Perfume-making from body wisdom & nature connectionSunday 15th November 2026 · 10am–5pm
The Craft Room, Lavenham, Suffolk
Mixing the wisdom of the plants with the wisdom of our bodies
Smell is the sense that skips the thinking mind and goes straight to memory, emotion and knowing. Before it became an industry, perfume was medicine, ritual and communication with the plant world. This workshop takes you back there and sends you home with a perfume made entirely by you.
Who it’s for: Women and men who’d like to make their own perfume and, through the process, learn what makes the scents possible. No experience needed. Max 12 people, so it stays hands-on and personal.
Why we’re doing this: To connect people with the extraordinary world of plants through the sense that gets the least attention: smell. And yet smell, like the gut, can be a powerful source of knowing — informing our decisions in an intoxicating, playful and intuitive way.
You will learn:
The stories behind aromas: The history from Cleopatra to the modern fragrance industry. We trace how perfume moved from plant communication to the commercial product — and what got lost along the way.
Meet the plants: Hands-on contact with aromatic oils through their families. From the citrus family - lemon, lime and orange, to the earthy and balsamic - vetiver, patchouli and frankincense. To the florals - neroli, geranium and jasmine, with many more explored. Plants are the life force of a perfume, direct from source.
The distillation process: How medicinal and aromatic oils are liberated from plants to bottle.
Create your own recipe: Working with base, heart and head notes, connecting to the plants and your instinct to build your unique scent.
The wider environmental context: using smell as a form of knowing, we will connect with the landscape and explore what the plants and bees have to teach us about health and community.
Making a perfume: You’ll leave with a personalised perfume and a different relationship with your own sense of smell. Alongside the knowledge and confidence to smell, play and blend plant aromatics.
Who we are
Natalie Garden is a mother, aromatherapist and massage practitioner who creates her own range of organic skin products and natural perfume.
Deborah Richmond is a systemic practitioner and land guardian of Bee Farm, working with the wisdom held in bees, bodies and landscapes.
Details
10am–5pm · The Craft Room, Lavenham, Suffolk. Arrive 9.45am.
Price £105. Lunch included.
£50 deposit secures place, remaining balance two weeks before workshop. If you can no longer attend, your place can be given to someone else or transferred to a future workshop.
To confirm place: Email: [email protected]. WhatsApp: 07855 410054
Event venue
Lavenham, Suffolk, 6 Sutherland Gardens, London, SW14 8DB, United Kingdom, Isleworth
Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.