About Smith & Co

Welcome to Smith & Co! My name is Tori and I hand make soy wax candles, wax melts and reed diffusers at my home in Boxted, near Colchester, Essex.

I am originally from Canada and have lived in the UK for the last 10 years. I started making candles as a hobby in 2019 and when lockdown hit in 2020, I decided to open an Etsy page and see what happened! From the kitchen of our 2 bed flat in Brentwood, Smith & Co was born with local deliveries making up a large part of our daily walks. For a couple of years Smith & Co happened in the evenings and on weekends as I was working as a primary school music teacher but when Lee and I found out we were pregnant with our baby boy, I was excited to transition to full time mum with a candle business.

I applied for my very first market with the Pop Up Club and pitched my gazebo for the first time on Chelmsford High Street in August 2020. It just so happened that the market was 6 days after Lee and I got married and we spent much of that first week of being married staying up late, making candles on the stove and labelling them with the Dymo maker!

Since that time, we have experienced exciting growth. Lee and I finally moved into a house with one of our main criteria being a workshop! And with the wax melter living in the candle room, the kitchen is now mainly used for cooking and the odd disco. I have really enjoyed meeting clients and making friends across Essex and Suffolk and have done markets from Bury St Edmunds to Ipswich, and from Ingatestone to Dunmow!

I also really enjoy being part of some beautifully curated Pop Up Shops including the Cactus Club in Woodbridge and Love Local in Colchester. And  the week before Christmas 2022, I had the immense pleasure of popping up in Chelmsford at John Lewis with the Great Brand Exchange. It was an absolutely incredible week and I’m really looking forward to what’s in store for me and this business this year.