Meet my stockists - Isabel's Place
www.isabelsplace.ie
I first met Isabel at the Ballymaloe Fair in November 2019. I’d been making candles for a few months at that stage & was starting to think about how to get them out into the wild, as we say here at Milis HQ.
The fair was amazing and packed to the ceiling with home grown Irish businesses and I realised how much I wanted to be a part of that community. I met Isabel in the main exhibition hall (we had chatted a bit online so we kind of knew each other), she was so lovely & we clicked straight away. She told me she might have a premises opening in Waterford in early 2020, we were both generally very excited & hugged a lot.
I launched Milis in March 2020 when Isabel’s Place was also opening. A few days before the opening, I took a spin to Dungarvan with my mum and a box full of candles all ready for the shelves. Isabel’s Place was just perfect, as was Isabel. She was as excited as I was to have found my first stockist. We couldn’t hug this time though, as COVID-19 was just ramping up and ‘social distancing’ was the new buzz word.
A day or two later I was delighted to see the fabulous Milis display right in the centre of her shop and a few in the window too! I was thrilled and scared in equal measure, but then Isabel messaged to say my candles were one of the first to sell and I felt like it was all coming together.
Unfortunately, Isabel closed that Sunday because of Covid-19, having just been open for four days. It wasn’t long before Isabel had a beautiful website up and running. She truly is a champion for Irish creative businesses and craft. Milis was selling online at www.isabelsplace.ie and I’ve since sent more stock, so it’s all going well despite the difficulties.
Isabel has been such an inspiration to me, so enthusiastic, bubbly & talented, I feel blessed to have found her and she gave my new business a launch pad. Isabel has been great for me as a new women in business (I still can’t believe that’s true), because as time goes on I feel we can bounce ideas off one another and we’ve formed a lovely positive encouraging relationship which will benefit both our businesses!
