Our Story

OUR STORY

Established 2021

The story of C.Atherley began in 2016 when our founder Cath Kidston Padgham stepped away from work at her eponymous brand. After years of commuting, she found she had lots of time to spend in her garden at home in the Cotswolds. She treated herself to a greenhouse, something she had always longed for, and set about growing a collection of geraniums, a plant she had loved since childhood. She was interested in the scented leaf pelargonium varieties and in particular learning about the extraordinary properties of these plants, each with their own distinctive fragrances. It turned out to be a strangely peaceful and uplifting time.

Fascinated by her growing collection of plants, Cath began to think about capturing these beautiful fragrances and recreating the mood each one evoked in products. The fragrances have been used for centuries for a variety of medical purposes, in perfumes, aromatherapy, and body care products. A concept began to build of a company specialising only in authentic geranium fragrances that would make a range of exquisite body care and home fragrance products, taking the customer on a journey from her greenhouse to bottle.

For those who are not familiar with scented leaf pelargoniums (often referred to as scented leaf geraniums), their flowers have no scent, but their leaves, when rubbed or touched, release and emit an extraordinary array of fragrances. The plants have very decorative leaves and small, usually pale pink, lilac, or lavender flowers, but it is the fragrances that are used for a variety of purposes, in perfumes, aromatherapy, body care products, and insect repellent. They are also popular in teas and recipes. Within the species, the following common scents can be found:

A unique idea began to form of how to bottle those magical fragrances that Cath had experienced in her greenhouse into something uplifting that could capture that mood in everyday life. A chance meeting with old friends in the body care world, Denis and Lesley Aaronson (who Cath had worked with many years before), led to them soon teaming up to form C.Atherley, a company Cath named after her grandmother and in memory of the women in her family who loved gardening.

A partnership was formed with Denis and Lesley’s business, Heathcote and Ivory, who had the expertise to make the product sustainably via their manufacturing and distribution channels, with Cath heading up the creative lead on fragrance, product, and marketing.

The priority was to select the varieties of plants for fragrances, each distinctive with their own character and benefits, and to form the backbone of the business. Six plants were selected, providing a clear vision of how the ranges would unfold. Each fragrance takes approximately two years to develop.

We now have three ranges on our shelves, with one more to follow in the New Year. Within the collections are a variety of bath, body care, and home fragrance products, from hand creams to body oils, candles, and room sprays, each with distinct characteristics and fragrances:

Geranium No.1
Pelargonium (p) Radens – a classic geranium fragrance with a heady mix of rose, lemon, cedar, and mint. This scent brings uplifting and calming properties.

Geranium No.2
Pelargonium (p) Tomentosum – an earthy, minty scent with woody notes. The peppery scent has grounding and warming properties.

Geranium No.3
Pelargonium (p) Mabel Grey – a fresh and leafy sherbet lemon fragrance, said to be uplifting and invigorating (and also thought to ward away bugs).

It has been a meticulous journey capturing these fragrances. Cath nurtures the plants in her greenhouse, which are then taken to our apothecarist in the West Country. Working directly from the leaves, each fragrance is created using a combination of pure essential oils.

We set ourselves the challenge of using natural ingredients as much as possible. Our products are made of at least 90% natural components, and our fragrances are a blend of 100% natural essential oils. We are proud to produce and bottle our products here in the UK.

The packaging is produced by Cath’s design studio, with illustrations drawn from life to reflect each plant fragrance within. Inspired by old green apothecary vials, our glass bottles are recyclable, as is all our paper packaging. We strive to keep sustainability at the core of what we do.

The product ranges now offer both home and body products, with corresponding textile accessories providing a window into Cath’s history as a renowned print and pattern designer.

The company started trading with an online presence in March 2023, alongside an introductory pop-up shop at the legendary Pentreath & Hall. In May 2023, we brought a slice of the greenhouse to Chelsea in the form of a pop-up installation at Anthropologie on the Kings Road.

Since then, the business has grown organically to find a home in its own store at 3 Porchester Place in Central London. Little did we know we would discover such an ever-growing community of pelargonium lovers who visit us from all around the world.

Products can also be found on the shelves of 60 specialist, independently owned stores across the UK and America.

We would love for you to join our growing geranium community. Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on @c.atherleylondon to watch our journey unfold.