Thursday, January 24, 2008
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Candles
So today is Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Day! Poured Oatmeal Raisin Cookie tarts, candles, a pillar, I probably smell like Oatmeal Raisin Cookie myself! But what a wonderful fragrance. A nice bakery base of cookie, rich with hints of cinnamon, with that uplifting topnote of sweet raisin that plays peek a boo in the air, just like when the cookies come fresh from the oven. And considering it was -12 this morning, with a wind chill of -40, what a great day to "bake" cookies. And not fattening like the real thing.
Monday, January 21, 2008
What Makes A Good Candle?
So, what makes a good candle? I hear this question a lot, actually. Mostly from people that buy their candles from Dollar Tree or WalMart. There really is no one good answer to this question. But here goes....The simple version...
A good candle starts with a clean wax, (wax of any kind), a good wick (no lead), and a heat proof container. Add a good quality fragrance oil that is pure and undiluted, and you are well on your way. Then the trick becomes, do all of your parts work together? That is the basis of a good candle. If your parts don't match up and work together, each part may be of excellent quality, but the marriage is bad.
What do I mean by this? For instance, take the best wick, and the best oils, and blend them in a cheap, dirty wax, and your candle will smoke and won't smell very good. BUT, blend a terrific oil, with a clean quality wax, and a lead-free wick that is perfectly sized for the oil, wax, and container, and you have a beautiful candle that burns slow, completely, and throws a scent throughout the area. The tricky part is putting all the parts together. This is where skill and patience come in. Often new candlemakers on the market tend to avoid testing each and every scent. After all, those 869 fragrances are all so tempting that we just have to try them all! They'll all work, right? Wrong. To make the best possible candle, each component must be tested with each component. That's what we do here, at Bushel Basket Candle Co. The clean quality wax must be matched up perfectly with that terrific new fragrance oil, and the wick must be the exactly correct size, or it doesn't make it on our shelves or in our catalog.
We'd love to know what your favorite fragrance is! Mine varies with what I'm pouring that day. Today it was Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Oh my gosh! The rich oatmeal with the raisins and brown sugar just seeps into the air and smells incredible! But tomorrow, I will have a new favorite, or a new best seller that drives me crazy.
A good candle starts with a clean wax, (wax of any kind), a good wick (no lead), and a heat proof container. Add a good quality fragrance oil that is pure and undiluted, and you are well on your way. Then the trick becomes, do all of your parts work together? That is the basis of a good candle. If your parts don't match up and work together, each part may be of excellent quality, but the marriage is bad.
What do I mean by this? For instance, take the best wick, and the best oils, and blend them in a cheap, dirty wax, and your candle will smoke and won't smell very good. BUT, blend a terrific oil, with a clean quality wax, and a lead-free wick that is perfectly sized for the oil, wax, and container, and you have a beautiful candle that burns slow, completely, and throws a scent throughout the area. The tricky part is putting all the parts together. This is where skill and patience come in. Often new candlemakers on the market tend to avoid testing each and every scent. After all, those 869 fragrances are all so tempting that we just have to try them all! They'll all work, right? Wrong. To make the best possible candle, each component must be tested with each component. That's what we do here, at Bushel Basket Candle Co. The clean quality wax must be matched up perfectly with that terrific new fragrance oil, and the wick must be the exactly correct size, or it doesn't make it on our shelves or in our catalog.
We'd love to know what your favorite fragrance is! Mine varies with what I'm pouring that day. Today it was Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Oh my gosh! The rich oatmeal with the raisins and brown sugar just seeps into the air and smells incredible! But tomorrow, I will have a new favorite, or a new best seller that drives me crazy.
Only The Beginning
So here goes. I'm told a Blog is the way to go, and should be fun. So we'll soon find out. The trouble is, I think I don't have anything to write, but then before I know it, I'm rambling on for hours. So there's a couple things I'd like to do with this blog. First, I want to get to know what people really think about candles? What are their favorites, the fragrances they can't live without, and their favorite way to use candles. And second, as a working Mom building a business, I look forward to connecting with other working Moms in the same position. As you all know, it can be the most challenging, most rewarding, and most frustrating thing on the planet. Oh yeah, and raising kids can be that, too. lol
So, what's new with candles? We have finally finished our Wholesale website, and look forward to it being used A LOT! http://www.bbcandlewholesale.com. We've also finished our Fundraiser Website, which is incredibly exciting! We've so enjoyed helping our local groups raise money, and they have done so well! Now it's time to branch out. SO, we've taken the first step and started advertising with PTO Today, and have our Fundraiser website finished as well. And THAT is exciting. And fun new products are being added to the Retail website every day. We are really focusing on a grass roots kind of thing this year. Meaning getting back to the way of doing things that brought us this far . We will be focusing this year on more unique container candles, and being creative. Still offering accessories, but looking for just the right accessory to add great value to the yummy candles we love to create.
So, it's getting late, and the kids think I should feed them. More later.
So, what's new with candles? We have finally finished our Wholesale website, and look forward to it being used A LOT! http://www.bbcandlewholesale.com. We've also finished our Fundraiser Website, which is incredibly exciting! We've so enjoyed helping our local groups raise money, and they have done so well! Now it's time to branch out. SO, we've taken the first step and started advertising with PTO Today, and have our Fundraiser website finished as well. And THAT is exciting. And fun new products are being added to the Retail website every day. We are really focusing on a grass roots kind of thing this year. Meaning getting back to the way of doing things that brought us this far . We will be focusing this year on more unique container candles, and being creative. Still offering accessories, but looking for just the right accessory to add great value to the yummy candles we love to create.
So, it's getting late, and the kids think I should feed them. More later.
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