I'd tell you I had an epiphany and envisioned a booming business, but that would be a lie.
It was the third year of my family doing a ‘£5 or make it rule’ for Christmas presents - i’d made cookies one year and learnt to decorate mugs with marbled nail varnish off a Pinterest demo the next, so I wanted to step things up a notch.
Some wine bottle candles caught my eye at a wine tasting event and I decided i’d give them a go. After researching (very little) online, I cracked on and made them (cracking quite a few wine bottles in the process).
I melted bits of wax from old candles and bought a bit of soy wax to top them all up too. Although they were far from perfect, some friends and family still say that first one will always be their favourite Booze and Burn candle to date.
After that first little batch, I became much more aware of the ever growing number of wine bottles that consistently took up space on my mums kitchen floor and in the recycling bin. Between us, I guess the Smith’s had quite a penchant for booze and an impressive collection of wine bottles that didn’t seem to waver.
I slowly built my first collection and took them to the Makers Market a few months later. As the months progressed, I took on more markets and grew my product range, selling beer can candles, spirit bottle candles and custom candles for people too.
The introduction of my own labels was a turning point and game changer for me.
What began as a hobby soon grew into a business… but the heart and soul that goes into each and every candle has and will always remain the same as that first ‘£5 or make it’ batch.
Thank you for coming on my journey with me so far!
Sophie x
