Our candles are poured in small batches, by our chandler Sarah, at our Wanaka atelier. Sarah is passionate about her craft and believes the making of a beautiful candle goes far beyond just wax and wick – the nuances of chemistry, fragrance oils and packaging are also very important
At G&E we value slow, mindful production, respecting the age-old craftsmanship involved in candle manufacturing. We believe the meticulous hand poured process helps us to achieve a quality product, whilst also eliminating waste
Selecting the best raw ingredients available, ensures our candles are always of the highest quality
We use natural soy wax in our scented candles. Soy wax has a great burn time and due to its lower melting point, a fabulous scent throw. With soy wax the fragrance will remain right until the final burn
Soy wax is a sustainable wax to use and it is one of the best performing waxes for candles. Derived from soybean oil, it is vegan friendly and contains no additives. It is also one of the cleanest burning waxes
We use cotton braided wicks. Each candle size variation and fragrance requires a different size wick – so we do thorough testing to ensure the right wick is chosen for each different candle/fragrance combination
You may have heard of terms like ‘triple scented’ but at G&E we like to keep things simple. Natural soy wax will only hold a maximum fragrance loading of around 10-12% before it starts to affect how the candle will burn – it can cause smoking and oil may leach out of the wax. So, we test all of our fragrances thoroughly and then load to that maximum threshold, ensuring you get the best perfumed soy candle possible
Our fragrances are all international fragrance association (IFRA) certified and phthalate free. The IFRA standards form the basis of a globally accepted and recognised risk management system, ensuring the safe use of fragrance ingredients
We worked with the very talented matt from think packaging to create a new signature ‘unfolding’ origami style box for our candles. We wanted these boxes to mimic (as much as possible), the feeling of unwrapping your candle that our paper wrappings provided and we think these boxes deliver that and more. We love these new boxes and the playful surprise of colour that is revealed as the box unfolds
There are six floral boxes for our standard and large size candles and also four signature coloured (non floral) boxes for our standard size candles, which brings a little variety into the mix
Our ‘the grande’ size candles are wrapped in a magnolia card sleeve with black lid and our tea lights are packaged in one of our floral bags
The journey from starting as hard wax to being lit and enjoyed… a little behind the scenes footage