2019
The boathouse
A leaking roof, a long table and the first forty candles.
Our story
Two friends, an old boathouse and a winter that went on far longer than either of us expected.
- A boathouse built in 1896
- Four of us, all at one table
- Everything made within sight of the water
How it began
Ruth was a nurse in Kendal who made candles at the kitchen table to slow her evenings down. Ana grew up in her grandmother's tea shop in Porto and missed it every day.
In the winter of 2019 they rented a boathouse with a leaking roof for the price of mending it.
How we work now
Small batches, poured and blended by the four of us at one long table, and sold in the boathouse, at two markets and by post.
We buy tea from three gardens we have visited, wax from a farm in Lincolnshire and jars from a glassworks in Yorkshire.
So far
2021
The first tea
Mere morning, blended for a friend's wedding and never stopped.
2023
Evening workshops
Six chairs round the table on Thursday nights.
2025
Refills
Four thousand jars poured again instead of thrown away.
Who you will meet
Ruth Ellery
Candles and founder
Mixes every scent and still pours most of them.
Ana Sousa
Tea and founder
Tastes every leaf before it is bought and every blend after.
Tom Ellery
Workshop and woodwork
Makes the shelves, mends the roof and cooks the soup.
Joe Barrow
Post and markets
Packs every parcel and keeps the stall on Saturdays.
The kettle is usually on
The boathouse shop is open from Wednesday to Sunday. Come and smell the candles and taste the teas.