What is ‘The Woodpile’?

‘The Woodpile’ comes from a place of needing to have an outlet, to make something physical with my hands. I’m a graphic designer in Northern Ireland by trade and that means sitting on a computer for the majority of the day. Hunched over, staring at a screen, sitting on my ass ALL day… So I needed an outlet. A place to make what I want to make from start to finish and design it as I want without following a brief written by someone else.

So why candles? Honestly I don’t know. I’ve a broken nose which doesn't even work that well when it comes to smelling (don’t worry, I’ve got some great candle testers to help me with this) but I can appreciate the atmosphere a candle can add to a room. I also grew up in a baking family and it’s similar to following a “recipe” to make a candle, reaching certain melting points etc. Candles are really just a starting point. I want to create a range of products that I find interesting or am in need of on a daily basis AND I want to design them well so you don’t mind it sitting about your home.

‘The Woodpile’ name to me refers to an older time/is still the case in some countries where every home would have a pile of wood outside which was topped up every year in preparations for a long cold winter. It was a necessity. It was used daily to light fires in the home and provide heat. Make the home liveable. I love the idea of things that we rely on nearly a daily basis to get us through. The every day essentials. That’s why ‘The Woodpile’… Secondly it’s the name of a song from one of my favourite bands - Frightened Rabbit.

I’ve started with candles but hopefully there’s lots more to come. I’m hoping to source as many materials as I can locally and make as many things as I can from scratch.