Toa Payoh Candle Making Workshop With a Cause: Candlescape

Candlescape Foundation pours candles in a ground-floor factory at 1008 Toa Payoh North #01-02, Singapore 318996, a short walk north of Braddell MRT. Its candle making workshop menu runs from a S$35 kids' class to an S$88 six-stem candle bouquet, sessions usually last 60 to 90 minutes, and every candle goes home with you.

Candlescape started as a gesture during the pandemic. A small group wanted to thank frontline hospital staff with something more lasting than snacks, so they made a Secret Message Candle, a stress-relief candle with an encouraging note hidden inside that appears as the wax burns down. The first batches came out of the founder's kitchen. Donations and volunteers followed, and soon the team needed a little greenhouse for the pouring, writing and delivering.

The turning point, as the foundation tells it, came when YueHua offered it space to start running workshops. By 2023 Candlescape had become a full factory able to make thousands of candles and host up to 30 people in a class. It now runs therapeutic candle sessions for children with cancer and for elderly people with critical illnesses, and the money from public workshops and candle sales goes toward that charity work and toward teaching the craft to people who need a skill.

Annie Lin is the founder and creative director, and she designs the seasonal ranges. Harry Lin, the corporate director, brings 15 years of sponsorship sales in Asia Pacific and handles the company bookings that keep the factory busy.

The Merlion candle and reed diffuser class is the one to pick if you are visiting Singapore. It costs S$78 for an hour, and you leave with a candle shaped like the city's lion-fish mascot plus a diffuser you scent yourself. The macaroon candle, from S$45 for an hour and a half, shapes wax into macaron-style sweets that look good enough to eat.

For flowers, the three-piece candle flower arrangement costs S$58, while the candle flower bouquet comes in three stems for S$68 or six for S$88. They mirror the finished candle bouquets the shop sells online, so the class is a way to make a gift that does not wilt. Families should look at the S$35 Mini Candle Makers class, an hour long and built for children, and there is a S$35 SandWax session designed for seniors.

The newest format ties candles to new year resolutions. The vision board candle workshop costs S$40 for an hour and a half. You start by choosing what you want to work on in 2027, such as health, wealth, love or clarity, then build a small board of pictures and words. Then you make a candle to match. The foundation's October 2026 blog post suggests lavender or eucalyptus with green or blue for health, cinnamon or patchouli with gold for wealth, rose or jasmine with pink for love, and citrus or peppermint with white for clarity.

At the end you light the candle and share your board with the group if you want to. It is aimed at individuals and at company teams, and the factory pitches a 90-minute version of it for staff wellness days.

Some formats only run for groups of ten or more, including a 100ml flower reed diffuser, a single candle flower arrangement and a pair of scented wax tablets. The factory can also bring a workshop to your office or venue, with a one-time S$100 transport charge. Birthday parties and team events can be held at the factory itself, with all tools and materials supplied.

The recommended minimum age is six. Younger children can take part with an adult close by, mainly because of the hot wax and the fragrance oils. No experience is needed, and the teachers walk you through choosing soy wax and fragrance, pouring and finishing. Most sessions fit into 60 to 90 minutes. Wedding couples also use the team for favors, with a cocktail-hour station where guests make their own candle to take away.

Custom orders run through the same team. The FAQ says candles can be personalised for corporate gifts, wedding favors or a one-off present, all in soy wax with premium fragrance oils, and the factory takes OEM work for brands that want their own label. Its blog has recently leaned into local humor too, with a post on the durian candle as Singapore's favorite prank gift, so ask on WhatsApp if you have a novelty idea in mind.

The factory sits on the ground floor of a light-industrial block on Toa Payoh North, about 350 meters north of Braddell MRT on the North-South Line, so it is easiest to walk up from the station rather than come by bus. The building is a working site, not a shopping mall, so look for the unit number rather than a shopfront sign.

After a class, head south into Toa Payoh itself, one of Singapore's oldest new towns. The town park has a lookout tower over a pond, and the dragon playground near Lorong 6, a mosaic-tiled dragon from the 1970s, is one of the last of its kind in the country. Toa Payoh Hub and the busy hawker centres around the central area cover lunch, and the neighbourhood's dated HDB blocks make for an easy hour of walking.

Plan the class around the trip there rather than the other way round. The walk from Braddell is short, but Singapore's midday heat makes even a few hundred meters tiring, so carry water. If you are bringing children, a weekend morning session followed by the dragon playground and an early hawker lunch makes a full, easy half day without needing a taxi.

Address: Candlescape Foundation, 1008 Toa Payoh North #01-02, Singapore 318996. Email: workshop@candlescapefoundation.com. Nearest MRT: Braddell, about 350 meters away. Workshops: 60 to 90 minutes, S$35 to S$88 per person for public classes, ages six and up. Book online or by WhatsApp. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for a hawker stall near Toa Payoh Hub after your class.