Burning ambition
Unimpressed by the world of work, one woman’s hobby, started in the kitchen, has now grown into the successful business of making luxury candles
Unfulfilled by her 9 to 5 job, Ivana Mladenovic Neocleous, who already spent a fortune on candles, “surfed the internet, downloaded 10 Steps to Candle Making and began experimenting in the kitchen.” She has now turned candle making into a career and after just four years, Ivana’s Signature candles grace the rooms of most of Cyprus’ award-winning hotel spas and hopefully a couple of the world’s most popular department stores in London too.
Sitting in her home just outside Limassol, Ivana does not appear the type who has meetings with fancy top executives; she is surrounded by the clutter of a typical family home. As a mother and wife, she goes about her daily routine just like the rest of us but come nightfall, she can be found working away in her small workshop in her house. Here, Ivana works her magic. With soy wax and premium grade fragrance oils, she mixs, stirs and pours to create elegant, superior quality candles in jars finished off with rich velvet ribbons. Her product screams luxury. It’s no wonder spa managers are drawn to her creations, especially since she offers customised options, designing specific scents for each hotel. “They love the idea of their customers associating a pleasant aroma with pleasant times they have spent at their establishments,” she explains.
“It took money and hours of research to get to where Candlelit Day and the Signature line is today. I was lucky I didn’t have any accidents in the kitchen when I began experimenting but I did need a lot of practice to be able to produce the ultimate candle.” Ivana says the secret is in the wick as this will determine how the candle burns to ensure an even melting while also reaping the benefits of a scented candle. “I had to learn about all the types of waxes that are available and used in candle making,” she says. “There are waxes that are harder than others, while quality isn’t always a priority and that is something I was adamant about.”
Ivana was born in Belgrade. She lived there until in 1992, at the age of 13, she fled with her family following the Bosnian war. “My whole family lives in Cyprus and my father also has a company here.” After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Communications at Intercollege, a two-year break during which she dabbled in modeling and a trip to New York to further her studies, Ivana was back in Cyprus working at her father’s company. “I wasn’t happy though and figured I needed a hobby. That’s when I had the idea of making candles. At first I would make a few and give them as presents to friends and family.
When I realised how much they enjoyed them, I decided to have the odd presentation and attend craft shows. Then Le Meridien’s spa manager approached me.” Ivana explains how she always thought the future of candles was not in selling them to individuals, as Cypriots are not accustomed to routinely burning candles, but to luxury establishments. She just never thought it would happen so quickly. By then Ivana was happily married and the mother of a two-year-old boy. Shortly after however, a life-threatening accident involving her son put plans for expansion of Candlelit Day on hold. “It was an awful time and I could not see light at the end of the tunnel. I feared for his life and could not bring myself to be involved in anything.”
Thankfully, with a little help from her friends and family, young Nicolas got better and Ivana picked herself up, invited her sister-in-law, Elena Neocleous, to join the company and booked several meetings with top hotel managers and CEOs. “We now supply candles to Le Meridien’s Le Spa (named World Leading Spa Resort in 2004 to 2006), which was European Spa of 2004; Aphrodite Hills’ The Retreat, European Spa 2008; Columbia Beach Hotel and Resort and the Hilton. Our candles are also used as corporate gifts by establishments like Lanitis Developments and in restaurants and cafes across the island. I’d say I’m doing OK for something that started out as a hobby.”
www.candlelit-day.com
