Sponge Soy Wax Candle

Yes, it’s a candle. No, please don’t do the washing up with it.

NATA Concept Store has turned the least glamorous object beside the kitchen sink into something genuinely brilliant. A full-sized washing-up sponge, complete with yellow foam and that familiar dark green scrubby top, recreated in soy wax with a wick sticking rather wonderfully out of the middle.

The texture is what makes this one. From a distance you’d absolutely believe someone had abandoned a sponge on the shelf, which makes discovering it’s actually a candle considerably more satisfying.

At 195g it’s satisfyingly substantial too, and comes in its own brilliantly designed sponge box. Leave it unlit as a strange little piece of kitchen art or eventually give in and burn it — although we suspect this is another NATA candle that might spend a very long time being admired first.

A very good housewarming present, host gift or unexpected find for the person who is notoriously difficult to buy for. Boxed and ready to gift, and considerably more exciting than turning up with another bottle of wine.