We've been selling gift boxes now since last Christmas. I had the idea to collaborate with a small number of fellow small business and the idea grew from there into the larger and more eclectic collection it is today!
Ella caught up with Rose and Jen who run Moxi - who feature in one of our gift boxes to find out more about their brand and what makes a good scent.
Q. Hi Rose and Jen! We would love to know a little bit about how Moxi started, and the story behind the brand. Can you tell us what it’s like to run a business, whilst also being great friends?
A. We were introduced to each other through our partners because they couldn’t believe how similar we were and thought we’d get along....turns out they were right.
Within a few months of knowing each other we were already collaborating on drawings and illustration jobs. We both knew we wanted to have a business that fed our passion for making and creating with a nod towards the female form and self love.
We decided on a name, based on an old American word ‘moxie’, which means drive and determination. We thought it was quite fitting so we made it our own. We love working together, it just feels very natural and generally we agree on pretty much everything so our thought process is very aligned and in sync. The benefit of being such good friends is that we are always there for each other on a personal level as well as professional.
Q. We love your range of candles at Moxi! What is the making process like from start to finish?
Initially a lot of time and work goes into creating the perfect scents, ordering oils and trying out containers and wicks to make sure the quality of our candles is the best it can be. So now that we have that all in place its a pretty well oiled machine with melting and pouring, then labelling and shipping.
Q. All of your scented candles are hand poured using eco soy wax and are 100% vegan. Why is this important to you as a brand, and what’s the journey been like in developing in this area?
A. We want to create product with the least amount of environmental impact possible, we are always looking of ways to improve in this area. Jen is Vegan and it’s important to both of us that the materials we use are not tested on animals. But also that the people buying our product know that they are cruelty free and that we are a company that care a lot about this issue.
Q. Pepper You owner Jade is Vegan too! So this really is one of the things that drew us to your brand originally when we featured some Moxi products in our gift boxes last Christmas. Fast forward to Christmas '21 (where has the time gone!) we feature one of the gorgeous Moxi candles in a gift box with our Stephanie Earrings.
Why do you think this gift box makes such a lovely gift for a friend, and why do you love doing collaborations with other brands?
A. We love collaborating with other brands because it allows us to bounce off of other people’s creative minds and put that energy into our own work.
We believe strongly in promoting other talent especially small local businesses. After all, teamwork makes the dream work. We loved seeing our candle so beautifully curated alongside Pepper You.
Jade has a fantastic eye for colour and detail. We have always admired her business mind and her ability to create such beautiful things. The gift box offers a little something for someone who deserves a bit of self love and care in their life and that’s what we are all about.
Q: Thank you for the kind words! The gift box really is about self care, we totally agree! You say that "each scent has been carefully developed over time, with the final six scents being truly reflective of Moxi’s core values." When creating a new candle, it must be a really exciting and fun process, and also really rewarding when you produce such a beautiful end product! How do you know when you’ve got the perfect scent?
When we both agree on it! There have been many iterations of the scents we eventually settled on, we always test and try them in our own homes first and then come back to the drawing board if something isn’t quite right. We want to make sure there is something for everyone, so we have the fresh and florals, the perfumed and the earthy natural scents all covered. Scent is very personal and can trigger memories, good and bad. We never want to underestimate how powerful that can be for someone.
Q. Lastly, what do you love about the two candles that we stock in the gift box at Pepper You? What makes 'No 67' and 'Hemera' so unique?
No 67 was our first ever scent, we both love the smell of fig (and the taste) but we wanted something classy, not too sweet, more earthy and musky. We essentially wanted something we would like to burn in our own homes. We named it after our shop in Kemptown, which we were lucky enough to have for a year to kickstart our business. It holds a special place in our hearts, lots of good memories from No 67.
Hemera, named after the goddess of the daytime, is very floral and indulgent with Lavender, Freesia and Bergamot. We wanted it to make a bathroom smell like a spa and the person burning it to feel invigorated and renewed and we think we have achieved that.