How did the business start?

It’s easy to look back and now and see all the ingredients for FieldDay in my childhood growing up. I grew up in 1980s Belfast, where my Dad ran a couple of shoe shops with his brother. They lived and breathed shoes and boots! The smell of leather always reminds me of Dad. We lived just outside Belfast, in the countryside. Mum was really creative, and spent her time gardening, baking, making patchwork quilts and running her Friday morning upholstery class from the kitchen. So, I grew up with this wonderful mix of retail and creativity always simmering away in the background. Dad was very resilient. Running a business is hard enough during the best of times, but it was particularly tough in 1970s and 1980s Belfast. I’ve thought about him lots during this pandemic and how difficult it was to trade during the height of the Troubles, when explosions and threats were part of everyday life. We all worked in Dad’s shops during the school holidays. Dad was a grafter and expected no less from us. I realised early on that I loved that environment of retail, selling and being face-to-face with customers.

After I left school, I headed to University in Glasgow to study Retail Management. When I was at uni, Dad died suddenly. It was such a horrible awful shock for us as a family. All I wanted to do was leave Glasgow and run home. But I was determined to finish my degree. I became really homesick, feeling terribly sad and grieving for Dad. I dreamed about Mum’s rose garden, the soothing smell of the sea and the fields, and how great it would be to capture all the scents that I missed. Although it was a really tough time, it completely shaped my life, as the seed was planted in my mind for FieldDay.

When I returned home, I taught myself the art of soap-making. I put a little collection together and went to my first trade fair, Showcase at the RDS in Dublin, in 2002. My boyfriend came with me, and we picked up loads of orders, so much so that I had to give up the day job. The boyfriend became my husband, which was not a bad decision really, as he’s an accountant! Importantly, he is a great sounding board, always behind me checking the details and numbers.

The business started as a kitchen table enterprise and has grown organically and steadily over the years. When I started out (as Bog Standard as we were known then) it was a very different marketplace. The scented candle industry had yet to explode, and there was very little competition. Now it is a very crowded and busy marketplace, one where you really have to stand out.

I’m so proud of FieldDay, that we’ve survived a recession and difficult times over the years. Throughout I’ve had a great team, brilliant stockists and loyal customers; without them I would not be here.

Meadow large candle, €19.95

What have the last six months been like for Field Day?

2020 has been so strange. At the start of the year we were busy bees finalising our new FieldDay packaging and collections. We launched our new brand and collection in January at trade shows in London and Dublin, where it got a brilliant response; lots of orders and new stockists on board. Our new Seed Bombs won a Best New Product Award, and it was all systems go, or so we thought. Then Covid-19 struck, and like so many people, all our plans had to go on ice. The wellbeing and safety of my team took priority, so they were all furloughed at the end of March.

For the next couple of months it was just little old me in the warehouse packing up internet orders, with help from my husband and kids; Grace (13) and Charlie (10), who in between home-schooling became experts in packing orders, taping up boxes and making me endless cups of coffee. I’ve been running FieldDay since 2002 and can honestly say the last six months have been one of the most challenging times I’ve ever had in business. Every stockist had to close, and sales just dried up overnight. We had a warehouse full of our brand-new stock which we couldn’t sell, but we still needed to pay for it. Thank goodness for our online shop and our brilliant, loyal FieldDay fans who really came out to support us. If you’re reading this and you ordered from us, please know that you really helped keep a small local business going, in more ways than one!

Although it was tough from a business and financial perspective, it was lovely to slow down and take life a bit easier. Nature and its simple pleasures have provided comfort to so many of us in recent months. We live just outside South Belfast, so we spent most lockdown evenings roaming the fields beside us soaking up the last of the day’s sunshine and attempting to walk off the lockdown crisps and wine!

Seed Bombs, €13.95

A sustainable brand

As well as a gorgeous new look, fab new fragrances, and collections, we have simplified our packaging so that our customers can see our key messages at a glance. Our range is cruelty-free and vegan (even the glue we use in our scented sachets is vegan). We only use RSPO-certified planet-friendly palm oil in our soaps. We use recycled plastics in our hand care bottles and the rest of our range is plastic free. Our packaging is printed on fully recyclable, PEFC forest friendly boards and printed using vegetable inks. Our sister brand Field Apothecary is an award-winning range of essential oil candles that has enjoyed cult status in USA, has now joined the FieldDay collection. It’s great to be one big happy family now!

Although we have changed our packaging and dialled up our messaging, the essence of FieldDay hasn’t changed. We’re still celebrating the native scents and beauty of Ireland; in fact, more than ever.

We love the land in Ireland and have a desire to leave things better than we find them. I’m so aware that businesses can have a negative impact on the environment, but they can also be a force for good. That’s why we have teamed up with our local wildlife charity; Ulster Wildlife. We support them financially in their endeavours to protect Irish land and habitats. It’s also why we wrote our Friends of the Field Guide; a little pocket guide you can take with you wandering and spot some of our favourite wildflowers and weeds. You will find one tucked it inside all of our boxed collections to take when you go wandering. Our Classic collection packs feature a line drawing of Irish patchwork fields by Kathryn Wilson.

Jam Jar candle, €14.95 

The Jam Jar Collection

The ‘Jam Jar’ collection is special to me as it was inspired by making rose petal perfume in jam jars as a kid. We had so much fun with the new fragrances, and really enjoyed coming up with new scents such as Nettle & Mint and Buttercup. The quilted glass jar is really pretty and can be repurposed as a jar for wildflowers when your candle has finished. I’m also loving the Folk Collection too, from the simple branding of the labels to the aluminium tins that are fully recyclable. Again, these scents were fun to create, with more than one debate with the team. We all have quite different tastes, so it’s a good sign when we find a fragrance that we all like, it doesn’t happen that often though! But in case you’re wondering, it’s the Wander fragrance that we all agreed on, with top notes of blackberry and tomato leaf – divine!

The candle care kit is a must for any candle lover, especially if you enjoy the ritual of lighting candles. Our Bee Friendly Seed Bombs have been a real hit too. They’re hand rolled in Co Meath, with each seed bomb loaded with 28 indigenous native Irish wildflower seeds and a pinch of chilli powder to deter predators from eating them. I love that they have nothing to do with candles or fragrances, but simply represent what we stand for as a brand in raising awareness about preserving our pollinating native flowers.

FieldApothecary Ivy candle, €40

How do you think retail will change as a result of the pandemic?

Retail was already tough, so I really admire those who re-opened their store and implemented all the new restrictions like social distancing, hand sanitising and screening. Lockdown definitely accelerated online shopping, but people still like shopping in stores, even our millennial and Gen Z customers who have all the apps on their phone, still love the in-store, in-person experience.

The harnessing of social media has become very important for business, and it was brilliant to see local shops move online, using social platforms like Instagram and Facebook to bring their stores into the digital world and connect with customers and engage new ones. Retail stores are particularly important to FieldDay as we’re selling fragranced goods, and people do like to smell before they buy! It was very sad to see some high street giants like Cath Kidston, Oasis and Warehouse go into administration; I hope there won’t be many more.

Candle care kit, €27.95

What are you looking forward to?

Well, it’s been great to get the team back here again, I really missed them, it got lonely on my own at HQ! Plus, they bring in nice buns. I’ve loved seeing our stockists re-opening and getting back to what they do. We launched our gorgeous new website in August, which was really timely. Who knows what the next six months will bring? It’s a big world, with so much out of our control, but I’m cautiously optimistic about the future and excited by the possibilities. Our new collections have opened doors to new retailers which is fantastic. We’ve recently started selling with UK retailer, Joules, as part of their online offering ‘Friends Of Joules’ which is a great opportunity for FieldDay to be exposed to a wider UK market. Closer to home, we’re very excited to be selling our new collections with Avoca when their stores fully re-open.

As humans we are wired to survive and adapt through times of crisis. I really noticed over lockdown how important connection is. It was an absolute joy to see the messages on orders, from friends sending candles, hand wash and scented soaps to each other, along with notes of encouragement, hope and love. It made me so happy knowing our candles and soaps were spreading a little bit of joy in the midst of fear, uncertainty and for many people, loneliness. And of course, promoting clean and fragrant hands from Carrickfergus to California!

Little Pleasures

There’s something so calming about lighting a candle. A lit candle in an empty house can make it feel a little less empty. The gentle flicker of fragrant candlelight is definitely one of life’s simplest and best pleasures. I’ve lit more candles than ever over the last months and that’s saying something. My friends don’t call me the Candle Queen for nothing!

www.fielddayireland.ie