Creative collection Candle maker Tania Robinson loves scents
THE SIGHTS, SOUNDS AND SCENTS OF THE AUSTRALIAN BUSH INSPIRED
TANIA ROBINSON’S ARTISANAL CANDLE BRAND SOUTHERN WILD CO
It was during a visit to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2017, when graphic designer Tania Robinson had her lightbulb moment. Wandering through the Australian Impressionists room, moved by the emotional expression of colour and light she saw in the artworks, Tania was struck with a vivid thought. She turned to her gallery-going friend and asked: “How amazing would it be to capture the scents in these paintings, the fragrances of the Australian landscape?” It was a proposition that brought Southern Wild Co, an artisanal candle brand based in the NSW Central Tablelands, to fruition. But the seed was planted many years before.
Tania grew up in the Illawarra, a region south of Sydney that’s hugged by kingfisher-blue ocean and dense, green escarpments. “I had a wild childhood, playing in the bush and having the freedom to go for swims at the beach; everything was pristine and clean,” she reminisces. As an adult, Tania lived in the UK for 10 years, returning home regularly to check in with her family and friends. She soon realised she missed the clarity of the Australian light and the raw beauty of the landscape. “I think it takes travelling to the other side of the world to discover that you have an appreciation of home,” Tania muses. She also discovered a gap in the market for sophisticated, beautiful souvenirs that truly represented Australia. “I wanted to buy things to take back to my British friends that gave them a sense of what it was like here,” she explains, but the options were limited. Fast forward to 2017, when, after many years working as a graphic designer in the consumer goods and corporate sectors, the inspired creative set out to reconnect with nature by building a library of candle scents that celebrated the spirit of our land.
Tania has learnt many lessons since starting the brand. “I naively thought I could just pour candles and put essential oils in them and it would work,” she says. “It’s a lot more complicated than that. >
TOP LEFT Sample jars and finished products cover Tania’s workbench. TOP RIGHT A landscape artwork by Tania and a vintage painting of wattle decorate an old timber hutch filled with candles. BOTTOM RIGHT Art and creative expression are integral to the story of Southern Wild Co. OPPOSITE Tania, pictured, tests scents and wax types in her rustic shed known as the ‘Shedquarters’.
There are so many variables with making candles, and I didn’t realise that going in.” Tania teams up with Australian perfumers and essential oil suppliers who have helped guide her with the chemistry of candle making. Still, the first spark of a new concept always begins with her vision. Each candle fragrance is richly layered and triggers a wisp of lingering nostalgia, evoking visions of smoky campsites, misty gullies, or the salty freshness of a deep, inky sea. “To me, scent has always been such a powerful thing that arouses emotions and memories,” says Tania.
Southern Wild Co is soaked in inspiration. Creative expression via art and poetry is at the core of the range and each candle concept. “I want to give people the feeling of what it’s like to live here, not just through the fragrance, but also through every visual aspect, from the packaging to social media and marketing,” says Tania. References run from iconic bush poets, such as Dorothea Mackellar, through to the Heidelberg School art movement, and contemporary artists in tune with the land, such as Allira Henderson and Llewellyn Skye. A rich narrative of Australiana is palpable in the Shedquarters, the old shearing shed from which Tania and her growing team work. Forget Google, a simple mud map and intuition are your best bets for finding the rustic outbuilding perched on farmland just outside of a village in the heart of NSW, wedged between thick pine forest and eucalypt-dotted rolling hills. “Based out here, the Shedquarters has become the core of my creative life, and it influences me daily,” says Tania. “The light, the sense of the bush, and the freedom.
They are the parts of Australia that I want to share.” TOP LEFT: Boris the chocolate labrador accompanies Tania on daily bushwalks. “I’ve always been in touch with nature, and that’s what I really missed when I lived in the UK,” shares Tania. TOP CENTRE & RIGHT: Tania continuously researches the art of fragrance blending. BOTTOM LEFT: “Painting and drawing is a way for me to observe the landscape,” the multi-talented designer shares. An easel is set up by a mood board wall filled with magazine tear sheets and copies of Australian Impressionist paintings. OPPOSITE: Tania sets high standards for every aspect of the brand, from the fragrances to the packaging design and marketing.
“I WANT THE CANDLES TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF LUXURY FOR YOUR HOME” ~ TANIA