Candle firm given glimmer of light after appeal

Patrick John Seaman, known as PJ, has been making soy wax candles for more than five years

A candlemaker says his family business has been given new hope thanks to its "amazing supporters".

Patrick John Seaman, known as PJ, makes and hand pours all the products sold by Wonky Candles, based in Appleby Magna, Leicestershire, which he runs with his brother Tom Seaman and mother Helen Seaman.

PJ, who is deaf and registered blind, also has scoliosis of the spine and epilepsy. He started making candles more than five years ago.

But the firm faced a crossroads when it was "almost out of cash", and earlier this month issued a Facebook appeal, which was met by hundreds of comments saying people had placed orders that helped the family pay their bills.

In addition to selling candles, the business runs two work experience programmes with Two Rivers School in Tamworth, Staffordshire, and Maplewell Hall School in Loughborough.

Jacqui Tarry, post-16 lead at Maplewell Hall, praised PJ and his family for helping to "fight the good fight for inclusive workplaces".

PJ Seaman runs Wonky Candles with his mother Helen and brother Tom

Of the recent reprieve, Helen, 59 - who is known as Mama Wonky - said: "We've been saved. But I wouldn't say saved totally.

"We've brought some sales in, thanks to our amazing supporters."

She believes the family can keep going for "a few more months" - after it initially saying on Facebook it was "no longer viable" on 9 January.

Tom said after the Facebook post, the business received about 1,000 orders in two days - the kind of demand the firm normally sees over two months.

He added those orders were now being made by PJ, and they had "bought us four to six weeks of thinking space".

PJ, 29, got into candle making after the family tried it on holiday, and he found it was something he enjoyed.

He went to a class for his birthday and the teacher said PJ was "really good", Tom explained.

Tom said PJ then spent £100 of his own money to buy materials and created some candles as Christmas presents, before making and selling some rainbow candles.

He added: "The thing that kicked [PJ] off was in the first six weeks of selling rainbow candles, [we] donated a pound from the sale of each candle to the NHS and they raised over £4,500 in six weeks."

When asked why he enjoys making candles, PJ said: "It's the whole process of seeing it happen. I think it's the fact that you see the products come in a raw form.

"You see them melt down, you see them then obviously go back to solid and then you see them go out the door because someone's bought them."

Brother Tom, 31, said his family were "so proud" of the work PJ had done, which included helping raise thousands of pounds for charity through candle sales.

"We are not wonky because our candles are wonky, but because PJ makes everything we sell and he calls himself Mr Wonky," Tom said.

"[PJ] hand pours every single thing that we sell. We're so proud of what he's achieving.

"He's working hard; he doesn't want to just sit around and chill at home, he wants to be out there making a difference to his life but also other people's lives that we support."

'Absolutely phenomenal'

Tom said the work experience partnerships with the schools had been in place for at least 18 months, but added that for much of the four and a half years that Wonky Candles has been in business, the family has offered mobile workshops.

Students take part in workshops at Wonky Candles and one pupil from Maplewell Hall has a regular placement there.

Post-16 lead Ms Tarry added: "Our students were so impressed with what they do and the fact that they were empowered and with the knowledge that they could go on and do things regardless of their additional needs was fantastic.

"Having people like PJ being able to show people what we can do, regardless of what the barriers are, is absolutely phenomenal.

"We absolutely need more people like PJ, Tom and Mama Wonky to sort of fight the good fight for inclusive workplaces."