Sassy move How mum turned wax melt vision into thriving venture
KEELY Parsons has done what almost every small business owner dreams of, having created her very own multimillion-pound empire from the ground up.
After starting her business from her dining room table just a handful of years ago, Keely is now the proud owner and creative director of Sassy Shop Wax, a fragrance brand that creates wax melts, soaps and similar products.
The Bristol-based brand is also passionate about health and wellness. Keely has been open about her personal struggles with her mental health and wishes for Sassy to champion the importance of mental wellness and self-care.
In just a few years, Sassy Shop Wax has grown into a multi-million-pound company with more than 80,000 followers on Instagram.
But while Keely is now moving from success to success, things haven’t always been this way.
As a teenager, Keely struggled. She felt out of place in school and put significant pressure on herself to perform academically.
While at college studying for her A-levels, her mental health rapidly deteriorated.
She said: “My good grades had always been a signal to me of my own worth. I remember worrying so much about my exams that I told my friends I couldn’t see them, I would miss social gatherings and parties to get my grades up.
“I would obsess over previous exam papers and write essay answers and then spend hours upon hours trying to memorise them.
“After finishing my exams, I reached a point of total burnout. All I could do was stay in bed. I went to my doctor and told them I just didn’t know what was wrong. I felt so sad.”
After seeking help and support for her mental health, Keely went on to get a full-time job in recruitment.
While she enjoyed her role, she couldn’t help but feel trapped within the 9-5 routine. It was this notion of “feeling stuck” that put her on the path toward Sassy.
Keely has always loved all things fragranced for her home but found that she could never find the perfect scents for wax melts.
It became immediately clear to Keely that she was going to make her own.
She said: “I honestly knew from that moment that my own business was going to be a success.
“The night of that ‘spark’ my mind was flowing with ideas – I was getting goosebumps all over and
The night of that ‘spark’ my mind was flowing with ideas – I was getting goosebumps all over and had an extremely strong intuitive sense of knowing
Keely Parsons
had an extremely strong intuitive sense of knowing. I was lying in bed with thoughts spiralling of the potential of Sassy Shop Wax based on the current wax market and innovation.
“I couldn’t sleep with excitement. I felt so aligned and since researching this kind of intuition I know that others also have these thought experiences too – this moment immediately changed my mindset.”
Keely started making her wax melts from her kitchen table, and while the first few months were difficult with very slow sales, the brand began to build quickly.
Within a matter of months, the demand for her products was too much for her to keep up with, and the Sassy Shop Wax social media pages were growing rapidly.
She said: “I had 100% tunnel vision and was full of fire and passion. However, when I tell people I worked 12-hour days, commuted two hours to my recruitment job, then made wax for two to three hours on an evening, whilst being pregnant, people are usually in disbelief that I even bothered.”
Keely decided to take the plunge and quit her recruitment job and take Sassy on full-time.
The brand continued to reach new heights, with launches selling out within minutes of being live on their site.
By 2021, Sassy Shop Wax had moved from Keely’s kitchen into a 5,000 sq ft space in Bristol, and the brand employed more than 20 members of staff.
Sassy has been stocked by the likes of Boohoo and Pretty Little Thing, and has tens of thousands of loyal fans – including celebrities.
As of 2022, Sassy Shop Wax has exceeded a total turnover of £4.5 million, and the brand continues to grow.
And despite having grown the business from the ground up, Keely is still overwhelmed with gratitude.
She said: “I never imagined my life would look like this but by believing in myself, I have created my dream life from the bottom up.
“I don’t let anyone tell me something is impossible now because I have challenged and conquered my biggest battle of all, my mind.”