What to say about Xavia Miriam, my accidental baby? Well, while I never would have thought six months ago that I'd be starting a(nother) business, in retrospect it isn't that surprising. Creativity has dominated my entire life; from music, to photography, to writing, and to the plethora of crafts I have got stuck into over the last 34 years. Growing up, every birthday and Christmas I would get a fresh stack of whatever arty bits were en vogue in the 90s/early 00s (many of the carcasses still litter the shelves in my playroom at my parents' house), and spend hours getting stuck into them - often with very messy results.

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As I got older, the craft kits petered out, and I spent most of my free time working on a (still in draft) series of novels, writing seriously depressing teenage-angst-ridden poetry, and standing on a crate belting out S Club 7 or Evanescence songs (weird combo, I know), in my playroom - which by then had become Somerset's answer to Wembley Arena, complete with disco ball, disco lights, and several large lava lamps. But my love for getting hands on and creating something from scratch never left me. And during a really challenging year, I thought doing something for myself; something creative that could take my mind off things, would be beneficial for my ailing mental health.

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So after being inspired by my cats softly snoozing together, the picture of peace, while I was a sleep-deprived nervous wreck, I decided to make some soothing lavender candles. It was a lot of fun! So I made a ton more - piña colada-inspired candles in pineapple-shaped glasses, tiny tropical turtles, big swirly bright pink pillar candles, and vanilla-scented fluffy clouds. As I filled up my impromptu 'workshop' (AKA, the small spare bedroom of my west London garden flat) with candles, it occured to me that maybe I could sell some of them. But then I thought...well, wouldn't it be good to have some candlesticks and other candle-related paraphernalia to sell alongside? And it snowballed from there, and before I knew it, the spare room was filled up with sewing machines, mug presses, 100,000 silicone moulds, a continent's worth of glitter, and hundreds of vintage t-shirts and denim jackets that I had impulsively bought online.

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The result? Something I'm really proud of. Something that came out of a dark, hopeless period - and something that is happy, whimsical, and full of fun! A homage to my love of cats, my teenage tie dye obsession, and magpie-like tendencies to be drawn to anything sparkly. I really hope that the things I've created will make people smile.