january-2012

Serena Linley’s lavenderperfumed
products capture
the essence of Provence
PRIVATPERSON
help it. Her husband David has given her
advice, especially because she says he is
particularly proud of her. But when in
France, Serena takes charge, as she is the
only fl uent French speaker, with David
patiently awaiting her translations of
what is going on.
He also loves the lavender oil
making, and ‘jumps into his red 2CV [it
has their names embroidered onto the
linen head rests] and chases the lorry full
of the harvest to help unload at the
nearby artisan factory to speed up the
distilling as they only have an incredibly
short period of time to get the best oil’.
It sounds simple, but it’s obviously
deceptively hard to create such a refi ned
product. Th e attention to detail is superb at
the soap factory: they discard all the waste,
never reusing it as some soap factories do.
Th e elegant grey-marl boxes are embossed
with a dragonfl y – ‘A good luck symbol,
they have a long life, and 70 per cent of all
Fifty-Four
‘We’ve been vigilant in
making the very best
quality; we’ve poured
our energy into it’
dragonfl ies in France live in Provence;
they’re also strong creatures,’ says Linley.
Th ere’s nothing shouty or bling about the
business, and every eff ort is made to source
ingredients and products locally, even
commissioning the local basket-maker for
kitting out the new shop. Th en Linley’s
scented candles come in grey Murano glass
holders and the soaps have a tiny dot of
gold leaf on them. ‘We’ve been vigilant in
making the very best quality; we’ve poured
our energy into it,’ she says.
So has Linley embraced business
moguldom? Is she now planning global
expansion? ‘I’m extremely tempted by the
Far East, but I want to think it out and
take my time. I’d love to have a place in
Hong Kong.’ One thing is for sure, her
knack for making ease and simplicity
available to the rest of us is always going
to turn heads; her style stands out from
the crowd for all the right reasons.
www.serenalinley.com
IMAGE©AXIOM