I’ll be honest: I have a bit of an addiction to scented candles. I have them dotted all over the house, and barely an evening goes by without me lighting a few here and there. There’s something magical about watching gently dancing flames, surrounded by wafting fragrances and a soft, warm glow.
My latest discoveries are Hobo Soy Candles, which are made in the Lincolnshire market town of Louth by Rachael Clark. There’s a lovely story behind them: Rachael started the business after an Australian friend suggested that it would be a good way to put her creative side to use, and she spent months learning her craft. She now juggles candle-making with a full-time job supporting the Honda motorcycle-racing team, and hand-pours small batches in her kitchen using soy eco wax, which gives a cleaner, longer and healthier burn than petroleum-based paraffin.
The results, available in full-sized and travel versions, look beautiful and smell even better. Rachael has been travelling the globe since she was a few years old, and the scents she concocts are all inspired by personal recollections of places she has lived or visited: Pear & Freesia is an homage to the orchard she played in as a child, French Fig & Cassis is based on the garden of her former home near Biarritz, and Grapefruit & Mangosteen is an ode to the tropical fruit she ate while journeying around Malaysia. Even the packaging – noodle boxes decorated with hand-tied ribbons – is influenced by her love of wandering the world!
But what make Rachael’s candles particularly special are their wooden wicks, which produce a cosy crackle as they burn. They provide an atmospheric soundtrack to lazy summer meals in the garden or winter nights curled up on the sofa, and I haven’t come across anything else like them.
Rachael is kindly giving away a full-sized candle and a travel version to one reader of These Four Walls. To be in with a chance of winning, just do one of the following (or both, for two entries into the draw!):
- Browse the Hobo Soy Candles website and leave a comment below this post stating which scent you’d like to receive
- Pop over to Instagram, follow @thesefourwallsblog and @hobosoycandles, and regram any image of a Hobo candle from either feed. Please include the hashtag #hobogiveaway and tag us so that we can find your entry
The giveaway will run until midnight (UK time) on Friday 10th July and is open internationally. The winner will be chosen at random and notified via email or Instagram. Good luck!
Photography by Abi Dare
Wow – what a great discovery. These look and sound gorgeous, and really well priced!! Think I might be doing some Christmas shopping on that site! I love the sound of Grapefruit and Mangosteen, but the smell of figs is one of the best smells in the world…
ahhh! such lovely looking candles! I love her packaging as well as her choice of the wooden wick! i’ve only had a couple candles with wooden wicks before but they really make the whole candle experience a little more magical 🙂 as far as scents go, i think the lemongrass & coconut would be a perfect summertime candle in my house. Thanks for introducing me to these beauties!
Thanks for the intro Abi, these look lovely! The pear and freesia really appeals to me x
Oh I love the look of these. Am hoping to win a grapefruit and mangosteen and may well have to purchase one if I don’t win. These sound gorgeous – thanks for the heads up Abi!
Great post Abi. Candles look gorge. I have been struggling with choosing a scent though as love fig and i love lemongrass but i think the Grapefruit and Mangosteen would be perfect for the summer x
I’ve never tried a wooden wick before. It’s got to be lemongrass and coconut to add some tropicalness into bath time!
Vintage Gardenia !
Lemongrass and Coconut!