Our Story
Do you feel like you don't have enough time to relax and disconnect? Would you like to explore and experience something new? Are your wellbeing and mental health important topics to you?
If yes, you came to the right place! We are here to help you to relax and disconnect through our experience programmes. They are specifically designed to help you to relax and unwind while enjoying a long lasting experience. From exploring or rediscovering senses, connecting with the community or visiting new places, we've got you cover!
This beautiful quote from Laurie Colwin does summarise our philosophy"
"We need time to defuse, to contemplate. Just as in sleep our brains relax and give us dreams, so at some time in the day we need to disconnect, reconnect, and look around us."
The birth of By Esmë
I am Dienaba, the founder of By Esmë. Before the Coronavirus crisis, I was living life at full speed, working crazy hours and spending an unbelievable amount of time commuting to central London. As French people like to say, my life was all about “Metro, Boulot, Dodo!”.
When we entered the first lockdown, it was very destabilising being at home and being less busy. As a very active professional and a married woman, I realised that I had something missing in my life and I wasn’t taking enough time for myself to disconnect and recharge. Something needed to change.
Being less active was life changing for me and I discovered the power of slowing down.
For the first time in my life I took time to reflect, to be with myself, explore my inner energy and have more time to do the things I love such as cooking, practicing yoga, meditating, gardening, reading and creating new things.
I could also spend more time with my family. I started to make some experience theme boxes to send to my family and friends to help them to cope with lockdown and it was so heartening to see how happy they were to receive them.
My whole experience during the lockdown sowed the seeds for by Esmë. My aim is to help people, particularly busy women, to take some much needed time for themselves to disconnect. They can do so through the experiences we designed to help them to escape for a few minutes, hours or days!
Other services
In addition to experience programmes, we also offer you the option to shop amazing products mainly coming from small and independent makers and businesses based in the UK and engaged in sustainability.
Last but not least!
"Make happiness a priority and be gentle with yourself in the process". - Bronnie Ware