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Apothecary transformation


In the BBC show Designing the Hebrides, Australian interior designer and author Banjo Beale sets out to breathe new life into homes and businesses across the Outer Hebrides. This year’s series includes a familiar sight for Harris residents in no other than A.S Apothecary.

 

Banjo Beale and Amanda Saurin


The South Harris-based business hopes to increase our connection to our natural environment by providing high-quality products, from face creams to teas and non-alcoholic drinks directly sourced from Harris’ backyards. Hand-picked plants and botanicals are transformed through distilling, tincturing, and a variety of crafting techniques by founder Amanda Saurin and her team. Amanda moved up to Harris from Sussex in 2018, a place she describes as “magic” due to the unparalleled access to nature. Since then, her business has gone from strength to strength and won the Beauty Shortlist Eco Brand of the Year 2024 for sustainable beauty.

What was (arguably) less magical, though, was Amanda’s apothecary, part lab, part shop in Leverburgh. Described as a “big giant tin shed”, Banjo Beale and his team only had a few days and a limited budget to transform the space into Amanda’s creative vision. With the help of Hearachs Iain and Shonnie, Banjo managed to convert Amanda’s reception room into a botanical wonder, using dried flowers, antiques, and upcycled items. As a bit of Isle wisdom shared by Iain tells us: “Mas chumas rud air seachd bliadhna, thu feum air” (if you keep something for seven years, you’ll find a use for it).

Amanda was thrilled by her new space: “My experience of filming was really wonderful. Banjo understood the brief and they all went the extra mile to deliver it.” When we asked if she was still happy with her new design, Amanda shared: “When people walk through the door and gasp with delight at the design it makes me so happy. Good design can really speak a thousand words – in this case, it invites people into our world the second they enter the space”.

 

You can catch Designing the Hebrides on BBC Iplayer. Visit A.S Apothecary online at asapoth.com or at their newly transformed shop at 1, Pier Road, Leverburgh, HS5 3UB. 

 

 

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