In November 2002, Ian Carroll opened a candle shop at 11 Lyndhurst Terrace in Central, Hong Kong. It was the first dedicated candle shop in the city, and the Irish businessman, who had lived in the city since 1999, called it The Candle Company.
“I fell in love with Hong Kong, the people and the energy,” says Ian. “As soon as I arrived, I wanted to build a business here.”
Over the years, Ian evolved the business, from selling candles made by other people to creating unique scents to meet the tastes and preferences of local Hong Kong people, staying at the same location on Lyndhurst Terrace for 20 years. The company’s first success was White Michelia, a fragrant blend of michelia flower, jasmine and rosewood. The idea to make a White Michelia scent was suggested by Ian’s team and the scent was already well known by Hong Kong people, as the wildflower grows locally. It was also sold in small bunches by flower sellers in the streets of the city, including one elderly lady who was often seen with a basket of white michelia flowers in the streets near The Candle Company.
That elderly lady caught the eye of Hong Kong artist Kayla Lo, who at the time was the company’s in-house designer. The company was looking to redesign the candle packaging and Kayla created the evocative, detailed artwork that is now printed on all the candles and diffusers in the White Michelia range. The artwork shows the white michelia flowers, and the flower seller sitting on the street with her basket of flowers, as well as the shop and some of the surrounding old streets. There is even a discreet image of The Candle Company’s longtime shop manager, and a mention of the candle shop, for those with eagle eyes!
While the White Michelia design and packaging changed over time, the scent did not. This year is the 20th anniversary of White Michelia and the scent is now the centrepiece of Carroll&Chan, the beeswax brand of The Candle Company.
The White Michelia scent blends beautifully with beeswax, creating a highly fragrant, sweet and lingering fragrance. The matching diffuser contains essential oils and fine fragrances and complies with the latest standards of the International Fragrance Association, IFRA.
To celebrate this special anniversary, Carroll&Chan has created a special White Michelia gift set. The set is dedicated to the company’s dedicated staff, some of whom have been with the company since 2002, to the people of Hong Kong and to everyone who loves this city.
