Good Things in Red Hill - Polly’s Farm

Words and Images by Richard Cornish

The little Shoreham workshop is filled with a beautiful mix of heady aromas — blue gum, peppermint, citrus, lavender and rose geranium. This is the home of Polly’s Farm, an artisan producer of soaps, scrubs, soaks, lip balms, salves and botanical candles. Each one is handmade by Kimberley Kidger, a woman with a vision to make pure skincare products using traditional techniques and natural ingredients.

“We worry about what we put inside our bodies but sometimes forget to think about what we put on the outside,” says Kimberley. “My soap is made with extra virgin olive oil sourced here on the Peninsula. I grow my own saltbush, calendula and lavender in the garden, and source my kelp from Flinders”

 Kimberley doesn’t use chemical fragrances — instead, she chooses pure essential oils, and forgoes artificial colours in favour of natural clays to give her range a soft, pastel palette.t Kate’s Cactus Revival focuses on children’s clothing with hand-drawn wombat patches and underwater scenes of turtles and seagrass adorning kids’ clothes. Some pieces are over-sewn with traditional Japanese sashiko hand embroidery.

Kimberley is a popular stallholder at the Hill & Ridge Community Market. “I love the Hill & Ridge Market,” she says. “It oozes integrity from the ground up, and is such an authentic representation of our region. It also shows what a creative community we have here — people who hand craft and grow practical, beautiful things, not to mention delicious fresh food.”

Instagram - Polly’s Farm