St Fagans Museum of Welsh life had been a stockist of a selection of our candles for several years when they approached us to create some candles exclusively for them in 2023.
The candles were to be based on the drinks that would be sold in their new (to them) pub that was due to open in May 2024. The Vulcan pub had been saved from being demolished many years before and was instead taken apart brick by brick and rebuilt at St Fagans.
The first meeting
Vicky arranged a meeting at St Fagans to discuss their requirements in November 2023. She took along container ideas and lists of suggested fragrances that could work. It turned out that the museum buyer had had lots of other ideas too. There was a very exciting meeting discussing not only the drinks fragrances but also sweets, biscuits and all manner of other ideas. A short list of ideas was created and Vicky went away with a head full of ideas. Over the next few weeks we created so many samples and sourced more containers to suit the extra fragrances. Research was done into traditional sweets and biscuits. We created so many samples, rejecting plenty, until they were right. We also started on some rough design ideas for labels as a starting point for the next meeting.
Our second meeting
Soon Vicky was back on the motorway heading to Cardiff for another meeting with St Fagans, armed with a box full of samples.
During a very productive meeting all fragrances were chosen and containers decided on. There were going to be three different drinks fragrances in elegant green glasses. We also decided on three different biscuit fragrances in amber glass jars. Also included were seven traditional sweet fragrances in gold tins like the traditional travel sweet tins. Lastly we went for three clear glass three wick candles for the main gift shop. They would have gold embossed gift boxes and a photographic label complete with gold corners like the ones found in vintage photograph albums.
The branding needed to be inline with other products so it would be done by the inhouse team as they already had strict briefs to work towards.
Branding design
During the next meeting Vicky was asked to take on all the branding too. It was going to be a very quick turnaround. Just two weeks to get all branded completed, including translations as it all needed to be bilingual, but we have always loved a challenge. The retail operations manager sent several emails with brand guidelines which we had to follow. These included designs for other planned products so we needed to ensure that anything we designed would sit well with it. We use Adobe Illustrator for all our label designs. Chris is working towards becoming certified Adode Illustrator and Indesign proffesional users very soon. You can see more of our label designs at https://littlebitwhitelabel.co.uk/blog/
Chris and Vicky set about designing the drinks label first as these were the most urgent. We also needed to use fonts and colours that had been used by the alcohol suppliers for The Vulcan. Three labels were created with the three brand colours of rich red, green and cream incorporated. The designs were sent to the operations manager at St Fagans for checks and authorisation.
Our design process
Next, designs were created for the seven sweet tin candles for Siop Losin, the traditional sweet shop at St Fagans. We had branding details sent which we adapted to suit the size of the tins and the details we needed to incorporate to make it clear that they were candles. The dark blue and gold labels were to go on gold tins which would pick up the gold perfectly.
Next we moved on to the biscuit fragranced candles for Gwalia Stores, the general stores at St Fagans. The design had a very loose brief so was great fun to work on. We had a few mock ups of what other products might look like. They were traditional designs but with bright, sometimes clashing colours. We decided to use this idea and go a little wild. The design featured lots of vintage touches in the form of scroll shapes and fancy borders but we added bright pops of colours to give them a more vibrant feel.
The last design required photographs from St Fagans archives for the labels. The label would be a traditional style photograph with a handwritten font used underneath. Gold corners would then be added. The addition of a white gift box with a gold embossed design added to the high end feel.
Translation and proof checking
Once all designs had been checked and translated by the musuem team they were sent to our printers while we began making the candles. There was a very strict deadline so the candle making order was important for the next two weeks. Long days followed with the fragrances of cola bottles, custard creams, gin and tonic and all sorts of other goodies wafting out of the door. We dreamt of candles and could smell jammy dodgers everywhere we went. Find out more about our fragrance options at https://littlebitwhitelabel.co.uk/fragrance-menu/
Tight dealine
The deadline was possibly the trickiest white label candle order we have ever had but also the most enjoyable. Vicky and Chris delivered the candles in person with days to spare. We need to find a free day to go see them all in their respective shops and pubs. To create sixteen different bespoke candles for one of the more popular tourist attractions in Wales is such an honour. Little Bit White Label are looking forward to working on their Christmas ranges already!
Maybe we need a van.
