At Olapip our ethos is all about offering a little luxury in a sustainable way. From the outset we were determined to develop a brand with a conscience and to not be wasteful.

Natural soy wax is the base for our candles and melts which is a vegetable wax derived from soya beans and is biodegradable.

Reuse, Refill, Recycle

We encourage you to reuse, refill and recycle. When the candle is finished plant some low maintenance succulents in it, use the jar as a pen pot or to hold your favourite make-up brushes. Be as resourceful as you like.

Likewise, once the oil in your reed diffuser has all evaporated, simply purchase a refill to pour into your original Olapip diffuser bottle. Pop in a new set of reeds and you’re good to go.

Limit The Use Of Plastics

We strive to limit the use of plastics and prefer to use glass, tin, card, biodegradable and compostable glassine bags in our product range and paper, shredded boxes and starch-based packing peanuts in our packaging.

If you do find any plastic in our postal packaging, we are simply re-using what we have received from our suppliers to extend the life of single use plastics.

Even the ribbon we use for our gift hampers is eco-friendly and made from wood pulp cellulose.

We also use paper product labels, the only slight flip side is that over time you may see a little crease in the label as temperature or moisture fluctuates.

But the important point is that we’re trying very hard to do our bit.

Welcome to Olapip Home. I’d like to share our story about where it all began.

Time For A Change?

I’m Nichola, founder of Olapip Home. My background is marketing and I’ve worked in the economic development, finance and education sectors for over 25 years, some of which was spent in large blue-chip companies. In my last job, the role was changing and I decided that it was time for something new. Marketing consultancy was the obvious choice for me but at that point I really fancied a change. I wanted to make and create and use the marketing skills in my own business. I knew that if I didn’t make the leap at that precise point, I probably never would!

Then to address the big question – ‘What would I do?’

I’m not really a baker, I can’t paint…however I have always loved fragrance, interiors, home accessories, moody soft lighting and anything that helps to create a cosy, ambient environment.

The Idea

As a candle lover I was becoming a little frustrated with expensive large brand candles that did not burn as I’d expect – either tunnelling with much wax left on the side of the candle jar or a messy black soot residue around the top of the container. I wanted to explore to see what I could produce.

So, after a spell of training, continuous researching, making, testing, tweaking, retesting…and then finally leaving my marketing profession, Olapip Home was born towards the end of 2019 (yes, several months before a worldwide pandemic…and about one of the only things I hadn’t planned for)!

I created a studio workshop in my home and over time built an outdoor shop in the garden. However, I recognised that Olapip was gradually outgrowing the home studio space and needed a larger manufacturing zone. So we moved to a new home in Bridge of Weir where the butcher and the baker was joined by the candlemaker!

Our studio offers a much larger workshop area, meeting space and, most importantly, a lovely customer area where you can come to sample the product range and shop.

I am very proud of the brand that I have created and hugely grateful for all the belief and support shown from our customers.

I do hope you enjoy shopping with us and welcome to our Olapip community.

Nichola McKay
Founder, Olapip Home