The Coven Candle Café, Bathurst

DrinkEatDo

23 Oct

Australia's first candle café, The Coven is part creative workshop, part café and entirely about creating something that's your own. Customers choose from more than 170 fragrances, blending scents to create a candle that's uniquely theirs. Owner Maree is on hand to offer guidance when needed, drawing on her self-taught knowledge of fragrance blending to help customers refine their creations while keeping the experience entirely their own.

Once your blend is complete, you pour your candle, name it and leave it behind to set. The next day, you'll collect a candle scented with a fragrance you've created yourself, making it unlike anything else on the shelf.

Why we love it

The candle is the take-home, but it's the experience that makes The Coven special. The coffee, the food, the music and the welcoming atmosphere all play a part. Owner Maree is passionate, knowledgeable and genuinely invested in helping people create something they'll love. She takes the time to chat, offer guidance and share what she's learned about fragrance over the years. The result feels less like a class and more like a few hours spent creating, connecting and trying something new.

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The story behind the scent

Owner Maree shared more about the journey behind The Coven, her passion for fragrance blending, and why creating something uniquely your own sits at the heart of the experience.

What sparked your interest in fragrance blending, and how did you teach yourself the art of combining scents?
It really all began during COVID. Beck and I were working together at Jay Jays when she started experimenting with making candles at home, initially as a hobby before eventually selling them. I've always loved candles, so naturally I was interested in what she was doing.
Around that time, my husband Mick came across an interactive candle-making business in America where customers could create their own candles. He thought it would be something different and fun to bring to Bathurst, and suggested Beck and I explore the idea together. That's really where the concept for The Coven began.
Beck already had candle-making experience, which she shared with me, but the fragrance-blending side was something we needed to explore and develop. We researched how similar experiences worked overseas, experimented with different combinations and worked out how we could make the process enjoyable and easy for customers.
For me personally, I discovered that I seemed to have a natural feel for blending fragrances. I can't really explain it, but I can usually pick up on what works together, what doesn't and what might be missing from a combination.
I'm also a bit of a sponge when it comes to learning something new. I researched, watched videos, read whatever I could find and experimented. And I still do. I'm always learning, refining things and discovering new possibilities.
The funny thing is that we developed our approach by doing exactly what we now encourage our customers to do: put a couple of fragrances together, use your senses and see where they take you.
Why was it important to you that customers create their own unique fragrance rather than choose from a range of pre-made scents?
Because fragrance is such a personal thing. What I absolutely love might be something someone else can't stand, and vice versa. Certain smells can also bring back memories of people, places or moments in our lives, so everyone's connection with fragrance is different.
One thing I often tell customers is that they don't have to settle anymore. We've all been in a shop where we're looking for a particular fragrance, can't quite find what we want and end up thinking, "Well, this is probably the closest I'm going to get."
At The Coven, I wanted to give people the opportunity to go beyond that. Rather than settling for what's available, they can experiment, combine fragrances and create something that's exactly what they're looking for.
With more than 170 fragrances to explore, the possibilities are enormous, and sometimes the most unexpected combinations turn out to be the most beautiful.
I always encourage customers to experiment and trust their own senses. My philosophy is that there's no wrong fragrance and there's no wrong design. If you love what you've created, then it's right for you.
Sometimes someone will be blending a fragrance and feel that it's just not quite going in the direction they imagined. That's when I'll step in, have a smell and ask what they're trying to achieve. Usually, I can work out fairly quickly what might be missing and bring them a fragrance or two to try.
But I never want to take over their creation. I'll offer suggestions, and they decide what works for them.
I love that moment when someone adds that final little fragrance and suddenly says, "That's it!" You can see how pleased they are with what they've created, and that's incredibly rewarding.
What surprises people most about the candle-making experience at The Coven?
I think it's just how much there is to choose from and how involved they can be in creating something completely their own.
People often arrive thinking they're just going to choose a fragrance and pour a candle, but then they discover the fragrance bar, the huge variety of vessels, the colours, the decorations and all the different possibilities.
We have more than 170 fragrances, over 150 vessels and hundreds of moulds, so there really is something for everyone.
Another thing I love is watching people who initially say they're not creative become completely absorbed in what they're doing. They start experimenting with fragrances, choosing decorations and putting everything together, and before they know it, they've created something they're genuinely proud of.
I think people are also surprised by how relaxing and enjoyable the whole experience is. It's not a rushed activity. They can have a coffee, enjoy a chat, take their time choosing their fragrances and just enjoy being there.
We've had children, adults, couples, families, friendship groups and people of all different abilities come through our doors, and everyone approaches it a little differently.
I think that's part of what makes it so special. There's no expectation that everyone has to create the same thing or do it the same way.
What do you hope people take away from their time at The Coven, beyond the candle they create?
More than anything, I hope they leave with a happy memory.
Life gets so busy, and I think sometimes we forget how important it is to take a little time out, enjoy ourselves and do something different.
When we were developing The Coven, we wanted it to be more than just somewhere people came to make a candle. We wanted to create a welcoming space where people could spend quality time together, relax, be creative and feel comfortable being themselves.
Whether it's a parent spending time with their child, friends catching up, a couple enjoying a date, someone celebrating a special occasion or a person simply wanting some time for themselves, I want everyone to feel that they belong.
One of my favourite things is watching someone who wasn't quite sure about giving it a go leave with a big smile, already talking about what they're going to make next time.
The candle is something they get to take home, but hopefully the memory of making it stays with them for much longer.
If people leave feeling happy, a little more confident in their creativity and excited to come back, then we've achieved exactly what we set out to do.