So, it turns out that wonder-fillers are everywhere. Folks who choose to use the things we make, on repeat, in a closed loop. We’re all on the same page.
It’s never lost on us how brilliant, broad and beautifully unexpected this Fill family can be. It’s SO cool that the goods we make get found and chosen to help clean all kinds of people and places doing what they do. Folks filling and refilling from our little factory in Finedon. The fill files include bulk body wash for the Greenpeace Field at Glastonbury Festival, laundry goods for the Royal Opera House, bulk micellar water for The London Dungeon (yep, really) and goods for the best shelving system builders in the world; Vitsœ, Leamington Spa! Fillers include all kinds of artists, primary schools, West End theatre productions, film crews, community centres, Green Michelin Star restaurants, cool hotels, costume departments, churches, designers, campsites, record labels, charities, makers and everyday folks who care about what they use. We’re so grateful to everyone who finds us for themselves.
Take Bernard Quaritch, specialists in rare books and manuscripts since 1847. They picked Fill out from the shelf and we figured it would be cool to find out why. So, for World Book Day we got to speak to Eulalie; a lover of reading, history, tangibility and keeping tradition alive so that things endure to be enjoyed and studied for years to come.
Nothing beats sitting down with a good old book and good old books are exactly what you’ll find at Bernard Quaritch. From beautifully bound first editions to rare manuscripts that have been handled, cherished, and passed down through generations. Every book tells its own story, long before it reaches your (clean) hands. It’s the perfect reminder that some things, like the joy of turning a real page, never go out of style. Hand Wash Bibliosmia anyone?
WHO ARE YOU
I’m Eulalie Charland. I work part-time as Office Administrator at Bernard Quaritch – which means I help keep one of London’s oldest antiquarian bookshops gently running while extraordinary books and manuscripts pass through on their way to collectors, libraries, and new adventures. I make spreadsheets behave, organise the chaos, and ensure the coffee appears at precisely the right moment.
WHO AND WHAT IS BERNARD QUARITCH
Bernard Quaritch is an antiquarian bookseller founded in 1847, specialising in rare books, manuscripts, maps, and works on paper spanning centuries of human curiosity. The team of booksellers sometimes feel like a very civilised conspiracy devoted to keeping knowledge alive.
HOW DID YOU WIND UP DOING WHAT YOU DO?
I’m a violinist and spent 20 years freelancing as a professional musician in London. After Covid and a few significant life plot twists, I realised it was time to reshape things. I retrained as a life coach and am now building my practice, with this part time role supporting the transition.
Very few employers recognise how transferable musicians’ skills actually are – organisation, adaptability, diplomacy, and crisis management performed with competence and calm. Bernard Quaritch did. I joined the team and somehow acquired the affectionate nickname of Mary Poppins, which I consider both accurate and deeply flattering.
I’ve always loved spaces shaped by creativity and attention. A rare bookshop feels like the perfect meeting point between curiosity and care – helping objects that have travelled across centuries continue their journey.
WHY IS BERNARD QUARITCH A COOL PLACE TO BE?
Because it bears absolutely no resemblance to corporate life. Every day at 11am I make coffee and the entire company gathers in the beautiful front room. Conversations range from fifteenth-century printing to weekend plans. When it’s someone’s birthday, I bake their favourite cake!
WHAT EXCITES YOU THE MOST ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?
Being part of one of those increasingly rare places that still delights in knowledge and the physical traces of human thought. Books outlive us all, and it feels quietly wonderful to help look after them for a while.
WHAT’S THE MOST EXCITING BOOK OR MANUSCRIPT YOU CURRENTLY HAVE YOUR HANDS ON?
I recently became rather excited about a tiny slip of paper – the only known document proving that members of the Medici family bet on the outcome of papal votes (strictly illegal at the time). Proof that even Renaissance elites enjoyed a discreet flutter.
WHAT DO YOU DREAM OF FINDING? ANYTHING THAT’S BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO GET YOUR HANDS ON?
As well as music, I love poetry! I would love to handle a first edition of The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, or of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam – which was actually published by Bernard Quaritch Ltd back in 1859!
There’s one particular copy of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam which would definitely be impossible to find – it was called ‘The Great Omar’ and was bound using 1,050 jewels, including rubies, topazes and emeralds and about 100sq ft (9sq m) of gold leaf. Unfortunately, it was carried on the Titanic, and went down with the ship.
MEMORABLE MOMENT FROM THE SHOP
One of the booksellers plays the harpsichord (and keeps his instrument in the shop), and I often bring in my violin so we can play music together at lunchtime. So far, we’ve worked through Corelli, Handel, Bach, and Telemann while colleagues eat lunch next door accompanied by live Baroque music – it’s lovely!
RECOMMEND SOMETHING
It’s hard to pick just one thing, one of my favourite things about Quaritch is the breadth we cover. Currently we have one of the last manuscripts of Marco Polo’s Travels remaining in private hands, the collection of papers from Schrodinger’s assistant, a trio of illuminated initials by a Renaissance Master of illumination, first appearance in print of any complete work by Archimedes, tiny embroidered almanacks…
Books are so important as physical objects, so I would always recommend coming to enjoy things in person, whether it’s coming to see us at a book fair or coming to our shop – we love to welcome new faces.
WHO/WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION?
At the bookshop? The booksellers, librarians, printers, scholars, collectors, who go gently against the current; they understand the quiet magic and responsibility of preserving art and knowledge in a culture driven by speed and consumption. They are people who care deeply, hone their craft, and recognise the beauty and fragility of human existence held within these priceless books.
WHY?
Because in an age increasingly shaped by digital speed and AI, the continued care of physical knowledge feels essential. Part of the job of rare books is caring for the past, conservation so that things endure to be enjoyed and studied for many years to come. Fill Refill helps us care for our future too.
THINGS YOU COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT
Music, books, people, beautiful food, and a well equipped kitchen.
LAST SONG YOU CHOSE TO LISTEN TO
Keith Jarrett’s album The Köln Concert.
LAST BOOK YOU READ
In an Unspoken Voice by Peter Levine.
WHY FILL REFILL?
Because small daily habits add up. Refilling feels like a simple, practical way of caring for the world we share.
WHAT DO YOU REFILL?
