Scented Candles
Scented Candles.
In principle, uh huh.
Practice? Often no.
Cloying, sherbet sweet and stomach curdling, many raise the humble household cleaning product to high olfactory art.
Some are better, but U turn on burn times and swiftly vanish.
Occasionally those that fall into the too nice to light trap. Stood still and dust gathering, whilst saved for special occasions never to come.
They stare back at you, wax scabs aching to be picked and taunting to be lit, wallet guilt felt with each brief whiff.
Then there are these. Maestro Lyn Harris’ candles from Perfumer H, which subtly catch your eye, hand blown ‘Michael Ruh’ glass runs between fingers as lift to sniff, and remind you why that rare in principle uh huh can sometimes be an in practice yes.
And once done, return it to Crawford, Chiltern or Rue Vielle Du Temple, and the journey starts again.
Lyn has the scary ability to create worlds through her art, from condiments to candles, perfume to well anything she touches. Each work asks those that come into contact with it to stop and consider, to close eyes and dream, to be the person they would like to be wearing and using, or to view the wearer in front of you as they’d like to be.
Great things all, which fulfil their purpose perfectly. Raise the daily to high art and inject a sense of ceremony to the little moments.
To burn all year, from Pepper as Autumn creeps across the horizon, Mint Tea as Spring unfurls and this, Frankincense as Winter turns Christmas and then trips into the New Year. Ceremonial celebration of before and a look excitedly towards what is to come.
In that spirt of ceremonial: the match, through human endeavour; friction; and brief chemical reaction: flame. Silver, gold flashed into life.
Swan’ll do. Cook’s Matches sure. But for me, there is something about the use of matches which remind of places and moments; usually picked up in bars, popped in pockets and lit later. This, used to light the candle, is from ‘that’ spot, Sols, the club, bar, lounge, audio haven and more at the top of Thom Sweeney on Old Burlington Street. I could suggest that it’s a venue which promises best and bad behaviour, but, that’s on you….
