Q&A With Chloë Luxton from Bramley

To celebrate our long-standing partnership — and the joy of working with like-minded, creative brands — we sat down with Chloe, founder of Bramley, to talk about how it all began, what keeps her inspired, and what’s next for the brand.

It’s been such a joy working together over the years! Can you share your memories of how our partnership first began?

My personal relationship with CG started when I started my first job at the stationery shop, Paperchase.  CG cards were stocked in all their stores and I remember loving the designs and quality of the cards as I re-stocked the shelves!

Fast forward 15 years and CG had opened their own shops and when I received an email saying that they wanted to stock Bramley (love how these things go), I was obviously delighted. 

We created an exclusive Valentine’s label for our Body Wash and Body Lotion using the gorgeous CG hearts a couple of years ago so we love working with CG!

I think the longevity of our partnership is down to the fact that we share the same love of colour, design and never compromise on the quality of product.

What originally inspired you to create your products - and how do you keep that spark alive today?

I originally created the Bramley range for the bedrooms of our beautiful country pub.  I wanted the products used in the bathrooms to reflect the gorgeous countryside that we found ourselves in.  It was incredibly important that the products were natural bases, fragranced with pure essential oils that not only had amazing therapeutic effects but also made the products smell pretty good too.  

Each product has its own unique essential oil blend - I wanted the hand wash to be the best you’d ever smelt and the shampoo to be the best hair cleanser you’d ever used and, because the oils naturally have their own benefits, each one stands on its own but they have a citrus base that ties them together as a collection. 

I think understanding the power of smell and how it evokes memories is really powerful.  I always want guests to have that emotive connection between their amazing stay at one of our pubs (The Beckford Group) with our products; subsequently meaning that every time they use the Body Wash at home for example, it will automatically take them back to that happy time away.

We keep that spark alive by not compromising on the ingredients we use, what we have in our bottles now is the same as it was when we launched 16 years ago.

What’s one product you’ve created that you’re especially proud of – and why does it stand out to you?

It’s very hard to pick one product (it’s like asking me to choose my favourite child!) but if I was forced to I think, it would be our Hand Wash.  It was the first product that I created and I wanted the essential oils to give it an uplifting, refreshing and unisex fragrance.  I also knew that it was going to be the product that introduced people to Bramley because everyone washes their hands after they’ve been to the loo (and we’re found in a lot of boutique hotel, restaurant and spa loos!).

I always remember sitting in the Beckford Arms after we opened it and seeing people coming out of the loos smelling their hands.  That was a real stand out moment for me – especially when it was a man!

Now that we’re both proud B Corps, building a better way of doing business feels more meaningful than ever. How do you bring that commitment to life in your work, and how has your approach evolved over time?

It really does feel like we’re part of something meaningful, globally, which is really exciting.  Much like you, when I set up Bramley it was very much with sustainability at its core – no excess packaging, refills as standard, recyclable plastic and fair trade, natural ingredients; and that hasn’t changed over the years, it’s just become even more of our focus and we have introduced compostable refills, work more closely with local suppliers and really look after our team.

On a more personal note, what keeps you inspired and motivated as a founder?

Bramley feels like my first born and I love it like it is.  For me it’s not really work and, as such, I find it constantly inspiring and motivating.  We have a great team and I like to hire people who can do a better job than I do which means that I’m constantly inspired and motivated. 

I am also part of the Buy Women Built community which was started by Sahar Hashemi of Coffee Republic, which is a community of over 1000 female founded companies and I have connected with so many amazing other founders and, when women come together, amazing things happen.  There are no egos, and the mutual support is just incredible.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the world of creative business?

I think you have to really believe in yourself and your talents – as a creative it’s very hard to take things personally and worry about whether people like what you’re doing or not, but it’s so important to drown out the noise and follow your gut.  It’s incredibly brave to put your work out into the big bad world but it’s also the most rewarding feeling if people like it and start buying it.

And finally… What’s next? Is there anything exciting on the horizon you can share with us?

We’ve got some exciting new customers coming on board (one of which I’m afraid I can’t talk about, but let’s just say they’ve got a VERY big house) plus we’re looking to expand our retail presence this year, in the UK but also overseas too.   We’re also looking to work with lots of other fabulous brands like Caroline Gardner, which is one part of my job that I love doing.