Transparent gel candles, which don?t make a mess everywhere! This is Christine Doger de Spéville?s new concept. In the small workshop at the back of her house, Christine creates a variety products using gel: themed and personalised candles of all sizes for individuals or companies, decorative bottles, and ?dressed? paraffin candles. Her brand ChriStef has been on the market for nearly two years and can be found in tourist boutiques.

?I first saw this type of candle in South Africa and had some gel imported to try it out. I was hooked straightaway and after following a course in South Africa on its production, I came back to start a business.? The translucent gel, made of rubber and oil, is the only imported raw material. ?I find all the other materials in Mauritius?, she says.

As she melts blocks of gel in pans, the heat becomes unbearable, but Christine, unperturbed, carefully fills the glass container (her own design made by a firm) layer by layer with the materials. She delicately places dark grey sand. Then she pours a layer of liquid gel on it and puts pale mauve sea urchins into it. Once the gel is set, she repeats the same action with different shells.

This process is quite complicated (since the sand must not mix with the gel) and lengthy. ?Big candles can take up to three days to make?, Christine points out. The result is quite fascinating. The sand forms uneven platforms for beautiful shells, which stand out in the transparent gel. The wavy brown edges of a shell deeply contrast with the deep mauve inside. The shells look as if they?re floating in water!

Christine can make this type of candle out of many materials. ?I use dried fruit, spices, sweets, broken glass or seeds to decorate my candles. I can also make tinted or perfumed candles, by adding a special dye or perfumed oils when the gel is melting.?

The advantage with these candles is that they last very long and she uses a special technique ?so that when the flame sinks into the candle, its outside walls and surface are lit up from inside.? Other candles sitting nearby are just as fascinating as the ?marine? one described. One contains peanuts, which, magnified by the glass walls, have a slightly silvery coating that highlights their bumpy texture.

Although gel candles are her speciality, she also makes decorative bottles and paraffin candles. Rows of bottles containing nuts and grains decorate her kitchen shelves. One contains layers of different coloured lentils. The orange, green and yellow grains look brighter than usual in this curved bottle. Underneath the layers of lentils, there?s a thick layer of dried chillies. The deep red harmonises with the warm colours of the lentils??The gel preserves all the foodstuffs and the colours lose none of their beauty,? Christine points out, very aware of the impact of colour in her products.

Christine also produces ?dressed? paraffin candles. After making candles of melted wax, she delicately cuts out designs from fine paper and sticks them onto the candles. ?I normally work according to themes,? she explains, showing us an African and an Oriental series.

The finishing touch is the wrapping in cellophane. ?I do everything myself?, Christine proudly points out, ?except the glass containers and the accounts - which I let my mother deal with!? Indeed, this is a lot of work for one person, especially since she is placing more and more products in tourist boutiques, like Eureka and La Vanille Reserve des Mascareignes. She also takes orders for theme candles from individuals or companies.

These candles may sound simple to make but one soon realises that, even if anybody can melt wax or gel and place objects or decorations in them, not everyone has Christine?s know-how and artistic touch, which definitely add value to her candles.