Winter 2005 Honey Candle Newsletter

We have so many new items to add to our candle shop that we are going to introduce half of them in this newsletter and the rest in our Early Spring Issue.

During the process of making these new candles, we test burn every one to match the best size wick to the candle. We end up having about a dozen different candles burning in our kitchen at the same time. Here are a few notes on wicks.

Trim the wicks frequently. Square braid cotton wicks used for beeswax create a "flower" on the tops and sometimes they burn better with it trimmed off. Many times I trim the wick with a scissors when it is still burning.
When relighting the candles the next day, occasionally the wicks become too short and are hard to light. A small cavity can be scraped out around the wick to help get it started properly.
Pillars normally burn close to the edge of the candle but sometimes may overflow. Always make sure they are in a proper container to catch wax.
Some pillars will burn for long periods (4 hrs or more) without attention, but most will need a more constant watch. The wicks of pillars are matched to allow the flame to create a pool of wax very close to the edge. If they get too warm (more than a few hours) they may leak over the side. Keep an eye on them and put them out if they get too warm. We usually "test burn" our candles for a much longer period of time (6+ hrs or more) just to see what happens.
Never leave lit candles un-attended.
Many pillars need to be "hugged" after a period of time. If the wick is burning straight down, sometimes the sides need to be slowly curved in with gently finger pressure to allow all of the wax to feed the wick.
Sometimes the burning wicks seem to lay to one side and make that side of the pillar too soft. Ideally the wick should be straight verticle and make a circular pool of wax in the center. Just gently push the wick upright or to the other side.
Sometimes with the more decorative candles it is extremely difficult to match the wick to the candle. Since the size of them varies so much they are better used as a decoration than to burn.

Some of these notes are probably pretty obvious but I thought I would mention them anyway.