Five years of candle recycling

It's been five years since we introduced our candle recycling scheme at our very first market! Since then, we have recycled almost 100kg of wax into new candles.

It's also been five years since our first blog post and felt sale. It's hard to put an age on a business that has had a few stops and starts since it very first began as my freelance graphic design business about 10 years ago (which I still do!). So I think this is a good a time as any to say that Rose in Thorns as we know it now is five years old. Because who doesn't like birthdays?!

We have also recently put a candle recycling drop off point at Pay it Forward in Mairehau. You can drop off any used candles to be recycled (any unused ones will be donated to charity, so we encourage you do do that as well). If you take in any used Rose in Thorns candles, you can also receive a discount* on your next candle purchase.

So, in order to celebrate both of these milestones, we are giving a 50% discount on any used Rose in Thorns candles that are returned to us this week. If you can't get into Pay it Forward, at 45 Nancy Ave, Mairehau, Christchurch, then get in touch to arrange posting it to us. We can do free return shipping on any candles purchased.

*conditions apply. More information can be found in our Sustainability and Recycling section.

Our candles enhancing your homes

We recently ran a competition where our lovely customers could submit a photo of one of their Rose in Thorns candles enhancing their home for the chance to win a $60 voucher.

Gill was the lucky winner, with the most popular photo (above). She said "The smell wafting through the house is so lovely, plus it looks so beautiful in the tin. I also love my soy melts, they are great for the bedrooms." Congratulations Gill, we hope you enjoy your prize!

Check out the other entries below - it's great to see how our candles are enhancing your homes!

"Smells divine, even after burning it all the way to the end. It's great to come home to a beautiful smelling room after a long day at uni."

"I love coming home after work, turning the lights off and lighting my Rose in Thorn soy candles. The Rain forest one is divine and after working in a artificially lighted office all day it is nice to have the soft glow of the candles illuminating the room."

"Rose's tea lights have such a lovely subtle fragrance, just beautiful."

Candle photo competition

We love to see how our candles are looking in their new homes. Right now, if you share a photo of one of our candles in your home, you could win a $60 Rose in Thorns gift voucher! Just take a photo, upload it to the competition app via Facebook, Instagram or from your computer, then from Friday get voting for your favourite picture - or encourage your friends to vote for yours. The photo with the most votes will win the voucher.

If you don't have one yet, then you can buy one from our online shop, at our Felt store, or pop down to your local stockist. Pay it Forward is having a sale at the moment, so that could be the perfect opportunity to pick one up! Just get one soon, as entries close this Thursday. Voting closes next Monday.

Christchurch Heritage - Part 2

Following on from last weeks post, I popped into town yesterday to take photos of the remaining buildings from my earlier post documenting some of the buildings which survived the September earthquake. While I was there I also did a spot of shopping at the Tava pop-up shop and Bridget's two hour shop, both in Cathedral Junction.

This time I took printouts of the old photos with me, so I could try and line up a similar shot.

This lovely old building on the corner of Hereford and High Streets suffered a lot of damage in the February earthquake and was subsequently demolished. This photograph was quite hard to line up, with only one building from the original photo still remaining.

This is the old Post office building in the Square with Telecom behind it. I'm not sure what the fate of it is. The scene is a bit lopsided now, with both buildings on the right now gone. I think the turret from the old Regent Theatre (?) has been saved, and is sitting on a property near Linwood Ave, visible from the road and looking slightly out of place!

This photo is largely unchanged from the original. The Old Government building has been restored and reopened by the Heritage Hotel. There is a swimming pool in the basement gym which I learned to swim in at the ripe old age of 22.

New Regent Street has also been restored and reopened. You'll note a common theme among these photos - most of tall buildings in the background have gone. I don't really miss them, I don't like skyscrapers that much. Don't like being up high inside them, and don't like their behemoth presence from the outside.

I enjoy going into the city centre. It is getting it's buzz back with more people around, with things to see and places to go. I'm looking forward to seeing the new buildings and initiatives that groups like Gap Filler keep dreaming up. The Pallet Pavilion, an event space they set up is being deconstructed next month. One of the final events there is the Monster March Market, 22 March from 10am - 3pm. You'll find us there, for our first market this year. We'll be bringing all our current candles along with a selection of clearance candles.

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I've finally jumped on the bandwagon! If you haven't used it before, it's a great way to keep up with all your favourite blogs, and find new ones. I've also added a handy button in the side bar to make it easy to follow at any time.

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Christchurch Heritage - Part 1

A week after the first earthquake in September 2010, I went for a walk around the city to survey the damaged buildings. I ended up taking photos of the beautiful old buildings that appeared to have survived unscathed. There had been lots of coverage in the media about the buildings that had been badly damaged, so I wanted to show the other side of the story, and wrote a post about the ones that had survived.

After the February earthquake struck, I wanted to go back and take updated photos of them showing which ones had still survived, and which ones had succumbed. This has taken a lot longer than I anticipated, due to the time it's taken to reopen the CBD, and life in general has also got in the way. I was back in there a couple of weeks ago, and took these 'after' shots of the first few buildings in that post. I will do a follow up post in a couple of weeks showing the remaining buildings featured once I get a chance to photograph them.

Our City O-Tautahi, or the former Municipal Chambers building has some significance to me as the building I did my very first market in. As you can see, a lot of work has gone into stabilising the building, so hopefully it will be restored.

The former Public Trust building is one I used to walk past every day when I worked in town. I recall it being extensively refitted, and so hoped some earthquake strengthening was done at this time. It turns out some was, but apparently that wasn't enough, as the owners are currently trying to get permission to demolish it. This hasn't met the criteria for CERA's section 38 notice, so they are now deciding what to do with it. Apparently it can be saved, so fingers crossed the money is found to make this happen.

I have noticed on my travels that a lot of the old Public Trust buildings are of a similar style, such as this one that survived the Napier earthquake. Let's hope our one in Christchurch has the same happy ending!

Shand's Emporium has always been a favourite of mine, as it appeared to defy the progress around it and remain. Unfortunately it hasn't been quite able to do this now, as a new development in the area requires the space. The owner was keen to preserve it, and last I heard, had offered it free to a good home, even willing to pay the relocation costs. While researching this post today, I found it has found a new owner, and may be relocated out to Redcliffs. It is shown here where it has been moved out of harms way until it can be taken to it's new home. I look forward to seeing it repaired and returned to it's former glory.

In a few more years time, I would love to bring you some more photos showing these buildings repaired and restored. In the meantime I will update you on the other buildings featured in my original post.

Three years on

It's nice to be back in Christcurch again this year for the anniversary of the devastating earthquake that rocked our city three years ago. Although some of the details of that day are beginning to fade, it is something I will never forget. We went into the memorial service in the botanic gardens today, it was a lovely spot for it on a hot day.

Last weekend I retraced my footsteps from the moments before the earthquake for the first time since that day. This has only been possible for the last six months or so when the red zone cordon was finally taken down. There are still quite a few fences and shipping containers still up - though times are changing, and some are around new buildings.

Here are some photos I took, to document what it is like now. I couldn't retrace my exact path due to the fences and shipping containers that are still up, but this is fairly close. The phrase that come to mind afterwards was 'there but for the grace of God go I'.

I had parked in the carpark at the Crossing, and bought some sushi for lunch which I still had with me, which came in handy later on.

 Cashel mall - Glassons and the Westpac tower once stood here.

 High Street.

It was nice to see some signs of life returning to this part of High street. This heritage building has been restored to it's original beauty, and the new Strange's building next to it appears to be progressing well.

The site of the old Ruben Blades building which was badly damaged during the quake.

High and Manchester street, with the containers holding up what's left of the Excelsior facade.

The site of the old ANZ chambers building, which completely collapsed during the shaking. This one one of my favourite buildings, so it was sad to hear of its fate.

McKenzie & Willis building on Tuam street. There were wire fences in front of it on the day - I remember thinking as I walked along side them after crossing the street if you were supposed to walk right next to them... little did I know.

After popping into Harakeke, I walked back up the other side of High street.

Standing at these lights waiting to cross, I didn't realise at the time I would be one of the last people to see the old ANZ chambers building still standing.

 Majestic House on Manchester Street.

Bedford Row - after where I'd been the previous for the previous ten minutes, this wasn't a bad place to be for the quake.

As I remember the terrible events of that day, my thoughts are with those that lost loved ones, those that were injured and those whose houses and businesses were badly damaged. I don't think anyone comprehended the scale of what had happened, I couldn't. I remember thinking that it would be a lot longer than last time before we were allowed back in the central city, but I was thinking it would be months, not years. I have wanted to do an update on the buildings I showed in this post a week after the September quake ever since then. I've got some updated photos, so once I have the rest, I will do a post with them.

Three years on, I hope that those who are still struggling with insurance issues get some answers and closure soon, so they can move on with their lives.

A drawing a day

Some time ago I mentioned in this post that I wanted to get back into drawing again. This was something I did quite a lot of when I was younger, but as with many things, it dropped off the radar. So last week I decided to make a commitment. I declared on Facebook that I was going to do a drawing a day, and post the results this weekend.

Portraits are one thing I've always enjoyed drawing, so my wee man and muse was an obvious model choice. This is the first time I've drawn a baby, so I took a photo first, as I didn't think my skills would be up to a life drawing!

For day two I picked some flowers from the garden to draw. This one is a cornflower - not sure that you can tell!

I didn't get a chance to draw something on day three (and the only day I missed, I might add!). On day four I was in the shop, so I drew one of my owl candles that was there.

Day five is a flower from a magazine – I think it was a fejoa.

Day five is a tomato fresh from the garden (I'm noticing a theme here!).

Day six is of a candle that has burned down after I tested a new prototype. The lighting wasn't great for drawing, there were some harsh shadows so I haven't captured it quite right.

Making myself draw something every day has been good - I just found whatever was at hand, which meant I chose things I might not normally have thought of. I will try to keep it up now, and spend a bit more time on them and brush up my skills. I think there maybe some more baby portraits before I'm done!

Which one do you like the best? Let me know in the comments!

Small and sweet for Valentine's day

Valentine's day is a great time to connect with your special someone or to indulge yourself with a little me time. We have a great selection of candles to set the scene, and to celebrate Valentine's day, we have a 25% off sale on soy tealights, floating candles and melts. Sale ends 13th February.

Small candles like tea lights and floating candles are great for creating atmosphere. Find some little dishes or saucers to put tea lights on, or fill a bowl with water and rose petals and add floating candles.