RURAL BUSINESS
Something old,
something new
Cathy Le Feuvre visits a new business with links back to Jersey’s heritage and history
W
alking into the Jersey Skin shop is like strolling back into the past. In the corner there’s an old barrel into which has been mounted a copper bachîn, a traditional Jersey bowl, and on wooden shelving there are products bearing names in the Island’s traditional language, Jèrriais. There’s an old fireplace, which was discovered behind a wall, and tiles that give a hint of the shop’s history. Number 11 The Parade is a former leather shoe shop, and before that it was a butcher’s shop … which is ironic really, given that today it’s home to a business that creates and sells vegan products. Benjamin Martin, the founder of Jersey Skin, is passionate about his products – cosmetic and personal care items all made from local ingredients – as well as his Island home, its heritage and history.
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Jersey Skin was born during the first Covid lockdown when Benjamin found himself in isolation. A trained actor, he was working in stage management in London and Europe when lockdown hit in March 2020. Not knowing when theatre would reopen and while isolating at the family home in Gorey, Benjamin began thinking about and then creating his own cosmetics. ‘I’ve always had a passion for cosmetics. I’ve got incredibly difficult skin – I’m allergic to pretty much everything, anything chemical. I used to really struggle buying products for myself and I went vegan about five years ago, before it was as commercialised as it is now, and finding a cruelty-free vegan product was very difficult. So I had started making my own products.’
With some basic ingredients and distillery sets ordered online he began ‘playing around’ and created first pillow mists and moisturisers. His mother has a background in science so she got involved, they started researching elements to see what would work and what they could grow in the family garden, and then distil to make the products. By September 2020 trading had begun online and today Jersey Skin personal care products can be found on shop shelves across the Island. In May 2021 Benjamin opened the Jersey Skin shop in the Parade where he and business supervisor Suki Cartwright meet customers and sell an everexpanding range of products. Behind the shop, there’s a small modern workshop where many of the products are created. Determined that Jersey Skin would reflect his ethical lifestyle, Benjamin’s products are 100 percent vegan apart from a couple of items that use beeswax sourced from various beekeepers across the Island.
