Hyppanie Essence & Felt

21/01/2026

🌱 Exciting news! I’ll be at Seedy Sunday 2026 in Brighton! 🌱

I’m so excited to be taking a stall at Seedy Sunday 2026 – Brighton’s biggest community gardening event, now in its 23rd year! 🌼

Seedy Sunday is the UK’s largest community seed swap and a true celebration of growing, sharing, and reconnecting with nature. Alongside the famous Seed Swap Table, there’ll be inspiring talks and workshops, beautiful plants, gardening tools, delicious food, and plenty of activities for kids and families too.

✨ Come and find me at my stall, where I’ll be sharing my handmade hair mats – a sustainable, soil-loving way to give back to the earth. Hair mats are brilliant for the garden: they help retain moisture, suppress weeds, and slowly release nutrients back into the soil.

Whether you’re a seasoned grower, just starting out, or simply curious, I’d love to chat, answer questions, and show you how hair mats can support healthy plants and a healthier planet 🌍

💚 Pop along, say hello, swap some seeds, and connect with fellow green-fingered folk.
I can’t wait to see you there!

🔗 Learn more about my hair mats here:

Building a sustainable future through innovative hair mats. Transforming salon waste into environmental solutions.

03/12/2025

Check this out!!!!!!! Back online!

Building a sustainable future through innovative hair mats. Transforming salon waste into environmental solutions.

10/09/2025

Queens of Business, that means here, I'm looking at you and believe me when I say, you cannot ignore this post!
This is your last chance to pay £55 per month instead of £60! Don't miss out!
There are only SIX priority waitlist spots each at a discounted price with an affiliate programme attached. Once those are gone, only ten more standard memberships will be released for September, so act fast, noble ladies.
THE WAITLIST IS NOW OPEN! Find the link at the bottom of this post.
Why be a fully fledged member, and not just a free lurker in our groups?
Why Co‑Women is Essential for Your Throne.
It turbo‑charges your business. Members grow their businesses by using the power of community; we put all the resources you need in one place to save you time and prevent burnout. Successful queens collaborate and champion each other, and you’ll get a full‑page bio, guest blog opportunities, newsletters, social media promotion, coworking sessions, workshops and marketing support.
It enriches your life. Expect an events calendar fit for royalty: treetop assault courses, dinners in top restaurants, creative workshops, holidays abroad, cinema and theatre trips, sightseeing, fitness and well‑being classes. You’ll experience joy and adventures you won’t find anywhere else while making genuine connections with like‑minded friends, clients and collaborators. Your social calendar is managed for you, freeing you to focus on ruling your business.
It’s built on inclusivity and support. Co‑Women is a strict no‑clique zone that welcomes women of every background, ability and industry. Members commit to celebrating one another’s wins and offering help when needed; kindness and inclusivity are non‑negotiable. You’ll be surrounded by successful women dedicated to seeing you thrive.
Our founder’s pledge. We’re 100 % committed to saving you money, time and burnout by connecting you with the right resources, bringing you top‑quality experiences, introducing you to supportive members, and building a community that’s inclusive and joyful.
Perks Fit For a Queen
When we move to the Heartbeat platform there will be two options—Standard Membership and Online Membership. The Standard Membership gives you full access to our in‑person and virtual kingdom: entry to our exclusive Chai and Chatter events, a personalised onboarding partner, free sessions with a marketing strategist, event planner and mindset coach, guest blog and podcast slots, promotions in our newsletters, weekly online coworking, monthly socials and a vault of workshops and resources. Online Membership offers all of the digital benefits to those who can’t attend in‑person gatherings: you’ll be part of the same nurturing community, enjoy co‑working sessions, monthly social events and access to our resource vault without leaving your throne.
A highlight of our calendar is the prestigious Christmas party and award ceremony at The Grand Hotel. This glittering affair honours our most dedicated members with awards for the Most Joyful, Most Supportive and Most Inspiring—designed to celebrate your contributions and often bring happy tears. The crowning moment is the presentation of the Co‑Women Crown, bestowed each year upon the member who has earned the most points through participation and kindness. It’s our way of recognising the queens among us and sending everyone into the new year feeling celebrated and appreciated.
What’s New in Co‑Women 2.0
We’re moving to the Heartbeat platform, so your virtual castle will be easier to navigate with one‑click event access and automatic reminders. There will be more online workshops from our local community, partnership projects with Support Local Brighton to provide exclusive member discounts, and—cue the fanfare—the official launch of the “She Speaks Sense” podcast in partnership with Marketing 101.
"We’re delighted at Marketing 101 to be sponsoring She Speaks Sense - Jo Child’s gloriously unfiltered podcast from Co‑Women. We love how Jo champions women-led success with honest conversation, proper takeaways and a healthy dismantling of the patriarchy. We’ve been following Jo’s journey for last few years and are incredibly proud to help amplify these voices on an unapologetically unconventional ride.” - Alex Ryan, Head of BIG Ideas, Marketing 101
For those who live further afield we're also very excited to share that we will be launching our Chai and Chatter events in Glasgow and Hackney!
Our trajectory is steep and our reach is expanding quickly. Join this unwaveringly supportive gathering of business queens. We’ll celebrate your wins, help you get more of them, and pick you up should you ever find yourself in a sticky situation.

18/05/2025

Hair, proponents say, possesses so many useful properties that it’s a shame to simply toss it out. Which is why people all around the world, have been collecting hair and finding innovative ways to recycle it, from weaving it into mats for mopping up oil spills to liquidizing it for use as a fertilizer.
60 hubs dotted across 17 countries
“Plus, hair has a large surface area,” says Megan Murray, an environmental scientist at the University of Technology Sydney, in Australia. In a 2018 study, Murray found that buffers made of recycled human hair could adsorb 0.84 grams of crude oil onto its surface for every gram of hair—significantly more than polypropylene, a type of plastic that’s typically used to clean up oil slicks.

People generate a staggering amount of hair waste—salons in the U.S. and Canada toss out some 31.5 tons a day. But what if that discarded hair didn’t have to be waste?

15/05/2025

I will be talking about the Hairy Hug Mats on the BBC Sussex Radio at 11.10 am this morning with Sarah Gorrell...... Tune in!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_radio_sussex
I met Xanthe the Curator and Development Director and she invited me to take part in the
Makers Market. It’s a meanwhile space in Castle Square at the bottom of North Street.
There are around 30 makers there, me included! It’s a place for us to show our work and
share our knowledge and everything there is made from recycled, repurposed and
reinvented waste.
 Xanthe is such a champion for good ideas. She really believes in the power of design and
making to help solve the challenges we face…and she lifts up the people behind the work.
 The Makers Market is a powerful example of how creativity and circular thinking can come together to tackle big challenges in small, meaningful ways. Just like my hair mats!
 We need more spaces like the Makers Market to give people a chance to create, to dream and to make connections.
So, Hairy Hugs isn’t just about what I can do — it’s about what we can all do together. It’s a kind of quiet activism, helping to restore the fabric of the planet, one hair mat at a time!

Listen live to BBC Radio Sussex on BBC Sounds

12/05/2025

hi I'd like to share info about the work I’ve been developing through my partnership with www.matteroftrust.org ,
as well as invite you to a small but meaningful pop-up event happening on Tuesday 13th and and Wednesday 14th , in Brighton. at The Hub 4 Circularity Castle Square I’ve long been passionate about sustainability, community connection, and finding practical, local solutions to global issues. My journey led me to Matter of Trust, a San Francisco-based environmental charity that creates innovative systems for turning waste into resource—most famously, by transforming human hair into mats that clean up oil spills and support soil regeneration.
In 2023, I became one of their UK partner and founded a Community Interest Company (CIC) here to bring their ethos and tools to a local context. My focus has been building grassroots engagement around hair waste collection—from salons, barbers, groomers and individuals—and showing how something as ordinary as cut hair can be part of a much bigger conversation around climate, community, and circularity.
I’ll be sharing this work during a pop-up at the Hub 4 Circularity, Castle Street, Brighton, on Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th May. The space will showcase the hair mats themselves, explain how they’re made and used, and explore how we can reframe our approach to waste through small, tangible shifts. It's as much about sparking curiosity and conversation as it is about the product.
We have invited local hairdressers to donate their hair to us and are awaiting their donations impatiently
You’d be very welcome to drop by—it would be lovely to connect in person
Thanks so much again for your time and interest.
Warmest wishes, Stephanie Tuesday & Wednesday ONLY https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hair-mats-for-local-gardeners-urban-farmers-and-environmental-enthusiasts-tickets-1354945922729?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Come join us to learn how to make hair mats for your garden, plant pots, or just to help the environment!

07/05/2025

Come join us at Hub 4 Circularity, at the bottom of North Street, Brighton, for a hands-on workshop on creating **hair mats** for your garden! This event is perfect for those passionate about **sustainable gardening** and **environmental conservation**. Learn how to repurpose human and pet hair to create natural, biodegradable mats that help retain moisture and suppress weeds in your garden. Connect with like-minded individuals and gain valuable insights into **urban farming** practices. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to contribute to a greener environment!

Welcome to Hair Mats for local gardeners, urban farmers, and environmental enthusiasts! Join us at The Hub 4 Circularity for a hands-on workshop on creating hair mats for your plants. These mats are a sustainable way to keep pests away and retain moisture in the soil. These eco-friendly mats offer a sustainable alternative to synthetic products, helping retain soil moisture, reduce erosion, and promote healthier crops. Hair mats have proven to be a beneficial addition to agricultural practices as they enhance the quality of fruit and vegetable production. A Revolution in Environmental Protection. Did you happen to know? Hair mats contain 51% carbon, 21% oxygen, 17% nitrogen, 6% hydrogen, and 5% sulfur, which makes waste human hair a good source of organic fertilizer compared to other materials currently on the market, Hair mats can act as a slow-release fertilizer, providing plants with essential elements for growth. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just getting started, this event is perfect for anyone interested in eco-friendly gardening practices. Don't miss this opportunity to learn something new and connect with like-minded individuals. See you there!

Come join us to learn how to make hair mats for your garden, plant pots, or just to help the environment!