The History of Blaze On Fairy Lights & Candles
Blaze On is a Fairy Light & Candle brand started by former haute couture colourist, Lisa Durr and her West End performer, hubby, Blaise Durr. In the late 1990’s Lisa made a break from her runway lifestyle and headed for Asia, to search for a new way of life. She met her husband, Blaise in Kao Tao, Thailand and they traveled for several years.Deep in the mountains and tiny rural villages they encountered a tradition of families joining to make arts & crafts between their harvests. Artworks were made from the sustainably sourced materials and by-products of local crops and industries. Impressed by the quality & ethics of Thai workmanship, they started sports label, Climb-On, and created trendy sports gear visitors to climbing hotspot, in Krabi in Southern Thailand. This name later evolved into Blaze On, when they pioneered their first fairy light and candle range.
In 2002 Lisa and Blaise made plans to return to London to start a family. Eager to grow the ethical production model further, they invited a small talented group of Thai friends to collaborate. In Summer 2002 the Blaze On brand was launched with the world’s first collection of all-year-round, ethically crafted fairy lights.
Leading Ethical & Sustainable Production
Today Blaze On light products are created in collaboration with 20 rural artisan teams in Thailand. Despite the company's significant growth, production still largely takes place in the homes of rural people. Most artisans are mums who work with Blaze On, between their tri-annual rice harvests. As much as possible, designs continue to utilise by-products of local crops and industries. Traditionally these have included materials such as mulberry paper, silk, wicker and rubber leaf, giving their creations a wonderfully natural feel. As their catalogue has expanded, Blaze On has opted to weave more colour, sparkle & bling into their light products. Popular Blaze On designs, such as their best-selling Enchanted Garden Fairy Lights, thriftily make use of off-cuts from Thailand's increasingly vibrant local textiles industry. This progressive symbiotic approach gives both rural & urban communities a second bite at the apple while promoting greater efficiency in the use of local resources.In the long term it is hoped that these opportunities will not only keep local craft alive and evolving, but also provide the young in rural communities genuine options for their future. Income generated is very often invested in education, giving the young the choice to grow beyond their rural community. Providing work locally does however also offer school leavers a real option to embrace a more traditional way of life.
Eco-Friendly Technical Innovation
Blaze On's early traditional bulb strings already introduced a number of safety & design features that were incredibly new to the world of fairy lights. As light decoration was created for year-round use it was important that electronic components were modified to be more suitable for every day. The team added longer cables, introduced the idea of clear light strings and added a UK plug with a fuse to protect the light string from the frequent power surges in the UK. They also developed one of the very early battery option power ends. This innovation allowed users to swap to battery where power was inaccessible. Again this created a step change in what customer were able to do with their fairy lights. They could pop them in vases, up in high tents or even under glass table tops for interesting home display.As the idea of year-round fairy lights caught on Blaze On looked to develop a more energy-efficient alternative. In 2012 Blaze On London launched its debut collection of LED fairy lights at shops across the UK.
The Magical Design Features of our Blaze On LED
- Up to 90% reduction in heat generated and energy expanded - huge savings!
- Life expectancy of up to 50,000 hours or 10 years.
- The colour of Blaze On LEDs has been custom toned to emulate the warmer hues of traditional fairy lights.
- Clear cable fitted with 2 metres lead for easy decorating and plug access.
- 3-pin UK adapter.
- Cool bulbs that are safe to touch.
- No bulbs changes required.
The Blaze On Fairy Light Guarantee
When purchased from an authorised seller, Blaze On strings come with a full 1 Year Electronic Fairy Light Guarantee & UK based technical support.