Rosscarbery students produce range of 1916 tribute candles

A GROUP of students from Rosscarbery are producing stylish 1916 commemorative candles.

‘Wacky Wicks’ is the mini company formed by the five girls who are all fourth year pupils in Mount Saint Michael. 

‘We are a candle company which focuses on providing candles to our customers in sync with the current season, festivals and many other events which happen throughout the year,’ said student Grainne Deasy.

But the girls’ most ambitious plan is to produce and market the specially-designed 1916 candle – which they hope will be their biggest success to date. All of the candles are handmade using a variety of different waxes including paraffin and recycled waxes. The collection holds seven key scents – Lemon, Lavender, Mulberry, French Vanilla, Clean Cotton, Red Hot Cinnamon, Sandalwood, Sea Breeze and Chocolate.

There are two different types of handmade candle – the Coinnle 1916 range, and the Natural Collection brand.

‘We will be giving 75% of all our profits to a local organisation – a key reason why we are selling our candles at community-based settings. We want to give back to the community which has already given so much to us. Each and every sale means a great deal to all of us as we have a lot of pride in our collection,’ said Grainne.

The Natural Collection was set up in October of 2015 and the candles have proved popular already as Christmas, birthday, Valentine’s, wedding and baby gifts.

The candles come in different styles - the small jars are 156ml and slightly bigger jars are 200ml. ‘We package the jars so they look like jam jars, a simple but effective idea that is cost-effective,’ Grainne added. The girls also use recycled wax and cupcake cases in the production process.

The girls switched their production to the ‘Coinnle 1916’ range in February.

‘We always had this in mind as we knew we not only wanted to remember Easter 1916 but also pay it a mark of respect. All our candles have an Irish theme,’ said Grainne.

‘Each one is filled with green, white and orange coloured wax to represent the Irish tricolour. We also have pint glasses filled with ‘Guinness’. We package all our products using tea-stained Irish newspapers, to create a historical effect, and bind them with a plaiting of green white and orange string,’ she explained.

For St Patrick’s Day options, the girls have produced tea lights, made from cookie cutters in various shapes, including shamrocks, leprechaun hats, Irish flags, pots of gold, leprechauns, horseshoes, and a glass of beer. 

To order, email [email protected] or see Wackywicks on Facebook