THE FOUNDER of a candlemaking business based in Twyford is celebrating the end of a successful year. And it began with losing her job.
Gemma Chadwick had been working in the event planning industry for 15 years before the pandemic hit. Work dried up as a result, and she was made redundant at the beginning of this year.
Her business, A Late Night Tale, was born after a conversation over a bottle of wine one evening with her husband, Ivan.
“We noticed that many of the bottles and beer cans we had waiting to go for recycling had attractive labels and we wondered whether they could be used for something else,” Gemma explains.
“It was Ivan who suggested that we upcycle them into candles.
“The name we came up with is about how empty bottles and cans tell a story of the moment when the contents were consumed.”
Gemma researched how to set up her own business. She also learned about candlemaking and began to experiment with the process.
It included learning how to use specialist glass cutting equipment, and making the cut edges of bottles and cans smooth and safe.
A Late Night Tale’s website was launched in February, with Gemma using the couple’s own empties to make orders.
“To begin with, I was making the candles alongside homeschooling,” she adds. The Chadwicks have two daughters, Lizzie, who is 11 years old, and Millie, who is 6 years old.
Business began to pick up once lockdown restrictions were lifted. Gemma says that she initially thought the idea would develop into making upcycled candles with bespoke labels for events such as weddings and festivals.
“But then I had a phone call from Natalia at Stanlake Vineyard, asking whether I could make their empties into candles for their shop.
“Now I have other vineyards and breweries I make for, including Chiltern Valley Winery and Loddon Brewery.”
Other shops supplied by Gemma include Twyford’s Rural Pie Co. and a vegan store in Lechalde, Gloucestershire. Her products also sell at fayres and online, and customers give their own empties for upcycling too.
“All of my candles are made in small batches of between 20 and 40 and use soy wax as I found this was the best method,” she says.
She is enjoying the experience and says that she probably always wanted to run her own business deep down.
“I did not ever think this time last year I would be where I am this year.
“Without redundancy I would never had made a change.”
For more, visit: alatenighttale.com
