MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT
Tonya Kidd-Beggs, 50, founded independent fragrance brand stories Parfums in 2018. she lives near Belfast with husband ian and their four children, aged 24 to 14. MY GRANDMOTHER died before I was born but I grew up with her presence around me.
She was a businesswoman when few women worked and had lovely jewellery and clothes, which my mother kept. We used to spray her perfume on her clothes and I felt I had a strong connection to her through her fragrance.
I had quite a troubled childhood and my life spiralled out of control in my 20s. When my first marriage failed, I became a single mother.
I had some counselling to deal with the root of my problems and realised I had no memory of my childhood; I’d blocked it out. But, during that time, while I was out walking, it was as if this beautiful scent enveloped me. I thought: ‘If I could just bottle that.’
Happily, I met my second husband, had three more children and became a stay-at-home mum. Then in 2016, when I was 45 and the twins were five, I decided I needed to do something for myself.
I wrote to all the independent perfumeries in Grasse, France, the fragrance hub of the world, and explained I wanted to learn to create my own signature fragrance.
I was lucky — the third oldest perfume house in the world opened its doors to me. There, I learnt how to blend fragrances. As I sat surrounded by the tiny brown bottles, I confronted some of my most painful memories. You’re blind-testing the notes, based on how they make you feel, and each scent I inhaled marked the beginning of a healing journey.
I began recreating the scent I had dreamed about, which became Stories No. 01, a bright citrus scent combining bergamot and grapefruit with back notes of amber and sandalwood.
The second scent I made recalled days spent in my grandfather’s garden as a child, among his rose bushes and orange trees. I like to think of Stories No. 02, a woody oriental fragrance, as an invitation to shed your shoes at the river and recover that which has been lost.
We launched in October 2018 with these two. Within a year, we were stocked in Harvey Nichols followed by Fenwick and Fortnum & Mason.
During lockdown, we saw a 600 per cent increase in sales. People want emotionally connected brands that make them feel good.