Palo santo is a tree found on the coast of South America. According to local customs, the smoke emitted when the wood is burnt is thought to remove negative energy, and be incredibly calming and soothing. These palo santo sticks are made from only naturally dead branches and trunks, which are collected without cutting down any living trees or damaging the surrounding area. The goal of our supplier is to regenerate the wild forest where the trees grow, contributing to the preservation of ethnobotanical knowledge and supporting local economic development.
They are accompanied by a glazed Leach Pottery bowl, which is hand-thrown. Leach Pottery co-founder Bernard Leach is regarded as the father of British studio pottery and their pieces are still made and fired on the original site by a team of highly skilled potters. Each bowl has colour variation in the glaze that occurs naturally, depending on where it is placed in the kiln.
Details
Hand wash dish. Stoneware dish, palo santo wood.
Made in the United Kingdom.
Dish H 6cm x D 10cm. Palo santo L 10cm x 1cm.
Light one palo santo stick with a candle, match or lighter, then place it in the glazed bowl. Allow it to burn for 30 seconds to a minute, then carefully blow it out.
Read more about Leach Pottery.
Delivery & Returns
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Reviews
The Ancient Traditions and Modern-Day Rituals of Palo Santo
In our collective quest for calm in an increasingly harried and warp-speed world, one might find themselves looking to contemplative rituals for comfort. A short breathing exercise or guided meditation, or a smudge of palo santo, are most welcome because they can be done, autonomously, in the quiet of one’s home, with relatively little outlay of time, money or expertise.
These rituals, especially when practiced consistently, help to tell our brains to stop whirring and our nervous systems to chill out. They mark a transition in our day, be it from activity to rest, stagnation to creativity, or outside world to inside haven. They are also useful when setting an intention – before we begin a yoga practice or scribble stream-of-conscious thoughts into a journal.
The Leach Pottery: 100 Years On
“You have to throw about 600 of these until you can make them properly,” says Roelof Uys, lead potter at The Leach Pottery in St Ives, which sits on a hill just as the town starts to peter out into the rugged Penwith Moors. He's talking about an egg cup, a chunky little stoneware pot just shy of five-centimetres in height, with an earthy green glaze covering most of it and an unglazed, biscuit-brown bottom. “Everyone who comes here to make pots has to start their throwing training with these,” he explains. “They're fiddly and difficult, but once you've mastered them, it's easy to learn other shapes.”