25 Mar 2009, 2:29 am
KaliMa
Veteran
Joined: 8 Feb 2007
Age: 64
Gender: Female
Posts: 960
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
25 Mar 2009, 5:27 am
I don't know about candles, but I like the scents of jasmine and lavender. Sometimes I find a product with a scent called fresh air, summer breeze, summer rain, something like that, where you can't really identify what the scent is but it's fresh and clean. I like that too. That's probably too subtle for a candle. I like sandalwood but it might be too strong a scent to work as a candle, I use it as perfume sometimes, in very small amounts. I like the scent of pine, too.
You seem to be very into candles. I'm glad you found a way to make it a profession - that's really smart of you 
! Is there anywhere online we can buy your candles?
25 Mar 2009, 5:50 am
Candles were an obsession of mine several years ago. Lots of the larger church type candles I bought didn't have a wick suitable for the diameter of the candles so they used to burn a deep crater inside them and needed the wax trimming off periodically. Rather than discarding the wax I collected it and had a go a making my own in a crude way.
I used a moulding technique and used the cardboard inner from kitchen foil as the mould, then taped some flax string at one end in the centre and poured in molten wax. It worked quite well but was a bit hit and miss because sometimes the tape would give way and the molten wax leak out. It was fun though.
The white (flax based?) packaging string used to work quite well as a wick.
Other experiments were based on several such wicks in a ceramic or terracotta pot. However, I discovered that if I put too many wicks in then the surface of the wax would catch fire!
Tea lights always tend to leave a tiny bit of unused wax at the bottom too, so I collect that. Takes ages though until I've enough wax from them to make a candle.
Maybe I'll have a go at the "dunking" method of making candles some time. Not sure of the proper name for it. The one where you dip the wick in the molten was repeatedly building up the thickness of the candle.
I certainly couldn't hold up a candle to your enterprise though! 
I find candles interesting, but I'd imagine with a lot of people the topic would get on their wick.
25 Mar 2009, 1:38 pm
25 Mar 2009, 2:53 pm
You seem to be very into candles. I'm glad you found a way to make it a profession - that's really smart of you
! Is there anywhere online we can buy your candles?I have had the fragrance of Jasmine but need to find another. It was ok but I wanted it of a higher quality. I purchase the oils in 5lb+ quantities at a time to save on shipping per ounce unit and to benefit from quantity discounts. For ultra popular fragrances I attempt to go to the manufactures direct, which have offered free shipping because of the nature of the company and purchase 50lbs quantities at a time. For my Crème Brulee it is hard to find who made the fragrance and so I try to have them similarly produced but as of yet I am not entirely happy. I can save 30-40% by buying bulk 50lbs quantities at a time.
With regard to lavender I have found a few, but some of hints of woodsy in them which people do not like. Lavender, Vanilla and more complex like blueberry cheesecake are hard to find a good fragrance for that really combine the complex individual notes together in a competent fashion. Some fragrances I have made that combine top notch premium fragrances together to make Chocoholic and Peanut Butter Cup that I made myself by combining good finds in the fragrance supply orders I already have had.
As far as buying them online, I do not think this forum allows for solicitation but they are available online.
25 Mar 2009, 2:56 pm
I used a moulding technique and used the cardboard inner from kitchen foil as the mould, then taped some flax string at one end in the centre and poured in molten wax. It worked quite well but was a bit hit and miss because sometimes the tape would give way and the molten wax leak out. It was fun though.
The white (flax based?) packaging string used to work quite well as a wick.
Other experiments were based on several such wicks in a ceramic or terracotta pot. However, I discovered that if I put too many wicks in then the surface of the wax would catch fire!
Tea lights always tend to leave a tiny bit of unused wax at the bottom too, so I collect that. Takes ages though until I've enough wax from them to make a candle.
Maybe I'll have a go at the "dunking" method of making candles some time. Not sure of the proper name for it. The one where you dip the wick in the molten was repeatedly building up the thickness of the candle.
I certainly couldn't hold up a candle to your enterprise though!
I find candles interesting, but I'd imagine with a lot of people the topic would get on their wick.
I use hemp wicks and certified ingredients. As far as ceramics I have an idea for disability to work day groups to paint ceramics and I will fire them as artisan container candles. Recycling candle wax is an interesting idea as I also have tin container candles where the tins can be recycled while the containers heated to separate into separate larger containers for the reusable fragrance and wax mix for each fragrance mixture. The issue with recycling glass containers is a liability of the glass loosing integerty after even one usage previously and it breaking during a customers re-use. I called the pilot program candle recycling.
25 Mar 2009, 2:59 pm
25 Mar 2009, 3:16 pm
25 Mar 2009, 3:23 pm
25 Mar 2009, 6:34 pm
Nathan, I commend you on your candle-making company! It sounds like a wonderful employment opportunity for people with disabilities. 
Sandalwood is my favorite candle scent. My least favorite scent is pine; it made me feel physically ill a couple of Christmases ago.
25 Mar 2009, 6:43 pm
25 Mar 2009, 6:53 pm
25 Mar 2009, 10:18 pm
25 Mar 2009, 10:22 pm
25 Mar 2009, 10:29 pm
25 Mar 2009, 11:30 pm
