Jardin to Bottle

An Earth Day Series: Our creation process

At Maison/Made we talk frequently about our “jardin to bottle” approach. What we mean by Jardin to Bottle is an acute knowledge of the complete lifecycle of every ingredient in our formulas: how it was grown, processed, bottled, and delivered to our studio. From our inception, we wanted to have completely unique, proprietary ingredients where we knew exactly everything that went into our plants (or, just as important, what didn’t go into them) and come from the most regenerative method of production: Biodynamic®. Thus the Maison/Made garden, our jardin, in Burgundy was born.

Not only do we grow the plants that then become the ingredients for our products, we do so with an intimate knowledge of how to grow and harvest plants to best produce and capture their full potential. Before an ingredient makes it into our studio, it goes through an extensive cultivation process, and it is cared for during its entire lifecycle. The plants’ final destination: the Complexe du Jardin™. At this point they are ready to be blended with the ingredients from our Biodynamic® partners (who extend the same care and cultivation to their own plants) and become our Extrait de Maison Rejuvenating Face Oil and Rituel de Maison Restorative Cleansing Oil.

The Jardin to Bottle process can be broken down to 4 fundamental steps:

Soil Cultivation

Plant Care

Intelligent Harvesting

Formulation

SOIL CULTIVATION

As we’ve said many times, it all starts with the soil. Our soil cultivation begins when we test our soil for organic matter, pH and acidity, nutrient density, and organic composition among other elements to better understand where we can optimize fertility through the use of the regenerative Biodynamic practices. Examples include cover cropping (aka “green manure”), compost improvements, homemade fermented pesticides, Biodynamic® field sprays, crotational cropping, pollinator-friendly design, rainwater collection and irrigation, and maximizing biodiversity. The combination of these practices prepare our soil in an unparalleled manner, readying the nourishment for all of our plants.

PLANT CARE

And this is just the beginning, before we even plant any seeds! Once the soil is primed, our seeding and planting begins. We spread rock dust, horn chips, and effective microorganisms directly onto the soil right before the seeds are planted, or right after (depending on the plant). This gives them all the proper care and nourishment necessary for a strong early growth. Once all the little cotyledons (the first leaves from the embryo of the seed) begin to sprout, we make sure they aren’t competing for sunlight or root space with the other unwanted growth (ie “weeds”) to give them the room to grow. Once established and no longer so fragile, we let the plants do their thing. At this point we try not to coddle them too much because we want them to fend for themselves. By allowing them to struggle a little bit, we are encouraging them to maximize their medicinal properties, which also happen to be what protects them from predators, aphids, beatles, etc. Of course when we observe they need extra help, they receive it, whether through our homemade fertilizers and pesticides, or by other measures.

INTELLIGENT HARVESTING

This process demonstrates how the Biodynamic farmer is devoted to his/her soil and plants. The emotional connection extending even to the wisdom of knowing when to harvest these plants for a particular purpose, like skincare. Intelligent harvesting is a crucial aspect of our Jardin to Bottle process because our plants are grown specifically, and exclusively, for our skincare products. This means that we harvest when we see the plant displaying signs of optimum potency and vibrancy for what we seek. For example, our Extrait de Maison is, at a fundamental level, an antioxidant face oil. Therefore, we harvest our plants at a time when their antioxidant potential is peaking, typically right before seeding. This moment arrives at different times for different plants, and we have garnered this wisdom over time and with experience. Lavender is a great example: we harvest our lavender right when the first flowers begin to open, signaling peak antioxidant activity. For others, like calendula, we harvest right before they begin to wilt and seed, when they are at their most stickiest.

FORMULATION

Once properly harvested, dried, and processed our plants are finally ready to be formulated with. This entails our proprietary Complexe du Jardin™ extraction method, where we create plant-infused oils and extracts with the plants from our jardin. The oil and plants spend weeks together, during which time the plants imbue their medicinal properties into the oil. Because our plants are grown as outlined above, and harvested under a watchful and experienced eye for peak potency, our Complexe du Jardin™ is uniquely positioned to deliver a bounty of nutrients for the skin.

Since each of our two products in the Maison Collection focuses on different actions (the Extrait de Maison rejuvenates and revitalizes the skin’s barrier and the Rituel de Maison cleanses and restores the skin) they are composed of different blends of our medicinal plants. After all, the selection of plants is not random or based on emotional preference, rather each plant is researched and studied to ensure that the benefits are suited to the specific purpose of the product. The plants differ, but the process in which they supply the oil with their properties, does not.

Our Jardin to Bottle approach allows us to benefit from the plants’ full potential and provide some of the most nourishing skincare products, absolutely brimming with vitality. At the end of the day, this process is really a wisdom, an understanding of how the proper cultivation and care of our jardin provides exceptional and exquisite creations that nourish the skin to be healthy, balanced, and resilient.