ELÄ LIFE
Anna, mum and step mum of 3, created Elä Life, a range of skincare that nourishes the skin and your wellbeing, using a natural blend of essential oils.
I am 47 and a mum to Josh aged 12 and 2 step daughters age 13 and 15. I am married to
Jeff, a Deputy Headteacher and we have been married for nearly 8 years. We live in
Bramley, Surrey. I own ALSO Home and Elä Life, two sister brands selling homewares
and wellness/aromatherapy products with offices in Cranleigh. I love being active
outdoors, love nature, growing vegetables, keeping bees and eating healthily.
My journey into motherhood has been a twisty road! I found myself a single mum when
my son was 11 weeks old – not something I had planned or envisioned! I didn’t know the
full strength I had inside me until that moment. My mama bear instincts definitely came
through and I love the little unit between me and Josh that it created. I then met my
husband when Josh was 2.5 years old and we created our own blended family unit.
The Inspiration behind Elä Life
LIVE LIFE LIVE WELL
ELÄ LIFE
I spent 3 months in Norway in my 20’s as part of my Textile Design degree and
Scandinavia has influenced my life, business and designs a great deal. I wanted to find a
name which linked my brand to Scandinavia that also had a wellness meaning. Elä
means ‘to live’ in Finnish. Elä Life therefore means ‘to live life’ and ‘to live well’
I have always been very aware of eating healthily and being mindful of the foods and
ingredients that I consume. This led to a love of the benefit of natures herbs and
medicines and how essential oils can really benefit our minds and bodies. I learnt how
synthetic ingredients can be really bad for us and we often don’t know the full extent of
their toxic load. I wanted to create a range of wellness products to sit alongside my
homewares brand ALSO Home, and knew that it needed to be made from natural
ingredients and only essential oils.
We make our products at our workshop in Cranleigh using as much as possible UK based
suppliers for our ingredients.
I spent 2 days blending the 5 key essential oils blends that form the framework of our
range. I knew the different moments and needs I wanted to create for and chose
essential oils which helped with these moments and blended them until I found a
fragrance I was happy with.
SELF CARE WITH
ELÄ LIFE
It’s easy for us to think we don’t have time for self care, but self care doesn’t need totake long. It can be the simple act of striking a match, being present while we light acandle. Making a cup of coffee, sitting for 10 minutes and taking some deep breaths. Welive in an age where the pull of our phones and devices is constant, but we need to beintentional to give ourselves time to step away from them. Leave your phone behindwhile you go for a walk and see how your mind is free to take in the birdsong aroundyou, the rustle of the trees above you and the silence of just you and your thoughts.
I start my day with our Begin No 1 Body Wash – it’s the most wonderful pick me up and
boost for the start of the day in the shower. I love it’s silky lather and enjoy taking a few
deep breaths of the essential oils to help start my day energised and full of life. If I need
a moment to myself I will run a bath and use our bath salts – I love Nurture No 2 for any
time of the day, Pause No 3a or Rest No 5.
