Into The Well: Q&A with Clerkenwell London’s Sara Carter

What are Clerkenwell London’s aims with The Well?

The Well aims to offer genuine friendliness and authenticity in everything that we do. We aim to impart expertise and knowledge in an unintimidating way. We aim to lead in innovation within the sphere of wellness by providing non-invasive, genuinely good-for-you treatments that really work, all delivered to our guests by experts.

What treatments can we expect from the Well?

All our treatments are results driven, effective and honest, as well as being non-invasive. We want to give the body and the skin support, building wellness from the outside in. We partner with suppliers who reflect our ethos such as Bamford, Cosmedix and Circ-Cell to offer a range of facials, massages and manicures.

What inspired the design of the spa? How would you describe its look and feel?

The design is based on the idea of a peaceful home-from-home environment that is appealing across gender. We wanted to create a space that is different from the rest of Clerkenwell London but still in keeping with its core ethos. As you wander in, the combination of the silver birch adorning the walls and the splashes of our bespoke ‘Clerkenwell’ tropical pattern means that tranqullity washes over you. It is a rainforest haven in the centre of city, you feel as though you have been transported to a completely calm and natural, organic space. You feel as though you are outside, surrounded by plants, being enveloped in fresh oxygen and light. The space is a feast for all the senses; herbal teas and fragrances from Synesthesia – our very own range of scents – all add to the sense of complete tranquillity.

What drew you to Charlotte Frances London's design for the upholstery and wallpaper?

We loved what they do. Charlotte Frances’ textiles reflect a cleanness and clarity that we wanted to reflect in the ambience of The Well. The designs have a directness to them but also a joyfulness. All Charlotte Frances designs are inspired by the founders’ travels, which embodies this feeling within The Well of going on holiday and being transported to a peaceful space.

Charlotte Frances is also the kind of designer/maker that we would champion in the whole Clerkenwell London space – a nostalgic craft but a modern design. There’s a refinement to the designs that I feel we are akin to.

What products are you using and why did you choose them?

Clerkenwell London nurtures young and niche designers and The Well strives to do exactly that. We want to bring the very best in new and innovative, results driven, non-invasive products to our guests and often smaller and lesser-known brands champion this ethos. The careful curation of our designers featured in Clerkenwell London spills into The Well.

Rachael Collins, The Well’s development manager, chooses products that are about making a positive change to skin but not damaging. All our products avoid any potentially damaging ingredients but remain extremely effective. Our brands include Circ-Cell, Bamford and Cosmedix.

Circ-cell was founded by Maya Crothers after she moved from big-city Dallas to the Wyoming countryside. There she noticed that her city skincare wasn’t good enough for the extreme weather in her new home. Maya’s engineering background gave her the courage to go beyond traditional skincare and use innovative and highly effective ingredients such as bovine collagen, which is 97% identical to human collagen in her masks and creams. She also uses fermented oils, a rarely used technique which increases the effectiveness of the natural oil when used on the skin.

Bamford creates products with all natural ingredients. Inspired by nature and travel, the skincare range focuses on organic and botanical ingredients to create beautiful products that truly reflect wellness.

Cosmedix combines the finest plant-based ingredients with Nobel prize-winning chemistry to work in synergy with the skin to correct a variety of different concerns. Their products are inspired by new discoveries in pharmaceuticals combined with the healing power of botanicals and essential oils that are highly concentrated in order to maximise their effectiveness.

The Well has been running in ‘soft launch mode’ for a few months – has anything you’ve learned along the way surprised you?

In creating The Well, we used our tried-and-tested formula from Clerkenwell London of hiring the very best in the field to create a business that can offer something new that people want and will return to. We have hired the best professional therapists to offer the highest level of service to customers and The Well has grown from strength to strength without any surprises.

The best surprise we have had is the incredible range of guests who walk through our door. We’ve had people who work and live around the corner to people who have just stepped of the plane from the States, desperate to rid themselves of jet lag with a massage or facial. We enjoy meeting each and every one of our guests to have such a range of people is wonderful.