So, this is how it all started...

Hi I am Jess!

I was born and raised in Hong Kong.

After spending my early teen years studying at high school college, Central St Martins College of Art & Design and London College of Fashion in the UK, I have been following my passion of fashion design and working in the design and business development fields for over 15 years both in the UK and Hong Kong.

Whilst travelling extensively for business and also on regular scuba-diving trips in Asia, I have developed an immense love and respect to the ocean and our planet earth.

(One of my recent diving trip in Palawan, this is what makes me committed to make my business plastic-free!)

I started to see and experience how single-use plastic pollution has damaged our environment at an unprecedented level. It especially broke my heart when I saw hundred-year old turtle being swam and entangled by plastic bags and packaging.

When Covid started, my then full time job had changed everyone’s contracts to part-time in order to keep everyone’s job. I had some spare time so I was studying interior design (my other passion at university) and looking at different hobbies to start.

One day I came across a DIY page making candles with essential oils on Pinterest and I was really intrigued but the idea of making candles which offering aromatherapy benefits, as the regular candles that I bought, it smells nice and gives out a nice ambience from the lit fire, but it does not have any aromatherapy benefits.

Next day, I rang up my aunt, whom I remembered she had been using essential oils making beauty products and soy candles. So I invited her to come over with all her essential oils collection and candle making tools to make little tealight candles as test.
From that day on, I embarked on my own scented journey and I have been mesmerising on how many variety and options of scents you can create by just using different combinations and proportions of different single oils.

 Before Covid started, I travelled to Bali and I really loved their local craftmanship and their general aesthetics of interior and home décor products. So I went online, looking for the local artisans and started communications with them on making a range of homeware products using locally sourced sustainable materials (such as rattan, teak and water hyacinth etc.). I choose to work with them directly instead of going through a big scale manufacturing set up is because I wanted to support their local economy and community during Covid, which hit them really hard especially when the whole island was really relying on tourists for their economy.

So I put candles, homeware with sustainability together, created Conceptu Home, an island-living inspired lifestyle brand, with beautiful timeless design which will offer an array of exquisite luxury resort inspired products which will aspire us the time of our carefree travelling before all the lock down was in placed.

I was very excited about putting our product assortment concept and packaging ideas, very quickly I knew how my products will look like as my professional background was in design and business development so all these were very easy for me. Then logistic became a big headache during Covid as the shipping cost went up the roof and there was delay at every single stage.

It also turned out it is much harder using essential oils to make pure soy wax candles, as each oil has a different flash point and acidity, so the flash point and PH is affecting how the soy wax set and the intensity of the fire. I had gone through hundreds of tests at changing the composition of the blend, using different size of wicks, pouring temperature to achieve our final products. That’s why you can see some of the wicks are in different sizes within our range of signature scent candles.

Today, I am very proud to have achieved what we have but I am more grateful to each customer who had supported our concept, appreciated our products and accepted our flaws. For these, we are devoted to continuing perfecting our products, our way of growing and running the business.

 I am also extremely thankful to my family and friends, who have encouraged me when I struggled and lost faith. My mum and 3 of her sisters have been giving me four pairs of helping hands at making products and hosting pop ups.

Without All of You, Conceptu wouldn’t be where we are.