My 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 loved it so much I decided to set up my own ceramics studio at home, in my workshop.
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Over the following years I had been combining my two passions of candles and clay until mid to late 2025 my home insurer wasn't happy about me running a business from my workshop. I was forced to shut down Willowvale Road.
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​I have recently rejoined Soul Clay Studios as a resident artist and now sell my products in their store in Gerringong. Occasionally I will release some of my products online and those signed up to my newsletter will be the first to know the date and time.
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Photo by Katie Rivers, courtesy of
South Coast Style Magazine (Dec 2020 issue)
Caroline learning off the famous Korean Ceramicist, @moondobang (Nov 2024)
My Philosophy
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I believe in making things that matter — not just beautiful, functional ceramics, but a product that reflects a gentler way of living. I'm intentionally moving away from the throwaway culture that surrounds us. In a world full of mass production and fleeting trends, I choose the slow, the handmade, the thoughtful.​
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Sustainability runs through everything I do. It’s not just about what I make — it’s how I make it. In Soul Clay Studios and my own workshop, we recycle all the clay & the water used. I also recycle the packaging from shipping, giving materials a second life rather than sending them to landfill. My workshop is powered by solar electricity, and I rely on our rainwater tank and on-site sewer system (we aren't connected to mains water or sewer). Every part of my process has been considered with the environment in mind.
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To me 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.