My idea for this modest little candle company began many years ago. An avid candle lover and home fragrance obsession led me to start purchasing some highly perfumed votives from the local Hallmark store. After the store no longer carried them, I was able to find the candles online for a hefty price tag. As it became more and more difficult to find the fragrance online, my fiance at the time mentioned passively "why don't you just make your own candles".
And that was the beginning of my journey.
Never shying away from a challenge, I began my research into the messy world of candle-making. Starting with a turn-key candle kit, I grabbed an old cooking pot, filled it with water and made a double boiler over the kitchen stove. There are many options for wax, but I learned early on that paraffin was petroleum based, and not a clean option for the home. Soy wax has been around for quite some time and I remember seeing expensive jars at the local boutique which intrigued me. I found that the evolution of soy wax has improved so much over the years, that it is now able to hold a great fragrance throw and burn clean. Plus soy wax can be easily cleaned up with some rubbing alcohol!
This proved to be a great option for an amateur chandler. Although soy candle making is not as easy as it looks there was light at the end of the tunnel. After many attempts with wick size and temperature, I was finally able to produce a quality candle that smelled amazing.
Fast forward to Fall 2017 - my wedding day. Our guest list was a small and intimate group of 50 people. I had decided it would be a great idea to share my new product with our friends and family in the form of weeding favors. Little did I know that they would be such a HUGE hit. This confidence inspired me to go all in and create an online candle store where I can create unique and fragrant candles that are reasonably priced. Making fragrant soy candles has been a wonderful experience so far, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds.
Be the Light,
Erika
ZuZu Candle