My friend makes candles ...

My friend makes candles - not as you or I might make them, in the kitchen, as a craft or hobby, but professionally.  Whenever we meet up she is always besprinkled with glitter.  Her face, hands, hair, clothes - you name it, it's glittery.

She invited me down to her lair some time ago, and the other day I finally got down to see her workshop, having dressed in old clothing just to be on the safe side.

Behind the striking red door, reminiscent of a fire station, lies a muddle of machinery, wax, paper and other paraphenalia.

The wax is melted in this vat, about two feet in diameter and waist height.  Quite a lot of wax!

Melted wax is poured into moulds of various shapes and sizes and allowed to set.

No, not a modern sculpture - this is a pile of wax encrusted pencils used to secure the wicks in the moulds - just like you would if you were making candles in your kitchen!

you can see the rough edges on these floating candles - and here's the high tech tool used to make them smooth enough to sell ...

Yep - a craft knife just like you'd use at home!  You can see where the glitter comes from, can't you?  I arrived back home glinting in a subtle fashion, very glad I'd worn old clothes:)


She's a clever lady, and I had no idea how hands on it was.  I had imagined machines doing all the work, not an upscaled version of when I'd made candles from a craft kit years ago.  Fascinating.