Making candles in Warkworth since 2016

We're a small family business based in Warkworth, just north of Auckland, and every Earth Candle starts with a bottle that has already lived one life.

Back in 2015 we spent the best part of a year working on how to cut and finish a bottle consistently. Earth Candles Co. launched in September 2016.

Nearly ten years on, every candle is still made by hand. The idea hasn't changed: take something that would otherwise be thrown out, and make it into something useful that can sit centre stage in anyone's home.

Six core fragrances and two seasonal blends, most named after places around New Zealand we've connected with, visited and been inspired by over the years.

Six lit Earth Candles soy tealights in clear, green and amber beer bottle bases on a dark wooden table

Cut from salvaged beer bottles

100g Beer Bottle Soy Tealights

Our tealights are poured into bases cut from salvaged beer bottles. Each one burns for around 25 hours. Packs of three or six, and you pick the fragrances: all one scent or one of each.

See the tealight packs
Upcycled wine bottle candle burning, emitting a warm, inviting light.

Cut from salvaged wine bottles

360g Wine Bottle Soy Candles

The original Earth Candles, our signature range. Wine bottles cut down, polished and filled with 360g of pure soy wax, which burns for up to 80 hours. Every one gets a lid made by ourselves from reclaimed timber, finished with our brand mark.

See the wine bottle candles

The original Earth Candles

The candles we started with, and still our most popular.

How an old bottle becomes a candle

We collect the bottles we use for our candles from wineries and breweries around Warkworth and Matakana.

They soak in a water bath first, then the labels are removed by hand. Each bottle is then cut, cleaned, ground and polished to a smooth finish. Smooth enough to run your thumb along.

People often ask what happens to the tops. They get sorted by glass colour and taken to our local transfer station for recycling. Even the part we can't use is given the best chance to be recycled.

Then it's time to pour our unique blends with 100% pure soy wax. Every Earth candle is poured by hand in small batches.

More about how we make them
  • An early Cooks Candle in an upcycled wine bottle, with the original Earth Candles Co. label.

    The one that started it

    Cooks Candle was the first blend I ever made, and it's still the one I'm most attached to. The idea was something to deal with cooking smells. What people actually come back for is the sweet and citrus.

    I've stood at markets listening to customers argue about where the name comes from. Cooks Beach, Mt Cook, Cook Strait. I've stopped correcting anyone. Whichever one you've decided it is, that's fine by me.

    Cooks Candle 
  • Cape Reinga cliffs at sunset

    Six core fragrances

    Cape Reinga Cliffs, Cooks Candle, Fresh New Zealand Pine, Glenorchy Gold, Lake Wānaka Retreat and Raglan Vibes.

    Two more come and go with the season: Buzz-Off for summer, Eucalyptus for winter.

    Browse the fragrances 
  • Succulent growing in an upcycled Earth Candles bottle, reused after the candle was finished

    When the candle's finished

    The bottle is yours to use again. We don't offer refills, but once the candle is finished with, remove any remaining wax with warm water and dish soap, then it's ready for its next job. Pens, brushes, a small succulent, odds and ends off the bench.

    If you'd rather not keep it, clean it the same way and it can go in your recycling bin.