Meet Nisha Todd | Photographer & Small business owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nisha Todd and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Nisha, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The reason I decided to start my business Muse came from a number of reasons. When Covid 19 reached us in the UK I was unable to work as a Photographer and I realised how reliant my work was as a face to face service. I am quite a creative person and I have always had a love for design, branding and packaging and I decided I wanted to start a separate business so I started brainstorming. I came up with a set of rules for my business. Rule 1: That it was product based. Rule2: That it could fit in large letter postage. Rule 3: That it could go onto a £10 gift guide in a magazine!
With these as my guidelines I set out to think of what I loved… It took months… Then one day when I was talking to my mum who had recently recovered from being quite poorly about Incense and about how lots of incense isn’t that good for you. It had been there all of this time, a part of my daily ritual to burn incense. Something I truly enjoy to do is light an incense, I do it when cleaning, having a cup of tea, reading. For me it was about having a little moment to myself. I wanted to bring that small ritual to more people’s homes. A time to be thoughtful, focussed or inspired.
So I started the research and launched my first collection of natural incense made with essential oils and so ‘Muse’ began a brand for self love and everyday treats!
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What sets Muse as a brand apart from others is that it is all about having lots of small luxuries all of the time. It’s not about taking a whole day or week off to rejuvenate but rather to take a few moments every day to make yourself feel good. At the moment the product range includes natural essential oil incense and aromatherapy eye pillows with lots of plans of more products on the way. The most exciting part of it for me is creating new products and seeing how happy people are when they use them.
There were a lot of challenges on the way, the hardest was finding the best way to make the incense. I started by making it myself and quickly realised I wouldn’t be able to make the necessary quantity quick enough so i then went through the challenge of finding a supplier that I could work closely with to create the incense how I wanted. Then there was the designing and manufacturing of the packaging as I wanted the entire ritual of lighting muse incense to feel special. I spent a long time on getting the packaging right. I learnt to sew to make the eye pillows and am also continuously studying aromatherapy and its benefits as a way to constantly improve my products.
Another challenge for me was where on earth to start with actually getting my products seen. I am still learning how to use social media well but websites like Faire have been amazing for me to connect with retail outlets and so far the feedback has been great. I also started doing some small markets locally and its the best feeling for people to come and see the products in person and experience all of the scents for themselves. Im not very good at ‘selling’ in person so its also a good thing for me to do to get more comfortable with being proud of my business and not scared to say it!
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Canterbury: Have a lovely stroll through the city of Canterbury, all cobbled streets and beautiful old buildings plus of course Canterbury Cathedral is a must see, followed by a historic river tour and then go to Cafe Des Amis for best cocktails and mexican food around!
Also be sure to visit Queen Bee a quaint coffee shop near the cathedral full of beautiful homewares and gifts.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mum and my partner Jack for putting up with the fact that Muse is what I talk about for 90% of the time.
Website: www.Museincense.com
Instagram: museincense