From Britain with Love

It was with a great sense of excitement that I headed across London for an evening at The Make Lounge as I’d always been keen to try out candlemaking. Handmade candles make wonderful gifts and you can experiment with a variety of fragrance combinations as well as different types of containers, from teacups and old glasses to plant pots and vintage tins.

On arrival, my fellow candlemakers and I were led into a bright studio and offered a chilled glass of wine before we got started. Mags, our tutor for the evening, began by reassuring us that making handmade candles is one of the easiest crafts there is, and you don’t need any specialist equipment as most of the tools can be found in your own kitchen.

Mags explained that we’d be using soya wax which is a natural vegetable-based wax, rather than paraffin wax, a petrochemical often used in mass-produced candles. She scooped several handfuls of soya wax flakes into the top pan of a double-boiler filled with water, explaining that wax is flammable and shouldn't be melted over direct heat.

While we waited for the wax to melt, we played an ice-breaker game around the table using cards explaining characteristics of the different essential oils that we would be using to fragrance our candles. Each person described their oil's characteristics while the others guessed what it was, and we all had a chance to smell the different oils. Cue much sniffing, comparing & scribbling of ‘fragrance notes’!

Then it was time to choose our vintage teacups from the selection of different shapes and sizes provided. I decided on a small cup with a delicate green floral pattern that would look good in my kitchen.

Soon the opaque white wax flakes had melted down to form a clear pale yellow coloured liquid in the pan. Once it had cooled slightly, Mags decanted a little of the melted wax into small plastic jugs for each of us, so that we could add our combinations of fragranced oils.

There was a great selection of oils available, from floral scents such as lavender, rose and geranium, to fresh citrus notes of lemon, lime and grapefruit, and the heady aromas of vanilla, cinnamon, clove and black pepper.

Having sampled all of the essential oils, there was much deliberation amongst the group as to which fragrance combination we would each choose for our candles. I took inspiration from the floral pattern on my tea cup which resembled mint leaves, and decided on a refreshing and invigorating blend of Peppermint & Clary Sage for my kitchen candle. I carefully added 3ml of each essential oil using a pipette, and gently blended the oils into the liquid wax.

Next we were each given a pre-tabbed cotton wick and a glue dot, which we used to stick the metal base of the wick to the bottom of the teacup. A bamboo stick was then used to wind the remaining length of wick around until it was in an upright position in the cup, and the stick could rest on the edge of the teacup to keep the wick centred.

Holding the bamboo stick in place so that the wick didn’t move, we poured our melted wax gently into our teacups until they were almost full. I was glad to see that my wick was still fairly straight and only needed a minor tweak to get it centred in the cup.

Now our creations were almost finished and all we had to do was leave the wax to solidify. As it’s not a good idea to move them while the wax is still liquid, we agreed to leave our candles behind at the studio and the staff kindly arranged for them to be posted out to us the following week.

Before leaving, everyone had a chance to explore The Make Lounge’s fabulous retail shop, where we were able to purchase the soya wax flakes, wicks and other materials that we’d used, so that we could continue our candlemaking at home. This treasure trove of a shop is full of crafty pleasures, from yarns and threads to fabric and patterns, and it took quite a bit of willpower to tear myself away!

Back at home the following week, my candle arrived in the post safely cocooned in a bed of bubblewrap. The wax had solidified to an opaque white colour and the fragrance was noticeable as soon as I took it out of the box. All I had to do was snip off the excess wick, strike a match and admire my handiwork!

It goes without saying that I really enjoyed this workshop. Mags was a friendly, approachable and down to earth tutor – there was no lecturing or mystifying techniques here – she boosted our confidence and made us feel that we could achieve everything easily. The vibe was one of enjoyment, relaxation, fun and creativity. When I filled out the feedback form, my only selfish request was "please please please bring The Make Lounge to West London!".

Resources

To find out more about candlemaking and other workshops at The Make Lounge, visit www.TheMakeLounge.com.

Recommended Reading:

If you'd like to fnd out more about candlemaking, take a look at these inspiring books:

Candlemaking The Natural Way by Rebecca Itner

Candlemaking for the First Time by Vanessa-Ann

The Candlemakers Companion by Betty Oppenheimer

The Ultimate Guide to Soy Candlemaking by Jameel D. Nolan

Feeling inspired? Take a look at the Creative Courses category in our Directory, where you'll find a variety of inspiring hands-on courses: from cool crafts to fashion, interiors, cooking and gardening.

If you run a creative course that you think our readers would be interested in reading about, do get in touch by emailing editor@frombritainwithlove.com.

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