My Pop was born in Australia to Irish immigrants. He & his many siblings were taken from their parents & raised in Catholic orphanages - the sons in one, the daughters in another.

Although he loved a yarn (& a beer), for obvious reasons, Pop didn't regale us with tales of his childhood, that was neither amusing nor entertaining, but he remained fiercely proud of his Irish heritage - right up to us carrying his coffin out of the chapel to Danny Boy.

I knew I wanted the brand to be named after to a goddess & as a nod Pop, I wanted her to be Celtic. Áine, the goddess of summer, love & light started to sound like I was on the right path.

Áine is the goddess of the summer solstice, celebrated between June 20th & 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere. Pop's birthday is June 21st. Could I have asked for a more clear sign that Áine is the best leader of this next chapter?

Áine is a protector of women & a powerful force for feminine energy & renewal, she was known to shapeshift into a swan & I feel like that symbolises what this transition is for us - a step into quiet strength & wild wisdom.

She is us. We are her.

I’m Renée & this is not my first rodeo.

In 2012, long before online shopping was considered a hobby, I launched my first ecommerce business, an online clothing store. It was… ambitious... and an epic failure.

Undeterred & with the enthusiasm you retrospectively realise you only possess in your twenties, I pivoted, rebranding & relaunching the business now selling chunky, handmade woollen throws.
Read more

I had two geriatric pregnancies & was the mother of two under two, trying to run a business from home in the middle of a global pandemic.

I first saw a GP at 38. The anxiety was bad. The fatigue was bad. The brain fog? Also bad. These could apparently be explained by being the mother of two young children & the GP recommended SSRI's. And exercise. And a healthy diet. And maybe some meditation...
Read more

I didn't grow up with a mum with a vanity full of beauty products & it's thanks to her genes that I have had a low input skincare routine for most of my life.

I didn't introduce a face serum to my routine until I started sourcing products for my skincare range & needed a face to test them on. For a long time I've struggled with hyper pigmentation & saw great results when using retinol & vitamin C...
Read more