WINCHESTER RESIDENT -t16 Aug | Page 42

Home life A burning desire to enhance homes F Yankee Candle began when Mike Kitteredge, a 16-year-old high school student, melted down some crayons to make his first candle, a gift for his mother; his intention was to create something to warm her heart and make her smile. The location was Massachusetts. The year was 1969. When a neighbour saw his candle she persuaded him to sell it to her. With the money, he bought enough wax to make two more candles, one for his mother, one to sell. From a kitchen table idea and with his father’s help, he opened a small retail shop and from that, Yankee Candle has grown to be one of the world’s leading brands in the candle industry, renowned for true to life fragrances which capture the essence of each season and distant memory. 42 Resident HOME LIFE Resident Aug-Sep.indd 42 ollow your nose in Parchment Street and it will lead you to a relatively new independent store, The Candle Co. Owners Catherine and Mike O’Brien had only been open a few weeks when we stopped by to ask what’s hot in the world of melting wax! Cat has worked in retail all her life, as a 13-year-old with a parttime job in her mum’s shop to, more recently, Yankee Candle. With a refreshingly amusing comment – ‘I like to burn things!’ – Cat discovered the fabulous range of smells and knew that one day she would like to have her own shop selling them. Four new scents are released each quarter, much to the delight of Yankee Candle fans. With the demise of Beales in Winchester, there’s nowhere else to