Spiral Twist Candles – How we bring a new product range into store
We started selling beautiful ranges of spiral twist candles and wavy candles in store and online in January 2021. I often get asked how I pick products for the shop, there’s definitely no quick answer to this, and considering it took me a full year to find a supplier for spiral dinner candles, I think this is a good example of what goes on behind our product ranges!
Bringing something into store usually starts with something catching my eye. It can be a tiny, inexpensive item or a splurge investment piece. Whatever the price point, everything gets equal time and consideration.
I first decided I wanted to stock a range of spiral twist candles after buying some Hay spiral candles in early 2020 in Copenhagen. Remember those days when we could travel at will?! We don’t stock Hay as a brand here at Mon Pote, although we love it very much, Bristolians - head to Oskar Furniture on Whiteladies Road where Marie can help you with all things Hay. I needed to find an alternative supplier and, I’m not kidding, it took me a year of research and hunting for these spiral dinner candles (thank goodness for social media allowing me to travel the world from my desk) to find a maker to supply us and who’s product I loved in terms of quality, price and aesthetic! We finally found Suzumi Candles and introduced their spiral twist candles into the shop and online in January 2021. See – a whole year of hunting! But then what else are you going to do through three lockdowns?
Suzumi is a small owner managed business based in the Netherlands. Liza, like me, balances running her business with raising her family. She sources a beautiful range of wavy candles and spiral dinner candles in wonderful colours including pink spiral candles, red spiral candles, black twist candles and lots of other twisted coloured candles in glorious glazes from Italy where they are handmade. We sell Liza’s spiral twist candles through our online and bricks and mortar stores and we always get an amazing reaction in store. I’d love to see the faces of customers who receive these in the mail!
Liza’s spiral candles are sold as singles and I have never seen a better price for a beautiful, hand-crafted item. All of these considerations are important when picking items for the shop. Since introducing Liza’s candles, we have also brought in packs of candles for those looking to purchase multiples from our larger suppliers. We have spiral candles in earthy tones from A La and pairs of pretty pastel candles in sustainable packaging from Broste. We have also sourced beeswax spiral candles for those who love the scent made when a beeswax candle burns but also the aesthetic of a spiral candle.
A few weeks before this blog, I met a new candle maker Soie candles through the search function on Instagram - even having found Suzumi, I’ve never stopped keeping my eye open. See – the algorithm does work sometimes! The search function is the place on Instagram where I spend most of my Instagram time these days, apart from looking at back-to-back reels of sausage dog puppies.
Soie Candles are pitched as a spiral taper candle that's too pretty to burn. Soie London prides itself on producing only the finest handmade sculptural candles hand poured in London. Their spiral soy wax and wicks are 100% natural and vegan friendly. They use natural dyes and high quality fragrance oils and essential oils, all their packaging is recyclable and biodegradable. Their candles ranges include beautiful twisted pastel candles which I immediately thought would complement our Suzumi range of glossy coloured spiral twist candles perfectly. As well as spiral twist wax candles, Soie specialise in drip candles, splatter candles and unique shape candles too. So, it seems that from spending a year getting to our fist supplier, expanding our range to include complementary ranges has started to become a bit easier!
We hope that you love the Suzumi, Broste, A La and Soie Candles as much as we do. One of the things I love about spiral twist wax candles is the range of colours they come in. They are an inexpensive pick me up, a great addition to an indoor or outdoor summer dining table. They make a wonderful gift and, if you can bear to burn them, you can never have too many. Basically a bit of fun in a not so fun 18 months!
We are also loving shape candles at the moment and sell shell shape candles form small maker Hebe and pillar candles in various colours from Broste Copenhagen. If you are a traditionalist, check out our range of coloured candles in simple straight shapes. We also love pairing candles with fun, coloured glass candle holders.
I hope that this blog has given you a little bit of insight into the thought process behind a new product range and how it goes from an idea to something that you can pop into store and take home. I also hope that it’s given you a little bit of a whistle stop tour of our current candle range offering.
Anna
