In conversation with Fayth Garlick

 “I don’t think anyone prepares you for how incredibly versatile and open-minded you have to be, constantly, when you run your own business.”

- Fayth Garlick 

Image: Fayth Garlick

Fayth is the founder and curator of Amygdala Home Ltd which was established in 2020. She comes from a background of interior architecture and design which she studied in Birmingham, UK. Having experience within the industry, specifically in kitchen, bedroom and bathroom design is what led her to start Amygdala Home Ltd.

Her true passion comes lies in fine art. But she also loves being hands on and creating artwork or a tangible product alongside collaborative projects with other creatives and designers, and connecting with new people.

 Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

 Hello, my name is Fayth. Founder and curator of Amygdala Home Ltd. Having recently moved to the south coast of England in 2019, the abundance of nature and independent creatives spread across East Sussex was a huge inspiration to me. During the first lockdown in the UK, I found that it was the right time to walk away from my unfulfilling 9-5 job and to create a business.

Tell us about your business, how did you come up with the idea or concept? What were your first steps to bringing the business to   life?

Amygdala Home Ltd. is a home fragrance business with the dream to grow and implement an interior design aspect within the business. The concept stemmed from living in such a beautiful part of the UK, with the sea right on our doorstep and endless amount of vast open spaces which was the complete opposite to the wonderful city of Birmingham, where I had just moved form.

I was challenged amongst the first lockdown to create products which were to be in our homes to be as natural, eco-friendly and toxin free as I could make them. To bring the inside out in terms of what is good for us to breathe in and live with. Within my interior design profession, I often liked to design with elements of a ‘biophilic design’. This is a concept used within the industry to increase connectivity to the natural environment through the use of nature. The designs are focused to create strong connections between nature and manmade environments, and has many proven benefits, such as helping office workers be more productive.

As an avid lover of candles, and other home fragrances, I loved the scents which instantly sparked a memory or made me feel safe and cosy. The name came from endless hours of research of trying to understand why we have these connections and memories to specific scents. ‘Amygdala’ felt instantly fresh and unique and I was sure it would spark curiosity and interest amongst my customers even from those who knew what an Amygdala was, but also for those that didn’t. Having been at the heart of an industry where stress and tight deadlines were at the core of the job, I wanted to create a product that customers could use to create moments of escapism and understand that they can control aspects of stress and anxiety and how that physically affects us on a day to day basis.

What was your overarching mission/aim at the outset?

To provide sustainable, eco-friendly and vegan products, which are all hand made in the UK. This means that from beginning to end, every aspect of the making process, to the packaging and shipping, all our suppliers are small-medium sized business within the UK. I am incredibly conscious of the ethos throughout the whole of the business – essentially I want to be as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible whilst still creating beautiful and luxuries products for my customers.

Click here to get your Amygdala candle.

 What is the main inspiration for your business?

The initial inspiration stemmed from nature. Living so close to the seafront and open areas felt so freeing when compared to where we used to live in Birmingham. The subsequent inspiration was when the first lockdown began in the UK and with us being in our homes for months on end, this made me analyse the products we used within our homes and what was good and what was downright toxic and bad for our health with major health risks we weren’t even aware of.

After hours of research into specifically the cheaper end of home fragrances, I was horrified to learn just how toxic paraffin wax was. Never in my wildest dreams did I think low- or high-end candles were slowly poising me and my family as we lived a peaceful existence in our home. From the 1930’s paraffin wax could regularly be derived as a by-product of petroleum, yet paraffin wax isn’t actually direct product of petroleum. The by-product of oil refinement is called ‘slack wax’, which is a crude material with a high oil content. Paraffin wax is what happens when slack wax gets transformed by chemists until it is fully-refined or semi-refined – generally an indication of how much oil is left in the wax. When this is mixed with harmful lead wicks and toxic fragrance oils filled with tiny plastic particles, is a recipe for disaster and as far as I can tell, there isn’t a good source to scientifically define “fully-refined” vs “semi-refined” paraffin wax, especially internationally, which may be part of the confusion around paraffin. Thank goodness for soy wax, phthalate free fragrance oils and beautifully natural essential oils.

 Were there any initial challenges that you came up against, if so how did you overcome them?

The main challenge was that I set up the business during a global pandemic when we couldn’t leave our house for 3 months in the UK – it felt like a great idea at the time! But I found my biggest challenges were due to the knock-on effects of Covid-19 and the significant affect this was having on my suppliers and lead times. I constantly had to remind myself that with how successful the business was becoming and how quickly it was growing and being recognised, that this could only be the hardest time and if I just persevere now, once the height of the pandemic fades and we learn to live after vaccines, it will be a breeze. It is getting wonderfully easier with life getting back to some kind of ‘normal’ and I cannot wait to see the business carry on growing from strength to strength in the years to come as we learn to live in this new Covid-19 world.

Can you tell us about your first “win”?

 My first win would probably be the first time I sealed partnership with a couple of wonderful local shops that wanted to stock my products. This felt very surreal and I think I still pinch myself when I walk into a shop and my products are there on the shelves or when I see pictures of the products on our social media platforms in shops across the UK.

What’s been the biggest lesson–about yourself, your abilities or just general life lessons – you’ve learnt since starting your business?

The biggest lesson I learnt was about five months into the business. I don’t think anyone prepares you for how incredibly versatile and open-minded you constantly have to be  when you run your own business.

I originally launched with a certain product style, however due to the pandemic and Brexit, lead times were incredibly long as things were being shipped from across the world. This then led me to have to essentially redesign the products and find stockists within the UK that could accommodate what we wanted whilst fitting with our ethos. But actually, in hindsight, this has led to a really versatile product range and more room for creativity – silver linings!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

 “To persevere despite everything you may go through or face” also resounds in my head whenever I hit a hurdle in creativity or the comparison trap. Just preseTHArve in the little things and anything is possible.

How do you find the work-life balance? What strategies and routines do you have in place to cope with the work-life balance?

I absolutely love the flexibility of having my own business. If anything, I am more inspired and motivated to wake up at 6am and work until 10pm 6 days a week when compared to working for someone else in a corporate workplace.

I have found a nice routine and try not to work in the evenings or weekends. I attempt to have real down time and clear my head for the next day/week ahead, however as most entrepreneurs and business owners know that this isn’t always realistic and we secretly love being able to work at any time of the day anywhere we are.

Would you recommend any resources that have been useful for you when starting/running your business? What would be your advice to anyone wanting to start their own business?

 No specific resources, but I would encourage anyone that wants to start a business of any kind to not underestimate how invaluable the hours of research you do will be. Also, be in conversations with people you know that have started their own businesses. Get family members’ and friends’ opinions of your idea/products etc. Be a sponge and ultimately make sure what you do you love within every inch of yourself, because passion is contagious, and it will flow throughout your business.

How can we support your business? Share any links or information that will be useful to our readers!

Website: amygdalahome.uk

Instagram: @amygdala_home

LinkedIn: Fayth Garlick