The Willowvale Road Story
Hi. My name is Caroline.
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I spent my early years on a dairy farm in NE Victoria, and after moving to Sydney as a child, always dreamed of ending back on a farm. After finding an acre of land between 2 working dairy farms, tucked in behind Gerringong on the South Coast of NSW, my husband and I built a house then packed up and moved with our 2 boys in 2012 from Sydney's Northern Beaches to our dream location. I spent the next 5 years working from home doing medical admin & long hours typing reports. I didn’t love it. In fact, I eventually hated it. My life in Sydney was quite social & very creative after spending 6 years at Brookvale TAFE studying Ceramics. I was suddenly stuck at home doing something completely boring to me. On top of that, it was affecting me physically and mentally.
So in my spare time I started doing all sorts of creative courses including drawing, piano, cooking, Italian, chalk painted furniture, candle making and later, advanced candle making. I fell in love with the range of creativity you need for candle making including scent choice, packaging and labelling.
Inspired by the beauty of the rolling green hills meeting the ocean (featured throughout my labels) and encouraged by the lovely people I have met since living here, "Willowvale Road" was born in 2017.
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In 2019 "The Barn" was built to house my growing business and to enable me to offer Candle & Diffuser making workshops.
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In 2021 I re-discovered my love of clay and joined "Soul Clay Studios" in Gerringong as a resident artist. I now enjoy creating some of my candles "from scratch". Ceramic candles are now available to purchase in the WR online store.​
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In early 2021 Donna Barker joined me in the studio as a Senior Candle Technician which allowed the business to grow further as more orders were able to be hand poured. Donna was with me for two (fun) years before I decided to change the direction my business was taking.
In January 2023 I decided that with the increasing costs of supplies, it was no longer viable to sell wholesale any longer. It was time to simplify what I do and enjoy more time for myself. I am back to working only part-time, offering my stock only via my online store, spending more time in the ceramics studio and running workshops, but not as many as I have offered in the past.
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My biggest supporter is my husband Paul who is behind the barn design and who helps out in the background in so many ways. Let's just call him a silent partner. It truly is a (very) small family run business.
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Photo by Katie Rivers, courtesy of
South Coast Style Magazine (Dec 2020 issue)
Our Philosophy
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At Willowvale Road, we believe in making things that matter — not just beautiful, functional ceramics, but a business that reflects a gentler way of living. We're intentionally moving away from the throwaway culture that surrounds us. In a world full of mass production and fleeting trends, we choose the slow, the handmade, the thoughtful.
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We are starting to move away from the use of Chinese glassware for our candles and diffusers. Instead, we embrace the unique beauty and imperfection of handmade ceramics — pieces made to last, to be loved, to be used every day.
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Sustainability runs through everything we do. It’s not just about what we make — it’s how we make it. We recycle the clay and water in the studio. We repurpose plastic packaging from shipping, giving materials a second life rather than sending them to landfill. Our workshop is powered by solar electricity, and we rely on our rainwater tank and our on-site sewer system (we aren't connected to mains water or sewer). Every part of our process has been considered with the environment in mind.
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To us, this isn’t a trend — it’s a way of life. One that respects the earth, values craftsmanship, and celebrates the slow, quiet joy of making things by hand.
Giving Back
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Giving back to our community is a core part of what we do at Willowvale Road. Each few months, we host a Charity Morning Tea to raise funds for Salt Ministries, a local organisation in Nowra supporting people experiencing homelessness and hardship. It’s a special event where we come together over tea, cake, craft and connection — and 100% of the money raised goes directly to Salt.
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We also proudly contribute monthly to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, helping provide vital medical care to remote and rural communities across Australia. Supporting others is woven into our story — just like clay in our hands, we believe small actions can shape something truly meaningful.
