"Our scented candles are crafted in our family kitchen in Reigate, Surrey from sustainable ingredients, hand poured into recycled, repurposed or reclaimed glass from our local green-spaces."
I had the pleasure of stumbling across Nature Reclaimed on Instagram, when I was first looking at local small businesses to support, who had sustainability and eco friendliness at the heart of their brand.
I immediately purchased a candle to try (I love candles!) and it didn't disappoint, the aroma was beautiful and the wooden wick produces a soothing, crackling sound like a miniature open fire.
I met up with the lovely Katy who is behind the business with her husband Olly to offer my services along with writing a blog post review as a fellow local and sustainable business.
1. What inspired you to start your business?
Nature Reclaimed came about from my husband, Olly’s new found love of something called ‘plogging’ (a combination of litter picking and jogging!) during the first Lockdown. There had been a big increase in litter in our local park in Reigate, and so he began picking it up as he ran, bringing any more interesting finds, in particular the glass bottles, home. It soon became clear that they had huge potential to be used again, repurposed into something new.
After some experimentation and a fair amount of trial and error! We were able to begin turning the bottles into the beautiful glass that you see on our website. From there it didn't take long for us to decide how best to use them, filling each one with 100% natural wax, blended with pure essential oils, inspired by nature. In addition to the bottles that we have found, we also re-purpose glass from local households and will take back any of our finished candle glass, in exchange for a discount on a new one.
2. What is your brand ethos?
Our business was founded from a desire to look after our local greenspaces and so being eco-concious is at the heart of what we do, and influences every decision that we make. We are also passionate about shopping local and supporting other small businesses. We’ve formed some really exciting partnerships with local businesses in our area and have even grown our product range to include items like greeting cards and candle stick holders, all made by fellow eco-friendly local makers.
3. Your favourite part of the process in running your business and producing the candles?
We have really enjoyed creating the product range but the thing that we both enjoy most about the business is meeting lots of new people! From our fellow makers to people who drop off bottles and just want to hear a little more about what we do. But when a customer comes to collect a candle, or gets in touch to order a replacement, that really makes all the hard work worthwhile.
4. Your favourite scent and why?
Whichever one I’m making! No honestly, this is such a tricky question as it really does change all the time, and it really depends on my mood and what I’m looking for when I light a candle. Right now I’m burning our Orange and Chamomile scented candle, which is so zingy and uplifting and always gives me a boost when I’m working, so right now that would be my favourite!
https://www.nature-reclaimed.shop
Look out for a cross promotion between Emma Tarn Photography and Nature Reclaimed coming soon!