Here, you’ll learn more about the ways that you can benefit from candle making and how it can enhance your life. Regardless of your overall goals, learning candle making can be a valuable and impressive skill to learn.
What is Candle Making?
Candle making is the art of encasing a wick in a flammable wax. The techniques for candle making are simple enough that cultures around the world have been making candles for thousands of years. The most primitive candles date back to at least 3,000 BCE, when the ancient Egyptians produced “rushlight” candles by soaking a dried reed in melted animal fat. Ancient Romans are credited with producing the first dipped candles as early as 500 BCE, dipping a wick of rolled papyrus in melted tallow, and the Chinese of the 200 BCE Qin Dynasty made similar candles out of whale fat. The greatest changes came in the middle of the 19th century, when candle making shifted from a household chore done by hand to an industrialized process. In 1834, the first candle making machine mechanized the process and allowed for the mass production of candles at a rapid pace, and in 1850 the discovery of paraffin wax introduced a cheap alternative to animal-based and plant-based waxes.
Industrial Revolution aside, the techniques for making candles by hand have not changed much over the history of candle making, which means that it is typically quite easy to pick up the tools and techniques today with minimal difficulties. All candles are made from the same essential components, namely a wick, which is a cord of woven fibers, and wax, typically either beeswax, a plant-based wax like soy wax or coconut wax, or petroleum-based paraffin wax. The most common candles include rolled candles, whereby a wick is rolled up in a thin sheet of wax (usually beeswax), dipped candles whereby a wick is repeatedly dipped into a large container of melted wax and allowed to cool, and poured candles whereby the wick is suspended in the center of a container or mold and melted wax is poured into the container around it.
Benefits of Learning Candle Making?
For a DIY hobby that can provide both a sense of personal satisfaction and some much-needed peace of mind, look no further than candle making. While any craft or hobby is sure to serve as an outlet for creative expression and personal fulfillment, candle making is particularly well-suited to maintaining a positive mental state through leisure activities. Candle making is a relaxing hobby that can be pursued in a leisurely manner, making it a good way to reduce stress in your down time. Moreover, candles lend themselves to usage in other activities that help further promote relaxation. Candles naturally add ambiance to a room, making them a great way to set up a space for mindful meditation or establish a soothing atmosphere to enhance a relaxing bath. The ambiance of a candle can be further supplemented by adding soothing fragrances like lavender, which are shown to promote relaxation and help lower anxiety.
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In addition to the personal benefits that candle making offers, engaging with a craft like candle making allows for quite a few natural outlets for sharing your passion with friends or family and for forging new bonds with a community of like minded hobbyists. Candle making is a great way to craft personalized handmade gifts to share with family and friends. Local art fairs are a great place to find like minded candle makers willing to talk about the craft, and there are online blogs and forums like Reddit where candlemakers across the world share projects and techniques. If you’re looking for a side hustle for some supplemental income, you could even start an artisanal candle making business selling candles at local craft fairs or in local boutiques.
Stress Relief
Candles are often used as a tool to reduce stress and promote relaxation. Much researchhas been conducted on the impact that scents can have upon mood, and candles are shown to encourage relaxation and a more meditative mindset. Scented candles with soothing natural fragrances like lavender, chamomile, or eucalyptus can greatly enhance a meditation session or lend a natural soothing ambiance to a relaxing space.
At Atelier Artisane, founder Melaine Rousselet is particularly aware of the effects of fragrances on mood and health, and she channels her personal experience into all-natural candles that evoke the ambiance of her native Provence. New York residents who find themselves in Queens might learn more about the links between scents and health in the Natural Scented Candle Making class, a 90-minute workshop that emphasizes the purpose of natural ingredients while making two different types of cozy candles: a scented soy or coconut wax candle, and a lotion candle whose melted wax can be used as a skin moisturizer.
A Fun Hobby
Though some might be interested in the business opportunities opened by candle making, not everybody is invested in such high-stakes for a hobby. Many are instead drawn to candle making as an outlet for community building, or just enjoying themselves among like-minded individuals.
Many classes choose to emphasize the more fun, communal aspect of candle making. In Chicago, Color Cocktail Factory takes this approach through a BYOB Organic Candle Making class that teaches the techniques for making candles in a fun, non-formal environment. This sort of class is perfect for those looking to use the hobby itself, rather than just the products, as a chance to de-stress and to share hand-made candles as gifts instead of as products sold for profit.
Business Opportunities
In recent years, consumer interest in a “back-to-basics” ethos has resulted, as shown in the New York Times, in a hugely popular market for artisanal endeavors like candle making and soap making. Because of the low barrier to entry and low startup costs, candle making is a popular option for getting started in the bath and beauty industry.
At the forefront of this artisanal movement is Marla Bosworth, the founder of Back Porch Soap Company featured in the aforementioned New York Times article, who shares her business acumen and her techniques through classes in Manhattan. While all of the candle making courses on CourseHorse cover the basics of how to make a candle, the classes from Back Porch Soap company tend to include additional advice for developing a line of candles intended for sale. The Candle Making Class in NYC, for instance, includes access to an online class that goes into depth on such entrepreneurial topics as labeling, pricing and insurance, and testing of a candle line. Back Porch also offers an intensive Organic Skincare, Soap, and Candle Making Diploma Course designed for entrepreneurs looking to build a business in the bath and beauty industry.
How to Start Learning Candle Making
If any of those benefits of candle making sound appealing, it is incredibly easy to start learning how to make candles in a class. Any class will provide you access to an expert chandler who can demonstrate techniques in real time and who can answer any specific questions that may arise during the process. That said, the most accessible options are online classes, which allow you to tap into candle making communities from the comfort of your own home, regardless of the resources available in your local community.
No matter where you live, you can find quality online candle making classes like the Organic Soy Wax Candle Workshop offered by Coastal Design Workshops, which will teach you everything you need to know to start making poured candles at home. Usually, when taking an online class, you will need to track down and purchase your own supplies, but as part of this particular class, Coastal Design Workshops will send a DIY craft kit to your address with all of the necessary supplies, including organic soy wax, a wick, and glass jar to hold your poured candle.
While an online course is a great resource available to anybody, consider browsing the local listings for candle making classes to see if there are options available in your local community. An in-person class is a great way to get hands-on with an expert chandler, and to start bonding with a community of other like-minded aspiring candle makers.
While local communities exist across the United States, major cities, and especially those with strong arts programs, often provide the most ready access to excellent expert chandlers willing to share their knowledge in-person.
In Chicago, for instance, Color Cocktail Factory conducts a Candle Making class at their art studio in the Pilsen neighborhood, an area that serves as a major hub for artists and creatives in the city. While the professional artists at Color Cocktail Factory all hold MFA degrees from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, their goal is to make the knowledge they've gained through intense schooling accessible to everyone. Their candle making class is a way for anyone to start getting artsy in a fun, non-formal environment. The class provides everything you need to make two candles in the studio, as well as the knowledge to continue making candles at home using different materials, colors, scents, and layering techniques.
Houston residents might look to Rice Village, just outside the campus of Rice University, to find expert instructors at organizations like Love & Make, a studio that offers outside-of-the-box workshops for bonding with friends, colleagues, and like minded individuals. The first event that Love & Make offered was a candle making class, and they continue providing this popular option through their DIY Candle or Reed Diffuser class. Spend a lovely weekday afternoon with this 45-minute workshop that teaches all the basics of candle making. Participants have the opportunity to customize their own eight-ounce candle or four-ounce reed diffuser, with options to personalize their creation by creating a custom fragrance blend.
Those interested in the idea of integrating into a local community of candle makers will be pleased to hear that the West Coast is home to many great resources for community-centric learning. Whether you’re a native of the greater Los Angeles area or have chased a crush to West Covina, look to Walnut, California where Mt. San Antonio College, a community college dedicated to community enrichment, offers a program of life-skills and activity courses that are open to members of the community rather than just students. Part of this program, Candle Making for Beginners is a dynamic workshop that offers the opportunity to make multiple candles in the classroom and pick up all the knowledge to continue making them at home, including a crash course on types of candles, candle molds, materials, and even how to source supplies.
Key Takeaways
- Candle making, the art of encasing a wick in wax, is a hands-on craft that involves learning techniques developed thousands of years ago.
- Candle making can be a great hobby for anybody looking for a creative outlet to reduce stress.
- Entrepreneurs can use candle making skills to help tap into the growing demand for artisanal enterprises in the bath and beauty industry.
- Classes are the best way to start learning how to make your own candles. CourseHorse can help you find the best classes in your area, and can even organize options for private group sessions.