Halcyon – The story behind our first fragrance

When the idea for Tailor Made Living (previously Tinker Tailor) was conceived I was very clear in my mind that I wanted to manufacture my own products. I wanted to give life to my brand beyond the confines of my north London shop.

Starting from scratch

I had absolutely no experience or idea how to make this part of my plan come to fruition. You’ll notice this is a common theme in my story so far!

I made some enquiries with large manufacturers but minimum order quantities ran into the thousands, making it impossible for me to move forwards. Then in a serendipitous twist of fate Jenna, founder of Join came into my life.

Jenna is a powerhouse in the manufacturing, distribution and retail world, Join is her passion project. She lovingly makes her range of best selling ethical home fragrance products from her studio in South East London.

I stock Join candles at Tailor Made Living where they have become one of our staple products. The quality is excellent and I’m not just saying that. I’ve seen Jenna make batches by hand, carefully melting soy wax and measuring out only the highest grade essential oils to make each recipe. Every candle is then poured by hand into glass jars and packed into boxes made from recycled paper.

When Jenna offered to own label candles for Tailor Made Living, I jumped at the chance and we got to work on creating a fragrance that captured my brand.

Finding inspiration

My starting point was making a list of fragrances that I love. Not just other candles and perfumes but everyday scents and the memories they evoke.

Generally speaking I like fresh, zesty fragrances and having grown up in Spain you could say that oranges, lemons, mint and geraniums are in my blood. Anything that reminds me of home brings a smile to my face, it was then that I knew my first fragrance would have to be inspired by my beloved island of Menorca.

The development phase

This is the exciting part! Sharing your ideas and working with someone to create a tangible product is a fantastic experience. Jenna and I talked at length about my ideas and being the fairy godmother of fragrance, she then went on to develop samples for me to test.

After several weeks of testing we settled on what is now Halcyon – a delicious blend of mandarin, rose geranium, lavender and peppermint. 

Individually all of those scents remind me of my beloved island. The resulting fragrance is a luxuriously fresh scent that envelops you and transports you to warm evenings under the Mediterranean sun.

The right name

Halcyon – hal·​cy·​on

Characterised by happiness, great success, and prosperity,  often used to describe an idyllic time in the past that is remembered as better than today.

This photograph captures what halcyon means to me, it was taken in Menorca on a late summer afternoon. My sister and I took my girls blackberry picking just as we had done when we were children.

I remember that for the first time (since they had been born) this holiday seemed easy. They were older, they didn’t need quite so much routine and they could swim so I could relax a tiny bit too.

I wished I could freeze time as I looked back at my babies picking blackberries in the lane. The hot sun was beginning to set and I couldn’t imagine ever feeling happier than I did at that moment.

A few people have told me they don’t know how to pronounce Halcyon and have asked me what it means but for me it’s perfect. Although perhaps I should invest in market research next time!

I hope you have enjoyed learning about the inspiration and process of bringing Halcyon to life.

Antonia x

Halcyon is available to buy from our online shop

Ingredients: Soy wax, mandarin, rose genranium, lavender and peppermint essential oils.

Burn time: 45 minutes