Jan and Julia are local women who met in 2012, forging a friendship and working together for many years in finance.
In 2020, Jan decided to take early retirement and was asked ‘What are you going to do now?’ and she responded with a jokey ‘I don’t know, make candles?!’.
The seed was planted. Jan approached Julia with her ideas of making candles as they both loved them but were fed up with buying disappointing ones which left a lot of unmelted wax when the wick had burnt down and with scents which disappeared after a few burns. After attending a professional candle making course and months of further training, they were finally ready to make and test candles.
In November 2021, Jan & Julia launched their business from home in East Sussex, selling luxury hand poured, home fragrance products using the highest quality ingredients they can find and source from UK suppliers and local businesses.
Their high-quality candles are hand poured in small quantities, using vegan friendly soy wax and lead free cotton wicks. Each candle has a burn time of 45-50 hours, melting all the way down with no left-over wax and producing a wonderful scent throughout the life of the candle.
Jan & Julia choose their fragrances carefully "Each one must bring us joy!" says Jan. They live with each scent for weeks and months whilst testing, so they have to be in love with every one of them.
At Pelham’s we currently stock four scents in the candles and the reed diffusers:
Black Iris & Musk This is a rich deep scent which epitomises elegance, independence, wisdom, mystery, and rebellion. Apparently, purple irises were planted over the graves of women to summon the Goddess to guide the dead in their journey. Ancient Egyptian kings marvelled in the iris's exotic nature, and drawings have been found of the flower in a number of Egyptian palaces.
With Top notes of the ever popular Bergamot together with Mandarin Pear and Spearmint, you get the woody rich aromas of the middle notes of Jasmin, spice, cedar, francinense and Patchouli. This enticing scent is then warmed and based with essences of Musk, Amber, Sandal, and Vanilla. The subtle yet heady fragrance is deeply comforting, absorbing the self into a euphoric abyss of solace and seduction.
Arabian Princess: Jan & Julia fell in love with this scent because it is so different to what they had already. It tantalised their senses with the strangely beautiful and exotic fragrances transporting them to eastern climes. It is a very popular choice with customers. Silky, rich layers of amber, with its musky warm oriental fragrance, plus sweet comforting vanilla, combined with exotic spices to add a hint of the orient to this intriguingly unusual scented luxurious candle.
Fresh green leaf top notes rounded out with Armoise, Citrus and Mint together with warm blended middle notes of patchouli, lavender, amber, ginger and jasmine blossom. These scents are complimented beautifully by base notes of soft sweet woody tones, sensual amber, musk, sandalwood and vanilla. Bringing the exotic into your home. They often get asked how they know what an Arabian Princess smells of! They reply "We can only use our imagination and that is in this candle!"
Lemongrass Medley: They wanted to create a warm calming relaxing candle for those who don’t like lavender and so this candle with its fresh lemongrass, breath of eucalyptus and warming ginger really hit the spot. Lemongrass Medley is a really calming and relaxing scent to chill out, breath and relax with. Truly a Spa in a Candle.
Stimulating and sensual – evoking the tranquil beauty of an exotic eastern garden. Top notes of tangy lemongrass, Sicilian lemons and juicy limes lead into a heart of spicy ginger root and grated nutmeg, with refreshing eucalyptus. Base notes include sensual patchouli, white woods and creamy vanilla with top notes of lemongrass, lime, lemon, orange and a heart of geranium, cinnamon and ginger. Many customers have said that this candle takes them to Thailand and we can understand why. Relax with this candle in the bath, reading a book or just meditating.
Black Plum & Rhubarb: This was one of the first candles Jan & Julia created so it will always hold a place in their hearts. Jan says it still wows them now and is a very popular choice for those customers who like a more fruity scent.
The Black Plum & Rhubarb Luxury Scented Candle is a vibrant, fruity accord of juicy black plum and fresh rhubarb supported with interludes of ripe pear and sweet peach. A fresh fruity aroma opens with smells of sweet garden rhubarb and juicy black plum combined with notes of grapefruit, strawberry and raspberry all on a base of cedar, vanilla and musk. With a strong note of Sweet Rhubarb, you can pick out the pear and peach in the middle and then the base notes of Plum and Blackberry. It is really a joy to smell if you like fruit-based candles and this does not disappoint.
Candles are £30 each, Reed Diffusers are £24 each and the Candle care kits are £23.50.
Jan & Julia are very conscious about the impact of packaging and waste and how that affects their products. With this in mind, all materials they use are FSC certified, using recycled paper and wherever possible the eco solution is chosen - from the glue to the smallest labels, each element making up the packaging has been selected for its eco properties and lowest carbon footprint.
They are currently moving towards refillable reed diffusers. Their candle vessels can be used reused in a variety of ways once the wax has burnt away.
Jan & Julia are proud to be supporting Little Gate Farm, who provide support into employment for those with learning disabilities and autism, which is close to their hearts. Their aim for the future is to provide employment for people who are supported by this important charity.
