Shedding light on East Coast Candles
Candles have been around for thousands of years. I don’t imagine the first candles from China around 200BC, which were made from whale fat, smelled all that great.
Candles were soon made from tallow (animal fat) or from a very fatty fish. Wicks were made of rice paper.
From the 1850s on, most candles were made from paraffin, distilled from coal and oil. Paraffin was cheap and efficient. Candles could now be mass produced and had cotton wicks. Nights were brighter and then the light bulb was invented, electricity took over and candle use dropped. It was much nicer to turn on a light than deal with a smoky candle.
By the 1990s, scented candles made from cleaner burning fuel sources such as soy, palm or flax seed oil were gaining popularity. We like scents in our homes. And we really liked the fact that the candles didn’t smoke and soot up the ceilings. Jar candles took off and that’s where East Coast Candles comes into the story.
Based in New Brunswick, East Coast Candles has been a family business for a couple of decades. In 1997, Ange Fuller didn’t like wasting the stubby ends of her candles. She began to melt them down and taught herself all about making candles from scratch. Fast forward to 2015, Ange sold the company to her sister Tracy and brother-in-law Luther, and the next stage of East Coast Candles began.
Tracy and Luther did a lot of research on candles. They wanted interesting scents, unique shapes and wax that burned cleanly and for a long time. Their candles are soy based, clean burning, with natural wicks and plenty of essential oils for fragrances. East Coast Candles produce a wide variety of jar and tin candles.
The Pure line of jar candles is 100 per cent all natural soy wax with pure essential oils for fragrance. Each jar is hand poured. An 8oz jar will burn for more than 80 hours. That’s a lot of burn time! The Pure line has six different fragrances, each intended to deliver an experience such as ‘Sweet Dreams’, ‘Focus’, ‘Energize’, ‘Calm & Cool’, ‘Love Life’ or ‘Just Breathe.’
The tin candles are simple and beautiful. The tin has an attractive lid but it’s what’s inside that makes it beautiful. Each scent has a sculpted theme in wax. The Nova Scotia Blueberries is full of ‘blueberries.’ The Citrus looks like slices of oranges, lemons and limes. The Coastal Breeze is full of seashells. And the Citronella candles are a must have for any outdoor activities.
Candles are no longer a necessity (except during power outages) so we can enjoy them for ambience and fragrance. East Coast Candles, in jars or tins, are a local treat for the senses.
DID YOU KNOW?
Soy wax was invented in 1991 by Michael Richards who wanted a cheaper natural wax alternative to beeswax. It’s about 10 times less expensive to produce than beeswax.