MilliOnAir Magazine April 2018 | Page 20

MilliOnAir

How was the transition between going from an editorial world to a commercial one and how did your journalistic skills transfer into launching and running your own business?
Business has been a sharp learn for me and while journalism helped on the creative side and with contacts, it definitely did not prepare me for P&L, spreadsheets, negotiating with retailers and manufacturers and so on. I’ve been surprised by the things that have intimidated me – they are not what I thought they would be. I found the disciplines of manufacturing both frustrating and alien coming from a career that hinges on speed and flexibility. You cannot force or hurry chemistry and production! My hero product, Air-Lite, took several years to get right, and it was by turns agonising and spirit-lifting.

How did you come up with the name ‘Legology’?


''At the traffic lights. Good ideas often arrive

at the traffic lights I find.''

I really love the branding and packaging of Legology – how did you come up with the visual identity?
Thank you! I had a very clear idea of how I wanted the brand to look so I needed to find someone who got this and me and would render my ideas to a jar and box. A good friend who is a talented designer sat me in front of her computer and coaxed out what was in my head. I wanted to achieve a blend of conventionality with contemporary, and for people to see Legology as having longevity and depth. And I really wanted them to be charmed by it, the whole vibe and the words. Focus groups were not involved at any stage of this process!

Did you have any fears or worries when launching your business and how did you overcome them?
I don’t think I had many fears initially, I’m too impulsive. Now that I know what can go wrong I’m more cautious and fearful, but I still put up a good fight with safety. Playing safe gets you nowhere.

How did you come up with the ingredients for your products?
I knew exactly what I wanted the formula to do and how I wanted it to feel, so I found an independent French chemist who would make the formula for me from scratch with the most cutting-edge (and, as it turned out expensive) ingredient complexes.

Have you had to develop your scientific knowledge because of your business and how involved do you get with this side of things?
I’m quite an anorak over ingredients and packaging, and I’m as involved as I can be in this. I’ve also developed more of an interest in lymphedema, the lymphatic condition that causes swelling in the limbs, often after chemotherapy. I actively follow the scientific and surgical advances for this, as well as many of the sufferers on social media.