My extreme fondness for candles and a chance conversation with my sister-in-law led me into candle making. Little did I know that one day I would stop working nine to five and take up something of my own. As I sat down to write about my journey, I realized it has been three years since I started making candles.
f-l-a-s-h-b-a-c-k
So, it was late in the night and after a lot of coaxing the sister-in-law decided to give me a quick rundown on how candles were made. Out came the moulds and the wax, left over from her candle making class. The kitchen counter got covered with sheets of newspaper in no time and thus started our candle project! She heated the wax, poured it into the moulds and waited for it to cool down. All this while, I simply watched, not sure if I would like to do it myself especially considering the mess I would have to deal with. With wax in the moulds, we called it a night. We woke up the next day with palpable excitement but behold – our nocturnal project had failed! Out of the three candles we had poured, two decided to have a mind of their own and refused to come out of the moulds. The one that popped out looked rather worse for wear. We mocked our slapdash candle-making project and concluded it then and there. The paraphernalia and precision the art needed surely got better of me at that moment!
I went to Hyderabad the following week and to my surprise I picked up 1 kg of wax and a box of wax crayons. I decided to give it a shot to see if I would succeed. I had completely forgotten to buy a mould, which was a key element in the required list other than wax. I decided to use a round cardboard cookie box that I had preserved because it looked too pretty to throw away (Yes, I am a big time hoarder of all things that can be re-used for DIY projects! This habit of mine is starting to create some storage problems as well as child like fights with the mister.). I strung a thread through its center and poured the melted wax.
I waited for a couple of hours, and very impatiently I decided to check if my candle was ready. I had no clue about the technicalities of cooling a candle or even for that matter if it was poured correctly. I poured the wax into the cookie box as if I was watering a plant, and most certainly at a wrong pouring temperature! To my surprise, I got somewhat lucky and the candle popped out of the cookie box. It looked crude, extremely dull with bumpy edges, and had air pockets all around its surface. OK, let me be upfront - it was ugly! It was nowhere close to a candle I had envisioned in my head. But yes, that was my very first sloppy candle. I was overwhelmed and dancing with joy. I instantly shared a picture with my family and the excitement was on a high.
I never imagined that my curiosity would someday translate into a passion, filling up most of the space in my kitchen and my wardrobe with eclectic candles. It did not stop there, what followed were numerous trips to the market to get more wax and long hours of experimentation! Unbeknown to me, a serious hobby was born.
To be continued…
f-l-a-s-h-b-a-c-k
So, it was late in the night and after a lot of coaxing the sister-in-law decided to give me a quick rundown on how candles were made. Out came the moulds and the wax, left over from her candle making class. The kitchen counter got covered with sheets of newspaper in no time and thus started our candle project! She heated the wax, poured it into the moulds and waited for it to cool down. All this while, I simply watched, not sure if I would like to do it myself especially considering the mess I would have to deal with. With wax in the moulds, we called it a night. We woke up the next day with palpable excitement but behold – our nocturnal project had failed! Out of the three candles we had poured, two decided to have a mind of their own and refused to come out of the moulds. The one that popped out looked rather worse for wear. We mocked our slapdash candle-making project and concluded it then and there. The paraphernalia and precision the art needed surely got better of me at that moment!
I went to Hyderabad the following week and to my surprise I picked up 1 kg of wax and a box of wax crayons. I decided to give it a shot to see if I would succeed. I had completely forgotten to buy a mould, which was a key element in the required list other than wax. I decided to use a round cardboard cookie box that I had preserved because it looked too pretty to throw away (Yes, I am a big time hoarder of all things that can be re-used for DIY projects! This habit of mine is starting to create some storage problems as well as child like fights with the mister.). I strung a thread through its center and poured the melted wax.
I waited for a couple of hours, and very impatiently I decided to check if my candle was ready. I had no clue about the technicalities of cooling a candle or even for that matter if it was poured correctly. I poured the wax into the cookie box as if I was watering a plant, and most certainly at a wrong pouring temperature! To my surprise, I got somewhat lucky and the candle popped out of the cookie box. It looked crude, extremely dull with bumpy edges, and had air pockets all around its surface. OK, let me be upfront - it was ugly! It was nowhere close to a candle I had envisioned in my head. But yes, that was my very first sloppy candle. I was overwhelmed and dancing with joy. I instantly shared a picture with my family and the excitement was on a high.
I never imagined that my curiosity would someday translate into a passion, filling up most of the space in my kitchen and my wardrobe with eclectic candles. It did not stop there, what followed were numerous trips to the market to get more wax and long hours of experimentation! Unbeknown to me, a serious hobby was born.
To be continued…