The Challenge
When we decided to start making candles, the very first challenge was to decide what kind of candle jars to go with.
It seemed like there were over a gazillion different styles to choose from.
We would see one and be like, “Oh I love that one…..oh this one too…and that one!”
Needless to say it was too hard to choose.
The Solution
One day while disposing of some cement retains from my “Real Job”, an idea came to mind.
“What if we made candle jars out of this cement that was destined for the landfill?” The company wouldn’t have to pay to dispose of them, and we wouldn’t have to pay for candle jars, or freight, or wait for long lead times or discontinuations etc.
We could only come up with positive reasons why to do this.
(P.S. I am a Production Manager for an International Construction Material Manufacturer.
We make Epoxies, Cementitious-Waterproofing products, Repair Mortars, and Self-Levelling Cementitious products.)
We did some extensive research and learned there were only a few people making candles in cement vessels.
We had to do some a lot of testing to make sure they would work, so we bought a few molds on Amazon and got to it.
Making them pretty!
At first we just tested the natural look of the cement and went and bought some wax and fragrance, wicks, etc.
They looked nice, but because they aren’t clear, we couldn’t really tell the story of what was inside (fragrance or color), so we decided we wanted to color the outside to help describe the fragrance on the inside.
So, knowing that latex is a decent plasticizer for concrete, we started adding drops of colored latex paint into the cement before it goes into the mold….
Like this:
And it worked….. Very nicely actually.
Not many people were coloring them like this, so we felt like we were offering a unique product.
I mean, if you look at this photo, you can tell it should be Lavender even if there wasn’t a label on it, right?
We love that they not only smell amazing, but also adds to the overall décor of the room.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we chose to make candles in cement vessels for these 10 reasons.
- The cement was free.
- It is a recyclable material. It keeps the cement out of the landfill and these can be used as planters when you’re done with them.
- We don’t have to pay for freight to get the vessels to us.
- They add to the overall décor of the room where you put them.
- They are customizable. There are unlimited possible color schemes.
- They’re a lot of fun to make. It is very satisfying to remove them from the molds.
- They’re unique….No two candles are identical.
- It keeps the cost down which makes them more affordable to you the consumer.
- If we run out…..We can just make more without waiting for them to ship to us.
- Cement is IN! More and more products are being made of cement for the reasons stated above. (Check out Concrete Creations in Virginia Beach)
We hope you agree that our candles are beautiful décor to enhance your home or office and you love them as much as we do.
You can check out the full collection by clicking here!
Thank you for stopping by!
-Dennis Turner