By Jasmine Jackson
A MOTHER and daughter from Delph had a spark of inspiration to brighten up their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic – they launched a candle business!
The crafty pair have always made things together as a hobby but decided to take the plunge and turn their passion into a business called Scents of Saddleworth.
It gave Jodie, who was diagnosed with spondyloarthropathy two years ago, and her mum Christine something to enjoy and focus on while they were shielding.
“When I was diagnosed, it felt like my life was suddenly turned upside down,” Jodie explained.
“I found my feet again after around 12 months with the help of immunosuppressant medication.
“I started to return to some level of normality. Fortunately, my mum had retired so she was able to drive me to work so I could get back to earning.
“We had a neat little routine going then Covid-19 hit and so we had to shield. This didn’t just affect my routine but my mum’s too.
“Feeling pretty glum and at a loss, we thought of ways to fill our time for a more positive focus.
“We’ve always been pretty crafty making all sorts of things but never to sell.
“We love candles and had the idea to make candles with scents to remind us of the things we missed and the things keeping us going.
“We’ve done absolutely everything ourselves – not just the candles but the website and even the labels. It’s given us such a welcome distraction during this period.”
The pair decided the focus of the business would be Saddleworth and they would use their scents to represent places and things in the area.
Christine commented: “The Village Bakery is one of those amazing places we have around Saddleworth offering home baked goodies.
“Fireside Snuggles is reminiscent of all the cute homes around here that start lighting their fires at this time of year for cosy nights in.
“Church on the Hill is a reference to Heights Church where my husband and I married (as did my grandparents).
“Reservoir Walks and O Th’ Moors referring to the lovely areas we have to walk around here – we are so lucky to have such beautiful places to visit during these times.
“Wimberry Pie is one of my mum’s fondest childhood memories of wimberry picking and baking with her grandma.
“Country Cottage is simply for the cosiness of our village homes where we can relax regardless of what’s going on around us.
“We added Scents of the City so as not to limit our customer base. There is definitely a scent for everybody in our range.”
Jodie and Christine use soy wax and paraben free fragrance so their candles are vegan and eco-friendly and each is hand poured with TLC.
“We don’t expect to become ‘Yankee Candle’ or the like – we just hope our community will love what we have created and feel the same way about the scents as we do,” Jodie said.
“The aim really is to evoke memories and nostalgia with the scents we have created.”
To see the range available visit: www.scentsofsaddleworth.com or their Facebook page. The candles are also stocked at Diggle Lock.
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