Iceland being a living museum of natural boasting beauty and awe-inspiring creative pulse, the island has been a natural source for my ancestors for sixteen generations. It’s as though my family tree was born into a garden of a natural pharmacy. Everything is connected - from vast lava fields to bright green valleys and glacier-cut fjords to black beaches, roaring rivers, and active volcanoes. Nature is one in Iceland, and ever since I was a little girl - I felt I was a part of the oneness. And to this day, I feel deeply connected to nature and I try to do my part in protecting it. As Icelanders - nature is our heritage, and it’s our responsibility to care for it.
My ancestors believed that the rhythm of nature speaks to us - if we’re willing to pause and listen. I believe that the formula of our healing balm - Græðir - came to my great great grandmother Þórunn Gísladóttir as she listened to nature while she gathered a delicate bouquet of wild summer herbs. With these wild herbs she crafted an ointment to heal and nourish the skin. Later in life she passed her knowledge and herbal formulas to her son Erlingur Filippusson who became well known in Iceland as a doctor of herbal medicine. He’s said to have healed thousands of Icelanders in his lifetime. Erlingur then preserved his mother’s formulas for future generations, and that’s where I eventually came in.
In 2007 as I stepped away from the theatre stage as an actress to focus on my family's tradition of harnessing the healing properties of Iceland's native herbs - continuing to protect the family heritage. It was the recipe of Græðir, our all-purpose balm that got me started. In Icelandic, græðir (grai-theer) means "healer". The very first product that I began to craft in my garage is also our most beloved product today.
My initial goal was to bring you a touch of the healing powers of Icelandic nature. I strongly believe in the power of self-care and conscious consumption, and it’s my mission to stay connected to nature, celebrate self-love, and make life beautiful.
Another element, in addition to my heritage and a long line of herbalists and homeopathic doctors - I simply couldn’t find self-care products that were natural, sustainable, effective, and sensorial. My passion for Icelandic botanicals led me to explore, test, and craft formulas for hair and skin from the original recipes that have been tested and used by our family for centuries. Everything we do is created with love - every formula and every part of the process is crafted with love of nature.
It’s vital that the spirit of my ancestors' herbal wisdom stays alive and flourishes. Following their footsteps, we do our best to make our products powerful but gentle. We use high-performing ingredients packed with powerful nutrients from Icelandic nature.
Our brand stands for purely natural products exclusively made of hand-picked wild herbs and organic plant oils. As a brand we strongly believe that everything we need can be found in nature. Therefore, our hair and skincare products are crafted with clean and natural ingredients. The active ingredients are wild-harvested hand-picked herbs from Iceland - from some of the cleanest, and least-touched places on earth. I gather the herbs myself with help from family and friends. Today, as we continue to evolve our all-natural body and hair-care brand, I strive to make my ancestors proud.
