How S&S Was Born To Save Our Mental Health

Tuesday 10th October is World Mental Health Day, so we thought it was a good time to re-share our story. Our business was built on the foundations of recovery from our mental health difficulties and continues to help us keep mentally healthy every day.

It all began eleven years ago when I discovered a love for making wax melts, needing to find a mindful hobby to help manage my mental health.

In a kitchen with a small pan and jug, throwing scents together like a crazy Cornish waxy witch! Over time, this developed into a small part time business with making during evenings and weekends. This wasn't easy-juggling a busy teaching career, being a single mother of a young child and struggling with poor mental health and an eating disorder.

In early 2017 I met the mighty Welsh dragon, Barrie, and the magic spark ignited! Just 3 and a half months after meeting, Barrie relocated from Wales to Cornwall so we could be together.

Both of us had become burnt out in our professional careers and desperately needed a break. During that time, Barrie, with his business management skills, learned the craft of making scented wax, whilst I kept a beady eye on him. Together we began to heal.

On the 1st June 2018, Scents & Scentsibility Ltd was born.

Our first 'workshop' was in the small and rickety conservatory of our home. Then in 2019, Barrie was diagnosed with a heart condition and needed serious recuperation. A year of intense cardiac rehabilitation and lifestyle changes, made the dream even more valuable.

Soon, the garage needed to be converted. Six months later, the garage was no longer big enough, and after searching for months, we found stunning premises in our home town of Saltash, just a 10 minute walk away. An absolute dream come true!

We have since rented out the entire top floor of our building to include a dedicated bath & body making room and the most beautiful shop! We now have five members of staff here at S&S and we all love our job!

The best thing about what we do is knowing that we can put our mental health first. We can take time when we need it, we have music playing all day and try to dance through it as much as possible. We giggle, we look after each other and keep the dialogue of how we’re feeling always open. It also helps so much that we can take our beloved French Bulldog, Bree with us to work every day. She's definitely a therapy dog for all and spends her day giving everyone cuddles and making us laugh. 

What we love most about what we do, is hearing from our customers the impact that our products have on their own mental well-being. The connection, as we’ve explored in a previous blog, between fragrance, emotions and memory is such a powerful one. Surrounding yourself with mood-boosting scents can do wonders for your mental health, whether it’s a soothing spa, a relaxing essential oil, a mouth-watering bakery or clean and fresh laundry.

As we reflect on our own Mental Health, it feels fitting that the theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day is that ‘Mental health is a universal human right.’ Let us be open in talking about what affects us, what makes things tricky for us and what we can do to help ourselves and each other. Even if it is simply making a nice, warm drink and lighting a candle. 

Leave us a comment to tell us about your experiences with mental health and any actions you take to keep a healthy mind! 

Clare x