Candle Confessions: Top 5 Hardest Aspects of Candle Making

Top 5 Hardest Aspects of Candle Making

1. WICK TESTING: This is by far the hardest part of candle making! Ask any candle maker and more than likely this will be the one thing they wish would be easier. There are hundreds of wick types and sizes out on the market, and each wick type has various sizes of their style of wick. Here at StoneHouse Candles LLC we use CDN, LX, and sometimes ECO wicks depending on what jar and what fragrance oil we choose.  The oil and the wick are truly essential to keep the light going in the vessel. It truly is a science! 

CANDLE CONFESSION: I think the amount of wicks available was one of the most intimidating aspects of starting a candle business. Also most of the suggestions from the various suppliers usually are only good for a starting point to start your testing, and rarely in my experience are they the correct wick choice.

2. WAX CHOICE: This is also a very hard aspect of candle making because there are several beautiful waxes out on the market and narrowing it down to one blend can be very time consuming. Once you settle on a wax blend that suits your business or personal desires then you are truly ready to make the most beautiful unique candles of your choice. StoneHouse Candles LLC offers a beautiful luxurious clean burning authentic Ceda-Serica Coconut Apricot Wax. We use two different suppliers Porter Candle Supply and Maryland Wax Company. It is always a good idea to have more than one supplier for all your supplies just in case it is not available at one place you have an option to get it somewhere else. The wax is the main ingredient and very essential for your candle making success.

CANDLE CONFESSION: I really really really love the candle wax we are using for our candle line now! We are also testing out a new pure beeswax option for an upcoming line for 2024.

3. VESSEL CHOICE: There are so many beautiful candle vessels/jars out there on the market, and even handcrafted options like our Signature StoneHouse Jars. This has been a labor of love for me personally since I love a variety of vessels, and really did not want to settle on just one vessel for our product lines. Most candle makers will choose one vessel because it takes a long time to wick each jar with each fragrance choice. So when you use several types of vessels that means you have to test each fragrance in each jar separately, and that can take several extra weeks to perfect. 

CANDLE CONFESSION: One mistake I have made in designing our candle line is choosing too many vessels all at one time instead of introducing new vessels over time. Most candle lines have 1-2 types of vessels which makes it easier to wick. Our candle line includes over 7 types of vessels!

4. FRAGRANCE CHOICE: If you are anything like me then you will understand how hard it is to narrow down the fragrance choices to around 8-10 scent selections especially for a new business. I find myself like a child in the candy store when it comes to trying out new fragrance oils! Also if you are making candles just for yourself it can be easier, but when you are choosing a candle line-up you have to think about what other people may enjoy not just your personal preferences.

It is very important to offer a wide range of fragrances to suit the preference of a larger number of customers. A good rule of thumb would be to offer 2 fruity scents, 2 masculine scents, 2 feminine scents, 2 woodsy scents, & 2 spa scents. 

CANDLE CONFESSIONS: Here at StoneHouse Candles LLC we strive to create candles with the cleanest ingredients possible, and work hard to make sure we don't compromise on the quality of our fragrance oil choices. Therefore we may not offer as many scent choices since our standards are very high. Our fragrance oils are phthalate & carcinogen-free, paraben-free, & skin-safe.

5. KNOWING WHEN A FRAGRANCE IS JUST NOT GOING TO WORK: This can be very frustrating as you may put in hours of testing on a particular fragrance, and it just won't work in the vessel you are using. You may have tried several types of wicks, and even changed the amount of fragrance oil you used. In some cases you may have even used various vessels, and still the fragrance is not doing well. It is really important to know what your limit is in testing a new fragrance. Setting limits on this aspect can help you avoid countless hours of frustration and burn-out. I like to set the limit of 4-6 months being a limit for me if I can't wick that fragrance in that time frame then it is not worth it for me. 

CANDLE CONFESSIONS: I really don't like to fail at any scent choice, so it is actually very hard for me to stop trying to wick a particular scent especially if I really like the scent! :)