Meet the Female Founder: Astoria, AetherCo
This International Women’s Day, we’re shining a spotlight on the female founders innovating the beauty space, one launch at a time. We sat down with founder of aesthetic candle brand, AetherCo., to discuss all things business advice, aspirations and sustainability – plus which scent in the range she’s most proud of concocting!
Tell us about yourself and your beauty business…
"I’m Astoria, founder of AetherCo, and what we do is create custom blended and artisanal candles housed in unique micro-concrete vessels and made from sustainable plant wax and non-toxic oils. They’re hand-crafted by us in small batches in our Cotswolds studio so we can ensure premium quality and a personal touch."
What is your hero product and why is it so well-loved?
"Our hero product from our Signature range would be our Desert Earth candle, created to represent the nuanced and complex scent-memory of my travels in South Africa. It somehow manages to be creamy and sensual, bright and playful & rich and indulgent at the same time - which is why it’s been such a fan favourite!"
What advice would you give to your younger self?
"The advice I’d give my younger self would be to just get started sooner! Dreaming and ideating feel wonderful at the time, but getting stuck in the planning stages for years and putting off taking the plunge of following your passions is a slippery slope."
"There are so many justifications for doing that, and most of them are valid, but letting fear keep you from ever trying is such a shame. It’s been the greatest joy to finally bring my ideas to fruition and make something I’m proud of."
What was missing from the beauty space before your brand arrived on the scene?
"I’d like to think that Aether’s candles fill a space where sustainability and conscious, handcrafted goods meet premium ingredients and bold design. It’s been wonderful to see the growth of sustainable products in the beauty and wellness space over the last several years, but I wanted to not only bring my own spin by blending my own fragrances and handcrafting our candles from scratch, but creating something bold, fun and exciting as well."
"That’s why we chose unique materials, a modern vessel design & delightful, aesthetic colours - we wanted to highlight both form and function! Our motto is ‘Live Well, Burn Bold’ and that ethos can apply to every area of your life!"
Why is Debenhams the perfect home for your brand?
"It means the world to see AetherCo stocked with you because Debenhams has been such an institution for decades, and more recently, a true inspiration as a business in its successful big switch to primarily being e-commerce. The drive, passion and ingenuity it takes to make such a monumental shift in business feels perfectly aligned with the energy AetherCo is trying to bring to the world."
What advice would you give to aspiring female founders?
"Follow your intuition! Instead of trying to fit into a cookie-cutter blueprint of what you think a business, founder or product is supposed to be, make your own path forward. I feel that women are blessed with a powerful sense of ‘knowing’, and letting that guide the creative decisions around your business ideas can be fundamental to both early success and continued growth when bringing your dreams to life."