After a frustrating trip out Christmas shopping when I had tried, and failed dismally, to buy artisan scented candles for everyone as Christmas presents, (I could only find the larger brands), I decided I should try creating a range of candles myself! I wanted a gorgeous collection which my customers really would want to buy again and again.
After much research (and sniffing) Funky Country was born at Well Farm in North Yorkshire. I started small with a table at local shows and no website but over time Funky Country has grown and now exhibits at the larger shopping events around the UK as well as being available online and fully embracing social media. Many who I met at those early shows, often on a damp day in the middle of a field, are still customers today. It always makes me smile when I see an order come in and I can recall meeting them in a little craft marquee all those years ago.
“Today is a brand new day to begin a new climb”
Chinonye J. Chidolue
All the products are made in my workshop at Well Farm, by hand and in small batches. I am continually checking and keeping up to date with the latest ingredients and fragrances – it is a bit of an obsession. For me, getting it right is very personal, I have learned much since setting up Funky Country and draw on this every single day especially when it comes to product quality. Often, I am supported by Rhubarb and Crumble the Labradors and my daughter Hattie who is always looking for holiday jobs. Husband Simon loves a big event (Burghley Horse Trials is his favourite) when he isn’t doing his day job.
As the name Funky Country hints, country life is where my heart is, whether it is walking the dogs, mucking out the stables or hunkering down in a cosy pub. I grew up surrounded by dogs and ponies and evented for many years, for a (very) short time I hoped I might be a professional, but in hindsight business was much more successful! While I take my business seriously I also believe in enjoying life, hence the Funky, giving a light hearted touch to the name. So, a fun life in the country is where it is at for me. I think this is very much reflected in the brand I have created, the names of the products: Log Pile, Saddle and Fern speak for themselves really.
Spending all that time in the countryside does, of course, bring you closer to nature and the natural world. Treading lightly on the planet when it comes to products and packaging winds into all my decisions, what is put into the products, how they are packaged, who to use as suppliers and how to get products to you the customer. It is a work in progress and will continue to be so.
So, that is Funky Country; a fabulous collection of gorgeous home fragrances, with lots of nods to the country life, all done as kindly as possible. Not taking life too seriously and making sure there is plenty of fun. I have loved the journey so far and I’m not quite sure where it will end but, I’m enjoying the ride.
