A teenager entrepreneur who set up a fragrance business in his bedroom to counteract lockdown boredom is preparing for a bumper Christmas after adding new stockists across the North of England and increasing his product range.
GCSE student Harvey Moss set up Melt ‘n’ Soak in 2021 when he began creating reed fragrance diffusers at home.
As well as developing the diffusers, Harvey also built a website and designed all of his own packaging. Demand soon soared.
Hard work isn’t something the determined teenager from Leyburn, North Yorkshire, shies away from and now the 15-year-old is preparing for his busiest year yet.
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Not only will he have the Christmas rush to contend with, he’ll also be studying for his GCSEs and continuing to work in the front-of-house team at luxury boutique hotel The Wensleydale Heifer who not only use his products, but also stock them.
Over the past year Harvey has also welcomed a wide range of new stockists including stores as far afield as Northumberland and York.
He said: “Not long after I started, I was very lucky to be stocked in three very prestigious local stockists and then some guests from the Wensleydale Heifer saw the news about my business in the hotel’s newsletter.
"Mr and Mrs Wilkinson and their daughter Ellie have three shops – in Bedale, York and Northumberland – and they asked to stock the diffusers in all three. I’m so thankful to them and all of the stockists who sell my products. I’m excited to be adding more all the time.”
Harvey’s handmade diffusers come in a range of different fragrances including dark honey and tobacco and nectarine and lemon blossom. This year he has also added black pomegranate, rhubarb and rose and English pear and freesia to the range available and extended his Christmas range which launches on November 1 and boasts three gorgeous festive scents.
He said: “The support I’ve had since I launched the business has been so fantastic, particularly from Lee Kettlewell who has given me so much support and some great advice to really get my name out there. The business grown tremendously – I love being busy.
"I also continue to be inspired through seeing how the business is going from strength to strength and seeing an even higher demand for my products then last year.
“I’m sitting my GCSEs next year and then I will be going to study criminology. But if the business keeps taking off as it is, I might have to revise my plans.”
As well as being available for sale online (meltnsoak.godaddysites.com) and at the Wensleydale Heifer, Melt ‘n’ Soak products are also stocked at Saks Ripon and the Alchemist’s Cottage in Hawes as well as Ceramic Inspirations at Leyburn Tea Pottery.
Harvey will also be hitting the road this festive season to sell the reed diffusers and will be attending Christmas Fairs at:
Hawes Market Hall, November 19 and 20; Tennants Auction Houses Winter Wonderland, November 25 and 26; St Mathew’s Church, Leyburn, also on November 26; Tupgill Park, Sunday December 4; Harmby Village Hall, December 10 and 11.
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