About Us
Everyone has a favourite place, ours is Grasmere.
Nestling serenely amongst spectacular Lakeland fells we think it is a unique & magical village. It has much to recommend it - William Wordsworth loved it, tasty Grasmere Gingerbread is made here, we even have our own resident Storyteller, Taffy Thomas.
Easedale Tarn
After our first visit in 1986 it became more and more difficult to tear ourselves away so, in 2001, we decided ‘No more holidays in the Lake District’. We gave up our jobs (& commuting) and moved here.
We found ourselves in Beck Steps Gift Shop close to the site where the original English Lakes Perfumery opened its doors in the 1960s. It had a wonderful reputation for the creation of quality fragrances but, sadly, in 1990s the shop closed. Our Customers were constantly regaling us with their stories of the bijoux shop & perfumes. They shared their happy memories – gifts to Mums, mementos of Weddings, Birthdays & Anniversaries. The least we could do was to track the owners down and bring the perfumes back. This proved to be a very popular decision. Probably because both were inspired by the beauty of the area, the fragrances sat well alongside our own range of natural skin & body care products. When the Perfumery came up for sale in 2005 we didn’t hesitate and Pure Lakes was born.
Grasmere from Alcock Tarn
Whenever we have time we get out onto the fells. Every walk is a revelation with changing seasons, weather & light charming our senses and putting daily cares & worries into perspective. We try to capture something of that to share with you in our products but you will also find photos of the Lake District throughout our site. We hope you will enter the ‘Where am I?’ competition and soon we will be adding our favourite lakeland walks for you to enjoy.
We appreciate how lucky we are to live in this area and we are committed to a running our business in an environmentally friendly way. We have signed up to a scheme that assesses our working practices and helps us to make as little impact as possible. We take an active part in local environmental issues and are very careful in our selection of ingredients and packaging.
We hope our products & our website bring a little of the Lake District into your lives when you can’t join us here in person.
Perfumes & Skin Care Holker Festival
Best wishes,
Iain & Sandra Blackburn