Meet the team behind the new & upcoming candle business, The Wandering Bee.
Local business, The Wandering Bee, has created a real buzz throughout Staffordshire and it’s not hard to see… Or smell, why! Founded by Stone based Bee Warren and Josh Smart, the designer duo created the high-quality candle business ‘The Wandering Bee’ earlier this year.
Launched in February, their products have since received incredible reviews which only serve as a testimony to The Wandering Bee’s high quality products and the care that goes into creating each product. “What started as a small idea soon took over our kitchen”, says Bee. The pair have big dreams for the business with hopes of taking it on full-time, expanding their range and creating new products. Josh works full-time as a Graphic Designer while Bee works part-time as a Dental Receptionist throughout the week, their evenings are now kept busy raising their daughter and focusing on The Wandering Bee!
“When we get an order, it’s a bit of a family ordeal”, says Bee, with herself and their 3-year-old daughter, Callow, tag teaming when it comes to packaging the candles, each family member has a designated role. While Bee is ‘head of the hive’, scoring and splitting the bottles, melting and pouring the candles and packaging and photographing the finished product for social media and website content, Josh will sand the bottles ready for the rest of the process to continue and is responsible for delivering them to the post office.
The family-run business prides themselves on the high-quality of their products, it’s clear that they put their whole hearts into every candle poured and package sent. “We lovingly hand-sand our bottles and hand-pour all of our candles from our home here in Staffordshire”, their attention to detail and care is apparent throughout every element of The Wandering Bee.
The Brand
“I wanted a brand that was different to anything I’d seen. A lot of candle companies go for that spa look and feel, lots of white branding and a strong focus on calming scents. I wanted to design a brand that had a sleek look and feel to it, that was aesthetically sexy to look at but played around with a few quirky and fun aspects too, such as the names and scents.” explains Bee.
Offering many benefits, using soy wax for their candles was also a non-negotiable for Bee and Josh. Alongside being 100% non-toxic, natural, renewable and biodegradable the use of Soy Wax also creates a cleaner and longer burn and burns down completely. “Our main USP is that we handcraft our candle containers from locally sourced amber beer bottles, I think that that’s what really sets us apart from the crowd.” says Bee. In keeping of their brand, the couple also decided to also use locally sourced glass bottles, allowing their product to be 100% recyclable.
The idea of using recycled beer bottles as their candle containers came from a case of necessity, “the beer bottle idea came about because of the lockdown, we couldn’t get our hands on any candle containers… I’m utterly in love with their sleek look and the warm amber glow they have when they burn.”. Bee also credits lockdown for the entire existence of The Wandering Bee, saying that without the space to reflect on her life and personal goals during the past year the idea wouldn’t have been formed.
The Scent
“When I first launched I just picked scents that I knew that I would absolutely love and that I would definitely purchase myself. I wanted them to be familiar to scents that we all already know and love but with a little twist, such as Tennessee Coffee for example.”. With an ever-growing range, they currently have nine candle fragrance options to choose from.
Their Wild Black Cherry Tree is almost good enough to eat (…almost!); while their Milky Coconut scent has you transported to faraway lands – a little escapism is undoubtedly something we’re all in need of right now. Their newest addition is a fragrance just bursting with flavour – ‘Citrus Got Real’ – combines both zesty iced lemon and fragrant bergamot to evoke that ever-so-sweet familiar aroma of lemon sherbet.
The Wandering Bee is synonymous with quality. Driven with a real sense of pride and passion for what they do, there’s no cutting corners or settling for anything less than perfect. When buying from The Wandering Bee you know you’ll be buying a premium product that not only smells delicious but is also better for the environment and your own health.
It may only be early days for The Wandering Bee, but anticipate big things from the designer duo. Head to their online store to check out their products and keep an eye on their Instagram account (@_thewanderingbee) for new releases and information!
