Candles

Hand-poured candles with soft, honest scents rather than the sharp synthetic kind that fills a room in thirty seconds and gives you a headache in ten minutes. Poured in small batches, in glass, ceramic and timber vessels worth keeping after the wax runs out.

One tip that doubles a candle life: on the first burn, leave it lit until the melt pool reaches the edge of the vessel, usually two to three hours. Skip that and the candle tunnels down the middle and wastes half the wax. Trim the wick to five millimetres before each burn to stop it smoking.

Set the mood with

Add tea lights and votive candles for scale, display them in candle holders, and browse jar candles for longer burns.