Iggy Box Reveal | February Maker
Welcome to your February Iggy Box… ‘The best views come when you reach the top…’
This February, we are bringing you an opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors at home. Our candle has been inspired by a great Indian summit, we’ve included a delicious treat from the snow-topped mountains and our exclusive members’ offers will help you explore new tastes or even begin a new wellness adventure!
Meet your February maker…
This month we are delighted to feature Lizzy, who hand pours her collection from her workshop in Ancoats, Manchester. Crafted with simplicity and elegance at its heart…
We introduce you to Cedar Lifestyle.
Wick inside my box
The candle…
Lizzy has created a stunning candle ‘Chembra’.
An exclusive scent created just for Iggy Box subscribers, named after the highest peak in the Western Ghats in India. Featuring a beautiful luxury amber vessel and minimalistic label to allow all our focus on the candle’s warm glow…
A bold and complex scent, underpinned by base notes of aged teak with tones of sandalwood and patchouli, all fused with black pepper, leather, and musk. Warm and soothing, allow your mind to be whisked to far away campfires in the forest mountains…
The wax facts…
The Little One | 20cl | 40 hr burn time | RRP £20
The Bigger One | 30cl | 55 hr burn time | RRP £30
Inside your Iggy Box this month, you will find your ‘Little Something Extra’…
This month we have partnered up with Peakz to bring to you their ‘Salted Caramel Squares’. A delicious, vegan-friendly snack to provide the perfect pick-me-up whatever life brings…
An exquisite blend of caramel, ‘Rain Forest Alliance approved’ chocolate and a hint of salt for added flavour, all handmade here in the UK.
These tasty squares are packed with fibre, B12, Iron and some ingredients have even shown to help lower blood pressure and cholesterol!
Peakz’s range is palm oil free and uses recyclable packaging. They also donate part of the profits to a multitude of charities including Jaan, a non-profit organisation protecting primate habitats in Indonesia… a snack you can really feel good about eating!
Let’s learn a little more about Lizzy…
How long has your brand been going and is it your full time job?
It’s been about two and a half years since the first Cedar candles were poured in my kitchen in Manchester. Initially I grew the business gradually, juggling it around a role as a secondary school Geography teacher. At the end of last school term I took the plunge and I am now a full-time chandler!
Where do you make the candles?
Every Cedar candle is hand-poured in what I imaginatively title ‘the candle lab’, which is based in Ancoats, just outside Manchester city centre. There are over 140 small independent businesses based alongside me. We all operate out of converted shipping containers believe it or not. It’s a really amazing little community. You can find everything there from hydroponic farms to tattooists and clothing brands. Everyone is really supportive of one another.
What inspired you to start making candles and your brand?
I mentioned I was a geography teacher. Well, I was finding the pressures of the job very difficult to cope with. I was in my first full year, and the workload and scrutiny, the hours, controlling the classes, everything, I just found it all utterly overwhelming. Candle making was something I decided to try my hand at to try and relieve the stress and anxiety I was feeling. I had always found candles therapeutic and meditative. They represent little moments of calm, which I was sorely in need of at the time! I quickly realised how much I enjoyed the making process, so I decided to try and make a go of it as a business, bringing moments of peace and tranquillity to other peoples’ homes through Cedar.
What is your passion behind the brand?
I enjoy having total creative control! Don’t get me wrong, I love candle making itself, but my favourite part of the job has become product development. From designing the packaging to developing the scent stories that accompany every product, to working with designers and photographers, it’s such a rich and varied creative experience. I also enjoy the trial and error of blending different scents. There’s a real science to candle-making. I talk about this a lot in the workshops I run. Scent is such a personal thing. What is intimate and transportive for some can be quite the opposite to others. You have to take all of this into consideration in the development stages, and I really enjoy that.
What do you love about ‘Chembra’?
I’ve always been amazed at how scent can take us on a journey. In our minds and our memories, to places we’ve never visited before, all without taking a single step. Everyone has been through the ringer these last few months, which is why I think that a sense of escapism and hope is really important right now. Even if that does come from something as small as lighting a candle at home. Chembra is named after the highest peak in the Western Ghats, in India, which is a very spiritual place that acknowledges the importance of the reflective moments in life. Chembra is beautiful, lush and mysterious. It’s also rich in sandalwood, which is a key note in Chembra, and one of my favourite scents. I like to think that when you put the flame to your Chembra candle, it will take you somewhere peaceful.
Who inspires you the most?
I’m inspired by other creative people. Since starting Cedar I’ve been lucky enough to meet a real mix of talented business owners. I just think it’s so amazing that they have all chosen to take the plunge to pursue their dreams. They put everything they have into doing what they love and making a success of it; it’s so inspiring. It was the friendships I made through Cedar that gave me the confidence to take the plunge myself and run Cedar full-time.
What has been your biggest achievement so far?
I honestly get excited about every sale but as a whole, the way my business has grown, I am just so thrilled and touched by the support from people. I’m very lucky to be stocked in lots of independent shops and I feel very proud when I see them on the shelves. And here I am, the February candle for Iggy box; I never imagined I’d make candles in such quantities. I think that is an achievement in itself for a one-woman show!
Do you have a fun-fact or anecdote about your brand?
My production process can be chaotic to say the least. It has resulted in the term ‘Waxident’, which can mean anything from ruined shoes (numerous pairs) to litres of wax being spilled on the floor.
Do you have any specific goals for Cedar?
I mentioned my workshops, I really miss those. Sitting around a table, making candles and getting to know people, having a natter with a glass of Prosecco. I’m really looking forward to getting back to that when life returns to normal. Other than that I’m hoping to keep growing Cedar. I want to launch more products and explore future collabs. Beyond that, well, we’ll see!
So there you have it, our February reveal and ‘Meet the Maker’… We hope that you enjoyed learning a little bit more about Lizzy and her gorgeous Cedar candles.
We also hope that your February boxes bring lots of peace and comfort to you and if you have gifted a box to someone special, we hope that it brings peace and comfort to them too!
Happy burning Iggy Boxers!
