Introducing Kimberley from Pollys Farm. Where every item is handmade!! From her home in the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Kimberley produces natural botanical skincare products.
Find out why Kimberley started creating and why she is so passionate about the value of handmade
Tell us about your creations and your handmade process.
Every product I make begins in the earth - first, in the olive grove rooted in my home soil on the Mornington Peninsula. But it's not just about the extra virgin olive oil. It's about the botanicals, each one chosen with intention for its unique healing properties. Some I grow myself, others I wild forage, and some I source locally - all are as pure as nature made them.
At the heart of my process is a deep focus on ingredients. What we put on our skin matters - it's absorbed into our bodies, and every element in my formulations is chosen for the nourishment and benefits it brings. Simple, powerful, purposeful. Polly's Farm began with the humble bar of soap, cold processed, made in small batches, and cured for at least two months before making their way into the world. Australian native botanicals have always featured heavily, thanks to their remarkable properties and the reverence they inspire. Each one deepens my connection to the land and my respect for the traditional knowledge of Indigenous communities, those who have always known how to forage with care, heal with plants, and live in harmony with nature.
Formulating is a bit like writing a recipe. It starts with choosing the right ingredients, then crafting prototypes, testing on friends (not fauna), adjusting if needed, and testing again. Eventually comes the moment to trust the process, exhale, and let the botanicals do what they do best: work their quiet magic.
Today, Polly's Farm has grown to include Hand & Body Scrubs, Botanical Bath Soaks, Organic Skin Salves, Hand & Body Lotions, Organic Washes, and Botanical Candles that transform into pots of Thyme when finished, a little nod to the garden where it all began. Because no matter how far it goes, it always comes back to the garden. Back to the earth. Back to the botanicals.
Tell us a bit about your journey to becoming a handmade artist.
I've always been a maker of some description. As a little human, I would help mum on her stall of crocheted jumpers at our local Red Hill Market where I also sold my handmade wares - jars of "pickled people" and dried flower bookmarks that no doubt fell apart within the first 12 hours of use!
As a young adult and beyond, my passion has been herbal medicine and the healing power of plants. It led me to study nursing before moving on to Herbalism to achieve a holistic balance of healing modalities. It was from here that the evolution of Polly's Farm began in 2019, born of a passion for the healing, nourishing powers of nature and a belief in the wonders we can create with a small plot of land and a big dream. Producing these botanical skincare products is the result of this life-long passion, to nourish our skin and in turn ourselves, naturally and sustainably.
What is your inspiration or where do you find inspiration?
My inspiration comes from the beautiful peninsula I get to call home. From the rugged coastline adorned with Saltbush and Tea Tree, to the hinterland with majestic Xanthorrhoea, Eucalypts and Melaleucas. Where the winter south easterly winds blow through your bones and you can start your morning on a beach where yours are the first footprints of the day, solitude blanketing you from the busy-ness of life.
For me, this is my anchor, particularly through the madness of market season. It's in this space, where I can get out of my head and start listening. Then instinct combined with knowledge and learning start their merry dance.
Where did you learn your craft?
It was far from a linear process. It began as far back as a child, when I decided I wanted to be the next Florence Nightingale, healing one ailing soldier at a time! Once I reached teenage-hood I was absorbed in every book I could find at the local op shops on herbal medicine and growing herbs. Then on indigenous bush medicine, Ayurveda, even medicine folklore and beyond. Nursing and Herbalism studies helped provide a framework which would later manifest in an unexpected way.
I undertook a soap making workshop in 2019. I loved it. Having worked in a corporate career for years, this weekend of "something fun to do" directed my passion for botanicals into a different form, skincare. From there I enrolled in more Herbalism and Natural Skincare studies.
For me, it's also about keeping things simple. I'm not one for a 12-step skincare ritual or lining my shelves with dozens of potions and lotions. I just want a small collection of beautiful, purposeful products that adapt with me through the seasons - ones I know are delivering deep nourishment without the overwhelm. I never want to feel guilty for not using everything in a specific order or for skipping a step. This isn't about being a perfect "skin parent" - it's about giving yourself, and your skin, a quiet moment in the day that's just for you. Doing what you can, when you can, and letting the botanicals do the rest.
Why is handmade artistry so important to you?
It's a rare thing these days to have the opportunity to speak with the very person who made the product you wear, consume, utilise. To ask a question and have it answered by the artisan, to observe the craft itself and witness an item brought into existence from the threads and seeds and components in their individual form. Made quietly, slowly, with intention, weaving history into now, drawing on old stories and learnings and creating something new, with reverence and breath. For me the craft and the process of creation is as precious and valuable as the finished piece itself.
Kimberley is a much loved member of the Madeit Collective, posting regularly in our Facebook Group ~ The Handmade Marketplace of Australia ~ and sharing her new creations as they are released. If you haven't connected with Pollys Farm, make sure you join our FB Group and say hi !
