Chances are, if you've made your way to this site (and I'm glad you did!), you're a candle maker or someone interested in candle making. Candle makers are a special group of people that, though they come from all walks of life and from around the world, share a common passion for that enigmatic combination of wax, wick, scent and flame. Here's a collection of videos I've found that feature the stories and creations of some innovative, artistic, entrepreneurial, dedicated and passionate candle makers. I'm certain that you'll be as inspired as I was by their stories and creations - and will see yourself and your love for candle making in more than a few of them. (Note: Soap makers are special, amazing people too, but not the focus of this video collection - I'm assembling a collection of fabulous soap maker videos just for you.)
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“Last year I sold out at the festival, and hope to again this year,” is how Brennan Hill looked towards this year's Natchez Trace Festival in Mississipi. He learned to make candles just last year from his second grade teacher, and got bitten by the candle making bug, it seems. He now has a budding business to look after in addition to his third-grade homework. While I think we can all relate to this story and the joy of making our first candles, this is also a really great example of how it's never too early to teach good business sense, responsible money management and most importantly, the importance of setting goals. Read the article...

Mother's Day is upon us...and it seems that the scent for this year's Mother's Day is "Green Tea and Lemongrass." Practically every ad I saw in the Sunday paper featured a spa gift basket with a scent or salt or lotion scented with some variation of Green Tea and Lemongrass. It brought back fond memories of my commercial soap making days. I had a Green Tea and Lemongrass blend, though I used eucalyptus essential oil in addition to the lemongrass essential oil to balance the heavy citrus sweetness of the lemongrass. It was a very popular blend, and one of my all-time favorites. The green tea part of it is just a minor player. You make the soap using brewed green tea instead of plain water...and add the steeped leaves at the end. It's an easy and exotic soap recipe for you to try.
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Cyclomethicone is a silicone oil that is incredibly versatile in a number of bath and body recipes. But one of the easiest, and most amazing, uses of it is as a "dry" oil spray or roll-on. Looking for easy portable aromatherapy? This will do it. Are you (or a customer) so in love with a particular fragrance or essential oil blend that you/they want to wear it all day? Perfect! OR...as the weather is getting warmer and you are spending more time outside, you can make up a batch with some natural mosquito repelling essential oils and have a handy way to keep the bugs off. If you have sensitive skin, you can substitute lemon eucalyptus or lemongrass for the citronella. You'll smell great too!

While we're on the topic of soap killing bacteria, what about candles? Can they kill bacteria too? Evidently so. British researchers did tests with candles containing essential oils of orange, palmarosa, may chang (litsea cubea), thyme, and a tea tree derivative. They found that burning the candles with those essential oils effectively killed both staph and E. coli bacteria. Some oils worked better than others, but all had some effect on the bacteria. Additionally, they found that it was the combination of the essential oil and the flame that worked best. Just the essential oils alone didn't kill any bacteria. Read the Article. Very interesting.
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Why do some people have allergies and some not? This article, entitled The Hygiene Hypothesis, suggests that our modern obsession with cleanliness may actually be counterproductive - by making us TOO sensitive to the bacteria and other icky stuff in our world. They also believe that excessive washing with harsh soaps and abrasive skin care products can cause allergic problems like eczema, by stripping away the protective layers of the skin. Web MD reports that there is No Advantage to Antibacterial Soap. Now while there is certainly a place for antibacterial soaps and cleaners in our lives, it seems that just washing with good old real soap (and washing long enough to sing your ABC's, I'm reminded) is as good at keeping us clean, safe and healthy as anything.
Photo credit: Steven Puetzer / Getty Images

I know it's barely spring...but (here in Texas at least) there are already mosquitoes out. But the weather is fabulous outside, so it's time to feature some outdoor candles. If you need some fiery accents for your barbecue or backyard get-together and have some giant mosquitoes to repel, you can take care of both with these jumbo dipped outdoor candles. Easy to make and a sure-fire (no pun intended) way to add some style to your backyard (or beach, or barbecue, or tiki-lounge) party. Think of them as a dipped taper on a stick!

One of the most popular special additives soap makers use when making soap is goat’s milk...and rightly so. It makes a lovely, creamy, moisturizing soap. Milk contains all sorts of natural emollients, vitamins and triglycerides that help soothe, balance and moisturize the skin. Here in North Texas, I know at least a half dozen ranchers who have goats that they use the milk in their soap recipes. They swear by it! If you don't have any goats nearby, you can use powdered or evaporated (canned) goat's milk, too. You have to take a few extra steps to make soap with milk, but once you try it, I'm sure you (and your skin) will feel it was well worth it.
Photo credit: Digital Vision / Getty Images

Yes...if you're one of Marina Marchese's lip balms. Marina has created a "world of one-stop shopping -- an emporium of honey products" at Red Bee. Marina worked as a product designer in China where she learned many things about honeybees and the holistic uses of honey and bees wax. She now has an entire business dedicated to "Gifts from the Beehive." But then, we know all about how great beeswax candles are...and about using honey in soap. Check out this article about Marina and Marina's blog for more information about bees, honey and Marina's work.
Photo: Don Farrall / Getty Images

A little bit floral, a little bit woodsy, a little bit herbal - lavender and lavender essential oil have been used for centuries to scent soaps, cosmetics, linens, candles, wash water and more. Indeed, it's name comes from the Latin lavare - to wash.
This is the first of a series of essential oil profiles for soap making and candle making - and I wouldn't think of starting with any essential other than lavender.
Photo: Nancy R. Cohen / Getty Images