ABOUT LAVENDER SKY
Lavender Sky products have evolved from our absorption and engagement in the natural world.
We believe in the health giving and life enhancing properties of natural resources. Our concern is to work in a sensitive and respectful way: conserving, nurturing, and maintaining the intricate balance of natural phenomena.
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We also believe that small actions can have big consequences. This is demonstrated by the impact we are witnessing, and scientists are affirming, on both nature and climate in our time - a time of depletion and imbalance.
All aspects of our production strictly adhere to principles of sustainability and recyclability, from the harvesting and sourcing of materials to the production, packaging, despatching, and disposability of every item.
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When you buy a Lavender Sky product, you too are taking one small step that makes a difference.
ABOUT US
Janis Kruse Ph.D.
For most of my adult life I have been working in universities and institutes in Germany, participating in scientific research programmes.
At the University of Kassel I studied sustainable Agriculture and biology, completing a diploma in Molecular Genetics in 2010.
In the years following, I was a Research Associate in the Department of Ribogenetics at the University of Darmstadt and then in the Department of Biochemistry at Jacob’s University Bremen, where I researched Proteins Involved in RNA Regulation and was awarded my Ph.D. in 2014. I remained there as a Postdoctoral Fellow until 2016, researching RNA-Regulated Virus Defence.
After 13 years studying and working in a lab, I needed time to reconnect with nature and with the pleasures of exploration: of new landscapes and cultures (not to mention warmer climates!). I took a sabbatical for a year and headed to southern Europe, walking from Frankfurt to Genoa. Toward the end of this period I arrived in Sardinia where I met Alan. We soon recognised that we shared many interests and concerns, including searching for the right path to connect and reconcile them all.
In 2017 I returned to Germany as a Postdoctoral at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research in Jena. Although I still loved working in the lab, the inspiration I took from the natural world made me determined to find a way to unify my scientific expertise with its resources.
In 2018 I joined Alan in Umbria, and after some months of researching and experimenting with plant extractions, we launched Lavender Sky.
Alan Watson
Photographer Woodworker
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Ever since my boyhood in the Lake District, the natural environment has played a big role in my life. After leaving school I applied myself to mastering a wide range of practical skills, including a course in jewellery design, which not only refined my technical skills, but also allowed me to develop my aesthetic awareness and sensibility.
In 2011 I decided to leave the UK and travel in Europe, covering huge distances on foot and working on route to support myself. This exposure to many different landscapes and cultures helped to shape everything I have done since. During that time, I grew to love photography as a means of exploring the natural world, particularly trees and natural forest habitats.
After living for nearly two years in central Italy, I found myself returning to one small part of it and thinking of it not only as a base but as my home.
I began putting together a workshop and working with the materials that had fascinated me on my forest hikes. Wood above all: fallen trees, abandoned roots, and material salvaged from its natural environment continue to inspire me the most.
In my work I strive to give sculptural presence to objects that invite being handled and used.
THE PLACE
Our laboratory and studio are both tucked into the hillside of Gudiolo, surrounded by a large plantation of ancient olive trees and an abundance of lavender, rosemary, and many other herbs and aromatic plants that make up the garden. Gudiolo has inspired and facilitated Lavender Sky from its inception and it continues to play a major part in many aspects of this venture.
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Visit GUDIOLO