Where I Make My Candles and Soaps

I work from two converted stables in a little barn in Co. Wicklow.

In winter I light the fire to stay cosy all day. In summer I work with the door open to hear the birdsong outside. Below I have included a little more about how I work and why I love what I do.

My Barn Studio

I have been working from my barn studio since 2012 but have only been making candles and soaps since 2020.

I used to call it my ‘Barn Kitchen’ because originally I converted these two stables into a fully operational professional kitchen. I worked as a small scale caterer and private chef from here for seven years.

For one hundred reasons it was time to move on from that and 2020 finally gave me the push and opportunity I needed to consider what to do next.

I am surrounded by beautiful mature gardens, a duck pond and a poly tunnel where we grow lots of vegetables in summer.

For these reasons it never occurred to me to use synthetic or petrochemical derived ingredients in anything that I make.

Nature provides everything I need and it just takes a little more time and practice to make my candles with all natural oils instead of synthetic perfumes.

Why I Make Candles and Soaps

I have always loved scented products. Especially when I was cooking full time and in need of a lot of pampering after long days.

However I am extremely fussy about which scents I do and don’t like. Shopping for new candles or other smellies would take me hours and I would very often still not be happy with what I got.

As well as that, I could never find something that was completely free of all synthetic fragrance and perfume.

Finally it dawned on me in summer 2020 to have a go at making my own. After that I very quickly realised that this was exactly what I was looking for as my new job.

I find a lot of similarities between cooking and the type of creative making I do now. In both you need good ingredients and good recipes as a starting point. But to create something special, intuition and your own creative input is what’s needed.

My current routine is to do all my making at the weekends. I love to have a whole day with no post office trips, emails to be answered or other distractions so I can fully concentrate and enjoy what I am making.

I believe this comes through in the products I make. Tiny adjustments make a big difference when working with scent, so it is something that is worth doing slowly and with full attention.

I pour candles 20 at a time and make soap in batches of four loaves at a time. I am a one-person business and happy to continue as such. I have no desire to supply the whole world with candles or have a sky scraper office. Making what I can make with my two hands in the time available is an ideal arrangement for me.

Wildflowers and Gardens

This is a picture of wildflowers I planted in the stable yard outside my studio in summer 2020.

Do keep an eye on my Instagram Stories where I love to occasionally share pictures from the garden and videos of our ducks who make everybody smile.