A\u2008mother and son team, Tara and Noah are working hard this month to provide gifts for Mother\u2019s Day from their homegrown ethical home fragrance brand Freckleface, founded in Bourne in 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mother and son team Tara and Noah Carlile-Swift, are enjoying the sweet scent of success, having founded their Lincolnshire home fragrance business in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This month is set to be one of the busiest in the company\u2019s year, with the launch of a new collaboration with a major heritage brand (we\u2019re sworn to secrecy!) as well as spring fragrances, for Mother\u2019s Day and then Easter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there\u2019s a better success story than that of Freckleface, we\u2019ve yet to hear it. At the age <\/p>\n\n\n\n
of 14 Noah was in mainstream education, where his dyslexia and dyspraxia were impacting on his ability to really achieve his full potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mum Tara decided to take him out of school and instead home-school him, which was an environment in which he thrived, to say the least. One of the tasks she set him as part of his home schooling was to set up a business with a budget of just \u00a350.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Noah rose to the challenge and created a range of wax melts designed to provide authentic fragrances for the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What was supposed to be just a project lasting a few weeks, though, proved rather more enduring. Family and friends proved an initial source of repeat business, but then word spread and soon the family, including dad Simon, were all involved in a cottage industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After success at over 50 events across the UK, the family took a leap of faith and Freckleface as a brand was born. Within a year, the family had took on their first workshop and then their first shop in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today Freckleface has grown considerably and last year, the company produced a whopping 4.5m wax melts as well as a range of candles, oils, diffusers, room sprays and bath bombs. The company now has retail studios in Lincoln and Stamford plus two shops in York, one on the historic Shambles shopping street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe knew we had great products and because we\u2019ve grown organically we\u2019ve been able to manage that success, ensuring that we remain faithful to the values that we\u2019ve held dear to us since founding the company,\u201d says Tara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of our products are still hand-poured not just in Britain, but in right here Lincolnshire. As far as possible too, our products and packaging are plastic-free. And where they\u2019re not plastic free, they\u2019re at least recyclable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur wax melts are overwhelmingly our most popular products, which have the advantage of minimal packaging and the ability to constantly reuse a ceramic melter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe use soya wax which ensures a cleaner burn than paraffin wax, and our fragrances use recognisable ingredients like lavender, originally sourced from Tara\u2019s garden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company\u2019s range includes over 40 different fragrances throughout the year: Evergreen and Winter Berries in the cooler months, and Jasmine & Lime or Sweet Pea in the warmer months for example. There is also a core range of all year round fragrances, including best selling Pomegranate Black and Bergamot Verbena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company also creates bespoke fragrances for its licensed partners such as the RHS and Laura Ashley. These take up to six month to refine but it\u2019s worth the wait for those partners who want to work with a company which values traditional production and the fact that they\u2019re homemade in Britain by a team enfranchised in their products\u2019 authenticity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Creating and refining a fragrance is the tricky part, but once finessed, it\u2019s relatively easy to adapt a composition from, say, wax melts \u2013 these represent over half of the company\u2019s output \u2013 to products like reed diffusers, room sprays and fragrance oils. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe work really well together as a family,\u201d says Tara. \u201cI enjoy the creativity and the invention of products which are faithful to the brand\u2019s ethos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMeanwhile Noah himself has become a commercially-minded co-owner who\u2019s really good at working with our team, opening and looking after our retail stores and managing the company\u2019s growth commensurate with our ethos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the more unusual elements of the company is the value that Noah and Tara place on Freckleface having a physical presence on the High Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just a pleasantry,\u201d says Tara. \u201cWe\u2019ve always felt that we should offer an in-store experience and have contact with our customers. So many products now can be purchased online, but in doing so there\u2019s no emotional connection to the brand… it\u2019s a bit of a soulless experience which is the opposite of what we want to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re keen to know and reflect our customers and to offer a really premium product that they want to enjoy time and again. Fragrance is really personal so we\u2019ve always thought it\u2019s an advantage for people to visit us in person, and be guided through our range, experiencing each one for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHaving said that, we do also offer a Wax Melt subscription club which provides a different selection of fragrances each month, delivered through the letterbox and cancellable at any time, with the option to ensure your home smells seasonally fresh throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s proven popular once our customers have that connection with the brand, and we\u2019re thrilled with the fact that we have that relationship with our customers, and that they\u2019re invested in us as a family company, based in Lincolnshire, determined to grow our business but without sacrificing our founding principals. It\u2019s one of the many advantages of working together as a family in such a lovely company, with such a great team!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freckleface is based in Spalding and has retail studios on Lincoln\u2019s Sincil Street and in Stamford\u2019s Red Lion Square. For more information on the brand call 01778 393699 or see www.frecklefacehomefragrance.com.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n