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Welcome to my candle making blog! Candle making is a fascinating hobby. Check in with my blog regularly to read about my new ideas, industry trends and products we feature.

The 411 on Soy Wax

March 23, 2023 No Comments

Soy wax is natural! Soy wax is renewable! Soy wax is sensational! I’m sure you’ve all heard these claims, and so today I’m going to

start your own candle making company today with supplies from candlehaven.ca

Dream Your Way Out Of Your Dead-End Job

March 22, 2023 No Comments

We all know that dismal feeling. It’s 6:00am on Monday morning. Time to climb out of our warm bed, rush out the door, scarf down

Adventures In Candle Making

March 22, 2023 No Comments

If you’ve read my blog you know that I was inspired to create candles by my Mother who showed me how it was done when

Candlehaven.ca: The Beginning

I first learned to make candles with my Mother when I was a young girl. She is a deep pool of creative talents of which I’ve never seen the true depths. I remember my fascination as I watched her ready the wicks, the wax, and the molds. I would stand beside her on a stool and watch in awe as the wax melted in a double boiler on the stove. She explained that we would add colour, scent, and crystals and sparkle to make each candle unique and special; that when they were done, they would be one of a kind, and even more beautiful than what you could buy in a store; that when we lit them they would glow and make any room feel warm and inviting.

My Mother managed to make our modest home a haven every single day with her kindness, her warmth and her love, and somewhere in the background, always a homemade candle glowing. Because of her, candles always make me think of home, and love.

Throughout the years, I have lived in many homes. Each has had one thing in common; the radiant ambience of candles. I have always strived to re-create the same haven as the home of my youth. It is in this spirit that I decided to take what I had learned about creating candles from my Mother, and apply it using the newest and most luxurious products on the market. I set out to make masterpieces, inspired by two generations of artisans, our love of candles, and the warmth they evoke.

I want to share the gift of happiness that candle making has brought to my life. Browse our products and make the candle of your dreams. If you don’t want to make it yourself, you can still enjoy hand poured candle with my signature candle line, iLite Candles.

Each candle is hand poured in Toronto, Canada using the finest quality materials. From the elegant vessels, to the cotton wicks, and the natural, clean-burning wax, no detail is overlooked to ensure quality and elegance at every step.

It is my sincere hope that I can fill your home with the same warmth and love as I experienced as a child, with my signature candles and candle making supplies.

Check out my daily adventures on social media!

Sept 8, 2021

Our Candle Supplies

In my previous life before I was a candle maker extraordinaire, I worked in international trade. This taught me all the complexities of importing and exporting. Though this was not necessarily a career befitting an artistic candle maker, these skills have proven to be invaluable in the business of candle making and candle supply.

In my quest to make the worlds most perfect candle during a global pandemic, I used the few hours before lockdowns began at craft stores such as Michaels. Michaels is a great craft store located in Canada, but their candle making supply section is limited, and in my opinion, a little over priced. I then started sourcing throughout North America, looking for those candle making supply stores that were rated very highly in the Candle Supplies Directory for North America. I became very excited when I found the store CandleScience located in the USA but CandleScience does not ship to Canada. I then found the Wooden Wick Co. I love their supplies. They are also located in the USA and they have a wide range of products. As their name suggests however, they carry wooden wicks, and not the non-wooden varieties. I also found their supplies expensive. Next I found Lonestar Candle Supply. Lonestar is not sexy, but they have a wide selection of wicks, and information related to Candle Wicking. I learned so much from their website.

Finally I came upon P&J Trading Co where I found an extensive selection of premium fragrance oils. Sourcing oils from P&J allowed me to begin combining to make my own custom scents as part of my candle making kits.

All of this was wonderful except for the fact that importing from the USA is expensive. I did find some supply stores in Canada, specifically Western Canada, but by in large the best supply stores were in the USA. I decided to change that. I celebrate these companies. There is room for all of us in the Candle Supply space, but I made it my mission to sell quality products of every kind, and because of my skill set, to make the supplies available for seamless export worldwide. This is what candlehaven.ca can offer that no one else can; One stop shopping and the ability to export anywhere in the world.

Sept 12, 2021

Our Custom Candles

When I set out to make the most perfect candle the world had ever seen I came upon coco apricot creme wax. It is stunning, luxurious, and is unmatched in beauty when you see it in glass. I chose and designed opulent signature scents. I sourced beautiful vessels, crystals, candle safe glitter, elegant custom fit packaging, and the perfect wicks….and then…..the pandemic struck again, and global importing slowed to a crawl. I could not import quality vessels in high enough quantity from anywhere.

Because my elegant (and expensive packaging) was custom made for my vessels, there was no option to begin mass production of candles, and so for almost a year I focused my efforts on candle supplies and carried only a limited supply of candle jars.

I became a content creator on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to teach my customers, my subscribers and followers how to make candles, and the many types of candles they could make using my products. This was and is still fun for me. It allows me to make candles every day. I love the feedback and the community of candle makers and candle lovers. What I found though, was as much as I tried to convince prospective customers to buy candle making supplies and make their own custom candles in the most cost effective way possible, that some customers preferred to have ME make candles for them.

This was so flattering to know, and so I enthusiastically began making signature candles for sale. I use only the finest ingredients, and I lovingly hand pour each candle. Every candle I feature, is a candle requested by customers. The social media platforms allows me to know exactly what my customers like and I appreciate every word of their kind feedback.

If you would like to order a custom candle, contact us today.

Sept 12, 2021

Fun With Scents

Ever the over achiever it wasn’t enough to make the world’s most beautiful candle. It had to smell the best too. Who doesn’t love to bury their nose into lovely scented candle or enhance the ambiance in a room by adding the gentle feeling and lovely aroma of a candle?

In my quest I sampled (and spilled) many scents. I found many that I liked. I don’t even want to think of what I must have spent on scent sampling over a two year period. Like anything else, scents are not all created equal, nor do identically named products smell the same company to company.

After accumulating roughly 100 different scents I started mixing them together. My over confidence led me to believe that I could become a fragrance expert as well as a candle expert. Slowly I began learning about top notes, heart notes, and bass notes of a fragrance. I learned what makes a well-rounded scent, but I knew I needed a lot of feedback and advice in this area, and so I invited everyone to try to make scents with me. It became a family affair. When I found about ten blends that I really liked, I made sample candles and had everyone I know weigh in on all of them. This allowed me to narrow down my signature scents.

In my candle making collection there is a scent for everyone. It’s difficult to sell a scented candle based on description alone, but I’ve done my best to identify the different notes in their individual descriptions, so you should get a sense of each decadent aroma. If you can’t decide, try them all! I love them all and I hope you do too.

Nov 15, 2021

The Circle of Creativity

I make candles every day. Whether I’m fulfilling orders, testing new products, or just making a candle to enjoy on a cold winter day, I seem to always be making something beautiful…..well, sorta. Let me explain….

Yes I make candles every day. Every kind of candles. Ones with wood wicks, cotton wicks, spiral wicks, and S wicks. I make coloured candles, glow in the dark candles, sparkly candles. I’ve even made a few fire hazards (and if you follow my social media you know this is true), but as wonderful as candles are, and as experienced as I am, my creations are NOT all gems. Sometimes they don’t turn out at all.

Have you ever thought to mix two colours together only to find out how crappy those colours look when mixed together. Trust me, I’ve seen it and done it. I’ve made a gross mud colour on more than one occassion. Same goes for scents. Not everything mixes well, and not everything smells as good as you hope it will.

Have you ever tried a product that looked beautiful only to find out that it turns your candle into a torch, or causes soot, or just plain sucks?

Have you ever found the next miraculous product that was going to make you into the next candle making sensation – only to find out it isn’t soluble in wax, or would just sink to the bottom of your vessel? I have. In fact, I do that almost daily. The important thing is that you try, and that you allow inspiration to rule, and when you hit a wall try something else.

Making candles is fun. If you let it, it will always be fun, and if you ever find you’re running out of inspiration just check our create tab or our social media for inspiration, and if you’re brave enough, please contact us to submit your works of art. Inspire us with your creations in this lovely little circle of creativity we’re all forming together. Who knows, you may even find yourself featured on our website!

Jan 13, 2022

The Family That Crafts Together, Stays Together

I recall watching my Mother crafting when I was a young girl. I cannot even begin to describe every crafty piece of art she ever made. I can only say that making something pretty was an every day occurrence. Candle making was just one of the many lovely crafts she designed. Any time I showed interest, she would patiently show me how she made her latest creation. This was the case with all of my siblings, whether it was teaching one of us how to paint, sketch, make a wreath from scratch at Christmas time, or pour a candle. We spend hours creating whatever idea would pop into my Mother’s head on any given day.

She would collect natural treasures wherever she roamed such as pinecones, or popsicle sticks. I never knew what these items would turn out to be, but they all became something fabulous with a little time and imagination.

I can’t possibly tally the number of hours and days we spent all together making special creations, and I suppose all of us grew to have a little of the crafty gene in our own right thanks to my Mother, her creative gifts, her patience and extraordinary kindness.

When another generation arrived my Mother would say, bring the kids over, we’ll go to the dollar store and then we’ll do some crafting. I’ll teach them to make something magical with their own two hands. The kids loved their time with Grandma, and still regard her as creative and wise. They can’t wait to be by her side. With all her beautiful creations, the real treasure for her was having her family close. I think what she was really creating was a loving haven for all of us to be together. This prompts me to say that the family that crafts together, stays together.

February 2022

Paying It Forward

It’s a really interesting transition from creating your own brand of unique candles, bringing them to market, promoting them, eating, sleeping, living them to then becoming the supplier of candle making products instead.

There was once a time that I wouldn’t have wanted to help anyone create a better candle making business, as every other candle making company was a potential competitor, but now every candle making company and DIY maven motivates me. My goals are different now. I want to teach you. I want you to learn from my mistakes and achievements, because at the end of the day your success is mine, and mine is yours. Our wagons are hitched together so-to-speak.

It really is fortunate to be in the role of friend, and not foe; To be your collaborator so that we can both do what we love to the best of our ability.

I take everything I’ve learned about procurement, product qualify, spreadsheets and profit margins, and I’ll endeavor to answer each one of your questions. I’ll make videos about it. I’ll shout it from the roof tops. I’ll try to impart whatever wisdom I’ve learned to all of you, one by one.

Its important to say that in addition to what I learned on my own, I owe my success to every person who ever gave me a chance and placed an order with my company as it was growing, and continues to grow. I also owe my knowledge to every creator that took the time to market their candles and put out videos to help me learn how to make a viable business.

As for my initial candle company, iLite Candles, it lives and breathes still. It is now in the hands of my daughter who will make it a success in her own way, and just as I will be there for her, I will be there for all of you, wishing for you all to have great success, and to get the opportunity to earning a living doing something you love.

March 2022

Put Down Hair Dryer

Okay, so you’re probably thinking this is a strange title for a blog entry, and it is, but trust me, it needs to be said.

Many of you out there are learning, or are already successful at making beautiful candles. Some of you may even be considering becoming an entrepreneur to sell your candles, and if that’s you….good for you! Don’t ever let anyone tell you that the market is too saturated. There’s always room for another beautiful candle in the world. I should know. My house is full of them.

….but back to the point….

We all work in our own mysterious ways, and even though candle making is precise in nature, and our formulations specific, we all have our methods. Wax melters vs double boilers, different styles of wick setters, different styles of thermometers….and yes, some of us are still messing around with our hair dryers.

I won’t lie to you. I started this way. Why buy a heat gun specifically for candle making when my hair dryer works just fine? This was my thought process. I continued to think that way until I ruined a perfectly good table with a mess of wax that went everywhere because of my overly angry and aggressive hair dryer.

I broke down, decided to stop being so ghetto, and invest a heat gun. It was far cheaper than my hair dryer and it used a gentler flow of air to slowly melt the wax just enough to correct little mistakes. I realized that if my candle required industrial heating to fix, I should probably just re-pour. I also realized that as a candle maker extraordinaire and all around craft lady in the making, that I deserved the proper tools of the trade, and so if you’re still slugging away with the hair dryer, please, I implore you, its time to put it down.

April 2022

Is It Fall Already?

It’s important to tell you that I’m writing this post in the middle of May. Most of us are getting ready to make our citronella candles for our time in cottage county through the summer, but not candle makers. Candle makers, specifically those who have started their own candle business know that they have to be a season ahead.

While I endeavor to tell everyone that candle season is every time of year, candles at harvest time are a special joy. Those sugared pumpkin scents are among my favorites, as are the sweet smell of snickerdoodle cookies. Candlehaven.ca has decided to jump aboard this autumn trend by adding our own signature blends of those popular scents to our selective roster. Sugared Pumpkin Butter and Snickerdoodle are sure to be this season’s best sellers, and favorites amongst all candle makers and candle lovers.

To those budding candle makers, don’t forget to make plenty of hand poured pumpkin and delightfully sweet, scented candles to give out as gifts during harvest season and Thanksgiving. Make sure to keep a couple for your own home for a little ambiance.

To my new candle business owners, get ready for the fall, as this is when you’ll see your business boom. Buy, buy, buy so you have enough stock to meet demand. You will sell out faster than you think! There’s something addictive about snickerdoodles and pumpkins that customers are powerless to deny. Bring your delectable harvest candles out into the world and sell them at local craft fairs while the weather permits, and don’t forget to promote your heavenly scented candles on your website.

Don’t forget that candlehaven.ca loves to promote its customer’s work on our website as thank you for your business. Submit a picture of your creations made from candlehaven.ca products and a link to your website. The coveted top position during the candle fall frenzy will go fast. Contact us today for more information.

May 2022

California Dreamin'

There’s no denying it, the USA is a mecca of beautiful hand poured candles. A candle making business is a popular business, and so many people have managed to start lucrative candle companies, small businesses, and prolific side hustles. There’s something about California living. The sun shines most of the time, and the feeling is laid back. You don’t light a candle for warmth, but for ambiance.

In Canada, we love our candles, and not just for their lovely tranquil light. We light them for warmth, for scent, for ambiance, but because our American brothers and sisters got out ahead of us on the candle making train, the great Candle suppliers hang their hats in America the beautiful. Candle making is very popular in the UK, Australia, Brazil and Canada, but the USA still has us trumped, and California seems to be the zen candle capital of the world.

Candle suppliers such as Makesy and luxury wax suppliers such as Calwax are based in the sunshine state making it a wonderful place to source and make luxury candles.

This is the main reason that Candlehaven.ca came into existence; To level the playing field for Canadians, and anyone in the world too far away from California to import some of the beautiful products manufactured and sourced by these companies. Candlehaven.ca endeavors to provide all of the finest luxury products. With our background in international trade, we’ll import from all over the world to find the supplies candle makers need at affordable prices. We do boast however that most of our products are North American sourced.

At the end of the day at Candlehaven.ca we also want to live our version of a California dream, but we’ll do it the Tundra of Toronto, Canada, where we only feel the warmth of the sunshine for one short season each year, but where the warmth of candles can be enjoyed all year long.

August 2022

How to Make Soy Wax Candles Halloween Chic!

With Halloween as your inspiration the possibilities for your soy wax candle are endless. From gothic Halloween chic to sinfully spooky, candles take center stage this time of year.

For this project, you’ll need the following materials:

Soy wax Soy wax is a natural wax made from soybeans. Soy wax is eco-friendly, renewable, and it burns slowly.

Candle Vessel Candle vessels (referring to container or jar) need to be thick enough to withstand the heat of a lit flame, and aesthetically pleasing enough to become your project’s focal point.

Spiral Wood Wick Once you have selected your candle vessel, you must select a candle wick. For soy candles, many varieties of wicks will work perfectly. For this candle, we’ve chosen a spiral wick made of wood that will crackle when it is lit.

Fragrance Oil This soy candle was originally made with Sugared Pumpkin Butter fragrance oil, which I assure you is magnificent, but this part of the process is completely up to you. Testing several fragrance oils in your soy candles in different quantities is the best way to know what fragrance you will truly love using in your candles. Explore the Fall Fragrance Oil Set offered by Candlehaven.ca for variety.

Diamond Sparkle Dust You’ll feel like Tinkerbell by adding a pinch of this super light, candle safe sparkle dust to your soy candle. This glittery substance is so light it won’t sink to the bottom of your candle, but instead will cause your wax to melt into a pool of glittery delight.

Birdcage/Lantern Top Get an old birdcage or lantern, and paint it back.

Halloween Flare Go to your local dollar store and stock up on a few decorative pieces of Halloween flare. A crow or two is optional.

Tools of the Trade You’ll want a thermometer, a double boiler (or a makeshift double boiler), wick stickers, and a heat gun.

…And so it begins…

Clean out the Cobwebs
Make sure you clean and dust and debris out of your candle vessel and then completely dry it. Soy wax does NOT mix with water. In fact, soy wax hates water. Once your candle vessel is clean, affix your spiral wick to the bottom of your vessel and secure it in place with an adhesive wick sticker. Note that some people prefer to use glue to affix the wicks. Pick your poison!

Cut it
Using the fill level weight for your vessel, you can determine how much soy wax you will need. If you are using candle fragrance oil you must factor this into your total weight as well. The easiest way to calculate is to download an app called Candle Maker App. If you cannot download the app, refer to the Fragrance Oil Chart on our website.

Boil it
Use a double boiler. You cannot put candle wax directly on heat. It can evaporate or cause a fire. Turn the heat to high so that the water boils. The boiling water will melt the wax slowly and evenly. If you do not have a double boiler, you can use a make-shift double boiler, or a melter specifically for wax.

CRITICAL: Use a thermometer to determine the temperature of your wax. Soy wax must be poured at a specific temperature, or your candles won’t turn our well. Don’t guess the pour temperature for soy wax. I cannot state this enough. The soy wax vendor has gone to the trouble to test their product, and they know their optimal pour temperatures. Do not go rogue on this point. READ INSTRUCTIONS.

Instructions for 464 Soy Wax

Add Magic

Add Diamond Sparkle Dust
Just a pinch of this light and fluffy sparkle dust will make your candles sing. Watch as your soy wax turns from ordinary to extraordinary.

Add Fragrance Oil
Read the vendor’s directions to find out how much scent your wax can safely hold without becoming a fire hazard. Stir slowly and evenly for two minutes as this allows the fragrance oil time to bind to the soy wax.

Pour it
Keep a steady hand and pour cautiously as to not splash wax on the side of your vessel. Allow the wax to cool.

Trim it
Once your candle is completely set, use wick trimmers to trim your wick down to ¼ inch (0.64 centimeters). Feel free to hit your candle for a few seconds with a heat gun to clean up the sides of your vessel if you have any splash marks. A heat gun is a candle makers secret weapon, hiding any mistakes made along the way so that your soy wax candles turn out perfect every time. For best results, wait at least 72 hours for your wax to cure before lighting.

Finish it
Place your candle inside your birdcage. Use your Halloween flare, and if you want more, a couple crows to decorate the sides of your cage. Be careful not to place flammable objects close to your candle.

Picture it
Take a picture, and post your Instagram worthy Halloween chic creation, that we’re affectionately calling “Candle Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”

Get Ahead of Fall or be Left Behind

Here I am in pro candle supply land, not even in the middle of October. The fall leaves are especially breathtaking this year, and I’m enjoying the addictive aroma of my sugared pumpkin butter fragrance oil, which is just one of many harvest candle fragrance oils that are oh so irresistible this time of year. I peer down at my candle, dyed with candle dye to match the autumn aesthetic when I’m interrupted by a song.

Could it be the dulcet tones of Bing Crosby singing “It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas”? Technically speaking, it’s not beginning to look like Christmas. The brightly coloured leaves are still on the trees, and there’s nary a snowflake in sight, but I live in pro candle supply land, and in pro candle supply land you have to get ahead of fall or you’ll be left behind. Just peek into a dollar store. They’ve been carrying Christmas trinkets since July. So, its time to bust out the red and green candle wax dye chips, the diamond sparkle dust, and the candle fragrance oils befitting the season. The season being Christmas, Hanukkah, Sinterklaas, New Year’s Eve, and whatever other holidays you may celebrate as 2022 comes to a close. We have a fragrance oil, and a candle dye for each celebration theme. One thing is for sure…. ‘tis the season for long nights and a warm candle, but in pro candle supply land, ‘tis that season all year round.

Oct 14, 2022

You Make It Feel Like Christmas

I miss you Mom. You’ve only recently passed, but as the months go by I can’t help feeling that you’ve been gone too long. Its been too long since we’ve talked, and since I’ve seen your face.

So I write to you now, wishing you were here. Letting you know that its been hard for me to continue on this candle making journey without you. The world isn’t as bright, and making candles doesn’t give me the same happiness it once did. Nothing does. Not without you.

My Christmas tree is up already. Everyone made fun of me for my overly abundant Christmas cheer that began in November this year. It’s that way when you’re in the candle supply business. Everyone buys candle supplies a season ahead, and so I must be ahead too. I don’t mind though, I love Christmas. You made me love Christmas. As it turns out, I put up the tree a week before you died, and that’s good, because I don’t know that I’d have the strength to do it now, but I know I’ll find the strength. I’ll find it for our family. The family you created. The family you loved so much. I’ll do it for them, the way you did it for me all my life.

This is the first year I will celebrate Christmas without you. I make candles the way you showed me, every day, and I will place them all over my home, and think of you. I will always think of you – especially at times when we’re all together. You loved this time of year, but in truth, you made it feel like Christmas every single day. I love you Mom.

Nov 2022

Happy Holidays From My Home to Yours

Wow, what a whirlwind 2022 has been. As it comes to a close, I want to reach out to each and every one of you who have shown love to Candlehaven.ca this year, by buying our candle supplies, supporting our social media pages, liking and commenting on every crazy candle we’ve made – even a few fire hazards. We appreciate it all. Every single one of you is really important to me, and so I want to extend my most sincere thanks to you. It has been a pleasure hearing all of your feedback, your insights, and your candle making ideas and advice. More than anything though, I am moved by your many kindnesses. I hope to hear more from all of you in the coming years. The candle making community is such a wonderful community, and I feel so lucky to be a part of it.

I wish all of you success and proseperity in 2023.

Lisa Desjardins, Owner

A New Year & A Fresh Perspective

With the arrival of the new year, Candlehaven.ca is feeling inspired. What could be more inspiring than fresh new candle fragrance oils for every season? We’re not exclusively becoming a fragrance oil shop, but we are going to focus our efforts into offering more fragrance oil varieties for our customers, because at the end of the day, fragrance oils are what make your candles sing.

Some of the new fragrance oils available at our fragrance oil shop include Dewberry Dreams, Irish Coffee Cream, Choco Latta Cookie Dough and Bananarama Bread. Each fragrance oil was lovingly selected by our team out of hundreds of possibilities. Our fragrance oil shop will never carry any candle fragrance oil that we don’t love. We source from the finest fragrance houses in North America, and offer only quality delectable fragrance oils for your candles.

If there are fragrance oils that we don’t carry that you would like to see in our fragrance oil shop, please let us know. We endeavor to become your favorite supplier of quality fragrance oils and candle making supplies.

Jan 2023