I have used a form of heat or cool therapy my whole life. From a very young child I couldn’t even play a game of netball without crying in pain after the game. After each game I needed to be carried into the house and placed into a hot radox bath. Where I would then cry myself to sleep. We knew that I have a few muscular conditions, and migraines, but I wouldn’t receive any major treatment for these until twenty years later.
So why did I create Cotton Apothecary?
I have found that a heat or cool pack has always soothed me. It may not for other people, but I set out to create heat packs that worked with the body rather than against it.
At one of my first markets a customer said, “this is such an amazing design why has nobody ever designed one like this before”.
The only reason I designed them was after searching for heat packs I could use on my own body, I couldn’t find any that I fell in love with. They would pull in the wrong place, or slip off my body. Often I would even manage to hurt myself more while chasing the filling.
After finishing studying fashion design, I had learnt how to pattern make for the body so I applied this knowledge to a range of heat packs in 2016. I was surprised how many willing product testers I had.
After two years of trials I released my first heat packs to market. The neck shoulder, cirque and Handwarmers, all designer to contour to the curves of the body.
As products started to sell, custom orders started to come in and my heat pack collection grew.
Adding eye pillows, petite pillows, back heat packs and more.
I am proud to use natural cotton fibers Australian Lupins fillings for my heat packs. The benefit of the filling is you can use the pack warm or cool.
As I sit here and think of ways to explain what these products mean to me, I have a freezer-cooled neck heat pack draped across my shoulder - they are an integral part of my daily well-being! Created to be used warm or cold, they can be used in so many ways. I always keep a few packs in the freezer. My collection continued to grow because I can’t just pick one pattern… I love all of the fabrics.
As someone who has dealt with chronic pain her whole life, I have used heat packs all my life.
For the last five years I have found my heat packs have become a part of me. They are so comfortable I often forget I am wearing them when I pop into the shops.
I use a heat or cool pack all day every day. For the last 4 months I have used a cool neck shoulder pack draped over my shoulder post shoulder surgery. Some times I have three packs at a time, a neck shoulder and two cirques. Sometimes it has been the only time I have been able to drift off to sleep.
When I am suffering from severe pcos stomach cramps, I reach for a neck shoulder, a back heat pack or the oversized rectangle heat pack. I find that the gentle heat has a calming effect on my body.
I also suffer from fibromyalgia and full body migraines that are triggered through scent, noise and stress.Needless to say these are unfortunately very frequent and can last several weeks.
Often I wrapped a neck shoulder heat pack around my head and curled up in bed.
This lead to several smaller heat packs being created, the cirque, eye pillow and petite pillow.Simply use the eye pillow or eye mask for relaxing or a weighted meditation pillow. Or use when you have a headache or migraine.They are also great to take with you as a small travelling heat/cool pack.
If you need to clean your heat pack, i recommend using a clean, damp cloth to spot clean.
If you have any questions about any of my heat packs, please get in touch here!