The reste journal

Our sense of smell is, for most people, the strongest of the five senses, and our noses are at their very best when it comes to triggering memories. We all remember by looking at old photographs, we reminisce by listening to music from our childhood or by eating something that we first tasted on a particularly good holiday many moons ago. Our sense of smell however, is miles ahead of our other senses when it comes to evoking memories. The smell of your dad’s cigars, the smell of baking coming from your grandma’s kitchen, remembering school sports day the moment you smell freshly cut grass, the perfume that your favourite aunt used to wear when she got dressed up to the nines on a Saturday night. Now we’re not suggesting that you rush out and buy a bottle of Charlie but we are saying that it's important to be kind to your nostrils.

As well as triggering memories, smells can vastly affect our moods. Fragrances can make us feel relaxed, calm, happy, centred, energetic, nostalgic, creative, festive and even sleepy. Scents such as bergamot can cancel out disproportionate emotions and help us to feel content and stable. The delicate scent of Ylang Yang is the primary ingredient of the icon that is Chanel No. 5. It can boost the immune system and when used in skin care it can be anti ageing. Frankincense can aid digestion and clary sage can help with anxiety and mood swings. There are many other scents that can help with our physical and mental well-being, take a look.

Here at Reste, we fully appreciate the power of smell and all of our essential oils, soaps, candles, facial oils and incense sticks are completely natural so as not to remove any of the valuable properties with artificial fragrances.

Your sense of smell is a vital part of your well-being, treat it kindly.

Did you know nearly all cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti?

Over 25 different plant families contain succulents one of which being the Cactaceae family, better known as cactus.

Succulents are characterised by their distinctly waxy, spiky or hairy exterior, which helps to create a micro habitat around the plant, reducing airflow near their surface which keeps down water loss and creates a bit of shade. 

 These hardy little characters from the desert are beautiful and easy to look after if left to thrive in the right spot. As plant owners our aim is to try to replicate their natural environment to help them flourish. A south facing windowsill is ideal. 

When it comes to watering it's best to leave your succulent or cactus till the soil is bone dry and then soak it under the tap till the water runs out the bottom of the pot as if to mimic the showers from the desert plains. Over the winter months even less water is needed and a few of your succulents lower leaves may start to shrivel and wilt but this is perfectly healthy. 

In the Spring and towards the end of the Summer your plant will benefit from some fertiliser, during the Winter you wont need to bother as the succulent will become semi-dorment and won't actively grow. 

Cacti and succulents are the plants of the moment, and it's not hard to see why, they're beautiful, affordable and easy to look after if you know how. 

Customers often comment on the music that's playing in the shop so I've decided to share our latest Spotify playlists. Here's the first of many, I hope you like it. If you have a Spotify account, just click the link and follow along.

"Boro" is the Japanese word for a type of repairing and mending clothes and bedlinen by careful stitching and patching, which in truth follows much of the British wartime tradition of ‘make do and mend'. But the Japanese word for a similar technique has perhaps come to greater prominence as it does without the dour and joyless connotations, deriving from the more positive sense of ‘mottainai’ or ‘too good to waste’.To modern eyes Boro mending also has an esoteric cultural appeal through a sense of a Japanese attention to detail, expressed through precise technique in the meticulous handling of stitches, pattern and colour.

In the same way as the British mending tradition, it came to the fore during and immediately after WW2 out of pure necessity as a way to preserve and extend the life of clothing and other items, caused by the severe shortages of rationing and general poverty. The repair work often uses a method of stitched mending called "Sashiko" meaning "little stabs" or "little pierce", which has existed in Japan for many centuries.

Maison Bengal Ltd was set up in 2004 after its Director Sheenagh Day returned from living in Dhaka in Bangladesh.
After a number of years spent working in the aid industry, Sheenagh was constantly impressed by the traditional artisanal skills of weaving and basket making she came across in the poorest areas of Bangladesh. In a direct response, she decided to create a fair trade company on her return to the UK, thereby providing a market for some of these very marginalised communities. Using only locally grown natural materials such as jute and hogla (local sea-grass) she started to develop design ideas for a range of different baskets and bags and over a period of time, with close collaboration from her local fair trade partner organisations, built up a collection of different products for sale internationally.

"We work very closely with three fair trade organisations in the country, each one best placed to identify the most marginalised communities in their area and provide training in handicraft production. Maison Bengal works with each group separately to utilise their locally grown natural materials and develop their renowned traditional skills. This combined with our contemporary designs has allowed us to produce a comprehensive range of hand woven products. This process has taken many years of commitment and is a rewarding and constant work in progress."

Maison Bengal now works with over two thousand women throughout Bangladesh, each one in their home environment, enabling them to care for as well as financially support their families.

Shop the story

I was delighted to be invited by 91 Magazine to have a pop up shop at West Elm in November. I love the magazine and having the chance to sell our beautiful products in London's Tottenham Court Road was an opportunity not to be missed. I had a great time, met lots of other independents and really enjoyed talking to people about the things we sell and the makers who craft them. I will definitely be looking for more opportunities to take reste on the road again!

Photos: Yeshen Venema; 91Magazine; reste

Products: Stumpie beeswax candle; Ojo De Dios blanket

Hygge has become the go to concept for marketing executives this winter. Perhaps with such global instability, it is no mystery why this Danish word has become foremost in people's minds. The irony is that hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience, rather than about things. The idea that real wealth is not what we can accumulate but what we have to share.

So what is Hygge? "Hygge has been translated as everything from 'the art of creating intimacy' to 'cosiness of the soul' to 'taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things'," claims Meik Wiking, author of The Little Book Of Hygge. Pronounced Hue-gah, hygge is about being, not having.

Our philosophy at reste is to live simply, to buy less and buy better. We work alongside artisans and makers who contribute to a simpler life through design, function and sustainability. We believe that by filling your home with tools you cherish and allowing their stories to integrate into your every day, you can live a more hyggeligt life.

Louisa Thomsen Brits says in The Book of Hygge "If we consider and care for each object that we keep, we become producers of meaning rather than consumers of goods.

"When we use a simple, handmade item, there is an interplay that takes place between the object and our own emotions and state of mind. We encounter the possibility of simplicity in ourselves in what we hold in our hands. And we touch the life of the maker."

It is clear that we cannot buy our way to a more hyggeligt life but by choosing handmade and well crafted things we can definitely evoke Hygge.

As British designer, Ilse Crawford says, "Craft makes our homes more human."

Products: Ojo De Dios blanket

Photo: Audrie Storme; Kardelen.se

Photo: Fernando Morrisoniesko

Photo: The Healthy Chef

Products: Open weave wool blanket