LIGHT WORK

What happens when a biochemist and an event planner have a meeting of creative minds? In the case of Okra Candle's Michelle and Erik Rust, the result has been an outpouring of cool, fresh takes on one of the oldest forms of craft on the planet - candle-making.

- ROBYN ALEXANDER

In 2019, Okra Candle’s Michelle Rust was in search of a particular style of candle for an event she was curating — but she couldn’t find what she wanted anywhere. “I went to a candle maker and what they came up with was not a success,” she says. So Michelle and her partner Erik talked it over, “and we decided, cool, we’ll try it ourselves”. Armed with a reasonably priced 3D printer and plenty of enthusiasm, the couple embarked on the project that has, in just three years, become their burgeoning candle-making business, Okra Candle.

Michelle and Erik complement each other perfectly: she has a creative eye and loves nothing more than to style beautiful tablescapes, events and spaces; he is a biochemist by trade who also happens to be an instinctive teacher and gardener, as well as a musician. “Before I knew Erik was a biochemist, I actually thought he was just a musician,” says Michelle. But most of all, she adds, “Erik is a tinkerer. If something is not working, he will tinker with it until he has mastered the skill of creating it himself or getting it to work again.” Unsurprisingly, this blend of practical and conceptual abilities has served Okra Candle very well.