Candles and why we should throw out convention

Candles and why we should throw out convention

These days we are all under pressure to be save energy. Whether its further insulation on the house or screwing in those energy efficient light bulbs, we constantly hear reminders that we need to be more wary. It is those energy efficient light bulbs that I don't like. The light they project is cold and harsh and they just don't hit the spot. How about going back to the old school and light up a few of those soft light candles instead?

Candle fact: the word candle comes from the Latin "candere" meaning to shine or glow.

We all know that many years ago candles and variations thereof were the only practical way you could avoid tripping over yourself at night. However, since then, candles have become less of an essential item and more of a decorative joy. Instead of candles being in every corner in the house, we now commonly have candles in the bath room (for those long and relaxing hot baths), the dining room (to create the right atmosphere for your dinner party) or in the sitting room (to create that all important relaxing atmosphere). It is interesting that when we seek to enhance an atmosphere we resort back to the most basic of lighting arrangements.

Candle fact: according to the Guinness World Records, in 2007 the record for the largest collection of candles belonged to a German individual with 1,820 different candles.

Having trawled through the web, it seems that scented candles are one of the most popular styles out there. This is all quite understandable as you would like to have the benefit of some sweet and attractive smells as well as the soft light that candles produce. One thing that struck me was that the designs of these scented candles tended to be quite conventional. It was common to see that scented candles were cylindrical in design and housed within a tin or ceramic pot. While it is a good thing to have a candle mounted in a stable holder, it is a shame that a versatile material such as wax should be so constrained. I think that part of the beauty of candles are the design and an attractive candle should be shown off at all times. In that way, not only are you enjoying the soft light but you are also enjoying the design acting as the source of that light.

Candles come in as many designs as it would be possible to fit into this page. From the classic and elegant tapered candle sitting proudly at your dinner party to the most exotic of floating candles, it is important to show off the beauty of the design. Handmade candles may attract a premium compared to machine manufactured units but, for a few extra pennies, handmade candles can more than pay for themselves in terms of the satisfaction they deliver to you. Instead of a conventional cylinder, how about impressing you guests with a hand sculpted work of art put together with a skilled pair of hands? It is bound the get the conversation going at any party if you can show off your great taste in candles.

The author runs www.waxwonderful.com and seeks out exotic and unusual candles for you to enjoy.

Day 2 - Things are maybe taking shape

Well it is day two of waxwonderful.com and I have had a fair bit of traffic to the site. The main challenge is to get high up on Google. I think this will be difficult and will need a lot of work. Still, I am willing to give it a good try. Have had a couple of orders too so that is a good start.

I have had lots of good feedback on the site so far and lots of nice words on the candles we have.

First Blog - Candles

It has been a lot of funning putting my site together. I'm not an expert on html so have adopted some software called Mr Site to simplify matters. It works pretty well although there are one or two features I would like it to do better.

Anyway enough of the technicals. My interest is candles. When I was younger I went through s stage of making candles at home. My basic process (and this is very basic) was to find an interesting mold (my favourite was a Buda) and then heat up a fair quantity of wax pellets. Next was to add some stearine (makes the candle set harder) and dye and let it all melt down.

After that, it was time to thread the wick through the end of the mould, invert the mould and place it in a holder. Next wax was poured in and it was left to start cooling. I needed to add wax every now and again as the liquid was contracted while cooling. After a few hours a fantastic candle appeared out of the mould.

So interests nowadays are selling candles rather than making them. The more unusual the better.