Our Story
Born out of a need for accessible, gentle, asthma-friendly candles, we are committed to creating natural products, with scents deriving from premium quality essential oils to maintain their naturally occurring wellbeing benefits.
From wax to wick, we pride ourselves on the quality of our materials to ensure you get the best possible product. All of our scents are hand curated and unique to us, developed with our natural ethos in mind.
In all things we do we are inspired by the beauty of the natural world and its power to conjure atmospheres and evoke memories - all our products are born of botanics and made in Yorkshire.

Tell us who you are and what you do…
We are The Little Yorkshire Candle Company, and we create home fragrances which we sell both online and in our shop in York. Our fragrances are all inspired by the natural world, and are designed to evoke certain moods and atmospheres. We are committed to making natural products, made with 100% natural ingredients: coconut, soy, and beeswax, with the scents deriving from essential oils and plant extracts.
These fragrances come in the form of candles, diffusers, essential oils, wax melts, and room sprays, as well as being available in gift-boxes, matched with other products to be used with them.
When did your business first start and how did it develop from there?
I (Alex) have always been drawn to fragrance since I was a child, and my candle-making began as a hobby. LYCC began in earnest in 2016, in the hopes of creating a range which wouldn’t irritate my son’s asthma.
In 2019 I achieved my dream of having a brick-and-mortar shop when we opened a store in York. Now, from 6 candles, we have a variety of products in each scent range, and always have new products and ideas in the pipeline.
Where are you based and what do you & your customers like about it here?
We’re very lucky to have a beautiful little shop in the centre of York nestled amongst the oldest row of houses in York. Anyone who has been to York can tell you how amazing it is to be surrounded by such historic buildings and we are proud to be part of the future heritage of the city. With the narrow snickelways and warm lights emitting from the many pubs and cafes, York has a warm and cosy atmosphere no matter the weather.
We wanted to match this atmosphere in our shop, so we have created a carefully curated haven of hygge, using both our own products and those of other creatives who we admire. We have a huge range of people visit us, such as locals who are looking for gifts, or tourists who are looking for the perfect souvenir to remind them of their visit to Yorkshire.
How would you describe your business and who it appeals to?
Our customers are people who are looking for a beautiful, luxury product, either for themselves or as a gift. Our customers buy homeware and home fragrances with intention, and pride themselves on using and giving quality products.
Many of our customers also comment on their desire to have a product made in and inspired by Yorkshire, either to remind themselves of home, or to send a piece of their home to a loved one. We are also proud to be able to provide fragrance to those who can't use candles with synthetic fragrances or paraffin due to allergies or asthma.
What are your most popular products and do you have any current offers on?
Of course the stars of the show is where it all started off - with our core range of six candles - right now Affirmation (deep vetiver and woody oud) and Sleep (restful lavender and soothing chamomile) are our most popular scents.
Our giftboxes have been our most recent success. First developed as a way to send love to those we couldn’t see due to lockdowns, the range has steadily expanded since and currently includes boxes designed especially for the winter season. For example we have the Midwinter Box, which hosts a variety of products all in our warm, spicy, Christmas scent, and the Luxury Sleep box which includes our Sleep Pillow Mist alongside a luxury hot water bottle and eye mask duo.
Give us an insight into a typical day for you and your business?
Our business is split across two locations. Our shop on Goodramgate in York is a cosy sanctuary which welcomes in people everyday looking for a bit of tranquility. We aim to give our customers a memorable shopping experience by sharing our knowledge and giving our best advice.
The behind the scenes that our customers don’t see is our workshop, where all of our products are made. Each day at the workshop is different - we could be pouring candles, packing up online orders, testing new fragrances, or planning our next big release.
Adapted for Covid?
Having only opened the physical store in December 2019, the pandemic had a huge impact on the business. Lockdowns meant that the focus had to be shifted from the shop, to the development of the online store. A new line of giftboxes was developed, to allow people to send to those loved ones who they couldn't see in person. This focus on online business eventually led to the rental of a new unit to house the online portion of the business, and a new member of staff being employed to help run it.
The business also took this time to develop new products (such as Atmosphere Mists and the Bone China containers) as well as a new range of fragrances which will be released in 2022.


Why special?
Lots of people make candles, but everyone at LYCC prides themselves on them being the best of the best! Alex's hobby turned into a business when she wanted a luxury range of candles which wouldn't irritate her and her son's asthma, so it is truly a business born of love. To this day, all the fragrance products are made by hand in York, and stand out thanks to their all-natural composition and the level of care which has been put into each and every scent. It is easy to make candles using pre-made bulk scent, but Alex formulated her own from scratch, inspired by the Yorkshire and the natural world. Each product has gone through extensive testing to ensure they achieve the perfect burn which keeps people coming back to the shop time and time again.
A bit more About us
After a strange Christmas for everyone last year, Alex has gone all out this time around! This year they have put a scratch and sniff panel on the window of their shop for passers-by to get their first experience of the seasonal "Midwinter" scent. Even if the shop is closed or you are shy, then this fun, interactive window is a great way for you to experience the glorious Midwinter scent. Alex is also endeavouring to turn Goodramgate into a Winter Wonderland with snow fall every weekend outside the LYCC shop. She hopes that this will draw people to the street so they can discover all the amazing small businesses which reside on Goodramgate.
