Gooseberry Hill Candles is a family owned and run business. It was born in the Hills of Perth, Western Australia in the summer of 2009 by Richard and Tracy Lundgren. Due to family and work circumstances, we have now moved the business back to NSW, and have settled in the beautiful Blue Mountains. We still offer the same great product and are more than happy to ship anywhere within Australia or overseas.
The Process
When we first decided to look into candle making it was borne from our own love of burning fragranced candles in our own home. We couldn't have imagined though just how scientific the whole process of creating a top quality candle really is! A bit of wax, a wick, some fragrant oil and colour, a mold or container and voila a candle is made! Not so!
Without getting too scientific here, every fragrance, colour and jar combination needs to be thoroughly tested. This involves burning the candle from start to finish in a controlled environment to observe the burn characteristics, scent throw and a number of other variables. By doing this we can assess exactly which wicks need to be used for each fragrance / colour combination (as well as the container it is in) and make sure that it is not burning too quickly, or inefficiently, and also making sure the fragrance "hot throw" is to it's optimum level.
As you can imagine this takes a LOT of time, but with each new fragrance we select, and with every new differently shaped or sized jar or container we introduce to our line, this testing is vital to creating a real quality product!
It is essential to us that our customers are completely satisfied with out candles so to skimp on any of the time consuming, and sometimes complicated testing process is simply out of the question for us. We will not put a candle out for sale that has not gone through this rigorous testing process!
On the bright side though, our home always smells wonderful as there are ALWAYS candles being tested.
The Packaging
On a personal note: we are always eager to try and look for environmentally friendly options in our own lives so this obviously carries through to our candle business. We have completely vetoed the plastic bag, so you'll never see one of those at any of our market stalls. Instead we buy recyclable brown paper bags for you to carry away your purchase.
Our mini melts are also packaged in brown paper bags and we have opted to continue through with that "natural" look by using brown craft labeling. Our tin can candles are made by using recycled tin cans which are then given a "rusted" look by applying a custom recipe which includes an assortment of various spices, so even the outside smells great!
Each gingham tie is tea stained by hand and tied onto the jars which we hope, and would encourage, that our customers reuse in their own homes. We do not like using shrink wrap so our pillar candles are transported in recycled bubble wrap (Thanks to other recyclers in our community!) and / or tissue paper, in order to keep them free of dints and scratches.
Our only disappointment is the request and popularity for clamshell melts, which also we understand are convenient - especially for retailers who are short on shelf space. We hope to come upon, through our continued research, another option involving no plastic whatsoever for these.
What we HAVE discovered through our business is that it's not always so easy to try and be environmentally friendly when it comes to packaging, but still it is something we feel is important enough to constantly strive towards and we hope we are achieving at least in small ways.
Quality Control
Because each of our candles is hand poured in our own home we are very careful to inspect the quality of each one from start to finish, and those that don't meet our standards, well, friends and family always welcome any that we have deemed "not quite right for sale", however because they ARE hand made products we don't necessarily want to present them to look as though they've been factory made. As a result colours may vary ever so slightly from batch to batch but this is the only variation you should expect to find which doesn't at all affect the burn quality of the candle.
We do not adjust our fragrance percentages or promote our candles as "double or triple scented", instead we use a standard % of fragrance oil and by our in depth testing process we are able to produce a truly fragrant candle simply by making sure it is wicked appropriately. Some fragrances are naturally just "lighter" than others but some people prefer a less overwhelming perfume anyway, so the choice is yours when you sniff our jars!
Our jars are always filled appropriately (none of this two thirds of the way business) and we strive to always centre our wicks as best as possible so as to get the most appropriate burn. Once again, any candles where the wick is not centered, do not pass our standards and go to family and friends.
Our waxes are purchased from suppliers who assure us, particularly when it comes to the palm wax, that this is obtained from fully sustainable palm plantations, NOT from any area that may endanger the natural ecology. This is very important to us and you can read more about this by clicking on the Palm Wax Information link on the left.
Adjusting To The Seasons
We realize that from season to season people burn candles for a different ambiance. We stock a variety of fragrances that are appropriate for each time of the year so as to help you create the desired atmosphere for your home.
Our autumn and winter candles are cozy and rich with a lot of fantastic home baked fragrances, delightfully spiced and aromatic scents assured to fill your house with just the right amount of warmth and comfort.
Our spring and summer fragrances are carefully picked to try and match the freshness of the outdoors, the sun filled days of summers by the beach or relaxing by the pool or spa as well as the wonderful aromas of spring flowers in bloom.
Of course there are always popular standards that we carry all year round and we are happy to create candles of any fragrance you request at any time, as long as that fragrance is in stock from our suppliers.
We also change our wax from soy to palm during the summer months, particularly for outdoor markets.
This is because soy wax has a much lower melt point and therefore does not fare as well in the hot summer temperatures. Palm wax is ideal for our summer climate here in Australia because it has a much higher melt point and therefore will not sweat or melt like soy, or even paraffin. While we would never suggest you put your candle in direct sunlight, palm wax candles fare much better in hot temperatures compared to other waxes.
It makes sense to us that we provide you with a candle that is going to suit the changing seasons.
Striving To Provide A Unique Product
It is never easy to create something which is completely unique, and with limited suppliers (and limited demand for suppliers) here in Australia we are always looking for ways in which to come up with something that really stands out among the crowd.
We have begun experimenting with making our own candle molds, a costly and very time consuming process, but one that we hope will indeed provide our customers with something that is refreshingly "different"
We have begun importing fragrances direct from the USA for the same reason.
Our candle accessory "rusty tin ware" products are also from the USA, simply because we cannot find a supplier here in Australia, and we are having trouble keeping up with the demand for these.
We want to be able to provide you with products that have their own special charm so we will continue to work on new ideas and new sources in order to achieve that special point of difference.
Summary
Thank you for reading all of the above. We hope it gave you an insight into our candles as well as us, the people behind it all.
We are extremely proud of our product and to know that it is going to end up in YOUR home we aim to make it as presentable, as safe, as unique and as wonderfully fragrant as we possibly can. If ever you are in the slightest bit unhappy with your purchase (scent excluded), we offer a full money back guarantee. We are however confident that this should not be the case!
Tracy and Richard Lundgren
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