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Bruton has never been short of visionaries, and among its constellation of creatives sits Lunaria, the flower studio and cutting garden of Deborah Bain. From her Somerset base, Bain shapes blooms into sculptural works that defy the language of traditional floristry.
Texture, movement, scale: these are her signatures. Instead of drowning space in petals, she draws with flowers as if with charcoal, leaving swathes of negative space to breathe. The results feel architectural, sculptural even, a far cry from maximalist bouquets that demand to be looked at. Bain’s pieces invite contemplation, their drama rising not from excess but from the poise of placement.
Her reputation rests on audacity and grace in equal measure. The famed nine-metre-long floral cloud hung above a gathering like a temporary cathedral of nature, proving that flowers can occupy air with the same authority as stone or timber. Seasonal discipline drives her craft too: no palette repeats, every arrangement born from what the garden and Somerset’s hedgerows decide to give.
Bain’s background in interiors sharpens her instinct for form. Materials collide with space; branches and stems behave like beams, blossoms like light. This approach has carried her from private weddings at Kilver Court and At the Chapel to installations for Burberry at The Newt and the Garden Museum in London during British Flowers Week.
Workshops and her flower school will return in 2026, a welcome revival for those who crave to learn her balance of boldness and restraint. Until then, Lunaria continues to anchor Bruton’s creative scene, proof that even in a town threaded with galleries, Michelin kitchens and design-led retreats, flowers can hold their own as architecture.
Somerset blends heritage and creativity: Bath’s Georgian poise, Bruton’s galleries, Glastonbury’s myth, willow weaving on the Levels, regenerative farms, cider orchards and artisan food culture rooted deeply in the land.
At Durslade Farm in Bruton, Hauser & Wirth Somerset fuses art, architecture and landscape with exhibitions, Piet Oudolf’s gardens, Roth Bar, Da Costa restaurant and farm shop: a cultural campus rooted in Somerset.
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Founded by Natalie Jones, Caro in Bruton, Somerset is a boutique B&B, design store and creative hub. A rural cultural beacon where shopping, dining, art and events meet in style.
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Michelin-starred Osip in Bruton, Somerset, from chef Merlin Labron-Johnson, pairs farm-to-fork dining with boutique rooms. A soulful retreat where food, design and Somerset terroir create a singular cultural escape.
Sisters of spaghetti, sibling architects, ethical knits, dad+son chefs at a place with no menu, to the hotels created by the minimalist aesthets – the Schgagulers, the curators – the Wiesenthals, and the glampot nostalgists – the Dissertoris, and we hop over to Syros where sisters Jasmine and Oana are rewriting island style.
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At the Chapel in Bruton, Somerset, is a design-led boutique hotel where historic chapel architecture meets contemporary dining, artisan baking, wine, art and serene rooms: a cultural-luxury retreat in England.
In Bruton, Somerset, chef Matt Watson’s home kitchen turns into an intimate dining room: five courses, BYO, seasonal flavours. A soulful farm-to-table experience in England’s coolest slow food town.
On Bruton’s High Street, a 500-year-old pharmacy has found new life. Once a place of tinctures and remedies, it now serves its own form of medicine: food, wine and the pleasure of gathering.
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Radical, sometimes political and always on the pulse of Athens’ ever-evolving art scene, The Breeder Gallery is housed in an old ice cream factory, redesigned by architect Aris Zambicos.
Stylish, natural, casualwear, knits, t-shirts + crafted closet essentials that are ethical, sustainable, carbon neutral and natural, created by Petra Brichnacova and Esteban Saba.
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From vast Doric columns to tiny, intricately carved religious artefacts, beautifully smooth busts and imposing door lintels, the Museum of Marble Craft in Tinos reveals the surprising malleability of this revered material.
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Established in 1878, the quintessentially British brand Connolly is a perfect London pitstop for those who love heritage, crafts, bespoke leather goods and the fashion essentials for travel, design, and adventure.
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Get the insider news and lowdown on what we've been up to, where we've been, and who we've met along the way. Be the first to discover new places and get the scoop on our favourites.