Dr Sally Gouldstone, who now lives in Scotland and creates meadow-grown skincare, grew up on Sugar Hill Farm near Cow Ark in The Forest of Bowland and had a wonderfully ‘wild’ childhood. Sally’s love of nature saw her disappear into the countryside at every opportunity and eventually led her to study Biology and Ecology at Edinburgh University.
‘I absolutely loved the way my brother and sister and I grew up; from our house you couldn’t see another building for miles.
‘I was fascinated by nature, and was always bringing things in. We looked after lots of wild animals like little deer and rabbits and tadpoles, newts and leverets.
‘While other teenagers might spend the weekend shopping, I’d be more likely to make myself a sandwich, get on my bike and ride further up into the hills to explore’ she laughs. ‘That was my idea of a great time, just going off on a little adventure.’
After university, her nature adventures began to take her much further afield; ‘For 20 years I worked as a consultant ecologist and travelled to Madagascar where I saw species that aren't found anywhere else in the world, and to Borneo mapping the forest for the Orangutan Foundation.
‘I even met David Attenborough in the middle of nowhere while he was filming Life of Mammals!’
Further education saw Sally complete her MSc in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) and a PhD which focused on the temperate rainforests in Scotland. Sally has worked for the charity Plantlife and for RBGE as their Scottish plant conservation officer.
Sally’s work often took her abroad on a timescale she had little control over, and while this was exciting and varied – it became more of a challenge following the birth of her daughter Willow. ‘I loved my career in science, but it became time for a bit of a re-set. I wanted to have more control over my own time and day-to-day plans by starting a sustainable business. This would still allow me to work with nature which is my passion, but would give me a better work/life balance.
‘I founded Seilich (which is the Gaelic word for Willow) and began growing wildflowers in a neighbour’s plot, which I then harvested and developed my first products. These were sold at a local market and people really loved the idea that I'd grown the plants in this semi-wild setting.’
All Seilich products contain handpicked botanicals or natural, organic, UK-grown Wildlife and Bee-Friendly ingredients. However, only 10% of specific plant species are gathered, leaving behind a flourishing biodiverse meadow.
Seilich now has two meadows - Rosemains Steading, and another at Borthwick Farm in Midlothian.
Sally’s key aim when she founded Seilich was to create a business that led by example, and worked in partnership with nature. ‘I felt there were a lot of businesses relying on nature in a one-sided way, where they were only ‘taking’. I was keen to have a more circular business model where we were also putting back. It’s effectively a conservation project funded by a business.
‘Having an overall positive impact on the environment is a priority in all aspects of Seilich and profits are put back into creating more wildflower meadows.
‘I wanted to create habitats, wild spaces for nature, predominantly wildflower meadows, and use our profits to feed back into managing these spaces and creating more of them. More businesses need to do this. The biodiversity crisis is just so huge and fundamental to life on Earth. We can't just leave this in the sphere of charities and nonprofits, it has got to become mainstream. I want to show that a business model works - where you are doing the right thing and a bit extra.’
Seilich has won a wealth of awards and is stocked by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scottish Seabird Centre North Berwick, Hanover Healthfoods Edinburgh, Restoration Yard at Dalkeith Country Park, and Bayley and Sage, London. Sally is now also a member of the British Beauty Council (Sustainable Beauty Coalition), a member of the British Ecological Society, a member of the UK Business and Biodiversity Forum, and a Provenance Integrity Council Advisory Board Member.
Seilich uses a high percentage of pure pristine wild ingredients hand-picked from meadows to make these award-winning beauty products. The range includes wild rose and mallow, wild carrot and sea buckthorn moisturising lotions, meadow face oil, lip balm and face mask, nature’s secret serum, and nettle exfoliating toner. Hydrosols are created using wild rose, nettle, chamomile, yarrow, lemon balm, wild carrot, meadowsweet, scots pine, bog myrtle, lavender, and peppermint. Cleansers, cream cleansing lotions, and gardeners’ hand cream and hand wash. A range of teas includes calming herbal, reviving, nourishing blend, plus peppermint, and chamomile teas.
Visitors can even attend skincare-making workshops to harvest and make their own products, or enjoy a relaxing Seilich facial treatment within the meadow where the ingredients were grown.
Looking back, Sally credits her Lancashire childhood as being the catalyst for her entire career: ‘Growing up in the hamlet of Cow Ark shaped my whole life; being surrounded by beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife meant that even from an early age I definitely knew I wanted to work in nature.
‘My favourite thing to do was take my bike over the hill, through Whitewell and Dunsop Bridge to the Trough Road. Eventually I’d dump the bike and hike up to the top of Whins Brow, or follow Langden Brook.
‘Although I love the wild spaces of Scotland, I’m at my happiest when I get to return to Lancashire and the Forest of Bowland. Luckily for me, my sister lives in Clitheroe so I always have an excuse to come back and visit!’
seilich.co.uk
SEILICH AWARDS INCLUDE:
• Nature Of Scotland Awards 2021 and 2023.
• Best Wildcrafted Beauty brand 2022 (Beauty Shortlist)
• RSPB Nature of Scotland Awards shortlisted 2021 and 2023
• Natural Products - Best Natural Skincare Company Award
