July is always a special month for The Beatrix Potter Society, being the birth-month of Beatrix Potter herself! At the Society, we celebrate Beatrix Potter’s entrepreneurial genius, as a woman ahead of her time in the Victorian and Edwardian days. She marketed her own toys and other merchandise that related to her storybook characters and the literary universe she built. In this special month, we celebrate another woman of entrepreneurial spirit from the Lake District: Claire McKeever, the co-owner of Pure Lakes Skincare. Claire is from a 5th generation family to live in Far Sawrey, and her great-grandparents were contemporaries and neighbours of Beatrix Potter.
Claire and her husband Gareth create natural products from shower gels, shampoos, and muscle balms, to a full skincare regime for men and women. They make their whole range by hand in their workshop, which is based in Far Sawrey in the Lake District.
Claire tells The Beatrix Potter Society more about how her work was shaped by Beatrix Potter as a conservationist and storyteller.
Although I love reading the Beatrix Potter stories to my children and spotting local landmarks, it is Beatrix Potter’s passion for the area and her desire to protect it and preserve it that inspires me the most. She was a conservationist and one of the key figures in the early days of the National Trust.
The view out of our workshop window inspires me daily and indeed we have a whole range dedicated to the active life the Lakes provides. Without Beatrix’s input who knows what the landscape might look like. Our generation are now the custodians of this landscape and it needs cherishing. Sustaining a way of life here is constantly pressured by the high cost of living, particularly the lack of housing and rise of second homes. It is our responsibility to create well paid jobs and keep fighting to maintain a community in our villages – hence one of the main reasons for building our factory in Far Sawrey. We host local events here, including coffee mornings and WI talks.
We wanted to learn more about the how Pure Lakes Skincare products were created, and how Beatrix Potter has been incorporated into their works with a special range dedicated to Beatrix Potter herself!
Often a new project will begin organically and this collaboration with Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd grew from a desire to highlight Beatrix Potter the person behind the stories. The smell is key in any new range. At Pure Lakes we only use essential oils which are carefully blended alongside natural ingredients to create the products. Visitors are welcome to pop in and watch us make the products and be given a tour of the facilities.
We have brought out a Beatrix Potter range and the smell is ‘Rose & Geranium’. These oils were chosen as they would likely have been flowers that she would have grown in her cottage garden at Hill Top. We have used her beautiful landscape sketches on the packaging of this range so it is a delight for the eyes and the nose!
The Beatrix Potter Collection from Pure Lakes Skincare was has been shortlisted for the Best Sustainable Licensed Product at the 2025 Licensing Awards! The Beatrix Potter Society gives our heartfelt congratulations to Claire and Gareth, and all the folks at Pure Lakes Skincare for their wonderful achievement.
Claire is proud to share many of the same passions as Beatrix Potter. She tells us that so much of what Beatrix Potter did resonates with what she is trying to achieve, and she will continue to lean on Beatrix Potter’s wisdom to take her beliefs forward.
Visit the various Pure Lakes Skincare socials to learn more about their products and see what is for sale.
Facebook: @purelakesskincare
Instagram @purelakes
Tik Tok: @purelakes
All photos in this blog courtesy of Pure Lakes Skincare.
