In the studio with… Heather Gilberthorpe Pell

Who better to kick off our studio series than Lit Founder, Heather. We sat down with Heather to discuss starting a business in lockdown, the art of blending Lit’s signature scents and the joys of spring.

Lit, is Heather’s lockdown baby. With a successful career in events already under her belt, the pandemic gave Heather the time and space to reflect on what she really wanted to be doing. Having already been making candles as gifts and with some gentle encouragement from persuasive friends (thanks Helen!), plus some inspiring courses and books on going solo, her hand poured, sustainable candle brand was born.

Based in Sheffield, Heather shares a workshop with her partner, Libby - a picture framer, where she spends hours blending different combinations of aromatherapy oils to create the heavenly Lit scents before hand pouring the rapeseed wax into individual glass jars. Each candle is blended using at least 3 sustainably sourced ingredients and we caught up with Heather (over zoom of course) to find out about Lit’s life so far and what’s next for this this lockdown baby…

Lit was launched during lockdown, can you talk us through the journey so far?

I wanted to do something new, something that I really enjoyed and that I felt aligned with my core values which are high quality and sustainability. I kept thinking about the candle making I’d done the previous Christmas so I started playing around, being careful not to put any pressure on myself. I started to realise that what I was making was a really nice product so I reached out to a few other local people who had gone out on their own to see if they wanted to collaborate to take my little candles from hobby to brand.

A friend worked with me on the branding, one of my best friend’s did our initial photoshoot using flowers from my Mum’s garden and we used those photos to start the website and Instagram when we launched in October. My partner Libby is a picture framer and she was looking for a new workshop, I asked to have a slice of the space to make the candles in and amazingly my space seems to keep growing…

All of your candles are made by hand, what do you love about the process?

It’s just a joy, it’s slow and methodical and I enjoy each step - it’s like a good baking session, with all of the gorgeous smells, it’s very soothing.

The Lit fragrances are what the brand is known for, and they really do fill a room with deliciousness for hours, how do you come up with the ingredient combinations?

The memories that smell creates are so deep and so personal, you physically respond to them. Choosing the essential oils and then mixing them to find the perfect blend is an absolute joy. I do a lot of research into perfumes and find different combinations that work by categorising ingredients into areas such as green, wood or floral. It’s a lot of trial and error…it’s surprising how a tiny change can make things smell like piss or just beautiful, often it’s the unexpected that really works.

Which is your favourite Lit scent?

The geranium and sweet orange with a bit of coriander - it’s so zesty it makes me feel like spring is coming.

Spring is coming! What’s your favourite thing about it?

The smell! That first time when you go outside after winter and you can smell the soil again just makes me excited, and those first little bulbs poking through…

Have you had any lockdown rituals?

Candles! When you’re stuck at home, it’s a simple way to soothe your nerves and instantly makes you feel at home rather being stuck at home, candles create a place you want to be. I have them everywhere!

You started Lit during lockdown, any advice for budding creators?

Just do it! Try not to overthink! I know that’s the hardest thing - write down your ideas, talk to your cheer squad, my friend Helen always reminds me ‘nothing is forever, give it a go’, you’re the only person who’s going to stop you.

What can we look forward to seeing from Lit this year?

There’s a very exciting collaboration with the ceramics Grey Suit Clay, it’s the first time we’ve used more than 3 scents in a candle so that’s new and exciting for us. I’ll be continuing to develop the core range and I’d love to collaborate on some more limited edition scents…

And finally, what’s your favourite way to enjoy a Lit candle?

With a cup of tea and some dark chocolate, that’s probably very uncool!