The Norfolk Eye Pillow Company

Eye Pillows in French Linen and Norfolk Lavender.

The Norfolk Eye Pillow Company makes one thing — eye pillows, handmade in Norfolk in highest-grade French linen and filled with organic wheat grains and Norfolk lavender. They make six versions of it, in heritage colours named after the Norfolk landscape (Blakeney sea, Holkham pines on a winter's night, vintage pink eiderdown fading in afternoon sun), and that is essentially the entire range. The case for the format is more substantive than "a small thing for putting on your eyes": gentle weighted pressure on the eyelids triggers the oculocardiac reflex, which stimulates the vagus nerve, which calibrates downward most of the things — heart rate, blood pressure, the kind of low-grade nervous tension that settles in after a day at a screen — that you'd want calibrated downward at the end of a day.

The materials choice is unusually considered for the price point. Linen was chosen over the more obvious organic cotton on the basis that flax (the plant that becomes linen) needs only rainwater to grow, hates being sprayed with chemicals, and gets stronger every time it is washed; it is also one of the most biodegradable fabrics available and absorbs moisture without holding onto bacteria — which matters rather a lot for something resting on sensitive eyes. The pillow can be used at room temperature, microwaved briefly for warmth, or frozen for half an hour for tension headaches and minor swellings. The embroidered versions carry single words — Peace, Gratitude, Breathe, Love, Namaste — for those who want their eye pillow to also gently affirm something. An optional gift box with satin ribbon and personalised note is available, which is a useful detail given that most of these will end up being bought as presents.

For more home-grown design, browse our British Makers selection, or discover brands chosen for how they make things through Sustainable Brands and Shop by Purpose. Find more for the calmer corners of the home in our Candles & Home Fragrance edit, or browse considered Gifts for Her.