Blog
The Quiet Season for Candle Makers: What we're doing behind the scenes
Wednesday 13th May 2026
Natascha De-Bank
I know what you’re thinking…
“Nobody wants candles in the summer.”
And honestly? Kind of.
Autumn and winter are naturally the busiest time of year for most home fragrance businesses. The cosy season arrives, people are back indoors more, candles are everywhere and orders are flying in.
But spring and summer? That’s a completely different kind of busy.
For us, this time of year is less about constantly pouring and shipping candles all day long and more about trying to build the foundations for the rest of the year. In some ways, it’s actually busier than autumn and winter, just in a very different way.
This is the season of planning.
Planning events.
Planning launches.
Planning collaborations.
Planning autumn collections in ridiculous detail while it’s somehow still sunny outside.
And if I’m being completely honest, it can also be the season where things feel the scariest financially as a small business owner.
Because while all this planning is happening, orders naturally slow down for a lot of home fragrance companies during the warmer months. So you’re trying to juggle growth, ideas, stock, events, admin and future plans while also being very aware that every pound matters.
When orders do come through during quieter periods, you genuinely feel so grateful for every single one.
Especially when you’re running a business that is still, in many ways, being self-funded and handled predominantly by one person.
At the moment behind the scenes at Folly & Wild, we’re preparing a proposal for a really exciting collaboration with a large brand. I can’t say too much about it yet, but hopefully more on that soon.
We’re also preparing for some much bigger events this year. We’ve decided to really go all out with events and push ourselves outside our comfort zone a bit more. It’s exciting, slightly terrifying and involves a lot more spreadsheets than I ever imagined candle making would.
There are also all the things people don’t necessarily see online.
The endless emails.
Helping customers with questions.
Planning workshops and hen party experiences.
Trying to create one-to-one candle making experiences.
Updating the website.
Keeping the Etsy shop alive (badly, if we’re honest).
Photographing products.
Testing ideas.
Planning autumn collections months in advance.
And then there are the opportunities that still feel a little surreal to us.
Recently we’ve been approached about advertorial opportunities with publications including Tatler, Vogue and The Telegraph, which is something I never imagined when I first started pouring candles.
There’s also been a really noticeable shift recently where pet-conscious home fragrance is finally starting to be taken seriously more widely, which honestly means the world to us because this business was built around creating beautiful home fragrance products designed with pet homes in mind.
So while things may occasionally look quieter online during spring and summer, behind the scenes it’s anything but quiet.
Financially? Sometimes yes.
Mentally? Absolutely not.
But we keep going because we genuinely love what we’re building.
And whether you support Folly & Wild through an order, a kind message, a social media share or by stopping to chat to us at an event, thank you.
It genuinely means more than you probably realise.