We were initially introduced to Madeline through one of our favourite farm shops in Frampton Mansell, The Jolly Nice. Madeline told us about her new beeswax business which she had started and it sounded so brilliant and so in line with our company values. Therefore, we decided to work with her to develop some sustainable, locally produced Wild Fig, Cassis and Honey Beeble candles.
Madeline’s passion for bees initially stemmed from her childhood. Growing up on a farm she learnt the importance of bees to ecosystems and the planet. Therefore, sustainability has always been at the heart of her business.
Madeline decided to start ‘Mads Bees’ as a lockdown project back in 2020. Having bought herself soy candles she decided to try and make some beautiful candles of her own using completely natural ingredients to try and minimise the effect on the planet.
“My main inspiration behind it was how can we make beautiful candles for the home and for gifts, without the environmental impact that producing other waxes causes, and of course, keeping the resources as local as possible”.
After getting in touch with some local farmers and beekeepers, Mads Bees began and she hasn’t looked back since.
As Madeline’s main focus of her company is to make the products as sustainably produced as possible, we asked her a little bit more about how she achieves this.
“The beeswax is sourced from an Apiary in Gloucestershire, meaning all beeswax is from beekeepers in that area, keeping the travel miles low. All orders are packaged with recyclable materials, or materials I have reused, meaning I rarely order packaging materials, which sadly are used far too often due to the online shopping habits we have now. I am also lucky that many stores I supply share the same passion and attention to local produce, but also support smaller businesses, as I do” .
Beeswax candles are much less common than soy candles and this is largely due to it being both more expensive and also much harder to work with. Madeline told us that “alongside being the most expensive wax, it also shrinks when it cools, which is why the cooking process is very intricate when making candles with it!” However, she is also a firm believer that “its imperfections are a sign of its naturalness” and so this is something she embraces.
As Mads Bees only began at the start of Covid we asked Madeline how it has been impacted by the loosening and tightening of restrictions throughout the period.
“As the world opened up again, I adapted the business, by moving it from online sales to supplying stores. This has been a wonderful opportunity to meet some of the people buying my candles and seeing what I do in a busy environment.”
When we asked Madeline about the future of Mads Bees she told us about her ambitions for the business. A key one for her was to try and educate more people about the power of bees and beeswax. She will also be attending a beekeeping course in the Spring with the hope of getting some bees of her own, which will be nurtured by the wildflower patches she has on her family farm.
The final question we asked Madeline was: “Who is your Queen Bee?”
She responded with: “Dr Jane Goodall. She has a youth programme with 15,000 members in 130 countries, and is passionate about the protection of animals, the environment and educating individuals on how they can do their bit for the environment!”
Find out more about Mads Bees through her instagram page here!
Written by Hester
