Have you ever wondered the meaning behind the name ‘lum’? It’s rooted in a traditional greeting from my home in Scotland, and hints towards the homes I’m trying to create through the products I make. Here’s a little more about the word, and why it’s important:
Translated from the original Scots language, it literally means ‘long may your chimney smoke’. Word by word, it breaks down like this:
Traditionally, it is the kind of thing you would say to a neighbour when first-footing as the bells ring out on Hogmanay, or when you first see them in the New Year. In practice the meaning is ‘may you always have a warm and prosperous home’, with the idea that a ‘reeking lum’ would be a good sign of having the affluence of fuel to keep a home warm at the cold start of a new year. However, the sentiment is more like ‘have a long and healthy life’, and thus perfect for sharing your goodwill!
Although not in the business of making chimneys, to me ‘lum’ is still synonymous with the cosy nature of a warm home. As we spend more time in our homes during the Covid-19 pandemic (and every winter!), it becomes more and more important that our home spaces are welcoming, relaxing and cosy: that they provide a respite from the rest of the world going on outside! And it is paramount that our homes maintain and celebrate the values of sustainability that are so important for our shared future.
In founding lum I want to ensure that we all have more sustainable homes (and a more sustainable natural environment) for many years to come, with the products I make creating positive change. It is ironic that the ‘lums’ of the past would have been fuelled by fossil fuels like oil, coal and peat, and partly responsible for the climate change which is now putting our lives, our biodiversity and our wider nature at risk. I’m proud that lum’s sewing is powered by renewable energy, and that in donating 10% of all profits to the Scottish Wildlife Trust, we’re helping to create better homes for the flora and fauna in our world.
I hope this wee blog has given you an insight into the meaning behind lum! Find out more about the story behind lum or help create your own cosy home by browsing our collections inspired by Scotland’s nature.
]]>Christmas is almost upon us, and if you're anything like me, it can be stressful trying to find the perfect gift for all the special people in your life! This can be particularly hard if you're trying to shop small, make more sustainable or ethical choices or seek out handmade gifts.
Here I've put together a few suggestions based on customer feedback and my most popular products - hopefully it'll help with some ideas!
The last couple of years have been tough on us all, and it can be hard to switch off from the news, the working day or life's responsibilities. lum's relaxing eye pillows help your loved one mentally switch off - the weighted pillow stimulating the vagus nerve (the great balancer of the parasympathetic nervous system) and sending signals to the body to physically relax. It's a particularly good gift for those who medidate, practice yoga (or who are planning to do these as part of their new years resolutions!).
You can also customise your gifted eye pillow to be unscented (for those sensitive to smell) or lavender (which has been proven to aid relaxation and improve sleep quality).
Many of us are working from home (and will be doing so for the forseeable future). The wrap-around design of lum's therapeutic heat packs are perfect for those who are still working from kitchen tables and sofas - and who probably don't have the perfect ergonomic set-up! Applying heat to tense muscles can help improve the blood flow to affected areas: reducing stiffness and pain and bringing some much-needed relief.
Plus, being quick to heat up in the microwave, and staying warm for around an hour, these heatpacks can also counter the temperature challenges of heating a home through our winter.
Moving house or settling into a new home is a time for celebration, but it can also be a lengthy (and expensive!) process. Throw pillows are an easy and effective way of adding style and personality to a space, without overwhelming it.
lum's cushions are perfect for those with an eye for bold colour, shape and a connection to nature. With a wide range of designs and colours (based on the Scottish flora and fauna at risk of extinction), there's something to suit all tastes!
Want to send your gift direct? No problem! Just enter your recipient's address as 'shipping details' during checkout, and add a gift message. All lum orders are gift wrapped as standard, and I hand-write all order notes on seeded paper!
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COP26 is this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, taking place from 31 October - 12 November. It brings together politicians, decision makers, organisations, businesses and members of the public to discuss and agree climate action and binding international commitments to address our climate emergency.
In 2021, the UK and Italy are hosting the conference from the city of Glasgow. It is a mega-event - up to 30,000 delegates attending from countries around the world - and each day there are live negotiations, official events, exhibitions and talks taking place within the special UN-controlled COP zone, as well as hundreds of civil society responses and activities (including climate marches) happening around the city and wider Scotland.
I was thrilled when, during the official COP26 Green Zone event ‘Visions of Tomorrow for a sustainable future in Scotland and Malawi’, Emma Yule of 2050 Climate Group highlighted lum as an example of one of the many and diverse ways through which young people in Scotland have been taking climate action through special solution-based projects.
“These projects demonstrate a wide variety of ways of taking climate action, whilst engaging and inspiring others”
Watch the clip (and hear about the other projects) here:
Lum was highlighted as an example of 2050 Climate Group’s ‘2050x’ programme: an initiative hosted by this incredible youth-led Scottish charity which seeks to enable more young people to initiate and develop sustainable projects. Earlier this year, I applied to the 2050x fund with a hope to create a new product line which would build on my sustainability principles, whilst also solving a couple of different problems I'd observed among my peers.
My application was successful and 2050x enabled me to invest in the tools and materials to design and prototype my lum therapeutic heat packs, as well as to create and have (sustainably printed) product information cards to provide more sustainability education and connection with my customers.
I had the idea last winter, but I couldn’t afford the upfront costs as a new business, and was struggling to move things forward on my own. As part of supporting my project, 2050 Climate Group also paired me with a member of their volunteer team with expertise in sustainability, textiles and marketing, who was able to give me some pointers and act as a sounding board to all my ideas!
I launched my therapeutic heat packs in October this year, and I’m thrilled by how many of you have loved the idea and have already purchased them for yourself or a friend/family member.
I have been an avid user of heat packs for years - initially for their soothing benefits for sore muscles, but increasingly for keeping warm in cold Scottish homes! There’s a big tradition of hot water bottles (or stoneware ‘pigs’) in Scotland, but I found microwavable heat packs to be more flexible, more efficient and multi-purpose year-round.
Scotland and the wider UK have some of the most ambitious climate targets in the world, and although there are great developments being made to decarbonise our electricity supply (mainly through wind power here in Scotland), we have a problem with heat. Most of our heating systems rely on gas as a fossil fuel, the burning of which directly contributes to climate change. Our heating can also be quite inefficient: leaky or uninsulated homes, or inflexible central heating systems which heat a whole house rather than just the room someone is using at the time.
In 2021 this issue is only intensifying: the recent (and ongoing) energy crisis means that household bills are rising rapidly and people are struggling to heat their homes. Plus, with Covid-19 infection rates still high, we’re caught between socialising inside in the cold months, whilst keeping windows open for safety in ventilation. Often this means that the carbon and financial expense of heat is going straight out the window.
I ascribe to the idea of ‘heat the person, not the room’ as a way to maximise cosy winters that don’t cost the planet: focusing on warm jumpers, blankets and heat packs to reduce the need for extensive gas central heating. I’ve experimented over the years for the best shape, filling and material, and use my personal lum heat pack on a daily basis for this very purpose.
I’m so grateful to 2050 Climate Group and the 2050x fund for helping me get here. It’s an amazing charity that’s focused on empowering young leaders to take climate action towards a just and sustainable society.
They do this in a variety of ways – from running large-scale summits for young people aged 18-35 to hosting social events, from running their annual Young Leaders Development Programme to amplifying the voices of young people in Scotland and Malawi.
Take a look at their website, Twitter and Instagram to find out more.
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I’ve been an avid fan of heat packs for over a decade: my enthusiasm for them started whilst at university when in classic student accommodation in Scotland - poorly insulated, very cold and with a minimal heating budget. They helped to keep me warm, whilst also soothing the aches and pains that came with hunching over laptops and complex essay deadlines. Fast forward to 2021, and many of us are dealing with similar issues on a daily basis.
With working-from-home continuing (and potentially here to stay for the long term) and lots of people still making-it-work from the sofa, kitchen table or makeshift office, many are experiencing an increase in the sore neck, shoulders and back that comes from hunching over a laptop screen all day. Equally, those of us who have returned to the workplace are dealing with the return to uncomfortable commuting and stressful situations.
I’ve designed lum’s heat packs to wrap comfortably around your neck and shoulders - providing relief to the places we can carry the most tension. Gently warming your heat pack in the microwave for up to 2 minutes (800W) helps intensify this relief, as the application of heat improves circulation and blood flood to the affected area - soothing discomfort and increasing muscle flexibility. This same principle applies to muscle pain in other areas of the body, and the size of my lum heat packs make them equally perfect for helping with period cramps, lower back pain, or wherever else you might carry tension!
With rising gas prices as we head into winter, energy consumption is on all of our minds. And with COP26 taking place in Glasgow in November 2021, many of us are looking for more ways to reduce our carbon footprint and tackle climate change.
In Scotland (and the wider UK), we typically heat our homes through the burning of fossil fuels (such as gas) in central heating systems. But one of the easiest ways we can save energy and money is by only heating the rooms actually in use at any given time, or focusing on keeping ourselves warm rather than heating the space. However, sometimes there are only so many jumpers you can wear at once!
Lum’s heat packs enable you to ‘heat the person, not the room’, with a quick blast in the microwave keeping you warm for an hour or more. They are also flexible to where you feel the cold first - I’m not averse to using mine to warm up my toes on a cold day!
I’m hugely excited and proud of the fact that the development of lum’s heat packs has been supported by 2050 Climate Group’s ‘2050x’ programme. 2050 Climate Group is a youth-led, volunteer-led charity that empowers young leaders to take climate action towards a just and sustainable society.
As with all lum collections, these heat packs are available in the colourways inspired by emblematic Scottish species currently at-risk of extinction. As part of your purchase 10% of lum profits will be donated to the essential conservation work of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and fulfilling lum's mission to create better habitats - at home and in the wild!
Want to follow along on the journey of lum? Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or subscribe to the newsletter (at the bottom of this page!)
]]>I’d been thinking about starting my own business for a while, but had never managed to settle on the ‘right’ idea, or identify the ‘right’ time. Reading blogs and watching videos about the subject, I found there was lots of conflicting advice. What I eventually realised was that I had the freedom to choose - there might not be a ‘right’ time, but there was the right time for me.
Time spent on developing and making products is only part of running a small business: and in the early stages, raising awareness of your existence is equally important. I decided to use Instagram as my primary marketing and social media platform and developed a profile and a launch campaign. But the more time you spend on photographing, creating, writing and interacting on Instagram, the more time you feel you could be spending. With lots of advice to ‘present’ regularly, it can feel like you are missing out when not posting. However, I now prepare my content in regular and concentrated intervals, scheduling posts to come out at different times, and giving me some time off!
It’s tempting to invest initially in all the things you think you need for your business. I was lucky in that I already had a sewing machine - the primary investment for any handmade cushion business - but I needed to source material, sundries, packaging and all the little things which make lum possible. Often it’s cheaper to buy things in huge quantities and invest lots of cash upfront, but I couldn’t afford this financially (or in terms of space in my wee flat!) so I concentrated on buying small initial quantities and establishing the demand before buying more.
I think it probably underestimated the amount of new things I would have to learn how to do. I am already an expert in sewing, but that’s not enough! There will be your first ecommerce website (or platform), your first order, your first customer enquiry, your first wholesale enquiry, your first lost email...and you will figure out how to deal with them all in due course! There are loads of ideas and lots of advice out there from the handmade, craft and small business community, which I found extremely helpful.
When I first started lum, I had a relatively set idea of what I wanted to make and sell. But when the temperature started to drop outdoors, and Covid-19 restrictions meant that we were limited to only socialising outdoors, I had a new idea. I mocked up, tested and launched my zero-waste handwarmers less than two weeks later. They’ve turned out to be one of my most popular products, and spurred lots more future ideas! I'll soon be launching a couple of new product ranges - all themed around comfort and nature - that have only developed over time.
I think this is a tricky one for any handmade business: pricing. I am passionate about ensuring that lum contributes to a socially and environmentally positive economy, and that means choosing high quality materials from ethical suppliers and taking the time to ensure each item is handmade with french seams and concealed zips (some time-intensive methods!). These choices mean that I have to charge a higher price for my products than you can find on the high street - but it is one which reflects a true commitment to sustainability.
When faced with a difficult choice or a challenging opportunity (and they will come up!), I’ve found it helpful to revisit my motivations for starting lum in the first place. How does this choice inform or contribute to your overall aim? Lum aims to create better habitats, at home and in the wild, and so everything I do must contribute to that aim. Remember this helps to keep me focused, and reminds me of the passion I have for it!
Take a look at lum’s product range. Want to follow along on the journey of lum? Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or subscribe to the newsletter (at the bottom of this page!).
]]>All of lum’s cushions and other homeware is made from wonderful European linen fabric. Linen is unique in how it combines luxury, environmental sustainability and relaxation. New to linen, or a long-term advocate? Here are just a few (more) reasons to love linen:
Linen is made from the stalks of flax plants - a resilient plant which thrives in poor-quality soils without the use of fertiliser or irrigation. It’s therefore much less environmentally intensive than other natural fibres (like cotton) or synthetic fibres made from oil (like polyester). There is very little waste from it’s production, with byproducts of the cultivation of flax including linseed oil, which is used as a furniture preservative, or flax seed, a nutritional ‘super-food’ and vegan substitute for eggs in culinary pursuits!
Linen is created through a lengthy process which creates a luxurious final material worth the effort! First, flax plants are pulled from the ground (rather than being harvested by cutting machines). This preserves the length of the fibres and produces a higher quality final result. The plant fibres are then softened for up to three months, before being twisted and spun into the final woven material. As a result of this time-intensive process, and the people and expertise required, linen is more expensive than cotton, and is considered a ‘luxury’ fabric.
The natural character of linen is to have a series of beautiful, textured creases across its surface, meaning that each and every piece of fabric is totally unique. This tousled appearance creates a relaxed, casual vibe in any home (and also negates any need for ironing!). Linen only gets even softer and more relaxed as it ages - and it doesn’t pill like cotton or wool.
Linen is a historic material, with evidence of it being in use since 8000BC. It is incredibly durable over time, even being used as a form of currency in ancient Egypt! The natural fabric fibres do not stretch over time, creating greater longevity. If it gets dirty, it can be put in a washing machine and dried outside or on a washing line. All this means you can look forward to enjoying it for many years to come!
Linen is hypoallergenic, and was even used for bandages prior to the Industrial Revolution. Lots of cotton and synthetic materials used in homeware contain chemicals which make them wrinkle resistant or hold particular properties, but these can prompt allergic reactions from those with sensitive skin. As well as being grown with fewer chemicals, all lum’s linen is OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certification, meaning no banned or regulated chemicals have been used in the manufacture and dying processes. Linen also has some natural insect-resistant properties - meaning that even though it’s a natural fabric, it won’t suffer from the plight of moths!
All lum homeware is made from European linen - meaning that when you buy something from lum, you benefit from all the amazing qualities of this special textile! Take a look at our collections now to find your perfect piece.
]]>As lum has developed, I’ve been keeping a keen eye on emerging trends when it comes to home interiors, home decoration and homeware. This is partly for my own interest (having spent a lot of time at home during 2020!) but also in exploring how lum’s designs reflect the needs and wants of my lovely customers.
Here are some of my observations and predictions of the home interiors trends for 2021:
Perhaps the biggest trend for 2021 will be the move away from trends! As we become more informed of the impact our consumer behaviour has on people and planet, there will be a greater social emphasis on choosing sustainable, high-quality items which transcend beyond the season. For example:
The last few years have seen interior design dominated by minimalist whites, cream and grey. But in 2021, as we look towards a hopefully brighter future, colour will come back! Harsh minimalism will be broken up by fun pops of colour which introduce a bold and playful atmosphere, and earthy tones will bring warmth into comfortable spaces. For example:
The lockdowns of 2020 and early 2021 have prompted many of us to rebuild our connection with our local environment, and experience the mental and physical health benefits of the outdoors anew. As with the explosion of indoors plants, which brought more greenery quite literally into our home, 2021 will see a greater exploration of how our home reflects the nature around us. For example:
Are you looking for some design inspiration, or some items which reflect these trends? Take a look at lum’s collections!
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If you would like to purchase a lum cushion cover or handwarmer as a gift for someone else (or for yourself), the best way to do so is through my online shop.
Did you know you can send something from lum directly to your friend or family member? Just enter the receipient's address in the 'shipping address' area at checkout. I've also just added the option to add a gift note to your order, so I can hand-write a note to accompany your order.
I send all order with Royal Mail. They are expecting large increase in people posting packages this year, and are working extra hard to meet demand, but this means that some services may take longer than usual.
If you want your order to arrive before Christmas, I'd recommend ordering as soon as possible to ensure it arrives in good time. I make everything to order, so need a few days between receiving your order and posting it out!
These dates are the last dates to place orders for Christmas delivery:
Of course, I'll still be making and sending orders throughout December, but it's possible that they won't arrive on time for Christmas.
]]>We are in the ‘6th mass extinction’: so named because of the sheer number of species which are being eroded as a result of changing land uses, increasing demands on our natural environment, pollutants in the land, water and air, and increasingly, climate change.
Climate change is the gradual warming of the Earth’s climate as a result of increasing greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide, methane and ozone). These changes are a direct result of our (human) activity on this planet - through agricultural processes in food production, through the fossil fuels we burn to create energy, and through the erosion of forests, peatlands and wetlands.
Since the industrial revolution began in the 1850s we have increased our global temperature by 1 degree. But this warming is now increasing in speed and intensity, and is creating huge and irreversible changes to our natural environment. In Scotland, our lochs are warming, we’re experiencing more forest and upland fires, and we’re getting less snow in the winter. For our flora and fauna, this means that some species are forced to migrate to cooler places or move breeding grounds at risk from rising sea levels. However, some species can’t adapt as fast as our climate is changing, and are becoming extinct.
Climate change also intensifies the other challenges which our animals and plants face: for example, where a non-native species is in direct competition with a species for habitat, the non-native species may be able to thrive in a changed climate, and erode the native species fully.
The variety of biological life on Earth - plants, animals and microorganisms - is called biodiversity. From studies on our planet, we know that the more biodiverse an ecosystem is (the more species that exist in a place), the more productive, the healthier, and the more resilient a place can be. This has implications beyond the moral or intrinsic benefit for the individual species - it’s also incredibly important for our human life and lifestyles.
I started lum because I wanted to be able to make a constructive contribution towards conserving Scotland’s biodiversity, whilst creating an opportunity for people to furnish their homes in a way which actually helps support homes in the wild. All of lum’s products are made from sustainable materials, and 10% of all our profits are donated to protecting the species at risk of extinction in Scotland, through the determined efforts of the Scottish Wildlife Trust!
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