A WOMAN who makes candles from her North Ayrshire home has had her business highlighted as one of the top 100 most inspiring in the UK.

Niki Munro, 47, set up House of Rothach just last year after starting to sell her own candles in 2018.

Now her bespoke scented candles will be put in the spotlight as part of Small Business Saturday with 99 other entrepreneurs.

Niki, who is moving to Irvine from Stevenston this month, started making candles for herself at home before friends and family noticed she had a knack for the craft.

She then started to buy oils and has trademarked some unique scents all inspired by memories of Scotland.

Niki told the Times: “I’d been making candles at home for myself, but I’ve always loved the way a fragrance can make you your emotions go crazy.

“Certain smells can trigger emotion and memories.

“My friends and family started to tell me what I was doing was really good and that I should do something with this. “

Last year, Niki re-named her candle venture and developed the name “Rothach” which is Gaelic for Munro.

She started to take the business seriously, from research to experimenting with different scents.

Niki said: “I bought everything separately, some wax, some wicks and some fragrances. They either work or they don’t.

“I started to play about with them then it was just a fluke that some scents started to work.

“I learned lots by getting things wrong, it’s a bit of a minefield even if the wax is a different degree or two it can change the whole scent.

“I was really inspired by memories of Scotland. One if called The Rural Glens.”

With the festive season around the corner, Niki is stepping up.

The coronavirus lockdown helped her spend more time focused on the candles, and thanks to a boost from the West Coast business accelerator in Dundonald she was able to apply for the Biz 100.

Niki added: ““I feel very privileged for my business to have been chosen as one of the UK’s most inspiring small businesses and I’m super eager and excited about the opportunities and value this is going to bring with it this year and the years to come.”