A Wellness Brand's Love Letter To Somerset

Forbes

a day ago

Bruton High Street in Somerset is not the most obvious place to find an emporium of cutting-edge design. On the face of it, this looks like any other small town in rural England. But tucked away amid the 18th- and 19th-century storefronts is Commune, a light-drenched boutique that is home to a wellness brand rooted in the Somerset countryside but with a fashion-savvy backbone. Step inside, and your senses are hit by the scents of the wild: lavender, clary sage, lemongrass and cypress combine to whisper in the air.
Offering body products, scents and candles, the idea for Commune came about in lockdown. While everyone else was banging their pans on the doorstep and waiting for the 5pm news, husband and wife duo, Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux, were busy bringing an ambitious idea to life that had been simmering for a while.
'Nature is our Reprieve' is Commune's tagline.
Both Kate and Rémi's careers have criss-crossed the high-wire of high fashion. Kate's CV includes stints as merchandising director at LVMH; while Rémi's pedigree lies in a prior role as art director at Dazed & Confused Magazine and brand image director for Gucci. After he was head-hunted to become the brand creative director for Lululemon, the pair and their family decamped to Vancouver.
'It was a big change from working in fashion in Europe,' says Kate. 'The biggest difference was the lifestyle. It's true what everyone says: in Canada, it's all about the outdoors, no matter what the weather is doing, and people are a lot more connected to nature. We embraced it all and it was there that the idea for Commune began to take root.'
Inside the Commune store in Bruton.
While in Vancouver, Kate began a perfumery course with iconic natural perfumer and 'nose', Mandy Aftel, hopping on flights to San Francisco to see her. 'The idea of 'distilling' the essence of nature had long been a somewhat whimsical passion of mine but then, under the guidance of Mandy, it began to take shape—I learnt so much. She is a master of perfumery,' she says.
When rumours of a lockdown began to circulate, the couple decided to move back to the UK, with the idea of launching a brand together, setting up home in the idyllic village of Bratton Seymour.
'It was a wonderful time,' Kate and Rémi recall. 'The hamlet is very small, so it meant we got to know a lot of our neighbours well—going on long walks, cooking for each other and watching the rhythms of nature.'
Kate at work at the perfume organ.
The name of the brand, Commune, is a reflection of this time and the strong community that they were part of; while the brand's signature scent, Seymour, is a nod to the village they live in. The fragrance is one that Kate laboured over, collaborating with a local natural perfumer (who fortuitously also lived in the same village) to produce a multi-layered perfume that blossoms on the skin.
'I wanted something that would conjure up spring—new life and fresh blooms, yet it had to have an earthiness to it, giving a hint of wet earth,' she says. The resulting fragrance is Commune's hero one and is used across its core products of bath salts, body wash, body and hand cream, shampoo, and conditioner.
Elevate your bathtime with Commune.
Seymour is, in fact, an ode to Somerset, amplified with its notes of lavender, lemongrass and clary sage blended with Spanish cypress, Japanese hiba wood and geranium. The brand's solid perfume, which comes in a chic black metal case, like a retro compact, showcases it to its full glory.
The design calls on English folklore and motifs of the Somerset surroundings.
When it comes to the design, Rémi was meticulous about the detailing. The butter-lemon bottles are large and chunky (refillable and less transport needed) with a design that echoes the arch of the windows of a nearby chapel. A Gothic, curvy 'O' shape, which Rémi calls the 'Eclipse', is a motif that is repeated throughout—from the shape of the perfume cases to the top of the specially-designed pump of the bottles. Woven into the aesthetic are nods to olde English folklore and the surrounding rolling countryside. 'Nature is our Reprieve' is the tagline found on all the products.
This 'care for nature' ethos is also carried through to the brand's sustainable and green credentials, which sees the bottles made out of lightweight aluminium, meaning they are fully recyclable, with reusable pumps, no single-use plastic and formulas made with no harsh chemicals. 'The word 'sustainable' is over-used,' says Rémi. 'So, we like to simply say that we are doing our best to be as conscious as we can be.'
The brand offers luxurious self-care products.
Since launching, the brand is now well on the way to finding its place next to world-renowned luxury names, being stocked in Harrods and Liberty in the UK and Alder & Co and Remedy Place, a social wellness club, in the US, not to mention in a clutch of beautifully-curated stores across the world that align with the brand's ethos. The products are also found at some of the UK's most beautiful hotels, such as Estelle Manor, Oxfordshire and The Newt (found a few miles down the road from Commune).
'In retail terms, Commune sits on the shelf next to brands such as Diptyque and Aesop,' says Kate. 'But, of course, we like to think it stands on its own. What sets us apart from bigger names are our responsible credentials, the story-telling that is woven through everything and the fact we are 100% hands-on as founders.'
The store is found in the heart of Bruton.
Most notable of all is Commune's bricks-and-mortar store that opened in Bruton last year, and works not only as a window for the brand, but plays host to perfumery workshops led by Kate. 'We see that side of the business growing in the future,' says Kate. 'With more hands-on, immersive projects. People are seeking that connection.'
It turns out that Commune is in the most fitting place, for Bruton itself is a hive of artisan activity. The market town is one that is thriving with stores and restaurants that champion craftsmenship and the arts. A few doors down, for instance, is Philo & Philo, a vintage homeware shop owned by fashion designer, Phoebe Philo's mother and sister; nearby is Hauser + Wirth Somerset, a gallery and restaurant carved out of a former farmstead; while The Chapel Bruton is a boutique hotel with in-house artisan bakery and wine store.
'It is a unique and wonderful place to be,' says Kate. 'There is so many like-minded people here and it really does feel like a creative place to live.'
Soon to be launched are perfumery workshops at Commune.
In the store, you'll pass by the central terrarium filled with moss and plants, to find a white-washed back-room, where visitors can take part in curated perfumery lessons at Kate's bespoke perfume organ ('It was crafted by a local craftsmen out of rare Somerset walnut,' Kate reveals). It is a playground of perfumery, with some 200 different perfume oils to dip into.
As well as the recently launched soy and beeswax candle collection, which come with chunky marble trays and are an olfactory riff on the notions of dusk and dawn, the brand is set to launch its second scent, Montague. This time, the fragrance will capture the essence of summer, with heady notes of night blooming jasmine, green mandarin, kumquat and Siberian fir. This, too, is named after a local village—Bratton Seymour.
Lox and Nox are the two different candles which are an olfactory play on dawn and dusk.
'Eventually, we will have a scent for each season and each will be named after a Somerset village,' says Kate. 'We have it all planned. After all, Commune is made with love in Somerset and that is where you'll find us.'