A lot of people ask me: Why did you choose to create a sustainable homeware brand? I always give them the same answer: There’s a lot of crap out there! We’re surrounded by a lot of companies who don’t care about the environment, but only about fast-growing trends against low prices, and to sell products in high volumes with the lowest quality. I’ve always loved having candles and flowers at home. Every evening I light up candles at home and every week I buy fresh flowers at the market. Yes, I know this is a luxury, living in the Netherlands, the home of fresh flowers!

The thing is, I always struggled so much when buying candleholders since the majority of them are made of glass, plaster or ceramics and break easily. Another struggle is to buy different candleholders for each type of candle with only limited space at home. So, a seed was planted in my head. I had the idea to create an eco-friendly and home décor brand that offers a solution to this problem, one that I feel many candle lovers face.

It was the perfect timing for this new business idea! It was during COVID, and I was just about to launch a furniture business that was facing many challenges because of the lockdowns, my craftsmen in the Netherlands struggling with labor and on top of that a heavy increase on the cost price of raw materials. Which made me decide to change my business plan.

I was already using this sustainable beechwood material to create pieces for my furniture business, and I had a lot of it left. So, I decided to repurpose it and create new, versatile, smaller pieces that would be more affordable to ship and easier to sell. 

As soon as I saw that sustainable beechwood was perfect for creating wooden multifunctional candleholders, I decided to pursue this new business journey. My first collection was a range of multifunctional candleholders that you could use for dinner, pillar and tea candles, all made from sustainable beechwood, which is a high-quality and durable material! Meanwhile I extended my range with a collection of wooden vases  for both dried and fresh flowers. So one of my other favourite home decor products became reality.

I started selling my products to B2B customers, and it was a success! It’s great to see how they love not only the candleholders but also the purpose of LEMON LILY.

This made me realize how important it is, as an entrepreneur, to have clear goals but also to be flexible and open-minded. There are so many external factors that can affect your business, and we live in a fast-evolving world, so it’s important to adapt to it.

If it wasn’t for COVID, I wouldn’t have had the inspiration to start a handmade wooden décor brand, offering my customers sustainable home décor accessories with a variety of colors that are easy to combine with your home. But most important that it make this world a little better by not making you buy multiple pieces but to enjoy your sustainable ones handcrafted with love an care in Europe.

Check out our beautiful handcrafted & multifunctional wooden vases and candleholders!