Two female-owned businesses have come together under one roof to create a sanctuary for those who enjoy all things natural, sweet-smelling and wellness.
Willow x Alma Sana on Beresford Street brings together the calm and relaxation offered by Vanessa Vowden’s Willow Home Fragrance, with the health and wellness expertise from Sophie Anderson’s Alma Sana.
Express sat down with Vanessa to learn more about Willow and her journey into the candles and scents business…
What products and services do you offer at Willow Home Fragrance?
My candles and diffusers are natural with top quality fragrance oils. I use soy wax, so they are vegan with no parabens. I’ve created my own candle as well.
I host candle and wax melt workshops where people follow a recipe that I’ve created to make the candles that I sell, or they can make their own candle and test it at home themselves. The wax melt classes are where people can make a bespoke scent.
I also run Willow’s Candle Club – you sign up on the website and receive one of our standard candles in a new scent each month, delivered to your door – there’s no repeat fragrances for a whole year at least.
What inspired you to start your business?
I was a beauty therapist for over 20 years and had my own beauty therapy business for five years before Willow. I got married and I was pregnant with twins, I decided to give up the business, because I was a little bit busy.
I started the business in 2019 by selling a few little home accessories on Facebook, like candles. People used to ask me if I made the candles, and when I said no, they seemed a little bit disappointed, so I thought, “right, I’m going to try that”.
It really took off after 2023. I stopped selling homey bits and have been focusing on the candles over the last couple of years through online, pop ups and Candle Club.
What was the journey to getting Willow Home Fragrance to where it is now?
Three years ago, my dad was diagnosed with dementia and Parkinson’s. My mum couldn’t drive, so I was very much running around to hospital and doctor’s appointments and looking after them.
My dad passed away two years ago, and my mum passed away earlier this year. Time has been taken up with the family, but it’s part of the story.
Now is my time to throw myself into this. My kids are older and more independent, so the next few years are definitely for me and doing this venture.
How did the joint venture between Willow and Alma Sana come about?
Sophie and I met at a Christmas pop up last year – we had stalls next to each other.
I messaged her saying I had an idea about doing a quarterly subscription box with seasonal scents and what Sophie thinks would be beneficial to people at that time of year, so we met for a coffee to talk about that.
It never actually happened, but it led to us discussing a shop.
It has definitely exceeded expectations – the opening day was just bonkers. I still can’t get over it.
What are your plans for Willow Home Fragrance now you have the physical shop?
I’ll be going back to my beauty roots as well – I used to do aromatherapy, so I really want to try and incorporate that into the workshops. If they’re not sleeping, they might want to make something with lavender, or something uplifting with lemon.
Working in the beauty industry for years, it’s very one on one with people, and I’ve always been very conscious of how they’re feeling or if they’re comfortable.
We want our customers to find the products they like and enjoy gifting so they come into the shop again to have a good experience. It’s meant to be a place where people come and relax.