Meet Avneesh.... Pup cuddling, candle loving, secret DIY'er

Meet Avneesh, another pooch-loving member of the Botanique team. A devotee of sweet treats and London bimbling. Discovering independent makers by day, then delicious home cooking, cosy films and full puppy cuddle mode by night. But there’s more to her than bakeries and sweet smelling candles… she has an impressive DIY streak, and if she’s in charge of the shop playlist, expect banging 90s R&B.

Q: What’s your favourite way to spend a day off in London?

I love having a foodie day! This often means making a trip to a new bakery to try some sweet treats, always with the pup in tow. He's always waiting to see what crumbs he can sweep up and loves all the attention he gets when we're out and about. Then I like wandering through town, having a mooch in independent shops, discovering new makers I've not heard of, before returning home for an evening of cooking and watching cosy films.

Q: If you could only have one flower or plant in your home forever, what would it be - and why?

Tulips! I love the huge array of colours you can get, and they always just brighten up my mood, and are just so so pretty! 

Q: What’s a small joy or ritual that brightens your everyday?

Cuddles with the pup! He gets cuddles all day, of course, but I love getting home from work and seeing how excited he is to see me. Every afternoon, we make a cup of tea and curl up on the sofa together and catch up on some tv - one of my favourite things.

Q: What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you? 

At university, I got to go out to South Africa and build a nursery with a team of architecture students. One of our team designed the school, and then we all went out and got it built in 4 weeks from start to finish. It was hard work, but so much fun, and I guess I think I'm pretty handy with DIY now!

Q: Do you have a favourite maker or product in the Botanique shop right now? 

I love our Botanique candles! I'm a big candle fan, and love to have one burning in the evenings - they help me to slow down and I love walking into the room to enjoy the scent wafting through the house.

Q: What’s one thing you’ve learned from working at Botanique that you’ll carry with you?

Teamwork! We are such a great team, everyone is always on hand to help out with anything you might need and you often don't even need to ask. Everyone is just happy to help where they can, to lighten the load and to make sure everyone knows they aren't ever on their own. It's a really lovely, warm, fun team to be a part of.

Q:You’re in charge of the playlist in the shop - what’s your go-to song or artist?

I'm a bit of an old-school or 90s r'n'b fan so anything from then and I'm happy! The Kisstory radio station would be my top pick!

Avneesh x