Keeping The Home Fires Burning With Pinecone Firelighters

At the heart of our production process is a commitment to minimising waste. With our tiny tealights to swallow up almost all overflow, we’re proud to say that there’s rarely a drop of wax left behind. Any excess is carefully repurposed into samples, ensuring almost nothing goes to waste.

However, one thing that has always bothered us is the excess wick we discard. The cotton and linen wicks we use come in standard lengths, meaning there’s always a portion left protruding from the jars. With hundreds of candles being made each day, those 4-5cm wick trimmings quickly accumulate. As our summer lull arrived, we set our minds to finding a creative use for these trimmings, as well as the small amounts of leftover wax from previous batches.

After ten years of candle-making, we've learned that being prepared for the demand of the winter months is key. So, with the sunlight streaming into our studio, we decided to put those extra materials to good use by making pinecone firelighters.

Each fire lighter begins with excess wax poured into a small paper cup, where we add a foraged pinecone and the all-important wick trimmings. Once set, we bundle 10 fire lighters in to kraft paper bag, before it is stitched closed with cotton thread.

To test them out (and because they're so cute we were impatient to make them!) you can now find unscented versions for your summer BBQ's, fire pits and camping trips.  For a touch of extra warmth, we’re planning batched with a hint of our cosiest winter fragrances, Last Light with cinnamon & rosemary and Half Light with clementine and close once the evenings begin to draw in.

The wick acts as a fuse, with the resinous pinecone quickly igniting and the wax there to give extra fuel as the fire establishes. 

Please follow all local fire regulations carefully. With such a worryingly dry spring, many places in the UK are at risk of wildfires. View the Fire Severity Index Map here.