City Guides: Haeckels
There are only two licenses in all of England that permit the harvesting of seaweed and one of them is held by the botanical natural product line Haeckels. Part apothecary, part nose, the line had its beginnings in the coastal town of Margate, where its founder Dom Bridges began to harvest the nutritious sea vegetable to create products that seem culled from some maritime god of lore: fragrant, pure, entirely derived from nature. Having not too long ago opened in London, we wrote to ask them about the scents of the city. What follows is their sensory guide to the Big Smoke.
COORDINATES: 51°31'28.1"N 0°04'18.1"W TIME: SUNDAY MORNING AROMA: FRESH TOASTED BAGELS / CRISP / CREAM CHEESE can be smelt from around the corner. The earlier you’re there, the better the smell. Best experienced as the sun is coming up over clean unspoilt London air mixed with an abundance of concrete, fresh bread and cinnamon. Research shows that, in general, spontaneous help is offered more in areas where pleasant ambient smells are spread, which is handy at 6am in the morning.
COORDINATES: 51.4967° N, 0.1764° W (Follow the Blue Whale.) TIME: ANY TIME OF DAY AROMA: This monastery to the natural world is free. Yes, free. And, its full of bizarre aromas; in essence the smell of death, dust, taxidermy, a bizarre mix of formaldehyde, Victorian oak cabinets infused with mothballs. The scent hits you as soon as you enter. The true perfume of an institution.
COORDINATES: 51°34'06.0"N 0°08'49.7"W TIME: WET SUNDAY AFTERNOON AROMA: Oak trees, weeds, damp earth, dripping leaves, cracked stone, marble, brick catacombs with a cast-iron traceried. It’s industrial yet hand crafted; shrubbery and wildflowers, most of which have been planted and grown without human influence – the true smell of the wild within a city, like a primary forest full of oak tress in the early mist and of course the final resting place of Karl Marx.
