The History
The Very First Day - 16th November 1995
As recalled by our founder David.
It was a wet cold Thursday morning a long time before Google and Facebook, and as I laid out my market stall on a Sheffield street I was more than apprehensive about what people would think. But I was ready by eight, my humble offering laid out on that simple stall.. and stomping from foot to foot I awaited my first customer.
A few months earlier, I'd been reading a book called "Ancient Wisdom" - now out of print. The book highlighted many things that seem out of place in history - the pyramids, Stonehenge etc. At the same time I'd been researching aromatherapy. It struck me that essential oils had been used for thousands of years and ancient people must have known more about them - (healing and enchanting) than perhaps we did. So I put the two together and devised the brand of "Ancient Wisdom" slowly (very slowly, no Internet remember) I found supplies of oils. I found a potter down in Stoke who made me my own design of oil burner, and invested in a pallet load of candles.
The Truth
The truth was I was stone broke, every penny and more I put into my unusual retail business. In those days no-one had any idea what aromatherapy was, oil burners were a new fangled thing and this was Yorkshire!
The first person to approach was a well built lady of colour with a broad Yorkshire accent. Picking up a bottle of Lavender oil she asked me bruskly "what's it good for lad?" Oh I said recalling my Julia Lawless quotes.. "it's good for relaxing, will help you sleep and if you burn yourself it's an amazing healing oil".
Well I can remember it clear as day.. she looked at me, took me in with big brown eyes, and in a low voice said; "You are completely bloody bonkers". And wandered off to the fruit and veg.
You can imagine how I felt. That first day I sold one lavender oil and gave some tea tree away to a spotty teenage girl. I went home and almost packed it in.
The next day, I decided I need to get my act together, and made an offer, Lavender Oil, Oil Burner and a nightlight...I piled the oil burners up in bread baskets with a sprinkling of potpourri for good measure. for £4.50. I sold my first oil burner set in five minutes... and Ancient Wisdom was born. Soon I would sell fifty sets a day and gradually found customers for my range of essential oils.
I devised a range of Fragrance Oils - I put my heart into that range working nights to get it right, I listened to customer feedback and I'm pretty sure that nice lady who rejected my lavender became a regular customer for fragrance oils.
Since then.. the company has grown, with a few ups and downs, to be an international Giftware company, we still sell Lavender Oil, Fragrance oils and Oil Burners.
And also 8,000 other products to more than 70,000 customers all over the world. With warehouses in Indonesia, China, Spain, Slovakia and UK.. we really couldn't have got here without you. Customers like you have helped shape Ancient Wisdom.
If you are new to Ancient Wisdom and would like to know more.. then read on... if you have time, settle down pour yourself a glass of wine or make yourself a nice cup of tea and let me tell you the story of Ancient Wisdom and the Phoenix.