Infused with Greece

Up for yet another of her business endeavours, Nicole Condos' collection 'Candles by Nikoletta' captures the scent and memories of Greek summer


All over Greece people are slowly sipping their favourite drink, a frappé, through colourful straws. The scent of it, the association with Greek summer and sea, are just some of the memories that Melbourne based Nicole Condos wanted to capture for longer than a single moment.

The scent of the famous Greek foam-covered iced coffee drink is now captured in a frappé cup candle, that burns from vanilla at the top, down to a dark, roasted coffee-bean fragrance with a touch of chocolate over the course of 60 hours.

With her years-long experience in PR industry, Nicole Condos is not a stranger to taking an unknown and throwing it into the spotlight. And what she is throwing in the spotlight right now, as her range of Greek inspired candles is about to be launched after six months in the making, is her love and passion for her Greek and Cypriot heritage.

The one-of-a-kind fusion of coffee cups and soy candles, the brainchild of Nicole herself and made with a local producer, are infused with the beauty of Greece and Cyprus and their fragrances.

With Greek cooking traditions dating back thousands of years, key ingredients and fragrances are an integral part of the Greek cultural and dining experience, Nicole says.

It was these hero fragrances that served as an inspiration for the Candles by Nikoletta collection, bringing these scents beyond the kitchens and cake stores of the Mediterranean into your home. From ouzo to syko, from kanela to loukoumi.

The idea for the candles for business-minded Nicole came from a simple scent, capable of capturing so many memories.

“I’ve been working on capturing the ambiance of Greece and Cyprus, by simply lighting one of my candles,” Nicole tells Neos Kosmos.

“I personally love how a scent can trigger a memory for you. Once lit, the candle will instantly transport you to perhaps the nostalgia of a holiday in Greece gone by or even the aroma of home cooking is recollected.

“As candles are growing in popularity, I developed a product to fuse the concept of a candle as a home décor piece with Greek charisma.”

The collection, as Nicole puts it, celebrates her adoration for the beauty of Greece and Cyprus, through her own, unique product made in Melbourne. With her dad Australian born, her grandparents Egyptian born from Kalimnos, Patmos and Simi, and her mum from Cyprus, Nicole certainly has many memories to draw upon.

“In a testing time for Greeks economically, I wanted to inspire creativity with my collection and drive others to celebrate Hellenism, regardless of whether you’re Greek, Australian or a candle lover,” says Nicole.

With designs clearly with a Mediterranean-Greek twist to them, she admits all candles are inspired by her parent’s homeland. A great alternative for a bleak Australian winter.

“A frappé glass and coffee cup are so simple yet iconic in our culture in Australia, not just in Greece. So many of us love coffee or the social aspect of a frappé. While most of us would prefer to be sinking into a chair, sipping on a frappé, watching sun-kissed faces stroll by on the Greek islands, Candles by Nikoletta offers a sumptuously innovative alternative during the bleak reality of winter. As Greeks, we like to put a twist on everything and Greek-ify it where we can,” Nicole says cheerfully.

In celebrating the adoration for the beauty of Greece and Cyprus through Melbourne-made product, Candles by Nikoletta features fragrances as Greek as ouzo, mesoyeaiko siko (Mediterranean fig), amigthalo, angouri & thiosmo (cucumber mint), vasiliko, faskomilo & thiosmos (basil, sage & mint), meli (honey), karpouzi (watermelon), anthos elias (olive blossom)…

Candles by Nikoletta was officially launched in Melbourne last week. For more information and to purchase your own candle, visit www.facebook.com/candlesbynikoletta and www.candlesbynikoletta.com