Candle making didn't start in the 1700s, though. In fact, candle making has come a long way since the earliest known candles dating back to 221-206 BC when they were made from whale fat by the Chinese. Both the Chinese and the Japanese are credited with using wax taken from insects and seeds wrapped in paper to be burned.
Chili Bob's candles are different. They have their own character and no two are alike. They appear rustic, and have a curl to them, not like your store boughts. I wouldn't describe them as pretty, straight or smooth. As Chili likes to say, "If you're lookin' for a perfect candle, this ain't it."
Laura, "head chandler" of her "mom and pop" company in Bolton, Connecticut has a different take on candles. She likes to make scented candles. "I love the way the scent of a candle can entirely change the feeling of the room," she says. Laura started making candles on her kitchen stove, melting (paraffin) wax in deep fryers, then adding color and fragrance in preparation to hand pour each candle. Laura finally got out of the kitchen and into a workshop where she has expanded her line of scented candles. Her winter candles include "Winter's Night" which has the scents of warm vanilla with a hint of peppermint, and "Winter Woods" with scents of sandalwood, pine needles, patchouli and freshly fallen leaves, hmmmm. I find it interesting how the sense of smell can bring us back in time to places and events. These scented candles do just that...
The art of candle making is as old as the hills and comes with an extensive, interesting history. Today's candle making techniques didn't just happen. They evolved over time through a trial-and-error process. The first candles used in Europe were made by nomadic tribes late in the Roman era and were made from tallow, an animal fat, and they smelled bad. Because they stunk, a replacement was found using the wax from plant extracts. Different people came up with their own versions of candles. The Tibetans used yak butter. The Chinese found that bees produced wax, and started using it in candles between 265 and 420 BC. The use of "candle fish" became popular in the 1st century AD, when someone had the bright idea of taking this dried fish, putting it on a forked stick and lighting it to use as a candle. Who knew... I wonder what Chili and Laura would say to that?
The Anglo-Saxon King, Alfred the Great, c. 849-899, came up with a the idea of using the candle to tell time: a candle clock. He would mark lines on his candlesticks that would note the passing of each hour. The timer candle came next, with a metal nail inserted at a desired point. When the candle melted down to this point the nail would fall, striking a hard surface. Could this have been the first alarm clock?
Bringing it home, the American colonists found that bayberries made for a good candle, but required too much work. It took 15 pounds of boiled bayberries to get only one pound of wax! History has it that chemists in the early 1800s distilled paraffin from coal-tar and produced what was needed to make inexpensive candles of high quality. This wax had a bluish-white color and burned cleanly, with no unpleasant tallow odor.
With the introduction of the light bulb the candle is no longer a necessity. Instead, it is considered a decorative pleasure. Today's market offers a full array of candles made in a variety of shapes, colors, and even scents, like the ones Laura loves to make.
Jimmy Halloran is Co-Owner of ConnecticutHandiworks.com, an online retailer featuring handcrafted items made in Connecticut
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