Your brand archetype
Take my FREE quiz to uncover your brand archetype in just minutes! Use the results to connect, captivate, and convert with strategic design.
Take my FREE quiz to uncover your brand archetype in just minutes! Use the results to connect, captivate, and convert with strategic design.
“Surround yourself with people that you trust and believe in you and do not compromise on your own values.”
Hey Ellie!
I’m so excited that you are here for a chat with me for the Gather and Grow series. You know how much I have fallen in love with your products and I LOVE the ethos behind the brand – focussing on the aromatherapy benefits of the essential oils on mood etc.
Lets jump straight in!
I run a candle brand and create innovative mood-changing candles using pure plant oils and therapeutic blends.
It all started because of stress! I was working as a Midwife in the NHS during the pandemic where staffing levels were shocking and the workload was even more shocking – I began using essential oils to help me with symptoms of anxiety, stress and burnout. The difference they made to my mental health was incredible, so I started making natural candles for friends and family and it grew from there.
If I’m completely honest, I tend to follow my instincts on this. I have a collection of candles designed to send you to different places in nature, the idea came to me while on holiday in St Ives, I took a coastal walk and foraged wild Rosemary, Coastal Pine and Yarrow that were growing between the rocks. I thought how wonderful it would be to bottle up those scents and make a candle. There are many candle brands out there, but few focus on real therapeutic benefits and I think that’s why people buy my products.
I use my knowledge, experience and senses to guide me through a scent recipe. Some blends are relatively easy to create, some are tricky. I start with an idea, I determine what benefit I want the candle to have. Then I decide on a base note and work from there. The process is actually super fun! There have been some disasters along the way, I once added too much Birch Tar while creating my ‘Wildnerness’ candle it smelt like Salami…
Soy wax is a non-toxic and clean burning wax, it has no toxins or pollutants meaning the candles I make are safe and good for the environment. Paraffin wax is still used in many shop bought candles and I personally think it should be banned – it contains so many nasty chemicals. Soy wax is also vegan friendly and burns at lower temperature that other waxes, meaning your candle will last longer.
I always start the morning sat at my desk with a coffee and I write my to-do list, respond to emails and plan out social content. I will then print out orders that were placed the day before and pack them up ready to be collected by the Postie in the afternoon. The afternoon can be spent making candles, creating content for social media, working on a launch strategy, visiting potential stockists, creating an email template, or ordering stock and paying invoices. I’m a one woman show who wears many hats, but I enjoy that as no day is the same.
It has to be the ceramic garden candles because you really can’t find anything like it on the market, most garden candles are sickly with Citronella and look rather ugly (In my opinion!). I adore the reusable ceramic pots and the uplifting scent makes me feel like I’m in the Mediterranean. They also have natural bug-banning properties. It’s the product that’s going to put Tyler Aromatherapy on the map, I’ve been manifesting that they will be stocked in John Lewis!
Now this is a subject I love! When I tell people my candles change your mood, they don’t believe me at first. Essential oils are a powerhouse, they are scientifically proven to have so many benefits. When you light one of our candles, the scent molecules are released into the air. From there, they are inhaled up through the nose and make their way to the emotional brain (The Limbic System) and trigger hormonal reponses. It’s these hormonal responses that impact on your mood, making you feel uplifted, energised, calm or balance depending on the scent blend.
A long walk, a trip to a coffee shop and a warm bath using my oils. Bliss!
This is going to sound cliche, but I didn’t believe in myself. If you don’t truly believe in yourself, your confidence to push on to bigger and better things simply is not there. I come from a background in healthcare and not business, for a while I thought that meant I couldn’t compete with other businesses. I started listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos and joining Instagram lives to immerse myself into the world of marketing and business. After a while my confidence grew and that’s where the magic truly happens. My advice is to avoid comparing your business to others, instead surround yourself with resources and positive people.
I don’t have a good balance, my brain never truly switches off from Tyler Aromatherapy. The thing is, I love my business and working on it pretty much 24/7 makes me happy. I left my job as a Midwife due to stress, and I will never let myself fall like that again. If I felt those symptoms creep in again, I would take a step back. I leave my phone at home while I walk to collect my son from school, when I’m having a self-care bath or while on a walk to reduce my screen time.
Surround yourself with people that you trust and believe in you and do not compromise on your own values. Manifest and visualise what you want to achieve. Say ‘Yes’ to the opportunities that come your way even if they make you feel nervous, remember that nothing good ever comes from your comfort zone – don’t doubt yourself!
When I think about self care, I think of ways to make myself feel good. It does not have to be a dedicated day of the week where I have this huge self care routine, and I would encourage you to stop thinking like this too. Small daily self care rituals are much more beneficial and more importantly, easy to fit into a busy life! For me, it’s the 5 minutes in the morning looking out of the window while drinking my coffee, or the daily bath using my chill pill candle and botanical bath salts, or applying a drop of my Yang oil to my wrists when I feel that afternoon slump creep in.
Just recently, Tyler Aromatherapy was shortlisted for start-up brand of the year. I had to attend an interview and prepare a 5 minute presentation about my business to a panel of judges. Everything in my body was telling me not to go because I was nervous, imposter syndrome struck hard and I doubted myself. I remembered that being nervous and out of my comfort zone was not ‘bad’, it was an opportunity for growth. So I did it! I went to the interview and got through it, I was super proud of myself for that.
I have two favourite parts, creating new blends and marketing. I never thought marketing would be enjoyable or that I’d be any good at it, but it has turned into one of my strengths!
Although I’m manifesting big things, at the heart will always be creating moments for self care and well-being through mood-changing candles. So can you expect to see much more of my on social media, telling my brand story and educating you about the benefits of essential oils.
Green
Dahlias
Rose Geranium
Spring
When you wake up, Do five things before checking your phone. I like to drink a glass of water, take my vitamins, make the bed, spend a minute looking out the window and stretch. Checking your phone as soon as you wake up distracts the mind and sets the tone for distraction for the rest of the day.
© Oohlala Studio 2018 – 2023
