miller harris journal

by candlelight...

2012-02-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

old postcards

2012-02-01T07:21:00.000-08:00

something for a rainy tuesday

2012-01-24T06:35:00.000-08:00

landscapes in london

2012-01-23T08:53:00.000-08:00

Looking forward to this...

in the lab...

2012-01-23T08:42:00.000-08:00

Here's a beautiful set of photos taken in Lyn's Notting Hill lab by one of her good friends. Check out the original post and an interview (if you can read French!) on her blog Ma Récréation here...

three wise essences

2012-01-18T08:13:00.000-08:00

Our three new natural essences are getting a lot of love this winter, so for all of you who have a bottle, we thought we'd suggest a few uses to help get the most from them...

Frankincense Essence Somalia

Frankincense from Somalia

Valued since ancient times for its medicinal and aromatic applications, frankincense is a clean, sweet and fresh oil. One of its most effective uses is to calm the nerves and clear the mind in stressful moments or when you just can't 'turn off'. Just add a couple of drops to a clean tissue and inhale...

Lemon Essence Sicily

Italian lemon trees

Clean smelling and fresh, lemon oil has multiple uses. Use a few drops in the dishwasher to add freshness or when cleaning surfaces - it's a great disinfectant.

The uplifting properties of lemon are also really interesting. A couple of drops on a tissue can be really revitalising and can help bring energy after a long or hard day.

Lavender Essence Sault

Fields of lavender growing in Sault, France

Lavender is a classic, clean and relaxing fragrance for the home and the body. We love that it's a natural anti-biotic and has even been proved to promote healing, so add a couple of drops to damp cotton wool for cuts and bruises. In the home, dilute some in hot water to clean floors and pour down the sink to get rid of bad smells.

Its calming scent can also help with nervous tension and stress; a couple of drops inhaled from a tissue is a great influence if you're feeling run down. Anxiety, sleep and bunged-up feelings from a cold can all be aided in this way. Try a few drops in a hot bath for a bit of theraputic soothing...

a soapy classic...

2012-01-13T08:04:00.000-08:00

We've been raving about these classic Marseille soaps in our stores for a while now and still feel like they're a little secret... perhaps it's time to share?

Made in the most traditional way in the south of France, these pure soaps work perfectly with the zesty Tangerine Vert - the scent of sweet citrus fruits combined with mature, fresh greenery. What's more, they're packed with pure ingredients including moisturising olive oil, so they're great for the skin.

A lovely update on a real classic...

one of the first batches is ready to test!

original soap moulds in the factory

...and ready to sell in our shops!

All gifts great and small...Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-15T03:55:00.000-08:00

With only 10 days left until Christmas we're all getting in the festive mood at Miller Harris. Our beautiful minature Christmas trees are enough to give anyone that festive feeling. We love them!!!

Some great ideas for those last minute Christmas gifts. Our new 615g double wick candle and our mini candles are the perfect answer.

It wouldn't be Christmas without the mince pies!!!

Come along and enjoy our sweet treats at Bruton Street...!

2011-10-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

Cupcakes made with limited edition buttercream icings that change with the seasons

Some of our personal favourites...Chocolate Brownies, American Style Cupcakes and Ginger Cake.

We also have beautiful Violet flower pots available in store

Something new at Bruton Street...

2011-10-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

Just had to share our new look in Bruton St... The tea room is so cute!! Has beautiful cakes from violet cakes who we are all mad about at Miller Harris....

And have a look at some of our new products for winter...!

Bois Votive Candle Gift Set

Feuilles de Tabac Shaving Cream

La Fumée & Fleur Oriental Incense and handmade ceramic holder

Papier Peint

2011-09-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful wallpaper looks nowhere better than on actual walls, so we were delighted to see that Le Bon Marché in Paris had used the different designs to decorate their changing rooms...

Lovely! Miller Harris is currently showcased at the LBM's SO LONDON expo, with a range of products including the wallpaper, which can also be found on our website here.

And here's how we do it here at the Bruton Street store, using one of the favourites, Triple Sea Fig in Dark Grey...

Some exciting things over in New York...

2011-09-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

... where the guests at WIE Presents Ladies Night Cocktail Hour and Gala Dinner at Le Caprice were spotted with their Miller Harris bags. Rumour has it Alek Wek asked for three as she is such a fan!

Anouck Lepere

Our newest candle: vibrant Tangerine Vert...

Alek Wek

Interior / Exterior

2011-09-19T07:19:00.000-07:00

If you're in London soon, take some time out to visit the current Pavillion at the Serpentine gallery, which is running until October 16th.

A rather dominating, dark structure by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, you slowly enter to find Dutch designer Piet Oudolf's wild garden enclosed within the central walls...

Find out more here...

A candle lit botanical garden...

2011-09-14T05:11:00.000-07:00

Here's some snaps of our Bruton Street store, featuring the candle lit botanical garden made to celebrate Vogue's Fashion Night Out 2011 and the launch of La Pluie & La Fumée last week... we had a great time and hope everybody there enjoyed it too!

a fragrance & candle bar in the store...

free samples of the Miller Harris fragrances...

You are invited to the...

2011-08-31T04:06:00.001-07:00

We all hope this September wont be bringing colder weather, shorter days and that last reminder that the summer is over. But even if it does, we’ll be far too busy celebrating on Vogue's ‘Fashion’s Night Out’ to notice! Next Thursday 8th September our flagship Bruton Street store will be transformed into a whimsical, magical candle-lit wonderland.

Last year we turned our store into a mini market in the centre of Mayfair which went down a treat with FNO attendees!

And of course, we couldn’t hold such a fabulous evening without our two star guests: the new Miller Harris fragrances La Pluie and La Fumée.

It’s sure to be a fashion frenzy of stylistas, celebrities and shoppers from Manhattan to Milan, and we can’t wait to get started at fashion’s BIGGEST party…

Lyn’s Handmade creation for Wallpaper* Magazine

2011-07-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, Lyn was asked by Wallpaper* Magazine to create an exclusive product for their ‘Handmade’ issue – with one stipulation, it couldn’t be a fragrance.

Lyn’s natural affection for the raw and natural essences of her products made this the perfect project for her. Moving her focus from the Miller Harris fragrance collection, Lyn looked towards her olive oils and settled on a cucumber oil – something that has never been created before.

Lyn said: “Cucumber is just one of the freshest, most green notes so it seemed almost obvious to incorporate it into an olive oil. I applied the pure cucumber essence to a peppery base to really balance it out.”

The Miller Harris Cucumber Olive Oil is available to purchase here.

New additions!

2011-07-12T04:09:00.000-07:00

We've been hinting at it for a few weeks now, so it's high time that we revealed to you our soon-to-be-released additions to the Miller Harris fragrance collection!

Introducing La Pluie and La Fumée - seen here at a press launch we recently held at our Notting Hill boutique. Don't you just love the wallpaper Lyn created especially to complement the new fragrance boxes?

These beautiful hydrangeas decorated the shop both inside and out and were perfectly selected by Lyn to match the colour of the La Pluie box...

Blue and grey bunting added some joviality to the interior too in matching hues to both La Pluie and La Fumée. Attendees included Vogue and Grazia amongst lots of other Miller Harris devotees - all eager to catch a sniff of our newest scents.

Lyn describes the new La Pluie as "an exotic rain storm with lots of white flowers and a secret rain cloud accord", whilst La Fumée is a "smokey woody swirl that surrounds you – perfectly addictive!".

La Pluie and La Fumée will be available to sample and pre-order in-store throughout August, with the new fragrances launching properly in mid-September.

Lyn's Lab Assistant, Caroline, heads home on her bike after the launch!

Lyn visits her Moroccan haven

2011-06-21T05:58:00.000-07:00

“I go to this special place just outside Marrakech owned by a wonderful Moroccan and American couple. They cook their food with ingredients fresh from the gardens – and it’s not in a tagine all the time!

Their afternoon teas with mint tea, homemade chocolate cakes and rosemary shortbread are amazing.

A beautiful tea in a truly beautiful setting

Their breakfasts too are divine with traditional pancakes served up with their own homemade honey.

Delicious!

They are known for their beautiful gardens filled with orange trees, rosemary as tall as the house and jasmine that catches your breath. The pomegranates are exquisite in September!

Glorious pomegranates

Orange flowers can be smelled for miles around!

This time, I visited with my sister and our two boys, aged 5 and 8. We all went on a
special walk with the owner around all of the fragrant flowers and trees. The boys
were interestingly well behaved and inspired us all with their interpretations of what they smelled! Perhaps we have two perfumers in the making – it was lovely to see.”

Fig leaves scatter the ground

‘Snowball plants’ – filled with naturally wet white flowers

The fresh grapefruits are exquisite – and have even inspired a future fragrance!

Happy Father’s Day

2011-06-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

We have thoroughly enjoyed receiving some fabulous photos and stories for our competition over the past week. Following our draw yesterday evening, we’re thrilled to announce the winner of the Feuilles de Tabac gift box as Ethan and his very helpful dad. Here’s Ethan’s wining entry:

"I love my dad because he is my best friend and shares his snacks with me. We also do things together. Recently me and my friends went to the woods with my dad to collects sticks for a barbeque in our back garden then he made us nice burgers for lunch."

Congratulations Ethan and your lucky dad, and thank you too all who entered!

Happy Father’s Day to all the special dads out there.

A piece of the tropics in London...

2011-06-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

The rain! Despite the sun's best efforts to shine through the clouds this week, it seems like more of the wet stuff is on its way to us soon... but we can't complain when it makes the Miller Harris garden so beautiful.

The green space at the back of our Needham Road store is a special thing indeed. Planted from bulbs and seeds just over eleven years ago, it's now a lush corner of London that feels tropical on a day like today. The location is also the site of our original store and, of course, home to Lyn's laboratory where all the fragrances are created.

A haven in the city...

In love with lavender

2011-06-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

We adore lavender. In fact, Lyn admires it so much that she’s used the pure essence of this gorgeous purple flower in two new products: our Lavender Essence, for use around the home, and a new Lavender Soap (pictured above).

With wonderful calming and medicinal properties, lavender has a multitude of uses. Of her new Lavender essence, Lyn says: “Lavender oil is a natural antiseptic and can be used throughout the home. I use a drop in all my washing. An essential for the first aid cabinet, lavender oil works wonders on cuts and bruises and can also be applied to damp cotton wool to make a compress.”

Try a drop in your iron for incredible smelling laundry, or ensure complete relaxation with a dash in your evening bath – perfect for ensuring a good night’s sleep.

Win a Father's Day gift

2011-06-03T08:05:00.001-07:00

Father’s Day is nearly upon us. If you haven’t thought about what gift to get your lovely dad yet, never fear! We're holding a fabulous competition, giving you the chance to win a luxurious gift that will guarantee to put a smile on his face.

For your chance to win a Feuilles de Tabac gift box, complete with 100ml fragrance and matching candle, simply email a photo of yourself with your father along with a story or anecdote about them, to competition@millerharris.com.

The winner will be chosen from a random prize draw at 5.30pm on on Wednesday 15th June and will be announced shortly afterwards here on the blog - just in time to send your prize by next day delivery in time for your dad's special day. Good luck!

Competition terms and conditions apply.

Little drops of heaven

2011-05-27T03:16:00.000-07:00

For one of our newest additions to the Miller Harris collection, Lyn wanted to create something that captured the pure essence of our most revered scents. These modest little bottles hold within them the raw material of the scent on top of a natural oil base, making them perfect for a multitude of uses. Try a couple of drops in your bath, or even massage into your skin and nails for a nourishing addition to your usual perfume.

Lyn’s Italian Love Affair

2011-05-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

10 Corso Como

Earlier this month, Lyn took a trip to Milan for an interview with Italian Elle. Whenever Lyn visits Italy's fashion capital she insists on staying at the '3 Rooms' hotel in the heart of the city, describing the intimate setting as a “little haven in the middle of Milan”.

The 3 Rooms sits nestled behind 10 Corso Como – Milan's galleria-style concept store founded over two decades ago by Carla Sozzani (sister to Franca Sozzani, the current editor-in-chief at Vogue Italia). Lyn adores 10 Corso Como with its eclectic blend of fashion, art and design. Though what she loves about the store above all else is the ivy-coated courtyard that it is known for - and the springtime smells of jasmine and lemon trees that embrace every visitor.

Lyn’s view from her terrace

An arcade in Bologna

Sweetness and light

2011-05-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

Our candle range has grown this week with the introduction of our beautiful Edit Collection. Comprising three heavenly natural wax designs, the collection has been created to offer an addition to every room of your home; the aromatic Bois Sauvage pillar candle, the double wicked Bois Figuier candle and a set of Bois Fum¢ dinner candles.

Lyn worked with one of the oldest candle manufacturers in the world for this collection, bringing together her perfumery expertise with the talents of the Spanish-based candlemakers.

Breakfast at Bruton Street

2011-05-20T02:09:00.000-07:00

Our fragrant teas have been going down a storm this week with guests at our Bruton Street store. Only available until this Friday, our tea room has been brimming with visitors eager to savour some Melrose & Morgan English muffins topped with our delicious Orange Blosson Marmalade! http://www.millerharris.com/tea/the-bigarade

Lady Marmalade

2011-02-16T02:41:00.000-08:00

Lighter mornings make for longer breakfasts and our current obsession is our own blend of marmalade, made with organic Seville oranges, lemons from the Amalfi coast and Tunisian orange blossom. Watch this space as we’ll soon be selling it in our Bruton Street store. But if you can’t wait until then, you can still get your citrus fix from our citron olive oil, bigarade breakfast tea or Citron Citron Eau de Toilette.

Valentines Violets

2011-02-10T04:48:00.000-08:00

We take delivery tomorrow of some beautiful Cornish Violets to sell outside the shop on Bruton Street. The flowers come from a family farm at Hayle in Cornwall. Both the North and South Coasts can be seen from the farm with views of St Micheal's Mount at Marazion to Penzance around to the point of St Ives then over to Godrevey Lighthouse and further up the north coast.

We will all be treating ourselves to a little bunch on Monday!

Come on Spring!

2011-02-09T04:23:00.000-08:00

The last few days have seen such incredibly welcome bursts of Spring sunshine that we're desperate for those first shoots of green to appear and to smell Spring in the air finally.

In order to get ourselves ready we are busy spraying all our linens with our flower waters to make them smell of Spring flowers, using a few drops of lavender oil from the shops in water to clean down all our wood floors and surfaces and are planning a delivery of Cornish daffodils to sell outside our Bruton Street shop in March.

The hope is that we will encourage Spring into action!

Savoy Candles

2011-02-03T07:01:00.000-08:00

We have just taken delivery in the office of some of the candles we have made exclusively for the newly re-launched Savoy Hotel in the heart of London. They smell so heavenly, rather like the Savoy itself! The fragrance is called 'Cologne 1888' and is a gentle fragrance with green notes combined with bitter orange, bergamot, Sicilian lemon, marjoram, thyme, basil and rosemary on a base of musk and amber. Available to buy from our Bruton Street and Monmouth Street shops from Friday 11th Feb.

The fragrance is also used in the products you find in all the bedrooms, even in the £10,000 per/night Royal Suite!

We also have our wonderful, much loved Citron Citron hand wash and hand lotion in the bathrooms in all the communal areas. I don't think we could be more proud or excited of this collaboration.

Our wallpaper travels to Paris!

2011-01-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

Spotted on a French website, and used as a backdrop to a amazing/disturbing (delete as you wish) image of a taxidermy duckling from ubber hip taxidermists Deyrolle is our 'Pom Flower' wallpaper in aubergine!

January 2011

2011-01-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

Well all the shops have cleared away Christmas and we are all looking forward to an exciting 2011.

There are lots of lovely things planned, firstly that we are going to start selling our tea loose, and will weigh out for the customer rather than always in tins. A small, but fun change for the staff in our Bruton Street shop!

We have recently launched our best selling hand wash and hand lotion in our fresh, woody fragrance, Terre de Bois. Perfect for a bit of newness in the kitchen!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-12-24T05:04:00.000-08:00

This year has been full of great projects and products, next year we also have all sorts of lovely things planned including a very exciting candle project, so watch this space....thank you for reading over the last year, enjoy the festive season with family and friends and we'll be back in 2011. xxx

A true sign of Christmas

2010-12-10T05:39:00.000-08:00

Spotted in the heart of Mayfair and putting a smile on our faces!

STOP PRESS....SHOPPING EVENINGS...

2010-11-19T05:47:00.000-08:00

We have Christmas shopping evenings in all our three London stores coming up with a lovely 20% discount to all shoppers. Join us for something fizzy and mince pies between 6pm and 9pm on...

25th November - 14 Monmouth Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9HB
2nd December - 21 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London, W1J 6QD
8th December - 14 Needham Road, Notting Hill, London, W11 2RP

Do come and join in the fun!

Glorious Gifts!

2010-11-19T05:38:00.000-08:00

We have just installed our Christmas windows into the stores which are based on all the wonderful gifts you can find inside. We used giant gift wrapped boxes as our starting point and we are all thrilled how they look, and how well they set off the beautiful gift sets.

This year, more than any other we have loads of easy gifts in our shops, so much so that we can't go into the them without shopping! We have a votive set of three candles which are all based around wood - they are so amazing, can't wait to dot them around at home to fill the air with the smell of Christmas. Our new home fragrance range, see post below has some larger versions of these candles for that extra special touch.

We have a brilliant new gift box that fits two of our body products in, such an easy and stylish way to make up a gift and the best thing is that you can select whatever combination you want to go in there. So for that friend who is obsessed by our Citron Citron Shower Wash, give them two nestled in a box!

Sneak Peek...

2010-10-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

New things are on their way...

Delicious home range of candles and room sprays, all based on wood, from the bark to the sap with wonderful top notes of smokey fires and chocolate & nuts, in stores very soon.

Following on from the success of our wallpaper we have used the prints on a range of waxed cotton make-up bags and little purses, the perfect addition to any handbag!

Watch out for these items and many more treats coming into the shops this Christmas.....

Flowers for sale!

2010-10-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

We trialled selling some small plants outside our Bruton Street store over the summer and have now added them outside both our Covent Garden shop on Monmouth Street and our Notting Hill shop on Needham Road. All stores have Cyclamen and African violets, some of which have been put into gorgeous mis-matched vintage teacups and saucers by our florist Scarlet & Violet.

They are such a lovely little treat for your desk on a rainy afternoon!

Miller's Market at Fashion's Night Out

2010-09-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

All the hard work paid off last night when Miller's Market took over our Bruton Street shop. Lyn had invited all of her favourite designers and shops to have stalls in the market, so we had Clements Ribeiro selling their utterly beautiful cashmere sweaters that they had customised with antique trimmings, beads and lace.

Astier de Villatte brought a vast array of their divine ceramics and beautiful notebooks, several of which are sitting on all the staff's desks here! Astier are not stocked in many places in the UK, so we have decided to continue selling their stuff after Miller's Market.

Melrose and Morgan brought some of their delicious chutneys and cordials, all branded with their super stylish logo and labels, for a very chic foodie stall. There were definitely several fashionistas with some new Miller Harris jam, which Melrose and Morgan made for us, tucked into their handbags!

Finally, making the outside of the shop look spectacular was florist Scarlet & Violet. The flowers, the violets in teacups, the turquoise ladder, it was almost too many beautiful things to take in.

We had 'Fragrant Pick n' Mix', specially made ice cream from Cocorino flavoured with rose and geranium, herby popcorn in MH wrapping paper cones and Framboise flavoured wine!

We were also honoured to have Lyn's friend and creator of her own Miller Harris fragrance, the iconic Jane Birkin, who was photographer by Vogue, chatted to customers and even signed one young mans Birkin Bag!

If you came along we do hope you managed to squeeze into the shop and got some Miller Harris popcorn or ice cream, and if you didn't make it, do come along to the shop, have a relaxing cup of tea and feast your eyes on all the wonderful things we have in the shop!

Melrose & Morgan come to Bruton Street

2010-08-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Lyn's favourite deli and grocer from Primrose Hill is going to be serving delicious lunches in our Bruton Street store between Tuesday 14th September and Friday 17th September.

The menu is mouth wateringly tempting and will use lots of our Olive Oils in the salads and you can wash it all down with a cup of our fragrant tea or of course a cheeky glass of Ruinart Champagne!

Do join us, but you will need to book...020 7629 7750

Fashion's Night Out with Vogue and Miller Harris

2010-08-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

For the second fabulous Fashion's Night Out which all the Vogue magazines across the globe organise Lyn is turning our newly fantastic Bruton Street store into 'Miller's Market' for one night only.

We are planning to have fragance pick-n-mix and serve our tea and 'special punch' from a stall outside, plus inside the store we have some amazing 'stall-holders' - Clements Ribeiro will be selling custom made sweaters, Astier de Villate will have a stall full of their beautiful and unique china and home wares, uber-florist Scarlet & Violet will be selling small posies and bunches of seasonal flowers and Melrose & Morgan, a renowned grocer and deli from Primrose Hill will be selling some of their delicious jams and chutneys.

If you are in London on the evening of September 8th, do come and find us on Bruton Street and join in the fun.

Miller Harris in the London Evening Standard

2010-08-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

This week's highlight has been a huge feature on Lyn in the Evening Standard. This is a follow on story from the previous post and our candles being given as a gift to the Obama's.

It is so exciting to see Lyn on the front cover of such a widely read newspaper, and the article inside is utterly fantastic. To get a real insight to the creative force behind our brand it is a 'must read'.

Candles fit for a First Lady

2010-07-21T04:13:00.000-07:00

We are all super excited here as David & Samantha Cameron have given the Obama's Miller Harris candles as a gift! It is such an honour to have something that you love so much and put so much care into making being given as a very British gift to the President and First Lady.

The candles that were given were from our core, Classics range. Two each of Fleur Oriental (fresh orange flower, spicy carnation, Turkish rose, musk, amber and vanilla) Citron Citron (all the citrus notes plus mint leaf, basil, marjoram and spices such as cardamom and cedar wood) Terre de Bois (fresh notes of verbena, juniper and clary sage combine with spices, vetiver, moss and patchouli) and Coeur de Fleur ( mimosa, sweet pea and raspberry leaves).

Just amazing!

Flower Harvest

2010-07-15T04:44:00.000-07:00

We have these wonderful calenders from our fragrance house in Grasse that show what flowers and materials they are harvesting throughout the year. There is something so wonderful about looking at them and thinking about the people all over the world who are this month collecting and carefully picking the most fragrant flowers for us to use in out fragrances. One of my favourite daydreams!

In France this month, amongst many other flowers they are harvesting lavender. As the fields change to the perfect shade of purple and the bees are gorging themselves, the flowers are picked at their prime. During the distillation process you are left with 'waste' flower water, which can be used on linen or as a facial spritz!

Tuberose is often thought to be from the rose family, but no, it is a highly fragrant white flower that is grown in Grasse, France and in India. This rare flower packs a powerful punch, you can find it in our super popular Noix de Tubereuse fragrance.

On the other side of the world, pickers in India are harvesting one of my favourite flowers, Jasmin Grandiflora and Jasmin Sambac. This heady flower is in my summer evening fragrance of choice, Jasmin Vert. Again, like the tuberose, the size of the flower belies it's power.

Fragrant Olive Oils

2010-07-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

Our Olive Oils are proving to be a big hit in our stores and Fortnum & Mason, where they are stocked. Lyn and her sister went out to Spain earlier this year to see the olive harvest for themselves at the farm where our olives come from. They use nets to catch the olives so they don't get bruised.

The Marques de Valdueza family, one of the oldest aristocratic families in Spain, has been producing olive oils for more than 600 years. Their premium cold press extra virgin oil forms the base of Lyn’s blends, to which she has added gentle fragrant accents of citrus, herbs and spices.

There is so much history in the olive harvest, coupled with the beautiful light on the fields, which I'm sure adds something special to the final oils?

Mayfair haunts, part 1.

2010-06-18T07:21:00.000-07:00

Our flagship store is on Bruton Street in the heart of Mayfair, a stones throw from the beautiful Mount Street and our head office, so we all spend lots of time traversing Grosvenor Square and taking detours along Mount Street for a spot of window shopping....

Mount Street Printers take you back in time, yet are fresh and current too. Their stationary and paper goods are a must and it is where we head to for luxurious gift tags and note cards.

Fino's is a wonderful basement bar that we sometimes meet up in after work for copious wine and their incredible home-made crisps which they hand out!

For those who don't know, Goyard are the most wonderful, French leather goods company and their new shop on Mount Street is heavenly. It makes you want to monogram everything!

A new arrival is the Mount Street Deli, which is part of Richard Caring's empire, and therefore rather chic. They sell delicious salads and cakes and have the most fabulous, whiskered gentleman serving coffee!

Hayward is a gentleman's outfitter who has been on Mount Street forever and has been dressing the likes of Roger Moore and Michael Caine since the 60's.

All along Mount Street, under the beautiful and very ornate red brick buildings are endless window boxes, they make the road feel wonderfully English.

Finally, at the end of the street the patterned carpet, patterned walls, horse-brass tastic pub that is The Audley!

Grasse

2010-06-04T05:57:00.000-07:00

Grasse is the home of fragrance, and for centuries has produced the amazing raw materials that we use here in our fragrances. These wonderful images of flower extraction, sorting and picking bring the whole process to life...

The Classics

2010-05-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

Our company is built on our four classics, Citron Citron, Terre de Bois, Coeur de Fleur and Fleur Oriental, a short sweep around the office thew up some of our favourites of the genre!

Now we love a stripey T-shirt here, preferably by Saint James or Amour Lux and it is no doubt already a modern classic, the i-phone, what did we do before them?

Anything can be a classic, we love these Le Parfait glass jars, and keep our office tea samples fresh in the and we use them in the Tea Room.

Ray-Bans, you just can't go wrong with these, make anyone and everyone look cool!

The ultimate watch, every girl should have a Rolex one day!

Birds and Badges

2010-05-21T05:35:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about how many badges I seem to have collected, and then I realised how many bird badges I collect, the pigeon above is one of a collection of about 20 from the RSPB that I have, and then I thought how many bird related things I seem to gravitate to...there is a trend going on here....

Flowers

2010-05-21T05:15:00.000-07:00

I don't think you ever can get tired of seeing new flowers in the garden, or the wonder of them returning year on year to provide a glorious backdrop to our lives.

As you can see from many of the posts on here, flowers are a big passion of ours here. On a regular basis I do a spot of 'gardening' in the pots and tubs outside our stores.

Our Bruton St shop has several large tubs, which I stuff endless plants into, somehow they all do pretty well and at this time of the year all sorts of things I'd forgotten in there are re-appearing and flowering.

In our original shop, Needham Road I have a whole garden to work with, although it does get rather over-grown sometimes! It is a lovely place to look out onto if you are in the shop, or to sit in and have a cup of tea.

It's all about the COALITION!

2010-05-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

Since the whole country is talking about coalition partnerships, and the promises they hold it got us thinking about what great coalition fragrances we have here.

Some are surprising - sparkling Fleur du Matin, mixed up with soft citrus Tangerine Vert but then add in a sultry Noix de Tubereuse note for a bit oh la la!

Some are dreamy floral coalitions - soft Coeur de Fleur, pretty Coeur d'Ete and divinely deep Geranium Bourbon - girly heaven.

And some are no nonsense, get things done, masculine woody coalitions - big bold Feuilles de Tabac and the classic Terre de Bois, both strong, both utterly reliable.

They certainly won't raise your taxes, but they will fill your life with loveliness!

Things we love...

2010-05-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

A short trawl around my desk and the office has turned up a rather marvellous, so we think, selection of our favourite things...

Obviously we love a nice bit of stationary, notebooks by Moleskin and Clairefontaine being the favourites, yellow pencils, luggage tags - lots of, dog-bone paper clips and bendy rulers, very handy for measuring round things!

We also love tea, it has to be made in a a brown betty, with chunky La Perruche sugar, if we are being naughty, preferably followed by a wild strawberry sweets straight out of a candy striped bag.

Lunch, well LEON is always a favourite, followed by a nice game of Bananagrams!

Moroccan Mint Tea

2010-05-07T05:14:00.000-07:00

On our travels this month we spotted this rather wonderful man and his pink bag picking 'fraises de bois' in Morocco!

The trip has inspired us to add a Moroccan mint tea to the menu in our tea room in Bruton street from next Wednesday, 12th May. It's a traditional and delicious mixture of green tea and fresh mint, so do pop in for a refreshing and aromatic treat.

Eau Eau Eau it's magic!

2010-04-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

Sneak Peek...due to launch in June and the magnificent Eaux. As our major way of marking our 10th birthday, the four classic fragrances have been re-worked into eau parfumee - they are divine. In big chunky 200ml bottles you can splash them on with carefree abandon or dance inside a mist of the most wonderful twist on your favourite fragrance.

My favourite, Coeur de Fleur has an extra dash of a white flower accord and orange blossom added to it's already wonderful notes of sweet pea, mimosa and raspberry leaf.

Launching in June....

I'm leaving on a jet plane....

2010-04-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

This has been a funny old week in London, with clear blue skies, sunshine and not a plane in the sky - all rather mad considering there is a huge a volcano that has caused this tranquil state of affairs!

The planes are back, and normal service is almost resumed.

So off to Heathrow!
We have been selling our Classic fragrances and candles in Terminal 5 and 4 since the middle of last year, and launched in Terminal 1 this week. We are in this amazing area called 'cocoon' which has lots of lovely body products in and a huge table where you can get a hand massage. In the middle of all the noise of the terminal this is a wonderful oasis.
Do pop in for a hand massage with Citron Citron lotion if you are on route to somewhere glamorous.

Tea

2010-04-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

We have a rather a massive obsession with tea in our office, so much so that we have catering packs of our fragrant tea delivered in to feed our habit! Bergamot is the current favourite. The only issue we are having this afternoon is that we're not near the tea room anymore, so can't pinch any of their delicious Primrose Bakery cakes...ahhhh.

Flower Selling

2010-04-15T03:49:00.000-07:00

We have wanted to sell flowers outside our Bruton Street store for quite a while now, and with spring in the air, and a glorious sunny day, we decided that today was the day!
I love going to Covent Garden Flower Market early in the mornings, it feels like secret London. The flowers there today were stunning, great boxes of ranunculus, daffodils and heavenly scented roses. Rows of rosemary bushes, bay trees and tumbling ivy make it so hard to decide what to buy for the shop.
Having found an old apple crate to put the plants in I was drawn to geraniums/pelargoniums as ever, see previous posts, and then added a tray of the prettiest lilac violas.
So if you are in the area, do pop into the shop and pick up a little pot of spring flowers for your desk, window sill or garden...

Liberty of London

2010-04-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

Here at Miller Harris we hold a special place in our hearts for the beautiful store that is Liberty. When we started 10 years ago, Liberty was the first place to stock us, and we have continued to have a strong relationship with them. In 2002 we launched an exclusive fragrance with them called Rose en Noir. It is a wonderful sultry mix of dark Turkish rose, black pepper and violet leaf with hints of spicy cumin and corriander and a warm base of patchiouli - delicious!

Anyway, as fans of Liberty, we love the new Liberty of London for Target collection, especially the fantastically kitch, retro piggy bank and the gorgeous, plum coloured tote bag. There are bicycles, picture frames, clothes, storage and much more all available either in Target stores if you live in the States, or from Liberty direct. Happy, inexpensive, Spring pleasures!

Travels with my candle!

2010-04-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

So the Geranium Bourbon candle in the previous post is proving to be such a hit it is being taken as a gift to the far flung corners of this island, this gorgeous candle is bringing some Spring-time magic to a rather snowy Scotland...

Geraniums

2010-03-31T02:24:00.000-07:00

We have a bit of a thing about geraniums, or pelargoniums if we're being correct, here especially the bold scarlet red type and rather wispy wild varieties. It's the heady, wet grassy smell that they fill the air with that brings back so many familiar memories of hot summers.

One of our favourite designers, John Derian based in New York, sells beautiful decoupage paper weights and plates, often with old botanical prints of flowers, including geraniums. Anyone listening, these are definitely on our wish list..!

We launched our Geranium Bourbon fragrance back in 2005 into our Nouvelle Edition collection, it was so popular, and we also felt that it would be a missed opportunity not to plaster the shelves with bright geranium red, we added it to our Ligne de Parfum range so we could sell it far and wide. This Spring we launched a candle in this fragrance, which is beyond lovely, filling your home with a grassy, peppery, heady geranium scent. Light it somewhere special, sit back and enjoy!

Sneek Peek - NEW cloth bags

2010-03-31T02:16:00.000-07:00

This morning we took delivery of some samples of our new cloth bags we are going to be selling in our shops - WOW they are gorgeous. I can't decide between the cheeky Noix de Tubereuse pink or the rather chic L'air de Rien khaki, what a nice dilemma to have...

Available in all our shops from Friday 9th April

Our NEW blog!

2010-03-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

Well, we've finally decided that too many wonderful things go on here at Miller Harris, other than our fragrances, and that it was time to share them with you.

This is an exciting year for us as it is our 10th anniversary! It seems only yesterday that we opened a small shop in Needham Road selling just three different fragrances, coeur de fleur, terre de bois and citron citron, little did we know that all of these fragrances would go on to become such classics. We now have three shops and sell our fragrances all over the world.

We have some really great things planned to celebrate, we have some amazing additions to our classic fragrances, special one offs and we will be popping up at some summer festivals with our fragrant tea, cakes and lots of goodies, as more details are confirmed you will be the first to know.