A calm space to live in has always mattered to me, and burning candles has been part of that for as long as I can remember. But most of what was on offer meant breathing in synthetic fragrances and harmful chemicals — dressed up as luxury.

Buying vegan and cruelty-free is a baseline I hold across everything I bring into my home, not a marketing line. So I started Sage Botanicals to make the candles, diffusers and incense I wanted to live with: a small range of scents, minimal in form, quietly rustic in feel, designed for a home that values calm.

Everything I make is vegan and cruelty-free — hand-poured with soy wax and infused with essential oils. No synthetic fragrance, no shortcuts. The same applies to the diffusers, jars and incense: clean ingredients, made the slow way.

Sustainability is a starting point for me, not a feature on a label. The candles are made in small batches here in the UK, the packaging is recyclable, and a tree is planted for every order through Ecologi. The vessels — concrete, amber glass — are designed to be useful long after the wick has gone.