Getting to Know: The Candle Pouring Experience
Let’s jump right in to what you all are wondering: how to pour a candle. At The Candle Mercantile, customers are able/welcome to come in and pour their very own candles. As an employee, we pour every single candle that is for sale in the shop, or shipped out for other sales. Therefore, one may consider us experts, and we are there to help you through every step.
The first step in pouring a candle is picking out your scents. While TCM has over 90 scents to choose from, this can seem daunting at first. Customers are encouraged to smell and write down all of their favorite scents before sitting down at the bar. After they have gone through the fragrance wall, they choose a candle jar to pour into. TCM has seven different 8-ounce, color jars to choose from including: red, white, cobalt, black, amber, rose gold, and silver. Once these initial steps have been completed, then customers sit down at the bar to begin crafting their own signature scent.
At the bar is where the big decisions are made, and the fun begins. Once the customer sits down at the bar with their list of scents, an employee will help to narrow down their list until they select three to combine. Working together, they will go through a stage of trial and error to establish which three scents complement each other well, and they will pour into their candle. Once the customer has established which three scents they are going to combine, they are given the freedom to pour any proportion of those oils that they please. In a small jigger, they are able to combine their scents to their perfection creation.
Once the scent has been created to the customer’s preference, an employee will bring over their candle jar full of unscented, melted wax. The customer will then pour in their scent creation, and stir with a spoon for two minutes in order to thoroughly distribute the oil throughout the whole candle. Once the two minutes are up, the responsibilities of the candle are then passed off to The Candle Mercantile employees. Now the candle will stay at the shop for 90 minutes while it hardens and the employees make sure the wick is centered, the candle is glazed, and it’s wiped. Customers are able to name their candle, as well. They are given a bottom label in which they can create a name, write their scents, draw a picture, or write whatever their creative mind takes them.
Customers are welcome to leave to continue to explore downtown Lake Geneva, and return after the 90 minutes to retrieve their candle. Now that you all have been given a rundown of how you can pour your own candle at TCM, head on over to the “contact” page to call and set up a reservation to pour!
5 Comments
Jacob Bailey
As someone who knew nothing about Candles prior to this except they burn through them like crazy (pun intended), I never knew there was so many steps! It’s super interesting though, especially being able to choose from over 90 scents! I would love to see if the employees sometimes get ideas from scent mixes customers created. Or even do a contest in which customers compete to make the most popular candle! (similar to the Lay’s chip challenge).
Paige Manssen
Hi Jacob!
As an employee, I do come up with a million new creations every day! There are so many instances where a customer combine scents together that I have never considered combining, and I fall in love. It is super neat to be able to bounce so many different scent ideas of people every day. I agree, I think it would be a cool idea to maybe have a customer scent competition! A couple years back, TCM created a variety of different scents for the other downtown small business owners to vote on to choose which scent embodied Lake Geneva the most. We have been selling this candle in the shop ever since, and it is one of our most popular. This candle includes the scents: lemongrass, summer lawn, and balsam fir!
Cassidy Nichols
This is a super interesting post. I always go to Lake Geneva and I am going to have to give this place a try sometime. I have never heard of a place like that. I absolutely love candles and probably light at least one a day in my apartment. What a great concept and personal gift idea. What are the prices like?
Paige Manssen
Hi Cassidy,
You should definitely stop in and check it out! We are right behind Oakfire, and across the street from the public library and Potbelly. The prices vary by product (which the other products will be highlighted in my post next week). Candles retail at $24, and are the same price to buy off the shelf as it is to pour your own!
Samantha Kesich
Paige,
I love candles and am always going to the store to buy more. I am very interested in The Candle Mercantile and am definitely going to be stopping by! I love how many scents you guys offer and am excited to learn more in your new blog posts.