“What I find the most fulfilling about my job is that we can have a small part in making someone’s day better. I am all about the small moments that add up to the big moments.”

Poppy Wall

Co-Founder of Eym Naturals

Our Urban Explorer

Could you please introduce yourself to our guests?

My name is Poppy Wall and together with my husband Sam, we are the Founders of Eym Naturals, a 100% natural fragrance brand based out of the UK.

Did you always have an interest in making candles and scents?

I have always been passionate about candles as I find them so atmospheric and ritualistic where I love coming home after a busy day, dim the lights, light a candle, pour a glass of wine, and relax.

How did you come up with the idea to start Eym?

When I was pregnant with our first son, I became aware of how incredibly toxic candles could be with some unhealthy chemicals in them. At the time, I could not find a brand that was 100% natural and aesthetically pleasing. Some brands would state that they were natural but then it was actually just soy wax with synthetic fragrance. Hence, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to create a candle that not only smelt amazing but made you feel amazing too, thanks to the therapeutic benefits of essential oils. I started doing a lot of research into aromatherapy blends, the different oils that elevated different moods, and how they could be incorporated into candles to create an atmosphere for different times of the day. I came up with an array of blends that I personally loved and then we made some candles in the kitchen of our tiny flat in London. At the time, we were very lucky to collaborate with a small manufacturer that took small runs and so once we had the final product, we joined a pop-up store in London where some buyers took notice – and that was how we were discovered!

What was your career before you embarked on this adventure?

I used to be in the film industry as an agent for actors. It was an exciting job, but incredibly demanding. I would still be replying to emails at 10 o’clock in the evening and so I just knew that if I was to have a child, I would not be able to maintain this kind of lifestyle. Hence, when I went on maternity leave, it was a great opportunity for me to start Eym.

What does a day in the life of Poppy Walls look like?

We’ve got three children now so my schedule is very busy! We live in the countryside in Wales so our typical day starts off with getting the kids ready for school and out the door. Then, I’ll drop my daughter off at daycare before rushing back to do a bit of cleaning around the house. I generally get to my desk at around 9:30am to start my day with calls and a fresh cup of coffee. I love my morning ritual of lighting a candle to get the day started. I will be attending meetings throughout, investigating up and coming wellness trends, and creating our newsletter and promotions till about 4pm when our kids come home from school. They will be in bed by 7 o’clock so I have time to do another round of tidying before I unwind with a glass of wine, light some candles and take some time for myself.

What does ”Urban Explorer” mean to you and how do you think you fit into this term?

An urban explorer is someone who can tap into different energies and vibes wherever they go and to me, urban exploration is really about feeling inspired by your surroundings. For me, I am constantly in awe of London. In this bustling city, at every corner, there is always something exciting happening. Since we live in the countryside, every now and again, we have to take ourselves into the city to feel that energy and see what is out there, what people are wearing, and what people are doing. For us, as a brand, we are very inspired by the city’s art, design and aesthetics.

A Feast for the Senses

How did you come up with the name for your brand? Does Eym have any special meaning to you?

Eym is an acronym for “Elevate Your Mood.” We hope to enrich people’s lives and uplift their mood through the power of scent – to help them set the scene, so to speak.

In an interview, you mentioned that you really love candles because you find them ritualistic and symbolic to signal different parts of the day. How do you incorporate candle burning into your own daily ritual?

Every scent is made for a certain mood within a day. For instance, the scent “Rest” is the sleepy one for bedtime, “Create” is the uplifting one, while our newest fragrance “Eden” is the blissful one that encapsulates a moment you have to yourself to unwind, draw yourself a bath and read a book. “Home” is the first fragrance we created that smells of roses and geranium and it makes you feel grounded. When I was first creating the fragrance, I was inspired by the idea of someone coming home after a long day of running around the city and as they put on their comfy clothes, they have that moment of feeling centered and grounded – like they can let go of the busy day and fully unwind. I really love creating these rituals throughout the day to help set up the atmosphere of my space.

Where does the inspiration for your different scents come from?

When I started researching 100% natural fragrances, which is basically essential oils that come from plants and flowers, I discovered that there were many aromatherapy benefits to natural fragrances which helped to elevate your mood. From this idea, I was inspired by creating fragrances for certain moods throughout the day. For instance, “Rest” is the sleepy fragrance that you would burn when reading a book as you wind down from the day, whereas in the morning, you would want to use “Create”, the uplifting one. It has a zesty, uplifting aroma of black pepper and orange to give you that extra kick of energy.

Can you tell us a bit about the whole creative process, from initial design to the actual creation of the product?

I’ll usually come up with the mood I want to create, then research the best essential oils to support that mood. I would then take the idea to our perfumers, an amazing perfumery house that primarily focuses on naturals and makes sure that the ingredients are sourced sustainably and responsibly. In return, they will provide us with a few different options on fragrances, we test them out and decide which option is going to be the right one. The perfumery will create the fragrance for us before it goes to our candle and diffuser manufacturers to create the whole product. Finally, they get shipped to our warehouse which will then go out to consumers.

One of your most recent collaborations is with Lucy Williams in which she designed the Murano glass for your exclusive collection of candles. How did this cool collaboration come about?

For this collection, we wanted to create a piece of glass that was refillable and something to be held on to for generations and Murano glass is beautiful, artistic, full of expression and colourful, which is completely different to our core range within Eym. That said, we approached Lucy and it just so happened to be perfect timing because she was renovating her home at the time and so we came up with this concept around creating a glass to fit a certain room within her house that corresponded to a certain mood. Lucy was amazing to work with and it was a truly seamless collaboration. Lucy came across the work of artist Georgia Beaumont where she created some illustrations on the box, and then we worked with Murano glass artist Laguna B. who produced the glass. Overall, it was such a lovely collaborative process!

What do you find most fulfilling about your work?

What I find the most fulfilling about my job is that we can have a small part in making someone’s day better. I am all about small moments that add up to the big moments. And if having a fragrance in your room or having your own rituals make you feel good, I love that the idea that we can add joy in people’s lives.

Travel inspiration

How often do you both travel for work? What about for leisure?

We certainly travel up and down to London a lot. We also lived in Australia for five years, so we did a lot of traveling while we were there. My husband is a big surfer, so we basically go to places where the waves are! We do a lot of trips to Byron and a lot of trips down the coast. In terms of traveling for work, we will actually be heading to America soon as we are being stocked at Nordstrom. We are also seeking out some distributors in Scandinavia as well so we are going to do a few trips out there.

Where does your travel inspiration come from?

Instagram is where I get my travel inspiration from – the visuals are so captivating!

Any cool destinations on your bucket list?

Iceland is definitely on my bucket list! I would also really like to visit Canada and be completely surrounded by nature. Lisbon is probably one of my favorite cities in the world and I love the chill vibe there, so I would love to visit again. Stockholm and Montenegro would also be on my list!

In 3 words, how would you describe London?

Cool, Buzzy, Inspirational

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