I have a coffee table that has travelled the world with me.
It is carved Indian wood, old and bashed and beautifully de-varnished in the way that only decades of use can achieve. Its legs are Yali: the mythological creatures of South Indian temple architecture, part lion, part elephant, part something altogether more ancient and unclassifiable. Ours are said to be based on the Yali of the Kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram, one of the oldest temples in South India, built in the eighth century by the Pallava dynasty. Family legend holds that ours came from a temple, or were at least copied from one.
As a small child, I thought they were horses. I used to crouch on the floor and try to feed them bits of jam on toast.
That table has been with me my entire life. It was already in the Seychelles before I was born, waiting. From there it came with us to Scotland, then to England, years in London, years in Kent and Sussex, and now to Lake Como, where it sits in our home and still feels, somehow, like arriving. It is bashed. It is old. The varnish is long gone. Those four Yali have seen me as a child, my mother as a child before me, my own children growing up, and I hope one day their children too. I will never part with it. Not because it is valuable in any conventional sense, but because it is irreplaceable. It has soul. It has character. It has a history that belongs specifically and entirely to us.
This is what I believe objects should be. And it is exactly what I wanted to make.
Why the refillable decision was never in question
I am deeply passionate about this planet. Genuinely, fearfully, in a way that is not a brand position but a daily preoccupation. The glorious green forests. The noble deserts. The deep, mysterious oceans. What is happening to all of it, and the difficulty of feeling you have any real autonomy over the decisions that cause it.
This is one small thing I can do.
I despise the idea of throwing something away the moment it is finished. Of adding one more object to the great clogging heap of waste that is filling the arteries of our oceans, our countryside, our world. When we were designing the Told London collection, making the vessels refillable was never a question we needed to debate. It was simply what you do when you make something properly.
I never wanted to make something disposable. I wanted to make something you needed to keep.
Objects worth keeping
The fine porcelain vessels that carry our fragrances are illustrated by artist Kerry Lemon with a series of hand-drawn motifs, each one a precise fragment of a specific place. The London vessel carries the grandeur of the city's streets and architecture. The Scotland vessel holds the drama of the Highlands. The India vessel is dense with the ornate richness of the temples and gardens and interiors that inspired it.
These are not generic containers. They are objects with their own character and their own story. It would be a strange thing to throw them away.
A Told London candle or reed diffuser is something you choose once with real intention, and then keep. The vessel earns its place on a shelf, on a mantelpiece, in a room. When the fragrance is finished, a refill can be ordered and the object continues its life. The illustration does not change. The story does not end.
I much prefer an antique in my home, scratched and well-loved, to something cheap and flimsy that will fall apart quickly and become part of the garbage heap. I want the things around me to have character, soul. That is what I wanted to make.
Why it matters for the environment
The home fragrance industry generates an enormous amount of waste. Glass and composite vessels, bought, burned and disposed of simply because the wax or liquid inside them has run out. It is a cycle that sits uncomfortably alongside any genuine commitment to living more thoughtfully.
Refillable design interrupts that cycle. By keeping the vessel in use and replacing only the fragrance itself, we significantly reduce the material waste associated with our products. Our refills are designed with minimal packaging, because the point is the fragrance, not another layer of presentation.
We are not a brand that uses sustainability as a badge. It is simply one of the ways in which making things properly and making things responsibly turn out to be the same thing.
The practical pleasure of a refill
There is something quietly satisfying about refilling a beautiful object rather than replacing it. The ritual of the first burn, or the first weeks of a diffuser, carries a particular pleasure, and being able to return to it, with the same vessel and the same fragrance or a different one from the collection, feels considered rather than wasteful.
For those who like to change their scent with the seasons, the refillable format makes that entirely possible. Highland Retreat, Scotland, with its warming notes of cognac, smoked cinnamon, vanilla and sandalwood, comes into its own in the colder months. Dancing Light, Lake Como, luminous with fig leaf, honeysuckle and star jasmine, comes into its own on longer, lighter days. The vessel stays. The story changes.
A note on our travel candles
Our 80g travel candles are not refillable, and we want to be clear about that. They are designed as a smaller, more accessible introduction to the collection, ideal as a gift, for a guest room or a desk. They are made with the same exacting fragrance standards as our larger pieces, in the same illustrated fine porcelain vessels. And when the candle is finished, the vessel remains: beautiful enough to become a little vase, a holder for pencils or brushes or sewing things, a quiet keeper of small treasures. We have every confidence it will find a second life.
For those committed to the refillable format, our 300g candles and 200ml reed diffusers are where to begin.
The longer view
Luxury and sustainability are sometimes presented as opposites, as though caring about quality and caring about the planet pull in different directions. I do not believe that. The most considered approach to making things, using the best materials, designing for longevity, building objects that people genuinely want to keep, is also the most responsible one.
My carved Indian table, bashed and de-varnished and completely irreplaceable, has been with me for a lifetime. Those Yali have watched over more of my life than almost anything else I own. That is the kind of object I set out to make.
A Told London vessel, refilled and kept for years, tells a far richer story than something bought, burned and discarded. I hope it will feel, in time, like something you could not imagine parting with.
That is exactly what it was designed to be.
FAQ
Why are Told London candles and diffusers refillable?
Because we believe beautiful objects should be kept, not thrown away. The vessels are hand-illustrated fine porcelain, designed to last indefinitely. When the fragrance runs out, a refill can be ordered. The object continues its life. Nothing is wasted.
Are all Told London products refillable?
Our 300g candles and 200ml reed diffusers are fully refillable. Our 80g travel candles are not: they are designed as a smaller introduction to the collection, for gifting or more intimate spaces. When the candle is finished, the vessel is beautiful enough to repurpose as a small vase, a holder for pencils, brushes or keepsakes. All products are made to the same fragrance standard.
How do I order a refill?
Refills for all 300g candles and 200ml reed diffusers are available directly from toldlondon.com. Simply order the refill for your fragrance and follow the instructions included.
Can I change fragrance when I refill?
Yes. The vessel is yours to keep and fill as you choose. Many of our customers use the refillable format to move between fragrances with the seasons: a richer, warmer scent through autumn and winter, something lighter and more luminous in spring and summer.
Is Told London a sustainable brand?
Sustainability is not a badge for us. It is a consequence of making things properly. Refillable design, minimal refill packaging and vessels built to last are the result of genuinely not wanting to contribute to waste, rather than wanting to be seen not to.
Discover the Told London collection. Built to last, designed to be refilled.
Related: What is fine fragrance for the home and why it matters / The art of gifting fragrance / Shop refills