Wales Perfumery at Downing Street

I have been trying to find the right words for this for a while now, and I’m not sure I’ve quite managed it. But here goes.

On 23rd February 2026, I was invited to 10 Downing Street for the St David’s Day Reception. An event celebrating Welsh creativity, entrepreneurship, and craftsmanship. I attended as the founder of Wales Perfumery, Wales’ first independent fine fragrance house, and I brought our Natur and Celts collections with me.

I’m still pinching myself.

That Iconic Black Door

There is something about standing in front of the door at Number 10 that is genuinely difficult to describe. It is one of the most recognisable doors in the world, and yet in person it feels both grander and more intimate than you expect.

What made the moment feel truly extraordinary was a personal detail. My last visit to that same door was in July 1981. I was a child, and my late grandmother Louisa photographed me standing on those same steps. I had no idea, four decades later, that I would return as a perfumer, representing Wales’ first fine fragrance house.

When the invitation arrived in my inbox, I read it several times just to be certain. It was one of those moments that reminds you why every difficult, uncertain step of building something from nothing has been worth it.

Wales Perfumery at Downing Street

Inside, the reception brought together guests from across business, the arts, and public life. All there to celebrate Welsh talent and craftsmanship. It was a privilege to be among them, and even more so to have the opportunity to share the story of Wales Perfumery with people who were genuinely curious and engaged.

Our stand featured both the Natur collection, inspired by the landscapes, coastlines, and skies of Wales, and the Celts collection, which takes its inspiration from the ancient world of the Celtic peoples. Together, they tell a story that is rooted in Wales but speaks to something much wider.

Sir Keir Starmer, whose grandmother was Welsh, spent time at our stand and was wonderfully warm about both collections. He was particularly encouraging when he heard that we handle everything ourselves, from writing the formula and manufacturing the fragrance, right through to bottling and packaging. That conversation meant a great deal.

What This Moment Means

I started Wales Perfumery because I wanted to do something that had never been done before: create a genuine, independent fine fragrance house in Wales. Not a candle brand. Not a reed diffuser company. A perfume house, making real fragrance from scratch, with craft and intention at its heart.

Being invited to Downing Street to represent that, to stand in one of the most historic buildings in Britain and talk about Welsh perfumery, felt like a moment of recognition not just for Wales Perfumery, but for what independent British perfumery can be.

Creating the first perfume house in Welsh history has made every step of this journey worthwhile. I hope this is just the beginning of the story.

Explore Welsh Perfumery

Both the Natur and Celts collections are available to explore and shop at walesperfumery.com. If you’d like to step into the shoes of a perfumery, we run a range perfume-making workshops throughout the year.