August usually isn't the most exciting time of year in the candle world, but as we start winding down summer I have some pretty exciting news!

Young Mary's has a new stockist! *Happy Dance*

I'm really happy to announce we've joined The Vegan Kind Online Supermarket family!

You may or may not know but all Young Mary's candles and wax melts (and very shortly our diffuses too) are 100% vegan friendly so joining The Vegan Kind makes a lot of sense for us. They've even given us a lovely welcome with our very own blog post.

I think the most exciting part though is getting to be part of a community of some really amazing and like minded brands.  Yay us!!

-Lola

You asked for them and now Young Mary's Gift Boxes are finally here!
In addition to our Travel Tins you can now also get an African Wonders Gift Box, which will come with two of our Ebony/Ivory candles and our Fragrance Gift Box which has a candle, wax melt and diffuser in any scent you'd like. They all come packaged in a lovely (if I do say so myself) eco-friendly kraft gift box that's both pretty and functional and are perfect for gifting. 

More gift boxes will be added in the coming months, so as always #watchthisspace :)

​-Lola

We've been featured! The lovely folks at Emoov have included our candles on their list of ways to enjoy your home holiday this summer! With planes and flights still grounded and countries still undecided about who gets to come in, it makes sense to turn summer plans inwards and enjoy a much deserved staycation! Young Mary's is all about getting off the beaten track and bringing our little pieces of Africa into your home. It's really lovely to be noticed and included in a list like this. I'll be doing my happy dance the rest of the day and trying desperately not to trip on all of these moving boxes!

-Lola

You heard it first! Young Mary's is on the move. A perk (or curse depending on who you ask) of army life means frequent moves and thus the time has come for us to say goodbye to our home in Wiltshire. Though we're not moving far, it still means packing up any and everything and in the case of Young Mary's - that's a lot of heavy stuff! I'm also not looking forward to the un-packing on the other side but seeing as I'm still in the middle of restocking I know I'm going to have to make this a priority. 

So please bear with me in the coming weeks as more things are slowly put back online.

On the plus side, I'm looking forward to the next chapter of Young Mary's story and hey, at least this move doesn't see me packing up to a new continent so I'll take that as another win :)

​-Lola

It's been a long time coming, but I'm really pleased to finally announce what we've had up our sleeves the last few months! Tunisia, the newest member in the Young Mary’s family is finally here! 

It wasn't really my intention to launch a new scent during lockdown but with markets called off for the foreseeable future now seems a good a time as any!

Tunisia is a bright and uplifting fragrance - made up of sweet citrus fruits and blossoming spring flowers. It's a mix of East and West, representing the beautiful north African country of Tunisia, where cultures and civilizations have blended for millennia.  

For the rest of the month, all Tunisia products will be 50% off for Young Mary’s friends and family. It's our way of saying thank you for all the love and support that's brought us to where we are today.

Hope you and those you love are all safe and sane out there!

​One good thing about all this time at home - restocking? I'm embarrassed to admit it but quite a number of products are out of stock/running low on the website but now is as good a time as any to do something about it! I've just spent the past few days making nearly 100 wax melts! Next step - candles! 

Quite a bit has changed in our world the last few months. This time in February the biggest news for me was Sam coming back home from Afghanistan and while I'm so grateful to have him back, 4 weeks on and this somehow seems insignificant.

Needless to say, we're sending all the warmth and love we can to everyone near and far who've had their lives upturned by this pandemic. The two of us are lucky, Sam's still on leave and I'm able to work from home plus being stuck indoors means my to-do list actually gets looked at (candle making anyone). But not everyone has such a seamless transition, not to mention those who have to care for children, parents, the sick and/or elderly - key workers in all industries that are essential to keeping our lives going...

As a small/micro business there's not much Young Mary's can do in this time of global crisis - but for what it's worth, we're still here! Being in the UK means we've had to cancel upcoming markets and popups for the next few months and I'd encourage everyone to follow the guidelines set by your governments and the WHO. We're still open for online orders though! Please allow an extra day or two for UK domestic deliveries and an extra 3/4 days for international orders as courier and delivery companies are under a lot of stress right now.

We'll see you on the other side!
-Lola

2020 is shaping up quite nicely for Young Mary's. I am so so excited to announce that our candles will now be stocked at Diverse Gifts in Brixton! Diverse is an independent gift shop I first popped into over Christmas. They stock some really creative/out of the box gems and I actually picked up a few gifts while I was there with Sam. 

We'll be starting with a limited stock for now, our winter African Wonders plus Maputo and Kano in limited edition ebony jars. If thing go well, hopefully more Young Mary's goodies will pop up! 
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If you're in London town, stop by and show us some love. Yipee!!
Find them at 390 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, SW9 8LF.
Open: Monday - Saturday 10am - 6pm; Sunday 12pm - 5pm

This weekend Young Mary's is going to be part of something very special and dear to our hearts. Alafia, the African and Caribbean Health and Wellness Hub is hosting their inaugural expo and we'll be there. Deciding to come on board as a sponsor was a no brainier for Young Mary's. We know the stats, race and ethnicity affects health outcomes. Research tells us Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups are more likely to report poorer general health and a limiting long-term illness than the general white British population. When it comes to mental health, the disparities are even worse.
 
This is our family and we want to do our part to help change this narrative.

Talks, workshops, Q&As on topics ranging from cervical and prostrate cancer to hair care, personal training and of course, mental health -- Saturday will be a day to put ourselves first. No stone will be left unturned on our journey to learn and inform ourselves and our communities. We hope you have your ticket because we can’t wait to be part of such an exciting event.