Our Story: Prologue
Wordsmith Candles was created by partners Fiona Reidy and Darren Vahey as a way of sharing their love for classic literature, luxury fragrance, and candle craft.
Based in Co. Cavan, Fiona is a writer and avid reader. Darren is a secondary school teacher of design and communication graphics, with a great admiration of Irish craft and design. They began experimenting with candle-making in early 2019 and loved the craft so much that they decided to take the plunge and start selling their creations. Here's what they've got to say about their business:
Fiona: "The inspiration for Wordsmith Candles came about during a quiet evening in. I was re-reading Pride and Prejudice and getting lost in the nostalgia and comfort of my favourite book."
"Darren lit one of the floral candles we'd made, and I was so struck by how perfectly the scent matched the mood of Elizabeth and Darcy's story. So the Rose Garden candle became the Pride and Prejudice candle, and the rest followed suit."
Darren: "It was really challenging and fun matching classic books and fragrances together. Fiona is more of a reader than me, so she'd read a book and describe the general feeling of it, and we'd find the perfect scent together through lots of trials and testing."
"I think we tested well over 60 scents to find the perfect match for our first six novels. We also had to choose the right wax, but it was an easy decision to go with a natural rapeseed and coconut wax blend. It's sustainable and better for the environment than traditional candle waxes."
With a virtually endless pool of inspiration in the world of classic literature, the first six scents are just 'Chapter One' in the story of Wordsmith Candles.