ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Sitting at Machko's tea shop near Erbil’s historic citadel, drinking tea with her husband one day, Huda Sarhang, who had been researching the science of candle-making for over a year as she was finishing her Master's degree, had an idea – why not make candles using something truly unique that holds great pride and history in the Kurdistan Region.
"I came home with the Istikan glasses and I made a few for my family and friends to try to see if it would take the heat," Sarhang told Rudaw English about her experiment making candles in the tea glasses. "It was good, everyone loved it."
This is how LaLa Candles was born eight months ago – the first handmade candles to be created and sold in Kurdistan.
"I had so much passion for it," she said.
Once Sarhang had her basic candle-making making methods down, in which she only uses soy wax, she started decorating each candle in different styles using items from the Kurdistan Region.
"I came home with the Istikan glasses and I made a few for my family and friends to try to see if it would take the heat," Sarhang told Rudaw English about her experiment making candles in the tea glasses. "It was good, everyone loved it."
This is how LaLa Candles was born eight months ago – the first handmade candles to be created and sold in Kurdistan.
"I had so much passion for it," she said.
Once Sarhang had her basic candle-making making methods down, in which she only uses soy wax, she started decorating each candle in different styles using items from the Kurdistan Region.
Initially, besides the Istikan glasses, she decorated using brightly colored Kurdish clothes, traditional Kurdish shoes, clove necklaces, and then evolved into adding decorations from different ethnic and religious cultures so that all people in Kurdistan would value her work.
"Now after eight months, it's amazing that I see locals respect what I do and many ask for these candles as gifts to take abroad to their families and friends," she said, smiling. "It started this way, and now I have three types of candles."
The second type of candle Sarhang created comes in a larger glass. She calls it the Mam u Zin.
"Mam u Zin are two lovers known in the Kurdish culture," she said, explaining it came from a Kurdish drama which was filmed mostly in the citadel where traditional rugs were often shown and used in each scene for decoration.
"It has a story," she explained. "So I took my inspiration for that," adding that she uses pieces of these brightly colored Kurdish rugs to decorate each Mam u Zin candle.
The third type of candle Sarhang currently makes is called the Shirin u Farhad which is made in the silver containers people use for sugar cubes when serving tea.
Sarhang uses over 20 scents and a range of colors in her candles, but laments that these supplies and wax and wicks are hard to find.
"Unfortunately, these basic things don't exist here in Kurdistan, so this is one of the challenges that I face," Sarhang said. "But If I want good quality, I have to bring it from outside Kurdistan, which I do mostly from Europe."
"It's time consuming and a bit expensive, but I know that this is what I want to do, so it's my only option," she added.
Her business has taken off and she now makes gift baskets for a variety of occasions such as the birth of a newborn baby or birthdays, as well as special gifts for foreigners and locals to take abroad for their family and friends.
Her products range in price from 10,000 to 35,000 Iraqi dinar ($8.50 to $30).
Since she first launched her business eight months ago, Sarhang was happy to say that she has sold nearly 1,000 candles, many to foreigners, locals and even local celebrities and that she has received great support from her community.
Sarhang makes her candles in a workshop in her home and sells them at bazaars and festivals, as well as shipping them across the Kurdistan Region.
Her goal is to open a shop.
"But definitely I am aiming to not just open a shop but a factory for candles and hire women to help," she explained, saying this will empower women in the workforce as well as help the economy.
Regarding starting her own small business, Sarhang said she had a message for women who also may be interested in doing so.
"It's important to surround yourself with positive people and supportive people because through them, you will get the encouragement and the empowerment to start something," she said.
"Whenever you are surrounded by those types of people, you will be strong and you will step forward."
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