Dining by Candlelight

When my business partner and friend, Glen Forbes, and I started our business back in 1963, we started by doing a variety of tasks for our local customers.  Some days we would hang wall paper or we would reupholster furniture.  Some days we would take a Bunsen burner, a steel stock pot, some German braided linen wicks, and blocks of paraffin wax and sit in front of our shop dipping tapers and forming pillars.

Sitting in front of our store, making our candles and displaying our wares, we were able to talk to our customers and help them understand the simple candle and its different features.  There are a few key steps to burning a candle that will keep it consistently, beautifully and safely. 

Look for a candle that isn’t oily feeling and doesn’t leave a waxy residue on your hand.  Pick that non-oily, non-waxy residue candle up and place it on a decorative tray or pillar holder and light it for about ten minutes.  Now, extinguish the candle and use a Wickman wick trimmer to trim the wick to ¼ inch.  Re-light your fine quality candle and let it burn to create a well in the top of the candle that stops at about ¼ inch from the edge of the pillar.  This should take about one hour per inch or about 3 hours for a 3 inch diameter candle.  This helps ensure a clean, even burning pillar candle and will lengthen the total life of your candle.

One gift you can give your family is the gift of candlelight at the dinner table.  No matter how big your family is, sit them around the table, provide a beautifully cooked and presented meal and garnish with candlelight.  The soft glow and flicker of the candlelight provides the calm and intimate setting allowing for a comfortable and cozy family setting.  I raised my children with candlelight and now they use candles at every meal.  Make candles a tradition for your family table.