She turned it into a business, setting up a studio and selling at local London markets. When she did eventually pick the tools up again during lockdown after moving back to Melbourne, she started from scratch with a different creative outlook. “I was doing more of the scented candles in London and when I came back here I was more interested in pillars and shapes and colours.”

Veering into geometric, patterned designs has been key to Chorus’s identity. It’s also allowed for a playful and more creative deviation that celebrates the functionality – and the artfulness – of candles. “I’ve been a bit more experimental with the ways of doing things this time around,” Leah says. “The styling has definitely changed … and I like to create things now that I can see working in a space that I would like to be in.” 

It’s an experimental shift that has birthed brightly coloured tapered candles, classic pillars and – our favourite of all – the chequerboard cube. In the future, Leah wants to continue exploring different shapes, stains and patterns, finding fresh ways to express this well-wrought art form. “I want to try and make something that’s not already being done.”