An Exeter shop in the city's indie retail neighbourhood has been recognised as one of the '25 Best Small Shops' in the 海角视频.
Although it has only had a shop in the quaint street for a few months, The Recycled Candle Company is already making a fantastic impression.
It is the only candle recycling business in the 海角视频 - shoppers looking for a combination of luxury goods with a strong green ethos have been flocking to the store to browse the candles.
Their Gandy Street base is the hub of all things wax for Richard Hills-Ingyon and Sargon Latchin - and they produce the beautiful candles in store, too.
The top 25 accolade came after thousands of consumer votes were cast, and a panel of industry experts whittled down entries to the final shortlist.
Founder of The Recycled Candle Company, Richard Hills-Ingyon said: “We are absolutely elated to be amongst the top 25 in the whole of the country, representing the city and Devon.
“Thank you to all our customers who took the time to vote for us.”
All shortlisted retailers will attend a competition reception on November 5 at the House of Commons where they where they will meet with MPs, trade representatives and industry peers. At the event, the overall winner and runners up will be revealed.
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Richard’s business partner, Sargon Latchin added: “There’s a wonderful array of indie retailers on the shortlist, selling everything from yarn, wine and cheese to books and bikes.
“It’s encouraging to realise that there are so many independents like us right across the country.”
At first the candle making was a hobby, but over time it became Richard’s passion and he became intrigued by the idea of reusing old wax by melting it down and purifying it.
Richard then met architect Sargon Latchin in London and together they formulated the idea for The Recycled Candle Company, opening their first shop in Ottery St Mary in 2017.
Entries for the Best Small Shops competition opened on July 4 to coincide with Independent's Day.
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Independent shops around the 海角视频 had 10 weeks to submit their entry and gain as many consumer votes as possible before being evaluated by a judging panel made up of key figures from the independent retail industry.
The competition was also promoted by 75 MPs and had a social media reach of over 1.1 million thanks to the variety of MPs, BIDs, shops and other community members sharing the competition.