July 2023 marked the 22nd Anniversary of my first year of making candles!
It's true! On July 15, 2001, I made my very first votive on my farm. I was making purely for myself because when one lives on a farm, there are certain farm smells that one wishes to distance themselves from. I loved my horses but they do tend to take over in the scent department. It didn't take me long to go from a plain and ordinary candle to creating colors and designs with techniques that I learnt either through trial and error or through early tutorials on the internet. And from the amazing techniques that I could do with paraffin wax, it was shortly after the above photo that soy wax became my focus as paraffin fell out of style. However, it is not lost on me that I now sell a candle that smells like a Horse Barn so sometimes we do come around full circle.
To this day of my candle making journey I am looking towards creating designs that sing and catch the eye like those very early designs. It will be that fine dance between creating something in a container candle (which 80% of the population use) that has the visual wow that my first pillar candles that I sold. The vibrancy of those designs still stir my soul. That is my goal. I'm working on it. I have learnt how to use so many new pieces of equipment over the past 3 years that I have an entirely new skill set to draw upon and see what I can create. I look forward to sharing some of those results with you soon. Stay tuned!
As we say goodbye to July, I wish you a wonderful week ahead as we bounce into those wonderful August days. It truly is one of the best months! Cool at night, sunny but not too warm during the day. Hints of Fall are in the air while still hanging onto beachy vibes.
Until next week friends! Sending lots of love,
Lana