“Managing a home and handling a business is not easy but striking the right balance is the key,” says Dowling, explaining why she decided to quit her office assistant job a few years ago and took up a course in candle-making. It's been two years now since she started her business, which she confesses, is steadily growing.

“I always wanted to explore my creative abilities, earn money as well as have ample time to look after my family,” says Dowling. With just Rs 5,000 initial investment she knew it was a big risk but was determined to go ahead. A perfectionist, she believes in using the best quality wax, wicks, colours and moulds. And her obsession for quality paid off. “People soon started recognising my talent and orders started pouring in,” she says.

What’s unique about Dowling’s candles is that they last long and do not drip. To get this effect, she uses fully-refined paraffin wax. Her personal favourites are floating candles and geometrical shaped candle, she says. Also there are a variety of moulds in the market, but to get the best results she only uses metal mould, silicon rubber mould, fiber mould and solid metal casting moulds.

While Dowling agrees that she basically likes to make simple candles, on demand she often uses kundan, seashells, sparkle, stones and dry flowers as decoration. She also uses a variety of colours to give special effect to her candles. She says that the brightness of a candle also depends on the quality and size of the wick used. Candle wicks are generally made of braided cotton, with a piece of metal wire in the centre for stiffness to generate more heat needed to burn larger candles, she explains.

“For my commercial venture, I make around 500-700 candles a day — sizes varying from 10 grams to 6,000 grams. Usually I start my work only after orders are placed,” she explains.