Told London was founded by Lillie and Chris Edgar, a duo whose lives have been shaped by art, culture, and adventure. Born in the Seychelles and raised between India and Scotland, Lillie’s love of storytelling and aesthetics found its perfect complement in Chris, a Northern Irishman whose travels had instilled a deep appreciation for global culture. Their shared adventures eventually led them to London, then the Sussex countryside, and now to the serene elegance of Lake Como, where their passion for design, fragrance, and storytelling flourishes. Chris took some time out to speak to us about the brand's journey and the meanings and stories behind it.
1) How has travel and shared experiences shaped the storytelling?
Told London began as a conversation between places that formed us. Lillie was born in the Seychelles, and her grandparents lived in India, which gave her an early sense of colour, generosity and ritual. We met in Scotland, spent formative years in London, grew our family in the South East of England, and today we live near Lake Como. These are not just pins on a map. They are living references we return to when we think about mood, light and the small daily gestures that carry meaning. We are fascinated by how stories move through culture, and how scent can hold onto those stories without turning them into postcards.
That idea becomes tangible in the collection. City Grandeur, London distils the poise of the capital into a composed structure. There is a citrus lift in the opening and a refined heart built around black tea, with herbs and florals, before it settles into a grounded base of woods, moss and amber. Glorious Gardens, England reads like a slow walk through a border in bloom. Green leaves and wisteria open onto geranium, rose, magnolia and lily, then come to rest on cedar and musk. Night Blooms, India leans into a richer evening atmosphere, with pomegranate, red berries and pink peppercorn opening to jasmine sambac, clove and plum, and then a plush base of patchouli, vanilla, cedar, musk and sandalwood. Dancing Light, Lake Como captures clarity and calm across layers that include fig leaf, honeysuckle and an aquatic movement, a luminous floral heart led by wisteria, muguet, magnolia and star jasmine, and a soft, elegant base where sandalwood has become a quiet favourite of many creators.
The object matters as much as the formula. Our porcelain vessel is made to be kept. It feels luxurious in the hand, takes light beautifully as a candle burns, and gives a room a quiet architectural presence. The engraved metal lid protects the fragrance between uses and marks the start and finish of the ritual. We design across formats so people can build their own home routine. The different-sized candles echo each other in proportion and presence, our porcelain diffusers project with restraint, and everything is supported by matching refills so the system is practical to live with.
Travel keeps us curious and precise. It reminds us that the same place will land differently for different people. That humility sits at the center of our work. We try to create fragrances that invite you to find your own memory inside ours. The response has been warm, and we have been getting nice press, which tells us the stories are resonating.
2) Translating memory, literature and art into scent
We begin with a felt idea. Sometimes it is a memory. Sometimes it is the way a piece of music holds tension and release. Sometimes it is how a painting carries light, or a line from a poem that helps name a feeling. People process emotion differently, so we do not expect one response. Our job is to translate those cues into an olfactory language that more people can enter and make their own.
We build like composers. Motifs arrive as top notes that set the key and air. Harmony develops in the heart where character lives. The base is tempo and depth, the part that keeps the piece moving long after the first impression fades. Contrast matters. A luminous floral can sit against a cool, watery facet to create distance and clarity. A grounded woody base adds weight so the experience settles rather than shouts.
Dancing Light, Lake Como shows how this translation works. Our home near the lake gives us colour, movement and rhythm to draw from. The brightness of fig leaf and honeysuckle and the quiet movement of an aquatic accord set the scene. A floral heart led by wisteria, muguet, magnolia and star jasmine brings focus. A base of musk, cedarwood and sandalwood creates the stillness we wanted. Many creators respond to the sandalwood because it leaves a soft, elegant trail that feels natural in a room. We did not start this fragrance from a literary reference. What shaped it most was living here, the culture of the place, the unhurried mornings, the way people speak and move, and the attention to craft. That everyday culture becomes part of the brief.
For other compositions, literature can, of course, play a role. A book can carry the feeling of a place even if you have never visited. Writing that treats light, water and quiet with restraint influences how we think about pacing and structure: a clear opening, an unhurried middle, a grounded close. City Grandeur, London translates poise and pace into scent by balancing citrus brightness with a heart of black tea, herbs and florals, and a composed base of woods, moss and amber. Night Blooms, India leans into evening with fruit, spice and jasmine sambac, then settles into a plush, comforting base. Glorious Gardens, England reads as an unfolding walk through an English border, from green lift to a generous floral heart and a gentle, woody musky rest. Each composition may begin with art, memory, music or literature, but the conclusion is always olfactory.
Around the scent, the object stays quiet but expressive. The porcelain carries illustration for each fragrance so the visual mood cues the place and feeling before you smell it. The engraved metal lid and the vessel’s calm form make the ritual tactile. The story itself lives in the perfume. When notes, proportion and evolution align, those references from art, memory and culture become an atmosphere you can live with.
3) Redefining luxury with design you keep and reuse
We were tired of the glass jar with a sticker. Home fragrance lives in your space every day. People deserve more than a disposable container. Our answer is a vessel that is beautiful in its own right and designed to stay. Porcelain gives us a calm, architectural profile that integrates into interiors rather than dominating them. It takes light in a gentle way as a candle burns and cools, and it feels reassuring in the hand. The engraved metal lid protects the fragrance, helps keep dust out between uses, and creates a defined start and finish to the ritual.
Refillability only works if the original is something you want to keep. That is why we refine every millimetre, from height and diameter to rim and base. The gently curved rim is comfortable and clean. The base sits flat and stable. The glaze reads softly in a room. Our signature candles and diffusers are both refillable or reusable. When a candle is finished you simply drop in a refill, or you repurpose the vessel as a brush pot or desk companion. Value, to us, is beauty that endures and a system that reduces waste without compromising experience.
A defining part of our design language is illustration. We commissioned artist Kerry Lemon to create a suite of original works, each one different, to reflect the feelings and locations behind every fragrance story. These are not literal postcards. They capture mood, movement and texture, and they help people recognise the character of a scent at a glance. The illustrations thread through our objects and printed pieces so the visual story supports the olfactory one. When you encounter a Told London product, you meet a place and a feeling as well as a fragrance.
You can feel that intention in the collection. Dancing Light, Lake Como speaks of clarity and calm, and its artwork echoes that sense of stillness and light. City Grandeur, London carries poise and geometry rather than noise. Glorious Gardens, England layers botanical forms to suggest a border in bloom. Night Blooms, India leans into a richer, dusk toned atmosphere. The illustration is another note in the chord. It sets expectation before you strike a match or open a diffuser, then the porcelain vessel, engraved metal lid and the fragrance itself complete the experience.
Designing the object to be permanent also expands the creative brief. The vessel becomes part of the story rather than a container you discard. None of this is decoration for decoration’s sake. It is about making an everyday ritual feel intentional and generous. That is how we think luxury should work at home.
4) Sustainability through slow luxury
There was a clear turning point for us. We kept seeing high profile climate change denial and minimisation at the same time as the evidence was all around us. It felt impossible to look away and carry on as if objects did not have consequences. We were married in Venice, a city that lives face to face with rising water. Each high tide and barrier test is a reminder that what we make and how we make it matters. We also dislike the throw away culture that permeates daily life. We wanted to build something that lasts, that people choose to keep, refill and live with for years.
From that point, sustainability stopped being an aspiration and became a series of non negotiable decisions. We think of Told London as slow luxury. Make fewer, better things. Design for longevity and reuse. Choose materials with care. Keep movement sensible. The simplest way to reduce impact is to replace churn with continuity. Our answer is a permanent object supported by renewals. The porcelain vessel is made to stay, and the engraved metal lid protects the fragrance between uses and gives a clear beginning and end to the ritual.
Materials and partners matter. Across our printed pieces we use FSC certified card. Our cotton bags are made by Bag of Ethics, part of Supreme Creations, who are known for ethical, transparent manufacturing. We keep components minimal, avoid unnecessary plastic, and think about how items nest in shipment to reduce bulk. We pay attention to durability so the object does not fail before the fragrance ends. Where possible we keep production close so transport is sensible and we can visit workshops.
Process is the other half of responsibility. We are patient with launches because testing reduces waste. A candle needs to perform across its full burn life, not just in the first hour. A diffuser should project with grace in different room sizes without overwhelming. We live with trials in our own spaces, take notes across weeks, and then refine again. Fewer, more thoughtful releases create less noise and less waste. It is not about perfection, it is about progress and care embedded in everyday decisions.
Slow luxury is not slower marketing. It is a different rhythm of making. It asks you to consider time, use and afterlife at every stage. The result is an object that earns its place, a system that favours renewal over disposal, and a home ritual that feels generous rather than extractive.
5) Why a complete sensory journey matters
A fragrance is never only a smell. It is a lived object that touches sight, touch and even sound before you perceive the accord itself. If we only focused on the olfactory part, we would ignore half of what makes the experience compelling. Porcelain brings a soft architectural presence that supports rather than competes with interiors. The silhouette is calm, the glaze is quiet, and the vessel allows candlelight to pool in a way that changes the mood of a room without yelling for attention. The engraved metal lid contributes in two ways. It protects the fragrance between uses and it marks the moment you begin. That small act of lifting the lid and replacing it at the end becomes part of a personal ritual.
We think about how the fragrance moves through time. Morning should feel different to late evening. Dancing Light, Lake Como opens with brightness and settles into a serene base so it reads as clarity in daylight and composure at night. City Grandeur, London is built to feel composed when guests arrive and quietly elegant later, when the room has softened. Glorious Gardens, England is multi faceted enough to feel fresh in movement and tender in the still moments. Night Blooms, India leans into evening with a plush base so it feels like a warm welcome when the lights dim.
Diffusers are designed to be present but never insistent. They greet you at the door and keep rooms feeling considered through the day. Candles are for moments. Together they let you tune your space with intention. The names we give our creations are concise and evocative to give you a thread, not a script. The aim is coherence. When object, ritual and scent pull in the same direction, the experience becomes more than the sum of parts. That is why a complete sensory journey is not an extra for us. It is the point.
6) Three words
Storytelling, Artistry, Sustainability.
You can find Told London in Chapter I From Seed To Sky available to buy now.