Homemade, sustainable, local crafts is what The Farrow Collection, run by Castlelyons locals Suzette and Paul Demicoli is all about.
Last year, Suzette and Paul made the move from Malta to Ireland with their son Conor and are now based in Castlelyons, from where they are running the Farrow Collection.
The Farrow Collection is a platform from which the local family are advertising and selling their crafts, with the current focus being on candles and wax melts.
“We always wanted to transition our personal passion into a business. We tied it together with the project of moving to Ireland and decided that once we settle in, we will take the opportunity to start a business,” Paul told The Avondhu.
Prior to moving, Suzette specialised in social care and Paul worked in customer service.
‘Farrow’, Paul notes, is a play on words between the words ‘feather’ and ‘arrow’, with the feather representing their light-hearted approach to life and to the business, while the arrow represents their drive to deliver accurately, hence, The Farrow Collection.
“The whole idea of our business is to enjoy the approach of it. I think when you enjoy the process it will show,” Paul said.
Currently, the Farrow Collection boasts seven different scents in their ethically sourced, handmade, sustainable candle and wax melt range.
According to Suzette, she has always had an interest in candles and began experimenting with candles at home quite some time ago, first venturing into other wax compositions before finding more sustainable methods.
“I’ve always liked candles. I was quite interested in how candles burn and what makes them burn well. I started researching and I bought some wax and wicks without knowing much about them and I started trying to make some candles,” Suzette said.
Now, The Farrow Collection uses RCX wax, which is a blend of ethically sourced rapeseed and coconut wax, lending to the all-natural candles.
“That was something we wanted for our brand. We want to be conscious of producing a good quality product without compromising on sustainability. After procuring our raw materials from Europe we do everything else ourselves,” Suzette added.
Beginning The Farrow Collection has been a new experience for the Demicoli family, from registering as a business and achieving all the relevant health and safety standards to transforming portions of their Castlelyons home into a workshop and photography areas.
“This is all new to us. We’ve never had our own business, so it’s all a learning curve. We’re working from our home in Castlelyons and we have a workshop with all our equipment. It’s amazing how much equipment you need,” Suzette said.
Over two years ago, Suzette lit the first hand-poured, handmade candle from the Farrow Collection and last Christmas, the brand launched at the Ballymaloe Christmas Market.
“We launched in November and our first market was the Christmas Market at Ballymaloe so it was kind of a baptism of fire for us. Then we had some local markets as well which was really good, even in Fermoy and Castlelyons, and we got a lot of support, the community here keeps supporting us to this day,” Paul said.
Since then, The Farrow Collection has been moving from strength to strength having joined up with different collaboratives and organisations such as the Blackwater Valley Makers, Cork Craft and Design and the Design and Craft Council of Ireland.
“We have also been blessed to receive a lot of support and guidance from the Local Enterprise Office,” Suzette added.
The business is also now looking at ways of expanding their collection with more crafts, as Paul notes he is also open to taking commissions on wood related projects.
“The scented collection is our flagship project at the minute but we want to host different collections as we explore customers’ needs and solve problems in a feasible way,” Paul said.
For more information on The Farrow Collection, visit www.thefarrowcollection.com, search ‘The Farrow Collection’ on social media or phone 085-8277147.
You can also view the range or even meet the makers behind the brand at various markets across Cork or at The Blackwater Valley Makers location on MacCurtain Street, Fermoy.
