Chinatown Candle Making Workshop: Slow Scent Crystal Candles

Slow Scent Company, at 531 Upper Cross Street, #03-57, Hong Lim Complex, Singapore 050531, runs a Crystal Botanical Candle Making Workshop for S$65 per person. The class lasts two hours, needs at least two people to start and takes up to 15. You book an open date valid for a year, then WhatsApp the studio to fix the day. Chinatown MRT exits E and F are the closest, which makes this the most central candle making workshop in Singapore's old town.

Slow Scent Company describes itself as a handcrafted scent brand from Singapore, inspired by the mindfulness of slow care with aromatherapy. Its philosophy page talks about slow living and plant-based aromatherapy, and every product is made by hand in Singapore. The studio upstairs in Hong Lim Complex is both its retail room and its workshop space, and the same crystal-and-botanical look runs through the candles, reed diffusers and room mists it sells.

The brand also has a strong retail footprint for a small studio. Its stockist list includes The Green Collective at Funan, The Eco Club in Katong, the MONOLOQ stores at Marina Square, Wisma Atria and Holland Village, Bells & Birds at Cluny Court, and the Discover Singapore shops in Changi Airport's transit areas. If you have seen a jar with a quartz point sunk in pale wax at the airport, it may well have come from this third-floor unit.

The workshop covers the fundamentals of candle making, scent blending and designing your own Crystal Botanical Scented Soy Candle, which comes in a 5oz, 140g size. The teacher works through easy step-by-step guides, so complete beginners are welcome. You blend a fragrance first, pour the soy wax, then decorate the surface with crystals and dried botanicals before it sets. The finished candle goes home with you after the session.

The studio's candle care page explains how its crystals are handled: every stone is cleansed with water or palo santo smoke before it goes into a candle. Over time the crystals and flowers may sink into the melt pool, which is expected. When the candle is finished, let the wax cool, lift out the crystals, wipe them and rinse off any residue so they can be kept.

The care page also gives clear burning rules for the wooden-wick candles. On the first light, let it burn for at least an hour, until the top layer melts evenly to the sides, which stops tunnelling. Trim the charred wick to 5 to 6mm before each relight, put it out with a snuffer or wick dipper rather than blowing, and never burn it for more than four hours at a time. Stop when only 1cm of wax remains.

Payment buys an open-date booking that stays valid for one year from purchase. Groups of four or more get 10% off automatically at checkout, which makes this a sensible pick for a birthday or a bridal shower. Requests for a private in-studio session above five people, or corporate workshops above 15, are arranged by email or WhatsApp.

The cancellation terms are strict. There are no refunds for no-shows, and no cancellations or refunds within 24 hours of the scheduled session. Since the class needs a minimum of two to start, a solo booker may have to fit around another group's date. The studio does not publish fixed opening hours on its site, so do not turn up without a confirmed slot.

If you already own plenty of candles, the Crystal Botanical Room Mist Making Workshop runs 1.5 hours and costs S$65 for a 50ml bottle or S$79 for 100ml. It uses the same crystals and floral décor, with the same two-person minimum. One caution: the Light Up & Manifest session, which combines a candle with tarot and sound bowls, is held off-site in Geylang rather than at Hong Lim Complex, so read the location line before you pay.

The workshop page pitches the class at friendships, couples, birthdays and bridal shower parties, and the four-person discount suits exactly those groups. The crystal decoration also draws people who are into wellness and intention-setting, and the studio leans into that language. Anyone who finds crystal talk tiresome can simply treat the stones as decoration, since the candle-making steps are the same either way.

Hong Lim Complex is a classic public housing block with a busy hawker centre at its base, and stalls there are a good reason to arrive hungry. From exits E and F of Chinatown MRT, walk along Upper Cross Street, then cut into Pagoda Street and Trengganu Street for the shophouse lanes and the Chinatown Heritage Centre. South Bridge Road brings you to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and the Sri Mariamman Temple, two of the area's best-known landmarks.

For a quieter stretch, climb Ann Siang Hill toward Club Street, where restored shophouses hold cafés and cocktail bars, then follow the slope down to Telok Ayer Street and its row of old temples and mosques. The whole loop is about 30 minutes at an easy pace. In the midday heat, keep your candle in its box and out of the sun, as the care page warns soy wax is sensitive to temperature and light.

Solo bookers who cannot wait for a second person should look at Miyo Candle on Jalan Besar, where each one-day class is priced per student. For a larger group than 15, Candlescape in Toa Payoh North hosts up to 30 people at a time. Both are reachable from Chinatown in about 20 minutes by MRT.

Address: Slow Scent Company Studio, 531 Upper Cross Street, #03-57, Hong Lim Complex, Singapore 050531. Nearest MRT: Chinatown, exits E and F. Workshop: Crystal Botanical Candle Making, two hours, S$65 per person, 5oz soy candle to take home. Minimum two, maximum 15; 10% off for four or more. No refunds for no-shows or within 24 hours. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP which Hong Lim stalls are worth the queue.