Our story — Meet Kheng
I used to spend my days in a Sydney office tower, staring at spreadsheets. My job in corporate finance paid the bills, but after ten years, I felt like I was running on empty. Things came to a head in 2017 after I clocked a 70-hour week, missed dinner with my family for the third time that month, and couldn't switch off when I got home. That weekend, I started thinking about what kind of life I actually wanted and what I could do differently.
Before this, I had never made anything with my hands. I’d grown up in Melbourne, where my parents ran a grocery shop, and I always thought work meant long hours and little sleep. But leaving finance gave me space to try things I’d never had time for before. One of those was playing around with making candles at home—just cheap wax kits from Spotlight in Coburg at first. My tiny kitchen in Sydney was a mess, but I couldn't stop experimenting with scents and materials.
In 2019, I moved out to Castlemaine and rented a small workshop behind a secondhand store on Barker Street. Quitting finance gave me enough savings to get started. I took a few orders from friends, ordered 10 kilos of soy wax, and spent evenings figuring out how to build a website. Slowly, people started coming across my candles at the Wesley Hill market. By the end of the first year, I was making a small profit. That's when I started adding other things—picnic sets, journals, towels—and Delilah Goods became a full-time business.
These days, I work out of a bigger space near Castlemaine station. We still pour all the candles by hand here and pack orders for customers around Australia. It's a quieter way of living than my old corporate world, and I wouldn't change it. Every product comes back to the simple idea that good things don't have to be complicated.
— Thanks for reading — Kheng, Kheng Khee Teoh
Journal
The Story Behind Our Wool Blankets
Our Heritage Wool Throw Blanket starts with hardy sheep raised in the cool highlands of Tasmania.
If you’ve ever used our Heritage Wool Throw Blanket, you’ve wrapped yourself in the work of sheep from the Tasmanian Midlands. The region, with its rolling pastures and cold winters, is famous for producing fine wool. I source the wool from a family-run station near Bothwell where they’ve been farming Merino sheep for three generations. Their flock of roughly 2,000 is bred for wool that’s naturally soft but still durable. ‘Functional luxury,’ the farmer called it when we met, which made me grin.
The wool arrives at a mill in Geelong, where it’s cleaned, combed, and spun. Geelong has a history of wool production going back to the 1800s, though like everything else, the industry has shrunk over the years. Our mill is one of the last still operating at this scale, with just 15 people keeping machines running. Watching those massive carding machines was mesmerising — raw fleece processing into soft, pale threads in one long mechanical sequence.
Once spun, the wool goes to a weaver near Castlemaine. I felt lucky to find someone local with just enough capacity to take on a small brand’s orders. Their looms are much quieter than the ones I saw in Geelong. There’s something soothing about the steady click-clack and the warm scent of lanolin. It took a few weeks of back-and-forth to settle on the perfect weight and pattern, but holding the first finished blanket felt like the end of a long relay.
I chose wool partly because it’s practical. It’s warm in the winter, breathes well enough for cool summer nights, and resists pilling better than most synthetic options. But I also like working with it because of how grounded it feels. People around here have been raising sheep and weaving wool for nearly 200 years. There’s something special about continuing that thread, even on a much smaller scale.
Between the sheep, the spinning, the weaving, and the finishing, each blanket involves about six months of work and at least a dozen people. It’s slow and fiddly compared to importing something ready-made, but I wouldn’t do it any other way. Every time I drive past a paddock of Merinos, I feel a little more connected to them.
Autumn Evenings and Coastal Breeze Candles
Lately, my evenings have been about unwinding with soup, a blanket, and our Coastal Breeze Candle on the table.
Autumn has always been my favourite season, but it feels different here in Castlemaine. The mornings are mistier, and the days end earlier than they ever did in Sydney. Lately, I’ve been pulling out the Heritage Wool Throw and lighting a Coastal Breeze Candle before settling down with a bowl of pumpkin soup. Something about those little rituals makes the season roll by in a much richer way.
The Coastal Breeze Candle wasn’t originally supposed to be part of our range. I just wanted to try my hand at candle-making last year as a side project — something tactile to break up the admin side of the business. But after countless trials (and one wax spill on the kitchen bench I’m still regretting), I landed on this clean, fresh scent. Eucalyptus and sea salt give it a brightness I think pairs well with quiet evenings.
Candles, I’ve learned, are also fascinatingly technical. You can’t just melt wax and throw in fragrance willy-nilly. The ratio of wax to oil, the pouring temperature, the type and size of wick — change one variable, and your candle can either burn unevenly or barely throw any scent. After sniffing through more test burns than I care to admit, I found a balance that feels right for the home.
I think the eucalyptus note in Coastal Breeze sits particularly well in autumn. If you’ve walked through bushland after a few cool days, you know that crisp, earthy tang in the air. It’s not exactly eucalyptus — it’s somewhere broader — but there’s something similar in the way both scents feel refreshing yet grounding at the same time.
The candle runs for around 45 hours, give or take a few depending on the room temperature and air circulation. I like keeping mine on the dining table where the flame makes dinner feel a little less rushed. It’s one of the simple things I’ve started to appreciate here — marking the end of the day with a familiar scent.
Behind the Scenes: Bamboo Picnic Sets
Our Bamboo Fiber Picnic Sets came to life after a customer asked for something lightweight but reusable for camping.
The Bamboo Fiber Picnic Sets we carry started as a bit of an experiment. A Castlemaine local who shops here often mentioned over coffee that they were sick of breaking plastic picnic plates but didn’t want to haul heavy ceramic ones on camping trips. I’d been toying with the idea of adding more travel-friendly items to the range, so I dove into research.
Bamboo fiber felt like the right fit. It’s lighter than ceramic but sturdier than plastic. Finding a supplier wasn’t straightforward though — there aren’t any manufacturers for it in Australia yet. After two months of emails, I finally settled on a supplier in Malaysia who made sets for a small eco-retail brand I admired. They were willing to take on a small-scale order like mine, which gave me some breathing room to experiment.
The sets themselves are made by combining powdered bamboo fiber (a byproduct from bamboo processing) with a non-toxic resin. The factory processes everything in runs of about 200 sets, which makes my small orders perfectly workable for them. I’ve asked a lot of questions about production standards, and while I’d love to source even closer to home, I’m happy with the transparency we’ve landed on for now.
The first samples arrived last November, and I remember holding a plate up to the light to marvel at how smooth and lightweight it was. It took another three months to settle on the right colour schemes. Bamboo fiber tends to suit muted tones best, so we stuck with soft greens and pale greys. The sets include a plate, a bowl, and a tumbler — all stackable and easy to pack into a picnic bag.
I tested one over summer at Lake Eppalock, hauling it in and out of the car, and washing it in an esky filled with river water. The plates held up brilliantly. They’re not indestructible, of course, but they’ll easily outlast a season of camping trips, and I like that they feel both practical and polished without being fussy.
Downscaling and a Slower April
April has been about resting more and producing less, a choice I’d have probably resisted years ago.
Something about April makes me want to pause. It’s partly the shift in light — everything turns softer, especially at the end of the day. But it’s also that business tends to slow a fraction as we ease out of the busier summer months. This year, I’ve decided to lean into the quiet instead of fighting it. No new product launches, no big campaigns. Just existing quietly for a bit.
Slowing down has never come naturally to me. During my Sydney office years, I felt as if my life was measured in meetings, deadlines, and neatly calculated KPIs. The idea of not doing something always felt like failing. It’s taken years to unlearn that mindset, and I still slip occasionally — my instinct is to pack the calendar when things feel too still.
But here in Castlemaine, with its slower rhythm, I’ve found the gaps are where clarity often shows up. Just the other day, I visited the local market and wandered aimlessly for an hour. I didn’t buy much — half a loaf of sourdough and some nut butter — but I walked away feeling more in tune with the town than I have in months.
I did finally catch up on a backlogged project: packing and photographing the autumn batch of Vintage Leather Journals. These arrive in small bundles from Ballarat every quarter. I love seeing the individuality in each lot — the slight colour variations, the way the leather softens differently on each one. It took me longer than expected to finish this batch, but I think that’s part of the point this month. Letting things take the time they need.
This April, the calendar in the shop is looking pretty sparse, and for once, that’s not worrying me. There’s space for the red leaves, the crisp mornings, and the warm nights hiding under wool blankets. I don’t think I need much more than that right now.
Customer reviews
Alice P. — Brunswick, VIC — 2024-01-15 — 5/5
Beautiful Candle
I ordered the Coastal Breeze Scented Candle, and the delivery was quick. The scent is lovely without being overpowering, and it lasts for hours.
James L. — Manly, NSW — 2024-03-02 — 4/5
Nice Picnic Set
The Bamboo Fiber Picnic Set is very convenient and lightweight. Would have loved a slightly bigger size, though. Shipping arrived just in time for our weekend plans.
Sophie M. — Glenelg, SA — 2025-05-18 — 5/5
Worth Every Cent
The Heritage Wool Throw Blanket is incredibly warm and soft. Arrived within four days of ordering, faster than expected to South Australia.
Liam C. — Newtown, NSW — 2024-07-25 — 4/5
Lovely Journal
The Vintage Leather Journal feels sturdy and looks beautiful. Slight scuff on the leather when it arrived, but not a big issue.
Emily R. — Northcote, VIC — 2025-02-10 — 5/5
Soft Towels
I got the Eco-Soft Bamboo Towel Set, and they’re the softest towels I’ve ever used. Packaging was simple but effective.
Oliver G. — Darwin, NT — 2025-04-14 — 5/5
Perfect Gift
I sent the Coastal Breeze Candle as a gift, and it was well-received! Delivery to Darwin was faster than anticipated.
Claire Z. — Hobart, TAS — 2024-12-20 — 5/5
Excellent Quality
The Heritage Wool Throw Blanket keeps me warm during chilly nights. Arrived within a week, well-packaged for Hobart's weather.
Tom H. — Fitzroy, VIC — 2025-06-30 — 4/5
Solid Option
The Bamboo Fiber Picnic Set is sturdy and practical. Delivery was slightly delayed, but overall great product for picnics.
Returns
We offer a 30-day return policy for items that are unused, in their original condition, and include all tags or packaging. To start a return, email us at hello@delilahgoods.com with your order details, and we’ll guide you through next steps.
Refunds will be processed to your original payment method once we’ve received and inspected the item, which typically takes 5-7 business days. Shipping fees are non-refundable unless the item is faulty or damaged in transit, as per Australian Consumer Law.
Exclusions apply for personal care items, perishable goods, and sale items. If the item isn’t eligible for return, we’ll notify you as quickly as possible and discuss options. For any questions about our returns policy, feel free to contact us.