Earl of East London on the creativity of candlemaking

Front cover of The Scented Candle Workshop on a pink background — (Image credit: press)

Sharing the secrets behind their successful candle-making studio, Earl of East's new publishing venture includes a compelling outlook into the art of creating scents – enabling the reader to conceive their own signature frangrances, from incorporating key steps to preparing and pouring candles at home.

Candlemaking is a craft with thousands of years’ worth of history. While modern technology – like artificial lighting – ensures visibility both day and night, the role of candles as sources of light has altered. Today, candles can be used as a meditative tool (burning the wax to release pleasant and calming scents); to create a warm and romantic ambient setting; or even to fix items, like unsticking a stiff zipper.

Dedicated to capturing the feelings and memories emulated by scent, the book demonstrates how to blend a diverse range of essential oils to evoke a specific emotion and memory of a point in time: whether a childhood recollection of summer holidays by the beach, reconstructed with notes of seaweed, the zing of saltwater and a whiff of coconut from sunscreen, or walks in your grandparents’ floral garden filled with the scents of roses, lavender and patchouli.

‘More than a practical guide to making candles, this book is an embodiment of our learnings from the last five years in business,' explain the duo. ‘Turning our shared hobby and passion project into the brand it is today has been an incredible journey and we really hope this book inspires others to start a creative side project of their own.'

INFORMATION

The Scented Candle Workshop, by Niko Dafkos and Paul Firmin, £20, published by Kyle Books