About
THE TRUE STORY OF ALFRESCO
200 years ago Sir Joseph Banks, set sail from the UK to Australia. On his return he brought back plant cuttings from “the other side of the world”.
He then spent time botanising with these and more plant species… it was at this time that Lieutenant John Phipps wrote
'He works night and day and lets the mosquitoes eat more of him than he does of any kind of food through eagerness'.
With enthusiasm and focus, the charismatic Sir Joseph, eventually a curator for King George III's Kew Gardens, collected thousands of plant specimens from the East Coast of Australia and brought them back to The Chelsea Physic Garden in carefully designed wooden boxes on Captain Cook's ship. These plant boxes can still be seen at The Garden.
As a volunteer at the 300 hundred year old Chelsea Physic Garden, Sarah-Lou, The creator of Alfresco, found herself repeatedly drawn to the Australian area of The Garden, where she learned Sir Joseph’s story.
It was here that she learned that biting bugs also caused misery to many of her family and friends, Sarah-Lou, being the type of person Sarah-Lou is, decided she would do something to help.
She determined right away that the use of artificial chemicals was an absolute no no – her product would utilise the natural properties of her beloved plants and flowers. For many years she experimented with various essential oils and lotions, some more successful than others, until finally, she perfected the Alfresco blend
She rushed this blend to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where it was tried and tested – only on humans of course!
The renowned researcher Dr. Nigel Hill even recommended Alfresco® to Robert Redford on the set of The Horse Whisperer.
An excited Sarah-Lou then took her professionally tested signature fragrance to an apothecary and formed an alliance with a long-established, family run factory.
Together they created the fine quality Alfresco products sold all over the world…using the same unique signature fragrance she designed over 20 years ago, still harnessing the power of botanical extracts to help keep biting bugs at bay. Sarah-Lou likes to think Sir Joseph would approve.
Natural Repellent is the the distributor for Sarah-Lou’s Alfresco products.
