Why did you start your business?
Our rescue dogs Sunny and Grommie were the inspiration for starting our essential oils for dogs and their humans business. When I first met Emily our two dogs didn’t like each other much so it was a very stressful time managing it.
There was a lot of anxiety in the household and I knew our nervous energy was getting passed on to our dogs and wanted ways to manage the situation. We were also wanting to find natural ways to manage Sunny’s skin after years of going to the vets and not really getting on top of it without the use of medication.
Using essential oils, along with changing their diet was an absolute game changer. Sunny hasn’t needed to go the vets for her skin for the last 3 years and the house is much calmer and harmonious place.
From our own experiences it opened our eyes and we really wanted to help other dog parents find more natural ways to their doggie dilemmas and the business went from there. We also kept being call the Ems and this inspired the name of our business Two Oily Ems.
How long ago, and how?
We started 3 years ago when we discovered an essential oils stall that was being run by a lady who used to be a vet. I was writing a doggy blog at the time of my experiences with managing our dogs and spent most of my time just chatting at the stall about the possibilities for our dogs emotional and physical wellbeing using essential oils and it went from there.
We bought our first bottle of lavender and a diffuser that day and that started our journey of discovering just how beneficial essential oils can be not just for our dogs but for us as well. Lavender still is a favourite for both us and the dogs today for a multitude of things.
We wanted to learn as much as we could, so we were able to educate others with proper and safe use for animals. I have just completed my second certificate of using essential oils with animals and loving the journey.
What do you sell?
We sell essential oils and several calming accessories and offer support and education around using them properly and safely with dogs and other pets. We are very passionate about proper and safe use and in particular the emotional benefits and love helping pet parents with their dogs.
We also sell energy calming bracelets for humans. These were inspired by our realisation of passing on our anxieties to our dogs and how that was affecting their behaviour especially me with Sunny.
We collaborated with a local Sydney artist who makes healing jewellery and together came up with our ‘Paws mindfully’ Bracelets. Each bracelet combines different healing gemstones and lava beads and paw charms for 4 different emotions. These can be matched with calming essential oils to help with changing our energy around our dogs.
In addition to offering products we run face to face workshops such as ‘Calm your canine’ and ‘Supporting your dog naturally’ where you get to make a spray of your choice based on your dogs needs. These are run at K9 Swim in North Richmond NSW.
As well as face to face workshops we run online classes too. We are also big advocates of the TTouch technique and wraps and love how this can help dogs, especially nervous dogs. The wraps can be accessed through our workshops and on our stall where we demonstrate how to use them.
Where do you sell?
We can be found online on Facebook, Instagram and have a website with an online shop. We have a regular stall at the Growers’ markets at Glenorie and Dural in Sydney every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month.
Whilst they have been very limited this year, we also attend two major dog festivals – Dogs in the Park and Street Paws Festival that have held events all over Sydney and parts of NSW.
Tell me about your own dogs - and are they involved in the business?
Sunny and Grommie are our little furry soul mates and a big part of our business and have the official title ‘The Oily Pups’.
Sunny came into my life in 2009 when she was a just year old. Sunny was originally from the pound but a lovely lady was fostering her at the time and the moment I met Sunny I knew she was the one.
Right from the start though Sunny had issues with her skin and was terrified of thunder and fireworks and was not a fan of big dogs. Over the years I went through so many different ways of managing her skin. I lost count of how many times I went to the vet so very thankful we found the oils.
Grommie also came into Emilys life in 2009 from the pound when she was a year old. It was meeting meant to be and funny how we both found of furry loves the same year 3 years before we had even met!
When we met in 2012 it definitely wasn’t a match made in heaven for our two as Sunny didn’t like big dogs and Grommie didn’t like little dogs. Fortunately, they like each other now but it was a long long journey of consistency patience, lots of love and the right training and not giving up!
Eventually the inclusion of essential oils and TTouch and wraps was what really made the difference. Sunny loves her wrap and oils and it has got us through many a storm as well as helped many an itchy moment and Grommie loves her little oily massages after a big walk.
The Oily Pups both turned 12 this year and still going strong. They are our official sniff testers and love giving us feedback on which oils they like. We absolutely love doing self-selection sessions and giving them choice. Dogs really do know what they want and it’s so cool watching them choose!
Have to say they are both not a big fan of the camera though and as soon as we turn it on there are off! The amount of bloopers we have could create a full length feature film!
What's the best thing about what you do?
When someone says you have made a difference to their dog who was anxious in a storm or they are no longer a nervous traveller it makes our day. It’s such an amazing feeling being able to help others and we love what we do.
We even recently helped a couple with their 2 pet mice who were not getting on! Happy to say the mice are getting on much better according to their parents.
Being able to help dogs and especially rescue dogs has been a real driver for us and we love how the oils support their emotional wellbeing.
We were fortunate to be introduced to a wonderful rescue group, Rescue Hub, a year or so ago and have been volunteering at their Kennels every Friday ever since. Being with these beautiful dogs has been such a blessing especially when we see them go to their forever homes.
We have also just launched our commemorative Pet Urn ‘Ruby’s Necklace’ in memory of one of their special dogs Ruby. 20% of the proceeds will go to supporting Rescue Hub so they can continue doing their amazing work.
What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
We have been getting into a show on Netflix called Schitts Creek lately and the theme song is totally stuck in my head. Even more so now Emily has it as her ringtone alarm!
What's the most recent photo on your phone?
I take A LOT of photos of our dogs! The last one was of Sunny next to a bottle of frankincense with a little crown on top! (The bottle not Sunny haha). We do take slightly unusual photos at times!
Tea or coffee?
Tea for me for sure! The stronger the better with a biscuit. I’m a typical English tea drinker! Emily is coffee all the way.Thanks so much to Emma for taking the time out to talk about her business. Take a look at her website to check out the great range available here
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