operating at a slower and calmer pace and we all need that. The views too of course are mesmerizing. I adore the cove bays and high cliff tops. The food scene is amazing and Cornwall clearly embraces the independent sector which means you can always find a really beautiful new brand, product or coffee shop just around the corner.
We love your commitment to the environment - how does this affect the way you run the business?
Being kind to the planet and treading lightly underpins everything we do at Chapter Organics. Creating a brand that acts with the utmost integrity has to come before everything. I would always want to look back and say we did things the right way, the fair way and the ethical way. No compromises. This means we often take the long road. We have to scrutinize everything before we go into research and development from the origins of ingredients; is it sourced sustainability?, how many miles has it traveled to packaging. Is it really better for the environment? There is so much green washing when it comes to refillable plastic pouches and it took us over a year to realise that this wasn’t an option for us.
We have been using The Peace mist in our yoga studio, which smells divine! What is the story behind this scent?
The Peace is ever popular and a blend I use every single day. I’m so pleased you love it too. I created The Peace blend shortly after the birth of my eldest son. I was feeling quite all over the place with my emotions and hormones and of course I wasn't sleeping well. I wanted to create a blend that felt like a hug, comfort, nourishment. A blend that eases nervousness, anxiety and gives you that feeling of your shoulders dropping down, stress leaving your body and that transports you to a place altogether more peaceful. This shift of mood of course enables you to feel calmer and sleepy which is why the majority of our customers use it as a deeply restful calming and sleep blend. Its a really comforting blend of oils including; Rose Geranium for emotional balance, Ylang Ylang for reconnection of body and mind, Bergamot to gently uplift and ease anxiety, Lavender for calm and Patchouli to help relax and centre. The scent is very special.
Slowing down and reconnecting with ourselves is something we really believe in. Do you have any self care rituals that you could share?
I really love to create a sense of evening every night of the working week. To get home and light candles or diffuse a Purest Blend. To make dinner, listen to music or podcasts and create a sense of cosiness and togetherness. Working days, schools days, commuting etc can be stressful but I feel like the evening can be reclaimed. You can take these hours no matter how hard your day is and do something just for you.
Bedtime for me is a scared time. I value sleep very highly. I use a number of ques to let my body know its winding down time from taking a warm evening bath with our incredible Bathing Salts to drawing the curtains, popping on warm lamps, herbal teas, pillow mists and reading. I endeavor to follow this routine every single night because it makes such a transformational difference in the quality of your sleep.
And lastly, what’s next for you?
We’re so excited to be sharing our routine kits over the next few months. Routines that we have leant on and integrated for years into our days and evenings and now we want to share these with our customers. Step by step ideas about how you can integrate aromatherapy into your everyday moments. We have routines to share from better sleep to having a solo self care day. We also have quite a few exciting new products in development for this year. We’re really leaning into what our customers are asking for which is to enhance those daily routines and rituals and make them even more incredible. We can’t wait to share these with you!
We sell a selection of Chapter Organics amenities at Reception, so you can take these beautiful products home with you! Heaven.
