Behind the Business: Campsie Candles
Tell us about CAMPSIE - who you are and where you’re based?
There's been a big push for support local and shop small over the past year and I think it's really amazing to see the support people have been showing.
Campsie Candles began as a lockdown project and it looks like it has a really strong future ahead of it. Pre-lockdown I was working with my fiancé's family company DataWax in the snowsports industry. They manufacture ski wax and so over the years I've become a bit of a wax expert while doing the marketing for them. I grew up in Strathblane myself and remember going up the Campsie Fells as kids in the summers. Mum always told stories about how she'd gone up in her youth and cracked open rocks to find amethyst geodes. I was always in awe of her stories and couldn't believe that the hills at the back of our house were once volcanic.
When lockdown hit, the candles started as a bit of a passion project. To take something as ordinary as a candle and find a way to make it unique. We already had the infrastructure in place thanks to the DataWax factory, and I knew I had to make the candles special somehow. I've always loved geodes and anything that sparkles, so Campsie Candles was born as the first ever company to make geode candles. There was a lot of testing involved to get it right, but we got there eventually! We launched in November, a few months later on and we've done virtual markets, have just gone into our first retail premises and will be appearing in Vogue. It's been a whirlwind!
Out of all our products I have two favourites. The Sapphire Blue Geode which represents patience and kindness - this one also has sentimental value for me. Sapphire was my dad’s birth stone, he struggled with mental health for years and we lost him in 2012. In honour of him, a percentage of every sale is donated to The Mental Health Foundation. My other favourite is tougher, it’s between the Wild Plum and Luskentyre Beach, but I think I have to go with the Wild Plum as I’ve always loved all things fruit. It’s the perfect combination of Plum, Rhubarb, Pear & Sweet Peach.
Now onto the good stuff - let’s talk tea and cake!
This one is easy for me, I have a major sweet tooth! When I was younger my favourite cake was always Carrot Cake, I’m not entirely sure why but I think it had something to do with the frosting. These days I love a lemon drizzle on a warm summers day or a sponge with cream and fruit. I love the idea of going for a picnic and eating cake, I think that’s my ideal day out! I’m more of a tea drinker than a coffee lover, call me old fashioned but I love going for afternoon tea with my great aunt. She has these amazing tea sets and brings out a different one each time we visit. I think there’s something really special about drinking out a china teacup. Maybe that’s just me!
As a final note, I’m so honoured that Cafe Creme chose to feature me in the Behind the Business series. If you haven’t already, make sure you pop in for a cuppa, some cake and be sure to check out our Geode Candles on display – we’ve even set up a discount (CafeCreme10) specially for Café Crème customers!!