An Epsom woman who says she left her job at a local hospital after experiencing workplace difficulties has turned an unexpected hobby into an award-recognised business exporting handmade products to customers in 26 countries.
Miriam Faragalla, Chief Executive and Co-Founder of Fragranced With Love Limited, runs the business from her home in Epsom, producing handmade soaps, candles and wax melts marketed as luxury personal and home fragrance products.
The business, founded in May 2024, has recently achieved a string of milestones, including becoming a finalist in the 2026 Small Business Awards UK, winning entrepreneur Theo Paphitis’ Small Business Sunday (SBS) award scheme, expanding into retail partnerships, and developing an international customer base.
Faragalla told the Epsom and Ewell Times that the company arose from difficult personal circumstances.
She said: “I started this venture completely by accident in May 2024. Prior to this, I was working as an HR Advisor and experienced severe workplace bullying that ultimately forced me to resign.”
“Rather than letting that traumatic experience defeat me, I channelled my pain and energy into building my own brand.”
Operating from a home workshop in Epsom, Fragranced With Love manufactures a range of scented soaps, candles and wax melts, with an emphasis on handmade production, fragrance combinations and gift presentation.
According to the company’s website, the brand describes itself as offering “luxury” handmade products created with careful attention to ingredients, fragrance and aesthetic design, aiming to provide “highly scented” home and personal care products.
One of the company’s recent achievements came in May 2026 when it was selected as a winner in Theo Paphitis’ Small Business Sunday initiative, a scheme founded by the former Dragon’s Den investor to promote small businesses through social media and business networking.
The business has also been named a finalist in the 2026 Small Business Awards UK in the “Best Small Business” category, with winners due to be announced later this year.
Faragalla said the company now dispatches products internationally to 26 countries and has secured its first physical retail supply agreements.
Those include arrangements with Ruxley Pharmacy in Surrey and OZA Chemist in Fulham Broadway.
