So this is new! I struggle with finding new content for my Instagram page and yet here I am starting a blog! Apparently, it goes hand in hand with having a website (something to do with increasing your SEO and building your brand, apparently).
Anyhow, this is me, Natalie, the face behind The Oasis Candle Co. I make each and every one of our luxury candles, wax melts and reed diffuser options from my small home studio on Desert Palm - a fact which never fails to amaze customers who come to visit me at events across the UAE, "you make everything yourself? Wow!" And I'll take that - I'm hoping it means my products look and smell so incredible that they must have been made in a factory somewhere but no - they have been blended and poured with meticulous attention to detail that can only come from someone so invested in creating the perfect candle time after time.
I divide my time between candle making (and all that comes with it - inventory management, packaging, shipping, photography, creating, testing, accounting, marketing etc) walking the dog (Doug the Labrador, if you're interested), school runs, feeding the family, dealing with teenage angst, running workshops and tearing my hair out creating content for social media (and now blogs too, it would appear).
How did I get to this point? I reflect on that a lot, usually when I have a deadline looming on a corporate order (yes you will have seen my candles sneakily disguised as other brands across Dubai as I make bespoke orders for a variety of businesses) and despite my love for Lemongrass & Ginger, when I am on the last batch of 500, it seems that you can have too much of a good thing! But I digress, how did I get to this point? I started my working life as Cabin Crew and worked my way up the ladder to management for a pretty big local airline but that didn't come without some stress so I needed a relaxing hobby and as a life-long lover of scented candles I figured it would be a breeze to make my own! Oh how naive! If you've attended one of my candle making workshops, you'll know what I mean - there's a lot of science, a lot of testing and a lot of patience that goes into making candles but it turns out that I'm pretty good at it and suddenly people started asking me to make candles for them and they were willing to pay for them too! Then I had a lightbulb moment and that was the start of The Oasis Candle Co.
It's been a journey and I have learned so much over the last few years and yes there have been tears but I still feel so proud every time I package up a new batch of candles (or melts and diffusers) and wonder where they will end up - a coffee table in The Ranches or maybe on a kitchen island in The Meadows. Who knows? I just hope they bring a sense of comfort and familiarity.
My products are all hand-poured using the finest ingredients (that's a blog in itself) and inspired by nature. Conscious decisions are made to minimise the environmental impact of my business from the choice of packaging to partnering with One Tree Planted to plant a tree for every online order. These things matter to me, as does safety, which is why my products are all safety and batch tested and IFRA (International Fragrance Association) compliant.
I have a few topics lined up which I hope you'll find interesting over the coming months but if you have any burning questions (see what I did there) then drop me a line or keep an eye out on my social pages for any pop-ups or workshops where you can ask me in person!
Hope to see you soon!
Natalie x
