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    • Sowvital & C.Atherley: A London Cuttings Workshop in Connaught Village

    In June 2025, Sowvital hosted a collaborative Cuttings Workshop at the C.Atherley boutique in London’s Connaught Village.


    This intimate event welcomed ten guests for an evening dedicated to propagation—an exercise in patience, precision, and the quiet art of multiplying life.

     

    Person planting a small plant in a terracotta pot on a wooden board with a floral tablecloth.

     

    About the Cuttings Workshop

     

    Held in the early evening, the event took place in C.Atherley’s greenhouse-inspired retail space. As daylight faded into a soft golden hour, guests gathered around a shared table set with pruning tools, pots, and soil.

    Led by C.Atherley founder Cath Kidston MBE, and Sowvital founder Jack Lewis, the session offered a careful, methodical introduction to plant propagation: selecting stems, making clean cuts, planting with intention.

     

    Wicker basket with terracotta pots on a table with a vintage book titled 'Geraniums'.

     

    Each guest left with freshly prepared cuttings ready to root at home—a modest but meaningful takeaway.

    This was not a class in the usual sense. It was an invitation to slow down. To handle plants with care. To understand that the smallest act of cutting and planting can carry a promise of future green.

     

    Three women in a store with shelves stocked with products and plants.

     

    Why Propagation Matters

     

    At Sowvital, we treat propagation as more than technique. It is a ritual that speaks to responsibility and hope.

    To propagate is to believe in continuity. It demands attention, skill, and humility in the face of what we cannot force. In a world that accelerates constantly, propagation is deliberately slow.

     

    Person trimming plants on a table with gardening tools and supplies.

     

    We hold these workshops to share that mindset. They are designed not to instruct in the didactic sense, but to attune. To offer knowledge quietly. To leave room for curiosity to take root.

     

    The Venue: C.Atherley in Connaught Village

     

    Group of people standing outside a building with 'C. Atherley' on the sign.

     

    C.Atherley’s boutique offered a fitting backdrop. The space reflects a studied, greenhouse aesthetic: walls lined with foliage, products arranged with careful symmetry, and an air that holds the sharp green note of pelargonium.

    Catherine Kidston’s brand treats scent and skincare with botanical seriousness.

     

    Shelves with jars and bottles, a framed painting on a wall, and plants in a room.

     

    Their Geranium No.3 fragrance, for instance, pays homage to the Mabel Grey pelargonium—a citrus-green character that is both elegant and raw.

    Our collaboration found common ground in this shared respect for plants: as subject, as material, as inspiration. A union in the understanding of the importance of slowing down, and the sensory exploration of the natural world.

     

    People working together at a table with plants and gardening tools

     

    Collaboration as Philosophy

     

    Sowvital approaches plant care as ritual. Science and design meet in every formula and tool. Our purpose is not simply to grow healthy plants, but to cultivate a relationship with them that is conscious and intentional.

    Working with C.Atherley allowed us to explore that philosophy in a new setting. The workshop became a dialogue—between brands, between disciplines, between attendees and the living matter they shaped.

     

    Person tending to potted plants on a table with a red watering can.

     

    Looking Ahead

     

    This Cuttings Workshop was part of Sowvital’s commitment to creating thoughtful, considered events for those who see gardening not as task, but as practice.

    We will continue to offer opportunities to learn, gather, and share knowledge in settings that value precision, beauty, and care.

     

    Two women interacting with plants in an outdoor setting.

     

    In that spirit, we’re also pleased to share that we recently sat down with Cath Kidston for an Avant Gardener Profile—an in-depth conversation on design, plants, and creative process. Read the full interview here.

    Join Us

     

    If you are drawn to rituals that slow time, if you believe in the power of careful making, if you want to grow not just plants but understanding—join us.

    Sign up to our newsletter or follow along on Instagram as we announce future workshops and collaborations.

     

    Lamp with a red and white striped shade on a wooden stool next to a potted plant, with a cozy indoor setting.

     

    We extend immense gratitude to Cath and the team at C.Atherley for their part in this collaboration and for hosting us in their wonderful London boutique.