Carved Candles.

I’m telling my friend Keni about my carved candles, and eventually had to show him a picture of one just to give him a better idea of what the hell I was talking about. The first impression most people seem to think is…”Oh neat! Could you carve me a wolf?”

No.

Those are molded candles, for the most part. I’m sure there’s someone with the skills to go take a chunk of wax and go about carving the figure of whatever’s heart’s desire and all…but since most 3D related art and sculptures have never been my forte, I can guarantee that I will not be making such candles without the aid of a prefabricated mold. End of the discussion.




However…THIS…the image above…is what I’m talking about. Carved ribbon candles! This one up above in fact was carved by myself probably about a good six or so years ago. The white wax unfortunately has started to fade at the bottom, but time will do that to anything that involves dyed colors. BUT THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE.



Karper came over one time and took a look at one I had managed to have unpacked at the time, and instantly wanted to learn how to make it. He’s got a lot of energy about him, wanting to learn and teach…but it was good to see the enthusiasm in his eyes when I talked to him about the processes that go into making these candles. Even one of my managers was happy to hear that I have a plan…or a hope, or a dream to work towards. She says too many people don’t have them around here; that…or don’t express them so openly.



And I honestly wouldn’t mind teaching other people how to make them! It’s really a beautiful and relaxing craft to learn, and great for someone like me who wants to get things done quickly…as you don’t have much time to mess around with it to begin with! Back in the day I was the one teaching the roommate I used to work with at the time. The company I want to order my supplies from does things just a little differently from what I learned, but only to be conducive towards not using full length wicks, but instead using oil wicks…which in my opinion is a lot better because then you don’t have to worry about accidently burning or melting the design. I learned that as much as you can give people instructions on how to care for your candle when burning it, they never pay attention to what they’re doing.



BUT OH! When you do light them up! The way the colors glow! It’s the most enchanting thing! I swear, I could get lost just watching the flames flicker from deep down inside a well burned candle and just marvel at the way the colors light up. Truly a beautiful sight to see, but not so well captured on the camera…at least not by myself. And there’s so much more you can do with them! If the well inside is deep and wide enough, you can plop a smaller candle, like a tea-light or votive, inside and let it burn…even the scented ones! It becomes a candle holder! How many candles do that and still look just as pretty, huh?



Do you see what it is I’m saving my money up for? I heard there’s a shop in Hawaii that sells them, but there isn’t one in Savannah anymore! I left the shop I used to work for roughly 2-3 years before they closed down. That place had stayed open for…roughly over 20 years. And then…the original older sold it…to which it was given as a wedding gift by the bride’s father. Apparently the husband and wife who I used to work for used to work for the original owner. I was told it was thriving back in those days, before they were given ownership of it. And somehow, they ran it into the ground! How sad, right…but it was primarily because they never got anything shipped out on time. How do you expect to keep happy customers if you don’t get their order done in time, right? Plus…you don’t see these kinds of candles everywhere. Scented candles, you see them all over the place! But these? Hardly anywhere, right? I’ve searched online, and can’t find a place that carves a decent one. Always someone’s attempt at them, but nothing as well crafted as what I’ve seen and made.

I plan on starting out small. I won’t be able to open a shop right off from the start, but my sister’s been telling me that as a female making less than the average yearly income, I should be able to get some grants to help start a business up. But all the research I’ve done in the past has left me rather confused as to how to get it. Honestly. Something always made me hesitate in taking that step forward; probably all the legal mumbo-jumbo that’s written in such huge and complicated words that I can’t understand what it is that I’m reading. Why can’t lawyers and government officials use laymen terms?

I think I need to have a garage sale…get rid of the crap I’ve got stored away with absolutely no use for.