About Melissa's Candles
Why choose beeswax candles?
Why do I use only local beeswax?
A note on pure cotton wicks.
Fascinating Beeswax Facts
About:
Making • The Wax
Not so long ago, in the days before electricity, the darkness was illuminated by candlelight. At days end, our time was spent in the softly lit comfort of our homes, a quiet time when we conversed and read by the light of candles. Candles create a sense of peace, relaxation and warmth within our homes. Even today, for providing a quiet sanctuary from the electronic bustle of our day-to-day lives, there is truly nothing more serene than candlelight.
Written history indicates that candles were in use as far back as 3,000 B.C by the Egyptians, but it is the ancient Romans who are generally credited with coming up with the first wicked candles. Over the centuries there have been many formulas used for the making of candles, but among these beeswax still stands as the gold standard of natural, clean burning waxes. A great synopsis of candle history can be found here: http://www.candles.org/about_history.html.
I began Melissa’s Candles here in Northern New Mexico, with a commitment to creating a healthy, high quality, aesthetically beautiful product. As an artist and designer I have always loved making objects that create a nurturing home environment. I am diligent about using healthy ingredients in the production of my beeswax candles. I refuse to use anything that emits toxins into the air, which is why I use only the highest quality 100% pure beeswax from a local beekeeper and pure cotton wicks. (Back to top)
Making:
Tucked amongst the piñon trees and sagebrush of Northern New Mexico, my candle making studio shares five acres along with my home and household, which includes two dogs, three cats and two horses. The studio stands on a low rise beside a small creek, with views of the hollyhocks and lavender of the garden and the cottonwood trees that stand creekside.
The technology I use has changed little from the process that candle makers have used for thousands of years. Surrounded by the wonderful aroma of beeswax I am drawn into the sweet and meditative process of making candles. It is a happy environment. I make all of my candles by hand. My hand-dipped tapers are done the old-fashioned way; I dip the wick slowly into a vat of melted beeswax and then slowly pull it out, pausing to let the wax cool, then dip slowly again. This process takes anywhere from twenty to thirty repetitions to make my taper candle pairs.
My pillars, votive candles and tea lights are each individually hand-poured. In order that your candles will burn perfectly, every new batch of beeswax is tested to be sure the wick/wax combination for each type of candle is just right. Beeswax can vary in many ways from batch to batch and this affects how the candles will burn and what size wick needs to be used. It's a long and enjoyable process, both as an art form, and as a science. It is my hope that you will get as much enjoyment from burning my candles as I do from making them. (Back to top)
The wax:
The pure beeswax I use comes from beekeepers here in New Mexico and Southern Colorado. I believe in supporting local businesses like my own, and appreciate all of the hard work and care that these beekeepers lavish on their hives. (Back to top)
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Why choose beeswax candles?
I have always loved candles and used them in my home. I believe in using materials that are healthy for us and our environment. So why use Beeswax? The answer is simple: Beeswax is the only candle wax that is not made of toxic chemicals or petroleum/animal byproducts, or requires the use of intensive chemical processing for it's creation. Paraffin is a byproduct of petroleum, often mixed with stearic acid which is most frequently made from processed animals fats. Gel candles are a mixture of mineral oil (liquid paraffin) and polymer resins which are basically liquid plastics. Vegetable based candles require the use of intensive hydrogenation in order to solidify the vegetable oils used, and unless the vegetables are grown organically, can also contain traces of the pesticides and fertilizers used for growing. Additionally, most dyes and fragrances added to candles, even if considered non-toxic in their natural state, emit undesirable toxins into the air when burned. When lit, a pure beeswax candle, far from adding pollutants your home environment, will actually work to purify the air. Lasting three times longer than paraffin candles, beeswax candles are also a great value. (Back to top)
Why local beeswax?
My concern for the home environment extends to our environment at large. To go along with my desire to use a natural and sustainable resource like pure beeswax, I also sought local resources in order to minimize the environmental impact of fuels used for transport.
Local is also important to me because I can be assured of the origin and therefore quality and purity of the beeswax. (Back to top)
A note on pure cotton wicks::
The selection of wick and wick size is what will make or break a candle. All candle makers have to test and retest to make sure their wick/wax combinations are just right because if you get that part wrong the candle either won't burn at all or won't burn well. Many candles are made using metal or paper cored wicks, materials that when burned release undesirable toxins into the air. I use only pure cotton wicks that have been treated with what basically amounts to a salt water solution, and which are made right here in America. (Back to top)
Fascinating Beeswax Facts:
Did you know that beeswax candles last about three times as long as paraffin candles? They are a great value as well as being beneficial to indoor air quality.
It has been estimated that bees would have to fly about 155,000 miles (about six times around the world!) to create only one pound of beeswax. One 3 x 9 inch pillar candles weighs approximately 2 pounds - that's nearly 12 times around the world in bee flight.
Young female worker bees produce wax "scales" that average about .12 inches across and .0039 inches thick (about the size of a pin head), and it takes approximately 1100 of these to produce only one gram of wax.
For the average domestic beekeeper, 10 pounds of honey will be yielded for every one pound of beeswax.
Beeswax can vary in color from off-white to yellow and even brown. The color of the wax depends on the types and colors of the pollens the bees have collected.
Honey Bees use wax to create the honeycomb cells, and it is in these cells that the young bees are raised and the pollen and honey are stored.
If you have ever wondered what the "frosted" looking surface is that will develop over time on your beeswax candles, it is called "bloom". Nothing to worry about - it is the signature mark of pure, quality beeswax (and is quite different from the processes used to artificially create that frosted look on other types of non-beeswax candles). If the bloom does not appeal to you, you can lightly rub the candle with a soft cloth (lady's nylons work really well for this). Alternately, you can use a hair dryer set on warm and carefully warm the outside of the candle (the bloom will disappear).
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