Celebrating Authenticity - A Real Cottage Industry

Not many ‘cottage industries’ can claim to have actually started in a cottage. But Krystyna Patey's can. A cottage in the grounds of a vast monastery, that was neatly tucked away in one of Sussex's prettiest corners - the perfect spot to create some beautiful English fragrances.

Krystyna Patey set up her business Parkminster Products 8 years ago naming it after her cottage ‘Little Parkminster', situated in the heart of countryside on the land of one of the oldest monasteries in the UK. After moving to the country from Brighton, Krystyna (47) decided she wanted to start her own business - she had always found it hard to find quality home fragrance and bath products at a reasonable price, and felt she could create a unique range herself.

So, after much research and teaching herself how to make Body Scrubs to begin with, Krystyna moved on to introduce a whole host of other products into the range such as Scented Candles, Reed Diffusers, Room Sprays, Soaps - and Parkminster has grown ever since. Parkminster has also recently re-launched its bath and body range with new Himalayan Bath Salts, Salt Scrubs and Soaps with new packaging and branding.

Scented Candles and home fragrance products like Reed Diffusers are now the main product area for Krystyna and the team at Parkminster. The business now ships over 50,000 products a year to over 150 independent stockists in the UK and to stockists in Amsterdam, Ibiza, Dublin, Rome, Paris, Zurich, Valencia, Dubai, Nigeria and Tokyo. The brand that started on a kitchen table has grown into a global business.

But the ethos behind Parkminster has always been to remain an artisan producer of quality products. Absolutely everything Parkminster Products manufacture is still 100% handmade, in small batches, in their small Sussex workshop. The production team are considered friends and family rather than employees and the independent shops who stock Parkminster’s products have a genuine connection with the business.

Parkminster’s candles and home fragrance products are made from natural plant-based ingredients only, essential oils, soy wax and other sustainable ingredients. The bath and body product range is completely free from artificial preservatives and contains no sulphates or parabens, and all of the packaging and labelling that Parkminster use is either recycled or recyclable. As an environmentally conscious brand Parkminster advocate the ‘reduce, reuse & recycle’ principle and are constantly developing their product ranges to minimize their impact on the environment. Parkminster has recently become the UK representative for Candela Living, whose reusable ceramics and scented Candelas dramatically reduce glass waste in the candle industry.

Krystyna says: “Some of the ingredients are very bespoke, especially our signature scents, and for us it is all about quality, originality and sustainability, as well as utilitarian but attractive packaging & design.

“We are lucky enough to live in a lovely cottage with a beautiful garden filled with herbs and flowers, and it’s those fragrances, our home, and the countryside that continue to inspire me to create new scents and beautiful products.”