Photos Camilla Sjödin Styling Lisen Lundgren hair & make up Sandhra Johnsson/ Corinne & Friends model Hanna B/Synk Casting boxed candles text Anna mcQueen What started out as a quirky shop selling a mix of fabrics and curiosities, has become the last word in scented candles: Diptyque. Although the nAme Diptyque implies a duo, this Whiff wax wick nd a celebrated Parisian company, creator of scented candles and eau-de-toilette was founded by a trio of friends in 1961. Painter Desmond Knox-Leet, set designer Yves Coueslant and architect Christiane Montadre-Gautrot initially filled their Boulevard Saint-Germain boutique with their own fabric designs but rapidly expanded to include a range of decorative, fragranced and collector's objects. They introduced their first candles in 1963, and now 600,000 fragrant Diptyque bougies are sold around the world, every year. "Desmond died in 1993, and although Christiane and Yves weren't looking to sell, they accepted a bid from a private equity fund in 2005. Sharing the Diptyque spirit and love of the arts, the new owners now decide the future of this unique business," says Myriam Badault, director of marketing and communication. "But the founders left behind such a wealth of creativity and an incredible heritage of design codes that we feel very spoiled and continue to develop the www.iggesund.com brand and create products in the same original vein." Initially, the Diptyque boutique only sold fabric, but the eclectic and artistic nature of its owners meant they soon found themselves stocking a whole range of objects, either second-hand, or brought back from their travels or made by themselves or with other artists. Says Badault: "It was like an exotic treasure trove, a concept store before its time, where one could find things that weren't available elsewhere in Paris." Knox-Leet's background gave them exclusive access to fabrics and fragrances from his British compatriots such as Laura Ashley, Penhaligon's and Creed. The store, which still exists today, also began selling coloured candles to match their fabrics and it was their candle-maker who first suggested the idea of perfumed wax. "Desmond saw a new creative opportunity opening up in front of him and he simply went for it," says Badault. The first three scented candles to be produced were Thé (tea), Aubépine (hawthorn) and Canelle (cinnamon) #31 [2009] · inspire 15