Altstadt Kurier Article February 2022
English Translation
Scented candles – homemade
New trade on Zähringerstrasse 20, Zürich
The name Whiteside for the label is well chosen, a bull's eye, it sounds good and also fits nicely to the product, scented candles. Well, Michael Braumandl and his wife Rachel didn't have to search long: Whiteside is Rachel`s family name.
Rachel works as a massage and craniosacral therapist one floor above the shop on Zähringerstrasse 20 and actually started selling a brand of organic candles from her clinic 15 years ago.
She has always been interested in scented candles and last year she found time to educate herself on the subject. In October 2020 she started to produce then sell scented candles and has already great success: `Scented candles are in vogue: people like to be at home more now and have a cosy atmosphere. And they are good as a gift`.
In an adjoining room of the pewter store which serves as her salesroom, she makes the candles. The average person may think: Melt the wax, add the scent, and you're done. But the whole thing is more of a science because every scent reacts differently with the wax. The fact that the store and workshop are available was of course a starting advantage - by the way, Braumandl has been a household name when it comes to pewter objects since 1904.
In the past, pewter mugs, pitchers and jugs were in high demand - FIFA who was a regular customer now orders candles – and today they sell also more decorative lifestyle items such as ceramics and blankets from England. Michael Braumandl also still repairs and restores antique pewter.
At the beginning, many months ago, the wax was melted in smaller vessels, but now today Rachel has upgraded to a 30 litre melting machine. After decanting, the wax is enriched with the respective fragrance, then poured into wicked glasses and left to cure. Rachel uses an organic blended soy and coconut wax and highquality fragrance and essential oils which she orders from the UK. She has around 15 different varieties of scented candles which bear the names of memorable places she and her husband have visited such as Dubai, Miami Beach, Dartmoor or London, Rachel`s previous hometown. The Sicily however is still on the wishlist.
Whiteside & Co, at Braumandl Zinn, Zähringerstrasse 20, 8001, Zürich. Tel: +41 76 386 06 28. www.whitesideandco.com
The shop is open Mon to Fri: 9:30am to 12, 1:30pm to 6:30pm
The candles cost CHF45.- each, CHF30.- for the smaller glasses and CHF69.- for a Travel Set of 4 mini candles.
