Gary Simmons has lived all over the world, but it’s in the south of France, running a candle-making school, that he’s discovered true contentment. Words Katie Wood
“I left England when I was 21 and a hairstylist, and moved to Los Angeles where I eventually opened a salon on Sunset Blvd. It was the early 80s and I enjoyed a wonderful life over there.
After ten years I became increasingly disillusioned with the fast lifestyle and decided to go back to basics. I’d always had the dream of living on an island, so I bought land in the Caribbean and a friend of mine in California taught me what I now do – candle designing.
I moved to Jamaica in 1994 and set up a factory supplying a lot of the hotels on the island. My most famous client was no less than Mrs Errol Flynn! Because this venture was successful, it allowed me to build my dream house overlooking the sea.
When I was forty I met my Persian wife on a visit back to California, and we decided to move to England to raise a family. I started a candle factory in Dagenham with my brother and became the designer – a role that saw me travelling around Europe to all the trade shows, checking out the competition and then creating things that would knock them into touch. The company is now the second-largest candle manufacturer in England.
Read more in the November issue of Living Abroad Magazine.
