Louis Philogene-Cummings

I've been gardening since 2016, and over the years I tried a couple of mushroom grow kits. Neither of them produced a single mushroom. In March 2020, at the start of lockdown, I finished college and had just moved into my own place, and that's when I properly got into mycology.

The growing itself wasn't the hard part. Contamination, and long waits for sterile supplies, were what held me back.

My first venture, Sporehouse, was meant to be a small mushroom farm in an old bank in Wotton-under-Edge. After nearly setting the old bank on fire during a test run of a DIY bulk substrate steam-steriliser, it was time to throw in the towel and think again. The real problem wasn't growing — it was safe, reliable sterilisation. That search led to a medical-grade autoclave and a cleanroom in Watford, which we began setting up in late 2023. Spore Supplies officially kicked off on 28th June 2024.

Day to day, I now develop new products, source UK native species, and write simple guides and explainers for people starting out.