Taking a leap of faith and turning your business dream into a reality is always a risk but it’s one that’s certainly paid off for this busy working mum
Taking a leap of faith and turning your business dream into a reality is always a risk, never more so than during a global pandemic.
But that’s exactly what busy working mum Olivia Burns did back in 2020. After taking voluntary redundancy, Olivia founded her candle and home fragrance business Olivia’s Haven just as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold and the world locked down. She worked through the pandemic from her home studio in her native Coleraine to build the business one candle at a time.
Six years on, that risk has certainly paid off with a thriving business in the “phygital era”—the fusion of physical store experiences with the more digital TikTok shop approach. After almost a decade working in branding for both big global companies and smaller start-ups, Olivia always desired to create her own brand from start to finish.
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A self-confessed candle lover, in January 2019 her fascination with the link between scent and how it helped her recall her own memories grew. She started experimenting with wax and fragrance oils to create the ultimate range of scented candles inspired by her own childhood memories. But it wasn’t just about creating a great range of products for Olivia’s Haven; they also needed to look just as amazing as they smell.
Initially starting online, Olivia went on to establish shops in Coleraine, another on the Belmont Road in east Belfast and a pop-up store on Ann Street in Belfast city centre in the run up to Christmas 2025. Olivia produces her range of soy candles and home fragrance at the firm’s base in Coleraine.
She told Belfast Live: “This all came about because I just loved home fragrance and candles. I loved having a beautiful home to come back to that just smelt warm and welcoming. But I also wanted to find scents that were totally unique because I found that when you went to the supermarket for example, all the fragrances were pretty boring or samey.
“I wanted something that was totally unique and really exciting but also looked beautiful and looked as good as they smelled—that’s what we’ve worked really hard to do. We started with just six soy wax candles and now we’ve got about 50 scents in our range overall which also includes reed diffusers, wax melts and room sprays.”
Olivia explained how the wide range of scents on offer are all linked to memories and stories: “All of our scents start with the story and then, the scent follows after that. For example we have one called ‘The Potting Shed,’ and the story behind that is my dad and his love of gardening.
“I really wanted to get that scent completely perfect with that feeling when you walk into a greenhouse or a potting shed and a gorgeous natural smell of greenery, tomato vines, and it’s lovely and earthy as well. The story behind the scent appears on every candle and diffuser box.
“Others in the range like ‘The Wedding,’ I had for my own wedding day and it smells like a beautiful bouquet of summer flowers while ‘The Nursery,’ as you might expect, smells like a beautiful fresh baby powder fragrance. We use soy wax and toxin-free ingredients and eliminate all the nasties from the products, so a lot of people like nice to burn in your home and you’re not breathing in paraffin wax which you do with mass produced candles.
As well as the physical stores, Olivia’s Haven sells its products on its website, as well as online on TikTok.
She explained: “We’re quite unique in that we have physical stores, plus we have the online and then we really lean into our socials as well. We do a lot on TikTok including live selling and packing our products to send them out across the world. Our beautiful physical stores give people the full experience and one of the reasons we did go down that route was just because we knew people wanted to hold, touch and smell our products and feel that quality as well.
For anyone considering making their business dream a reality, Olivia has this advice: “I had it in my head that I was going to start a business before I was 30. On my 30th birthday I had a big glass of Prosecco and was just like ‘right, I’m just going to put out my first Instagram post and then I’m committed and have to it.’
“Just do it and don’t worry about what other people think. You’ll regret more what you didn’t do than what you did. ‘Take a leap and the net will appear’ was always a little quote that was in my head. It’s really risky, but things tend to work out if you take the risk and put the work in.”
Full fibre broadband is a non-negotiable in today’s fast-moving digital world. Whether it is an online business, a physical store or both, nowadays retailers rely on a steady internet connection to operate and communicate with customers as well as ensuring their day-to-day operations run smoothly.
Colin Hutchinson, managing director of Fibrus Group said: “Reliable, high-speed broadband is now essential to businesses, whether it’s powering card payments and stock systems in store or enabling brands to sell, stream and engage customers online in real time.
“It’s fantastic to see a local business like Olivia’s Haven thriving across physical stores while also embracing the pace and opportunity of platforms like TikTok Shop. At Fibrus Broadband, we’re proud to play a part in supporting ambitious businesses who are pushing boundaries and growing to reach new audiences by combining great in store experiences with strong online performance.”
Video: Justin Kernoghan
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