One Small Idea, One Year On (apologies long note)
This week marks a rather special moment for Frosty Fig.
One year ago, on 27th August 2025, I returned from a holiday with the beginnings of an idea. I had been thinking about candles—not simply beautiful fragrances for the home, but candles created with a purpose and a feeling behind them.
On 1st September, I took the first tangible step and bought my candle-making equipment.
At that point, I could never have imagined quite where that small decision would lead.
By early October, I had chosen a launch date. A few days later, during a holiday in St Ives, I found myself thinking more deeply about the candles I wanted to create and selecting fragrances that felt right for the collection.
Then life changed very suddenly.
In October, my lovely dad died. He later left me a little money, which I chose to use to begin building the candle business. That has always made this journey feel especially meaningful - as though something loving and hopeful was able to grow from an incredibly sad time.
In November, during a Business Bestie Zoom with Julie Begbie, another important piece of the puzzle fell into place: Prescription Candles were born.
I realised that I didn’t want to make candles based only on fragrance. I wanted each one to offer a gentle prescription for how we might wish to feel—a little more grounded, comforted, uplifted or calm.
That Christmas, the first Christmas Day Candles were sent to four lovely testers, who lit them in their homes and shared their thoughts with me. It was a small beginning, but such an exciting one.
Since then, there have been hours of fragrance testing, wax pouring, label designing, photographing and learning. There have been markets, new collections, my first candle workshops and, more recently, the beginnings of a whole new series of Gather & Create workshops.
There have also been mistakes, messy experiments and more than a few moments when things refused to work as planned! But each one has taught me something.
Now, as September returns, the studio is beginning to smell of autumn once again. Golden Glow brings warm spice, caramel and vanilla; Christmas fragrances are curing on the shelves; and I am preparing for the first fair of the new season this Sunday.
It feels rather lovely that the anniversary of Frosty Fig’s candle journey should arrive just as the seasons are beginning to turn.
Looking back, I think the greatest lesson from this first year is that we don’t always need to know exactly where an idea will take us. Sometimes we simply need to notice the spark, take one small step - and allow it to evolve.
Thank you to everyone who has bought a candle, attended a workshop, visited me at a fair, offered encouragement or followed the story so far. Every kind word, conversation and flickering flame has become part of Frosty Fig’s journey.
One year on, that little holiday idea has become something very precious to me - nd I have a feeling there are still many chapters waiting to be written.
However your week unfolds, I hope you find time to pause, light something lovely and celebrate how far you have come.
With love,
Elaine
Frosty Fig
Making Room for What Comes Next
August was supposed to be a quieter month.
A little breathing space before autumn arrived. Time to make, think, experiment and prepare for the busier months ahead.
It hasn't quite worked out that way.
There has been a new candle fragrance poured - Golden Glow, warm and gently spiced, with all the promise of autumn beginning to creep in.
Boxes of vintage china that had been waiting for their next chapter have left my hands too. They are now on their way to the owners of a new tea shop, where I hope they will become part of countless pots of tea, slices of cake and conversations between friends.
And then there were flowers.
I entered our village show simply because I love the challenge of taking flowers, foliage and an idea and seeing what they might become. Somehow, my Beauty and the Beast arrangement went on to win the cup for the best flower arrangement, and I was delighted to discover I'd also won the most points across the flower-arranging category.
My other creative challenge this year has been photography. Taking part in the #52weekschallenge makes me stop and look at ordinary things differently - light, shape, texture and those little details we can so easily walk past.
My photograph for the theme Water was chosen as a winner in the photography category at the village show.
Perhaps there is a thread running through all of this.
Creativity doesn't always need a grand purpose.
Sometimes it is simply about giving ourselves permission to notice, experiment and make something.
And that is very much on my mind as I prepare for the next Frosty Fig creative workshop.
Make a stone. Create your scent. Choose how you want to feel.
On Wednesday 9 September, six places will be set around the table at Wheelwright Studio in Thornford for my Clay Essential Oil Diffuser Workshop.
We'll begin with air-dry clay, adding texture and pattern to create a personal aromastone diffuser.
But then comes my favourite part.
Scent.
We'll explore essential oils and think not only about which fragrances we like, but about how we would like our space to feel.
Fresh and uplifting?
Quiet and calming?
Warm and comforting?
Grounded and peaceful?
Each person will create an essential-oil blend to accompany their aromastone.
There will, of course, be tea, coffee and cake while we work and chat.
At the end of the afternoon, everyone will leave with their handmade aromastone, their personal essential-oil blend and cotton pouch, beautifully boxed to take home.
But I hope they leave with something else too.
A couple of hours when there was nowhere else they needed to be.
Time to make something with their hands.
Time to play with fragrance.
Time to sit around a table with other people and simply enjoy being creative.
Because perhaps that's what this rather busy August has reminded me.
We don't have to be brilliant at something for creativity to matter.
We just have to make room for it.
Clay Essential Oil Diffuser Workshop
Wednesday 9 September | 2.00–4.00pm
Wheelwright Studio, Thornford
£25 per person | Only 6 places
Tea, coffee & cake included
Booking essential: elaine@frostyfig.co.uk
However your week unfolds, I hope you find a little time to pause and create.
Elaine x
Frosty Fig
Scent Notes from Frosty Fig
This last week has seen a major new project come to fruition. I waited with bated breath for the final piece which arrived on Monday.
The hot weather has again made us soporific, taking time over all the work to be done in the candle workroom.
I made a few videos of the Winter Candle collection. I will only be making 100 of my favourite Christmas Day Candle and will update on the release of these in the next Scent Notes.
Having spent two glorious sunny days at the NT Lytes Cary Craft Market in July I wanted to visit the house and garden taking the time to explore this little gem on our doorstep. The first guide we met I think was David and he had some wonderful nuggets of information about the house, the families who had owned it and general history notes to add to our visit. I thoroughly recommend you take a trip, enjoy the house, the garden and lunch in the sunny courtyard.
Now it is all go prepping for the annual garden show. I love the show and the flower arranging challenge. This year has made me think hard and long about the 2 topical arrangements. First, we have a celebration of the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough – where do you begin? Second is the musical them. Such a wide topic but I think I have decided. The show is on Saturday, and I will bring you the results and photographs next time.
Scent Notes from Frosty Fig
Happy Monday Folks 💚
The workshop smells of gingerbread this morning as I begin preparing for Christmas (yes, already!). It always seems to happen after a market - my head is full of ideas and my notebook is overflowing.
Last weekend reminded me of a few things...
-
Make sure everything is out of the sun - even the little message pebbles heated up and we couldn’t handle them.
-
Don’t just make candles you love – customers have their own favourites I was asked for cherry and rose this weekend
-
Keep ahead of the game ladies already asking for the Gingerbread Christmas Day candle, I will be making that this week.
-
Don’t give up on a scent you love but cannot quite find the one you adore. Lavender is a favourite I have it spilling all over my garden but still looking for that lavender scent.
Life outside Frosty Fig has been just as busy.
I did rest last Monday morning and then we did our usual collection of the boys from school – the last one before the summer holidays!
My favourite summer sport is over – have loved Wimbledon since watching it with my mum who was a superfan. Billy Jean, Chrissy Evert and Yvonne Goolagong true champions in my book.
Finally, the football is over congratulations to Spain, but I enjoyed the England France game more.
My lovely neighbour tells me I have 2 weeks to organise my flower arranging entries for this year’s garden show – how do you represent 100 years of David Attenborough, a true legend. I still have to choose the musical I want to create a display around.
This week the workshop will be filled with the scent of gingerbread and hopefully another lavender experiment or two. I'll let you know how I get on.
However your week unfolds, I hope you find a little time to pause.
Elaine 💚
