Firstly a big welcome to you all, and a big thank you to all our customers who have bought our products and been so encouraging to us.  We thought we would start a blog so that we can keep you updated with all that is going on at Hope Street and also hear back from you your thoughts and ideas.  If there are things you would like to know or would like us to discuss, then please let us know.  We want to know what you like and don’t like, so please take part in the conversation.

The Hope Street journey probably started about.....  6 years ago when we ordered our first organic veg box from Abel & Cole.  We had moved from South of London to Northamptonshire and our ideas and thinking about life were starting to change quite rapidly.  We started to think about what was in our food, how it was grown and where it came from – all questions that had not previously interested us.  We signed up to the monthly magazine ‘The Ecologist’ and read numerous books including Leo Hickman’s amusing story ‘A Life Stripped Bare.’  After searching the web to identify strange looking vegetables and for recipes for what do to with them, our attention also turned to our toiletries and to finding out what some of the long names in the ingredient lists were and why we needed to cover ourselves with them.

I had discovered an online shop where I bought our ‘natural’ shower gels from, which were handmade.  This later gave me the idea to attend a course to find out how to make some of my own products.  I left there so excited with my little tester pots of moisturising lotion and shampoo, that I eagerly bought various oils and other goodies to start creating my own products at home.  With much trial and error, constant hours spent learning on the internet and my family and friends testing everything that I came up with, I had some pretty good products.  Wanting to learn more, I took a Diploma in Natural Skincare, which gave me the confidence to have my products certified and Hope Street was born.

Last year we started to attend various fairs, where we always meet interesting and wonderful people who have been so encouraging to us.  Earlier this year we registered all our products with The Vegan Society, so that you can be assured that they only contain plant derived ingredients and are not tested on animals.  Hope Street has been a huge learning curve from trying to produce fully waterproof labels, to adding new products to our range.  We currently have cleansers and toners out on trial and are starting to get back positive feedback, so hopefully they will be available to you soon.  Let us know if there is anything in particular you would like us to make.  We love a challenge!

Gill