When Joe O’Regan and Deirdre O’Connor sold their financial services firm back in November 2019 they were looking forward to taking a year off in 2020 and planned to take the opportunity to travel extensively before deciding on their next business move. However, the best laid plans ... etc. They did at least manage to get over to Paris in February, and to Anfield in March, before Covid intervened. When the first lockdown began, like many others their cars sat idle, the bikes were dusted off, and baking sourdough became a thing. But after a few weeks of that, when it became apparent that previous ‘normality’ wasn’t coming back anytime soon, they decided that they needed a project to fill their time, so Put Your Feet Up (pyFU) began to take shape.
They had been keen to set up an online business for some time and, having researched a number of ideas, they decided on manufacturing handmade scented candles.
While most scented candles are quite similar and have a very traditional feminine focus, Joe and Deirdre felt that women were far more adventurous in their tastes than was being catered for, and also that men were somewhat ignored.
In this market another strong focus was the aesthetic, because not only should candles smell great, they also need to look good. Candles are considered a perfect gift for most occasions so the packaging is also vitally important as people want to give - and receive - a gift that looks the part. These days many gifts are sent by mail / courier so the mailer box is also more than an afterthought t as it creates the all-important first impression for the recipient.
As you browse their website putyourfeetup.com, and their social media (search for @yourfeetup), you'll see multiple examples of this strong focus on the aesthetic. While the look and feel of the brand is very natural and eco-friendly they are clearly premium products, and it is obvious that a lot more has been spent on putting the product together than is the norm for most candles, and yet they retail for as little as €15 (mini candle), €25 (standard candle) and €37.50 (large 3 wick candle).
The range features 14 unisex fragrances including Honey & Tobacco, Fireside, Vanilla Bean, Irish Whiskey, Lemongrass & Ginger, Tuscan Leather, Wild Mint and 7 others. It seems Joe & Deirdre's prediction was right and sales have been very strong since day one. Their adventurous and interesting fragrance range has been extremely well received and having only launched on October 2nd (2020) pyFU has already been listed by The Irish Times in their list of 200 Irish retailers for online Christmas shopping (20th Oct 2020), and also their list of 50 Irish crafts to buy (7th Nov 2020).
PyFU candles and diffusers are premium handmade products, designed to not only smell good but also to look good - whether in your home, at work or in a hospitality setting. The candles come in beautiful apothecary-style amber glass jars which look far better than typical candle jars - whether with a candle lit inside or, just as importantly, when the jar is just sitting on your desk, sideboard, worktop ... etc.
When you consider that a candle will probably only be lit for a small percentage of the time you have it, you begin to appreciate the importance of it being aesthetically pleasing. When the flame is lighting, the contrast between the dark amber glass and the brightness of the flame is both visually attractive and relaxing.
The candle jars come with a metal screwtop which also provides a nice visual contrast. PyFU are committed to being as eco-friendly as possible (99 per cent plastic free), and you’ll see extensive use of kraft-style packaging. Both the glass jar, the lid and the mailer boxes and void fill paper packaging can be recycled. The same apothecary style glass is also used for the reed diffusers which come in an amber glass bottle. Typically, a diffuser will last three to four months, so if you're going to be looking at it for that length of time, apart from smelling good, it also needs to look good.
PyFU only use natural (renewable) plant based waxes rather than the traditional paraffin (petroleum) based waxes. Not only are the waxes plant based but they also deliberately avoid wax from genetically modified (GM) crops. All of their candles are vegan, while their reed diffuser base is a bio based solvent made from a renewable source and the fragrance oils used are all phthalate free. In terms of packaging materials, they use recycled cardboard / paper where possible and use paper based materials to fill voids in our shipping boxes rather than any of those annoying plastic based loose fill chips / materials.