Carved Candles – Learning an Artful Skill
Candles are common in today’s world. We may use candles to get rid of odors in our home or maybe to add some romance at an evening dinner. Most of us forget that our ancestors or maybe even our grandparents used candles for lights in their homes at night. It is believed that the early Egyptians used candles (torches) made by soaking weeds into tallow that was made from cow or sheep suet. There were even fish caught in the Pacific ocean (candlefish) that were actually threaded with a wick and burned as candles. During the middle ages honey bees were discovered to be a great source of beeswax. The beeswax candles burned pure and clean and this is still true today.
Candle carving can be fun. It is a hobby for many people. I know of a couple that enjoyed making pumpkin candles for the kids. In fact they enjoyed it so much that they decided to invest in wax and supplies and made a bunch for Christmas. They actually sold quite a few and the profit inspired them to do even more candle carving. Now it is a steady part time business for them.
Candle sales last year in the United States alone was two billion dollars. A carved candle business can be done from your home, such as a basement or garage. It can be messy making carved candles. You should have a dedicated work space. One can start up by purchasing about $200.00 worth of materials; such as paraffin, beeswax, dyes, a vat (could be galvanized sheet metal pan), molds and carving tools. Tips, ideas, the candle making process and videos on how to carve candles are readily available on the internet. You could also pick up books on candle making at the library. Books on the subject of candle carving are available online (Abebooks.com). It is quite likely you could purchase used books on the subject of candle carving for one or two dollars plus shipping.
When a person is determined to be successful at candle carving there is no doubt it will be a success. As in many forms of advertising word of mouth is an ideal form of getting the word out. Some will want to sell candles at fairs, bazaars, the Saturday market is an excellent choice or maybe to gift shop owners. You will quickly learn that there is more to a candle than the flame. The art of candle carving can be an enjoyable, and a pleasant way to spend some time.