Marianne Parry was born and educated in Denmark, came to the UK on a gap year and stayed! Married with two grown-up children, she and her husband, Geoff, live in the village of Old. As a Scandinavian, Marianne has always had a passion for candles and 14 years ago she began making them. Marianne started with dipped, tapered candles using equipment imported from Denmark as well as simple ‘church’ style candles utilising drain pipes as moulds!

Now, also using different shaped moulds, she produces a whole range of candles, decorating them in a variety of ways, including decoupage. Marianne is also an accomplished fl ower arranger and incorporates her candles into exciting displays for dinner parties, Christmas and weddings, etc. One day she was asked if she knew anything about the history of candles and the resultant research was the start of her candle talks. Marianne now presents her talks on candles to groups such as church groups, WI’s, Inner Wheels and Free Masons’ wives.

Preparing her talk, Marianne discovered so many fascinating things about candles going back over 5000 years: how many different materials were used how books were written, songs sung, passions kindled, weddings celebrated, the sick nursed and plots plotted – all by candlelight! Her talks cover the uses candles were put to including some surprising ones: telling the time, running auctions and as a source of taxation. Marianne covers the three main ways candles have historically been made and still are to this day. She talks about the many different decorating techniques, which can turn candles into items of beauty, as well as their use in fl ower arranging. She always bring her candles so people are free to purchase them should they so wish.

Marianne fi nishes with a few tips on how you can use candles perfectly safely by taking a few simple precautions – including candles on the Christmas tree! On a completely different tack, Marianne also gives illustrated talks on some of the places she and her husband have visited, including Viet Nam, Argentina, China and Bulgaria.

If you are interested in getting Marianne to come to talk about candle making or to purchase some of her beautiful candles, please contact her on 01604 781471 or email
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The Old Candle Works

The Old Candle Works

The Old Candle Works

The Old Candle Works