Frodsham Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

Over the last couple of months, we have been talking to some of these local businesses and organisations for our 'Up Close in Frodsham' series.

This week, we chatted with Jennie Norbury, owner of new handmade candle company, EcoWicks by Jennie.

In her Helsby home workshop, Jennie makes eco-friendly candles and melts using beeswax from her very own bees.

Jennie was first introduced to the world of bee-keeping a couple of years ago, when her husband, Kevin, who owns EcoFell Tree Surgery, was asked to remove swarms of bees from local gardens.

Conscious that bees are a key player in our local and global ecosystems, Jennie and Kevin decided they owed these newly evicted little creatures a helping hand, and so built some hives in their garden.

"We live in a great location with lots of different foraging areas for them to roam, so we knew the honey they produced would be delicious," Jennie says.

"The bees are so intelligent and the work they do is so interesting so it's a pleasure to watch them."

It has also been suggested that eating local honey, which contains pollen from the area's plants, might also be an effective way of building up tolerance to the allergens which cause conditions like hay fever.

So, if you're a local resident and hay fever sufferer, you might want to try a jar of Jennie's Helsby-grown honey!

As her busy bees got to work in her garden, Jennie began to wonder how she could make use of the beeswax they were producing.

"I decided to look at other ways of utilising the bee by-products produced in the honey making process," she says.

"I am a candle and wax melt lover and wanted to produce my own from a renewable source that is biodegradable and, therefore, good for the environment."

So, earlier this year, Jennie set about testing different containers, fragrances and wicks. EcoWicks by Jennie was launched in October, and has already proved to be a big hit with local customers.

"The candles are made from wax taken from our hives in the honey extraction process," Jennie explains.

"The wax is carefully scraped from the honey frames, and the honey is filtered a few times. The gathered wax is then melted down to make our candles and melts.

"As we leave our bees with their honey and wax to sustain themselves over the winter, we have now had to source some of our wax from local beekeepers in Cheshire. The wax from each hive is different in colour and aroma depending what the bees have been foraging on."

Jennie's candles and melts come in a range of different sizes, designs and fragrances, from soothing English Pear and Freesia to tangy Lime, Basil and Mandarin.

Whether floral, fruity or woody, EcoWicks by Jennie is sure to have the perfect scent for you!

Jennie was sure to keep sustainability at the heart of her EcoWicks brand, and so makes sure that all of her products are 100 per cent natural and eco-friendly.

"Eco is the only way forward."

"We all need to be thinking more about our environment and the sustainability of our planet," she says. "Beeswax is the most natural wax on the market, as, unlike paraffin-based candles, it doesn't release toxins into the air.

Beeswax also produces negative ions when burned, helping to neutralise any pollutants already in the air.

"Our wood wicks are also sustainably sourced and offer a more eco-friendly alternative to cotton wicks," Jennie continues.

"People are definitely looking for a more natural approach when selecting products and also like the hand poured, locally-produced aspect.

Jennie also offers refills for her honey pot jars, tealight holders and Christmas tree melts, helping you to reduce the amount of packaging you through away.

In readiness for the festive season, Jennie is currently selling special '12 Days of Christmas' beeswax melt advent calendars, which include a mixture of calming Christmas scents.

And that's not all. At EcoWicks by Jennie you can also find wax-burner and candle gift sets – the perfect present for that special someone.

Jennie is also running a Christmas competition, through which people from anywhere in the UK can be in with a chance of winning two limited edition Rose and Rhubarb candles. More details on how to enter can be found on the EcoWicks by Jennie Facebook page.

The winner will be picked at random on Friday (4th December), so be quick!

You can learn more about Jennie's products by following her Facebook page, or by visiting the EcoWicks by Jennie website.