From Australia: The Iron Fairies (Candles, soaps and more)

Wandering in the East Village before dinner last Saturday night, my husband and I spotted a sign that said “Make Your Own Soap” – in a fit of snootiness, I said “it’s surely melt and pour, we can skip it – plus I’m soaped out.” Fortunately, my husband didn’t listen to me.

And that’s how we discovered The Iron Fairies – imagine a cross between fantasy, folklore, a soap and candle store, and associated statues and other iron items. The staff there was incredibly well-trained on the concept of the store. There are over 40 fairies, loosely based on Australian folklore, and each fairy has a scent that somewhat represents her. All the fairies have their own soap in their scent, and some have a candle. In addition, there are also statues of the fairies and some of their friends (including a very cute gekko), candle-holders and other items.

I bought an Amy candle, which is vanilla scented. All the candles are 100% soy wax and I was very happy with my candle. I passed on the soaps as they had many chemical ingredients – which was too bad, as they also had some fabulous natural additives like herbs and essential oils.

What I really liked about the store was that it truly had something for everyone – you don’t have to like candles to like the Iron Fairies, because there is so much to discover about each fairy and the history behind the fairies. It’s like a 3D fairytale you can visit.

The Iron Fairies have two stores in the U.S. – one in New York and one in Las Vegas, but several stores in Australia, Japan and Europe.