Tales from the Apothecary: From the Smithy to the Castle

There are weeks at Pippin’s when I wonder what on earth I’ve done with seven whole days.

Then I look back and realise I’ve restocked an apothecary, filled the shelves with tarot cards, ordered a machine to save me from filling bottles with an enormous syringe, and somehow ended the week selling Sweeping Besom tea in a Norman Great Hall.

So, apparently, quite a lot happened.

A little stitching, a lot of witching

The week began with Witch & Stitch, which had done its usual little dance around the diary before finally landing on Monday evening.

There was knitting, crochet, chatting, tea drinking and the sort of conversation that only happens when you put a group of crafty witches around a table together. As ever, how much actual stitching occurred is probably open to interpretation.

But that’s rather the point of Witch & Stitch. It’s as much about having somewhere to come, sit down and spend an evening with lovely people as it is about producing anything recognisable from a ball of wool.

Filling the shelves again

Most of the rest of my week disappeared into restocking. After the Great Stocktake the week before, I knew exactly where all the gaps were.

Unfortunately, knowing where the gaps are and filling the gaps are two entirely different things. So the Old Smithy became a production line again. Teas, lotions, mists, balms, candles and assorted potions gradually made their way back onto the shelves. A special thanks to Julie for all the help.

There have been a few changes happening too. The room mists and hand lotions are now looking rather lovely in their new amber bottles, and I’ve been simplifying some of the candle range so that everything is a little easier to make, stock and, importantly, keep affordable.

The Apothecary Candles are now £10, and the Elemental candles will be moving into the same lovely apothecary jars. Small changes, but ones that make an enormous difference behind the scenes.

And because apparently I have finally reached the limits of my patience with filling bottles by hand, I’ve also ordered a proper filling machine. Those of you who have witnessed me filling bottles with a giant syringe will understand why this is possibly the most exciting piece of machinery ever purchased.

Something new on the shelves

The tarot cards arrived!

I’ve wanted to add a small selection of decks for a while, but I didn’t want to fill the shop with dozens of them just for the sake of it. So I’ve started with a carefully chosen little collection and we’ll see which ones you all fall in love with.

They’ve already settled into the Old Smithy rather nicely.

There is something quite satisfying about seeing tarot decks amongst the teas, candles, herbs and bottles. They look as though they’ve always belonged there.

From the Smithy to the Castle

And then came Saturday. For Rutland Day, Pippin’s Potions packed up a little corner of the Old Smithy and moved into Oakham Castle for the day.

There was something rather pleasing about that journey. The Old Smithy itself belongs to the Lord of the Manor of Oakham, so for the day Pippin’s effectively travelled from the Lord of the Manor’s Smithy to his Castle.

Not a particularly long journey geographically, but quite an impressive one for a little apothecary. And goodness, what a place to have a stall.

The Great Hall is extraordinary, with its ancient stonework, enormous timber roof and walls covered in the famous ceremonial horseshoes presented to the Lord of the Manor over hundreds of years.

There we were, right in the middle of it all, with HANDMADE IN RUTLAND proudly across the front of the stall.

There was something rather special about that.

Everything I took with me had been made by me here in Rutland. The teas were blended here. The candles poured here. The lotions, balms, room mists and all the other little bottles and jars had travelled only a few miles from the Old Smithy to end up inside one of Rutland’s most remarkable buildings.

And you were wonderful. People stopped to smell things, ask questions, chat and discover products they hadn’t seen before. The herbal teas had another excellent outing, and I was particularly pleased to see the newamber Room Mists being so well received.

So a huge thank you to everyone who came over to say hello, stopped for a chat, had a sniff, discovered something new or took a little piece of Pippin’s home with them.

It was a fantastic day, and we loved being part of it.

Back to the Old Smithy

And so today we’re back home.

The shelves have inevitably developed gaps again, because apparently the reward for spending a week restocking is needing to restock.

There are candles to make, teas to blend, calendula quietly infusing away, new things being tested and rather a lot happening behind the scenes for autumn and Christmas.

But for one Saturday, our little apothecary from the Old Smithy got to sit beneath the horseshoes at Oakham Castle.

And I think that’s rather lovely.

Until next week,

Sammy x