Design Anthology - Asia Pacific Edition
Byron Bay lifestyle brand BEAR is founded on reverence for nature and the ethos that wellness is the greatest luxury
In the words of Saasha Burns and Sam Leetham, the co-founders of lifestyle brand BEAR, ‘Wellness is our greatest luxury’. Their business and life philosophy seeks to preserve and conserve the natural world, and with each product that emerges from their Byron Bay base, their intention is reiterated and manifested in holistic offerings that span supplements, vitamins and skincare.
Partners in business and in life, Leetham and Burns uphold values that are rooted in the raw elegance of simplicity. Reverence for the beauty of nature pervades their way of being, in which the boundaries between work and play are blurred, each a reflection of the other. This love for nature and simplicity also defines BEAR’s distinct aesthetic — clean-lined and minimal, yet rich in character — and shapes their brand’s identity as well as their personal spaces and style.
A certified B Corporation, BEAR sprang from the couple’s desire to create nature-derived wellness essentials that contain only pure, high-quality ingredients, which are carefully sourced and combined by a team of naturopaths, chemists, medical professionals and microbiologists. Pared down in substance and also in form, each BEAR product is contained in the brand’s signature amber glass jars and bottles. And while BEAR is very much an Australia-made brand, it’s inspired by their travels around the world and captures the essence of a global vision, with the likes of Net-a-Porter and high-end London department store Liberty among global stockists.
Sensitive to the influence that surroundings can have on wellbeing, they have created a home that seamlessly threads their personal spaces with the untamed natural surroundings. Each morning, the doors and windows of the airy beachside bungalow are swung open, inviting the sounds of the Australian wildlife and surf in as the inhabitants begin their day with wellness practices and bask in family moments with their young son. ‘For us, northern New South Wales is the epitome of the modern Australian way of living, which in our eyes perfectly embodies what wellness should represent for everyone — the intersection of physical, mental and spiritual alignment,’ says Leetham. ‘Byron is more than a place — it’s a way of being that effortlessly brings together work and life, just like BEAR.’
The importance of nurturing our health and mental wellbeing was emphasised over the course of a tumultuous year both within and beyond Australia. Sensitive to such dynamics, Leetham and Burns launched BEAR’s first physical store, SPACE, in the heart of Bangalow, marking an expansion of their vision into an experience. Here, too, minimalist contours prevail as the brand’s offerings are translated into a personal, tactile spatial journey.The interiors are characterised by whitewashed walls and ceramic tile-covered console tables and cubes crafted by Australian furniture designer Bayspoke Studio.
While the founders’ respect for the natural world and their commitment to transposing it from design through to business is admirable, what truly distinguishes them is their dedication to living a lifestyle that remains true to their beliefs. The BEAR way of living isn’t merely a branding exercise — it’s a genuine reflection of two people and their personal story, interwoven and shared with the world from a place of love for themselves, for each other and for nature.