Freckleface reveals fragrant new partnership with Historic Royal Houses
A family-run business has launched a collection of home fragrances in collaboration with the Historic Royal Palaces.
The Freckleface products, created by Tara Carlile-Swift and her son, Noah, will now feature in six royal locations, including Kensington Palace, Hampton Court Palace and The Tower of London.
It is a huge coup for the business, which opened a first shop in Red Lion Street, Stamford, two years ago, and employs 35 of its 70-strong team in Spalding, where the candles and other products are handmade.
The joint project began when representatives from Historic Royal Palaces met Tara, at a trade show.
Emma Saunders, senior licensing manager for Historic Royal Palaces, said they look out for British companies to tell the stories of their heritage sites with ‘provenance and authenticity’.
She said: “We invited Tara to Hampton Court Palace, went on the tour and talked about the some of the stories from the building’s history. We also visited the gardens, and Tara came back to us with fragrances that related to the location.”
One of the three scents, ‘Palace Garden’, was inspired by the rose and hydrangea gardens, full of magnificent and delicately-scented blooms.
‘Royal Bouquet’, meanwhile, features the summery fragrance of orange blossom and myrtle. Queen Victoria chose not to wear a crown for her wedding to Prince Albert, instead opting for a wreath of orange blossom - a tradition which has continued in the royal family, as has the use of myrtle in royal wedding bouquets.
Finally, ‘Royal Nights’ is scented with oud and bergamot, giving it a rich, warm and sultry scent - and it is now Tara’s favourite, out of all the different fragrances she has created.
She said: “We went into The Great Hall, a creation of Henry VIII with gold thread woven through the tapestries. Light from candles made the gold thread twinkle, and that’s why the packaging for this collection of fragrances has a gold theme, and the wax melts are topped with gold leaf.”
The new collection, comprising candles, wax melts, scented drawer sachets, reed diffusers and scented ceramics, will be available to purchase in gift shops at the Historic Royal Palaces before Christmas.
They are already available at the Freckleface shop and online, and will be sold where Freckleface is already stocked, including a great many garden centres.
Alareen Farrell, head of licensing and merchandise for Historic Royal Palaces, was at the launch of the collection in Stamford on Monday (June 9).
She said: “When we met Tara, we knew it was a perfect partnership. She is supporting the local economy through her family-run business and we were looking to invest in local businesses to support the palaces, which are charity funded.”
Proceeds from the sale of products in the range, which includes a gift set, will be shared between Freckleface and the Historic Royal Palaces charity, which conserves the sites for future generations.
