Inspiration comes from many different sources. Many of our candles end up in people’s homes and we find that magazines play a large part in influencing what we produce to fit in with their ideas on decoration. Everyday objects can sometimes inspire, together with artists like Rothko and Ben Nicholson.

What particular skills are needed to become a specialist in your field?

‘If you can cook, you can make candles’, is our reply to this question. Exactly like cooking, you have to be disciplined enough to follow a recipe, use the correct temperature and timing, and just as in cooking there’s always a lot of cleaning up to do! Also it’s a great help to have a good eye for colour.

What do you particularly enjoy about making and decorating candles?

Candle making is surprisingly relaxing so most days, going to work isn’t really like ‘work’ at all. Candles made for birthday and wedding gifts are always a challenge and give you great satisfaction when the customers collect them.

What is the most difficult aspect of the work?

One difficult aspect is to get the candles out on time. The weather plays a big part in our production. If it is very warm, the candles can take almost twice as long to cool down as they do in winter. This is very stressful as our deadlines have to be met since most of our work is produced for films and television.

How do new designs come about?

New designs often happen when you least expect them. Usually it’s when you are trying to do one design, a mistake is made and you suddenly have a new design!

Who is your work usually for? What happens to the candles on leaving the workshop?

Since they are mainly produced for films and television, they are shipped all over the world – America, Prague, Thailand – the list is endless. We also have a Royal Warrant for the Prince of Wales.

For how long do you normally work each day?

Usually eight hours a day, six days a week. If our deadline is tight we also work on Sundays and at night, too.

Is there a particular design of candle you would like to make in the future?

Medieval design interests me a great deal perhaps because of its simplicity. Maybe I’ll do something along those lines in the future.