For Flùr founder Kathryn Bryan, skincare grew from a deep connection with nature and a desire to create something meaningful from the abundance of a spray-free garden in Northland, New Zealand. What started with making simple botanical balms using lavender and kawakawa soon grew into a boutique skincare brand rooted in sustainability, beauty and slow living. Kathryn creates small-batch oils and balms inspired by nature and crafted in support of Flùr Star Sanctuaries, a growing movement celebrating spray-free spaces for pollinators across New Zealand. Here, she talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind her business, her biggest breakthrough, and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
A few things converged at the right moment. I’d co-owned a ceramic café in Scotland, so business and creativity have always gone hand in hand for me. When we moved to Northland, we found ourselves in a cottage with the most beautiful garden – spray-free for over twenty years, alive with bees and native plants. I started making skincare using the botanicals from the garden, really for the joy of it.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
My first product was a balm – made using spray-free lavender and kawakawa from the garden, infused slowly in oil. Then one afternoon, while gardening, I was stung by a hornet. I applied the balm and was genuinely surprised by how quickly the pain and inflammation settled. That moment felt like a small confirmation.
I’d originally planned to create a full skincare range, but the more I researched the history and benefits of oils and balms, the more I wanted to stay with them – to do fewer things and do them really well.
When my mother Josephine passed in 2023 – a teacher, poet and lover of nature – I wanted to honour her memory in a way that felt true to Flùr. The swing tags with tassels that come with each product, designed to upcycle into bookmarks, and the poetry cards in the gift sets – these were a quiet way to carry her forward. She would have approved, I think.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Becoming clear on what Flùr should actually stand for.
I’d worked with Reconnecting Northland, an environmental non-profit, and was deeply inspired by their work and the message that biodiversity isn’t just good for the planet – it’s good for all of us. Around the same time, I came across an interview with Julian Cribb, an author and science writer, talking about the chemical tsunami we’ve collectively unleashed on the world. And then I looked at our spray-free garden – the balance of it, the abundance of bees and butterflies and even dragonflies – and it all came together.
I want to create a spray-free sanctuary for native bees and pollinators one day. That’s the long dream. And thirty cents from every Flùr product sold goes towards that goal. It gave the brand (and me) a purpose.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I’m quite protective of my days off – I’ve learned to recognise when I need to step back and decompress. Flùr is a boutique brand and I’m committed to keeping it that way. It has an old-world charm that I never want it to lose, and that means being intentional about pace. The brand and the life it comes from are the same thing, really. That helps.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
I’m still working through some of them, honestly. Keeping the packaging reusable and recyclable, and improving all the processes around that, is an ongoing conversation with myself. I’d love Flùr to become a B Corp one day – and I’m working toward that bit by bit. It’s the kind of goal that shapes every small decision along the way, which feels right.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The best part is the freedom to make decisions – to be creative, to try different things, to pivot when something isn’t working without having to justify it to anyone. There’s a real satisfaction in that.
The hardest part is not having someone to build it with. I co-owned a business before and I sometimes miss that collaborative energy – the person you can think out loud with, who pushes back on your ideas in the right way. Running something solo means you have to be your own sounding board, which takes a certain kind of discipline.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
To keep growing Flùr sustainably, in every sense of the word. We have some wonderful stockists – local ones like Bleu Bespoke in Waipu, and Auckland stores like Crave at Home and Kings Plant Barn. We were also proud to create a bespoke label for the five-star McCallum Residence, alongside our online store. We’re always open to partnering with other values-led boutique stores who share what Flùr stands for.
And then there’s The Sanctuary – the bigger dream. A physical space somewhere in Northland where people can visit the garden, smell the botanicals, slow down for a time. A wild bee and pollinator sanctuary with a small café, workshop space, maybe shepherd huts. It sounds ambitious, but Flùr started with one balm on a kitchen bench. The dream is allowed to grow.
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