Freckleface Queens Arcade: Mum-and-son duo who started fragrance business from their kitchen counter open Leeds shop

The beautiful scents wafting from Freckleface, a new home fragrance shop, are inspired by elements of nature - crafted with locally sourced ingredients.

Mum-and-son duo Tara and Noah Carlile-Swift launched the business from their kitchen counter three years ago.

What started as a hobby to harness Noah's entrepreneurial spirit has grown into a thriving business, recently winning four stars at the RHS Tatton Park Show.

Freckleface now boasts three standalone shops and its products are stocked in more than 300 stores and garden centres across the country.

“Noah’s got dyspraxia and he’s on the autism spectrum, so he was home-schooled," Tara, of Lincolnshire, told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

"But since the age of three he’s been trying to start businesses - it’s in his bones. He started Freckleface as a project at school and he now runs the business with us full-time.

“We’re able to teach him, in real-time, how a business goes from a kitchen counter to hopefully world-domination! You can't get that experience anywhere else."

Noah, now 17, has big dreams for expanding Freckleface with his mum and dad - he's working on launching coffee shops and an online subscription service.

He said: "I love running Freckleface as I get to think of ideas and see them be created, and no two days are the same. I can be in our shops in Leeds, Cambridge or Lincolnshire which is good as I get bored easily.

"I also love selling. I love going to trade shows and I love it when we exhibit at events like RHS Hampton Court Flower show as making sales and meeting customers is the fun bit for me."

Freckleface stocks wax melts, gift sets, essential oils and candles - all handmade, vegan and wrapped up in plastic-free packaging.

Scents include the musky Bayberry and Clove blended with pine, cinnamon and lemon rinds, the fresh and salty Coconut and Sea Salt and the sweet and floral Peony and Vanilla.

Tara, 47, added: “Our fragrances are based on personal memories and experiences, or something we’ve been through as a family.

"Clean laundry was inspired by mum’s bedding, which always smells amazing, and the others are based on everything from holidays, food or my favourite iced coffee.

“Everything has a personal touch to it and a story based in nature.”

After an "unbelievably difficult" 18 months, which has seen the business rely on its thriving online store, Tara is excited to fill Leeds homes with Freckleface scents.

She hopes to open a shop on every high street in Britain - targeting the North first.

“We knew Leeds was the sort of place that would fit our shop and our ethics," Tara added.

"There’s so much investment going into Leeds and it’s got such a cool vibe. It’s the first big city we’ve launched in and we’ve been thrilled with the response, it’s been unbelievable.

"We’ve had so much support from other independent businesses around us and the local people we employ are amazing.

"I want to say a huge thank you to everybody in Leeds for making that transition so easy."

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