After settling down in the Oxfordshire countryside, the Cotswold Candle Company has gone from strength to strength. We talk to Polly Oswald, creator of Cotswold Candles, about her luxurious products and business during the festive season
To Polly Oswald, life in the bustling capital seems like a distant dream. She now lives in the picture-perfect village of Idbury, near Chipping Norton with her family and they’ve never been happier.
The Cotswolds have had a huge influence on the Cotswold Candle Company. The candles and reed diffusers are carefully crafted by Polly herself and are made from a range of fragrances that have been inspired by the beautiful rolling countryside that surrounds their family home. Think affordable luxury handmade products using a range of handpicked, classic English scents.
From small beginnings when Polly would use a small pot over her hob to create five candles at a time, business has boomed over the last six months. “They’re flying off the shelves quicker than I can make them! I’ve bought myself a larger wax melting pot, almost like a huge casserole dish, so I can melt larger quantities and make bigger batches of candles.
“I’ve added new fragrances to the range and added new products. I now have larger two wick candles, reed diffusers plus small votive candles.”
With Christmas around the corner, Polly is gearing herself up for the festivities. Alongside the Cotswold Candle Company’s traditional scents including mulberry, grapefruit and sweet pea, Polly recommends the orange, cinnamon and clove scented candle as a delightful stocking filler this Christmas. “We launched the Christmas scent last year and it was really popular – that scent encapsulates Christmas. It helps bring out those nostalgic memories, the warm, sitting by the fire type of smell emphasised by the wooden wicks we have in our candles.”
For those who are unsure of which scent would best suit their home, the sample pack of eight tea lights is the perfect choice. “We had initially created a paper strip with a sample of the fragrance but thought our customers would quite like to see the wick burning and appreciate the smell that comes from lighting that particular scented candle. We came up with the idea for a little sample pack of tea lights with each of our eight fragrances so you can try before you buy.
“People quite like to buy a few sets to decorate their tables, pop them in their gardens and in tea light holders. It’s wonderful to smell their fragrances as they light up.”
Alongside crafting candles, juggling home life and looking after her three children, Polly and her husband have also started a blog. “We love living in the Cotswolds. The newly launched website will be to do with places to stay and things happening in the Cotswolds so we can share it with other people.” It doesn’t look as though things are slowing down anytime soon for Cotswold Candle Company, find out more about Polly and her story on the website.
Follow Cotswold Candle Company on:
Facebook - facebook.com/cotswoldcandlecompany
Twitter - twitter.com/CotswoldCandle
Instagram - instagram.com/cotswoldcandlecompany/
Cotswold Candle Company are offering readers 15% off their luxurious products this Christmas, use the code CANDLE9 when ordering online for the discount.
