How it began…
Very early in 2017 I decided that I needed a hobby to take my mind off my very stressful role in management in the Care Sector. Making home fragrance products seemed a really obvious choice to me.. I have always been obsessed with how my home smells and I absolutely love scented wax.
And so it began!!! Lots of research, reading and watching tutorials online gave me the confidence to go ahead and order my first batch of supplies, for making and testing. Its fair to say that in the early days it was about trial and error, and of course learning by mistakes but within time I felt I should share my new found hobby with family and friends . It turned out that they loved scented wax just as much as I did and that they loved my wax melts. The feedback I got from them was that they wanted to try other fragrances and that they loved melting my wax at home.
At this stage I started to think that perhaps I could make a business out of my new hobby. I loved my job, particularly the contact with the clients that my team cared for in the community but I struggled with anxiety, and often found the stress very difficult to manage. My new hobby enabled me to switch off from work and focus on something else. One day I woke up and decided that I was going to make my new hobby my work. Over a bottle of wine on a Saturday night I told my husband this; his response was to ask me to do him a pitch on how I would make it work – I did and he invested £200 so that I could make my first large purchases, and start selling my products.
Building up my business
During 2017 I worked hard to build up my range of fragrances and develop the range of products I made. It was a real juggling act doing this whilst working in my very full time job. It often meant getting up at 5am to pack melts, and working till 11pm making them.
I started attending local events and fairs, and I set up my first ever website. Social media enabled me to build up my customer base, which steadily grew throughout the year. Later on in the year I started to hold open house events at my home at which my customers came and browsed and bought my products on specific days; they were a real hit.
Most importantly for me I loved what I was doing… I enjoyed making the products, and was at my happiest meeting new people at events.
The year ended very sadly; a very special person who was firstly a customer and then a friend, Toni passed away very suddenly. When sad things happen sometimes perspective comes. There was no greater ambassador of my products than this beautiful lady; we had spoken many times about changing our lives and doing something different for work. I decided to resign from my job and focus on my business full time.
My Very Own Shop!!!
So having taken the very scary step of resigning from my job and not having a pay check at the end of the month for the first time in almost 25 years, I threw myself into self employment… before I knew it 6 months had passed.
I had a beautiful workshop built for me in the garden of my home by some amazing friends of ours and regained a home. But within a matter of months the workshop became too small. Customers were contacting me on a daily basis asking to come and see my products. New customers visited following the recommendation of other customers. I needed to employ help to keep up with demand which wasn’t easy in my garden!
The next natural step was to look at a shop. When I asked my customers on social media what they thought it was a resounding yes…. they loved the idea. I have lived in West Hull or in West Hull villages the majority of my life and I have always loved Hessle. My paternal Grandad lived in Hessle, I got my first pet rabbit as a child from the local pet shop, its a place I always enjoyed visiting to shop. It was my location of choice, and on my very first look I found the perfect shop. Within 24 hours I had signed a lease, three months later I opened the door to my shop.
I still wake up every day and cannot believe I have my own business, my own shop and now this beautiful website too. I am very lucky to be surrounded by wonderful supportive people and an amazing group of customers who recommend my products to everyone they know.
I love my Facebook community and the customers who share their love of my products. Thanks so very very much from the bottom of my heart.
Much Love … Cat xxx
