A fiery conscience: A chat with Julie Yim, founder of Lilin+Co

How did the idea of Lilin+Co come about?

When I attended my cousin’s wedding in Melbourne back in 2015, each guest received a delicious scented soy candle which I soon discovered was quite popular in Australia. When I returned to KL, I pondered over the idea and realised there was a gap in the market as there weren’t any local handmade soy candles with a story to tell. At the same time, the idea of having a soy candle business married my two great loves — scents and aesthetics.

There are multiple scented candle brands in the market; how did you want to make Lilin+Co different from the rest?

Firstly, we highly stress on the fact that we only use 100 percent natural soy wax. In comparison to ours, most scented candle brands in the market are usually made from paraffin wax, which has been found to be proven toxic. What’s more, it was the many benefits of soy wax that drew us to establish Lilin+Co in the first place. From there, we could introduce this eco-friendly alternative and educate Malaysians so that they choose the best options for their family and home. Plus, we wanted to create a minimal yet contemporary brand that would appeal to both genders regardless of age; candles shouldn’t be categorised as a purely feminine item.

Explain to us the chemistry behind the combination of the wax and type of wick that you use.

A lot of research and testing goes into our raw materials. For instance, a good hot throw (the scent released when a candle is lit) and cold throw (the scent released when the candle is not lit) is important when it comes to selecting the right wax. There may be certain brands of wax that emit an excellent cold throw but produces no scent when lit. When it comes to wicks, however, using the right wick size for your container is important — the quicker the candle burns, the quicker the scent is released. Lilin+Co’s range of small candles (65g) uses eco-friendly cotton wicks that are non-toxic whilst the large candles (170g) use wood wicks. I chose to do so as it releases a gentle crackling sound reminiscent of a fireplace, hence adding a touch of cosy luxury to the entire experience.

In your opinion, why are scented candles an important part of the home?

In this fast-paced digital age, we often forget to stop and smell the roses. Scented candles have the ability to set the mood at home, be it for a romantic occasion, night time relaxation or entertaining guests. Other than that, it also makes an excellent addition to your home décor.

There’s a lot of emphasis on the term “hand-poured”. Why is that?

We are committed to delivering quality soy candles, and that can only be achieved through careful attention to detail. We take pride in each and every candle as it has been hand-poured in small batches, giving each candle a tale of its own. That said, customers who purchase our candles would know full well that the candles have been made from scratch, and not mass-produced in a factory.

In what way are Lilin+Co’s products eco-friendly?

Besides using 100 percent natural soy wax and cotton wicks, our glass containers are also reusable. In fact, our small candles come with a muslin pouch that can be reused to store tiny accessories.

What were some of the obstacles you faced when setting up the business i.e. sourcing, marketing etc?

Besides the R&D process, suppliers also played a vital role in producing these quality soy candles. There are plenty of handmade bath and body products produced by local entrepreneurs, but not many venture into candle making as suppliers are scarce and the process itself requires time and effort. We’d learnt this the hard way but there was no turning back. There were a few local suppliers at the beginning, but there were very few options and brands of wax and scent to choose from. Eventually, we opted to import from various suppliers around the region to ensure that our candles remain on par. As far as raw material goes, the wax, scents and wicks are fully imported. The technique and research also took about six months to perfect as it was a trial-and-error process. We’d spent months looking at candle making forums, trying to figure out what went wrong with disaster candles and those that had cracks in the middle! Having to maintain the same temperature was also a little tricky, but all in all, this tiring process has been rewarding nonetheless.

For more information, please visit Lilin+Co.