MR.LILIUM: from bulb to flower to beard

Behind the scenes at MR.LILIUM

It’s not every day that we create a shaving soap at Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk. A year ago we asked food designer Katja Gruijters to ‘dissect’ the lily for us and to delve deeper into this flower’s background. We discovered that the white Madonna lily (Lilium Candidium) was used in ancient times to make oils and balms because of its healing and antiseptic properties, so it was the perfect base for a shaving soap. 

From bulb ...

A combined team of experts and enthusiasts (from grower to food designer, from imagineers to video makers) set to work on the idea. Lily grower Gerben Ravensbergen cultivated a descendant of the ancestral lily, the ‘Eyeliner’ lily, in a separate area of the greenhouse amongst the chickens. 

To flower ...

The lilies were picked on 19 February and were transported to Katja Gruijters’ studio where they transformed the space into a sea of white. By processing untreated lilies she produced a maceration: the ingredient for creating the shaving soap. 

 

To beard ...

The end result is MR.LILIUM: an exclusive and natural shaving soap with the nurturing properties of the lily. Watch the video below to see the journey from bulb to flower to beard.

Back to top