After discovering my niche and pinpointing my audience I decided to dive head first into discovering my theme: Dungeons & Dragons being the first!

You're probably thinking "Faerine, isn't Fantasy and Magick a theme" and the answer is... yes and no. My niche is Fantasy and Magick which means my products will be geared toward people who enjoy things in those categories! However, I still needed a theme for my core-collection. Was I to do anime, game related or metaphysical zodiac candles? To be fair, I loved the idea of all the above! For all you makers out there, it's okay to have multiple themes through-out the website as long as it all correlates and makes sense for your niche!

I wanted something that fantasy and magick lovers could all relate and connect to! That's when the idea of making my first collection Dungeons and Dragons themed hit me with a NAT 20! D&D is a place of magick and wonder where people are compelled to explore their own unique stories. I couldn't picture a better fit for my niche and went head-first into my testing phase! My goal became using fragrance and scent memory to tell interesting stories, to keep people immersed and engaged and to remind us of those special moments at home and/or when we are off adventuring! The testing phase is never ending for creatives, it keeps going as you learn more and more about the industry. It's been two years and I have just recently found a wick that works best with my candle. I practically cried when it lit with no over-combustion, flickering or drowning. 

I realized that creating a Dungeons and Dragons themed candles isn't new, in-fact there are many long-time reputable fantasy and D&D candle makers out in the world.

Most of them are on Etsy and you can find a few brick & mortar / online shops as well! I aimed to stand out amongst this crowd whilst adhering to my values of creating candles with clean-burning, sustainable and eco-friendly components. I firmly believe in learning from your competition and don't let anyone convince you that doing so is bad business practice. That's how we learn, grow and pursue development that will catapult us above and beyond. It's not about being better than other people, but rather, it's more about being the best version of yourself and being able to offer your uniqueness to the world.

Here's where we take a little side-trip to learn about why I chose to work with a different style of wax than most candle-makers.

After researching other D&D and Fantasy inspired creators I found that most people were using soy wax! This is where I had an edge, I wanted to use a blend of vegetable and fruit waxes to create a consistent and even burn with an amazing scent potency. I have a love-hate relationship with soy wax. Through my testing phase I questioned every component, researched where each wax came from and how it is created. Turns out that most soy isn't as sustainable and natural as I'd like it to be. I currently use a coconut wax that comes from a very reputable supplier/distributer whom I feel incredibly confident in purchasing from. I personally don't like the environmental and economical damage that soy production causes in the world because of its super high demand. Coconut waxes are more expensive, but it's a price worth paying for when its sustainably harvested and produces great results!

Soy wax is made from a natural plant but the processing, travel, agricultural drawbacks and other global impacts of soy production made me realize that using soy wax wouldn't be as eco-conscious as I wanted to be. I needed to dive deep into the manufacturing process and buy from companies producing waxes who have the same standards I do. By no means am I discouraging you to buy soy candles, as I still purchase them as well. However, I didn't want to add to the ridiculous demand for soy and add to the negatives that come with soy production. 

Candles are non-essential products and I feel it's my responsibility to reduce the impact that making candles has globally.

I can get really wrapped up in this topic but for now, I'll move on to the wax testing phase! I wanted a soft container wax that doesn’t get super hot, has a consistent burn, produces a perfect top, all while having an amazing hot-throw! I started with 100% soy, moved to a Coconut Soy, then blended that with other Coconut waxes and still struggled with it meeting my standards. It’s difficult to find waxes that meet both the economic and creative standards I have! I typically look for waxes that don't take much effort in terms of sink-hole prevention and burn consistency. I also like to make sure my waxes are made from conscious suppliers who take their footprint into consideration, as well as avoiding toxins where possible.

You'll hear this a lot so I apologize if it becomes repetitive. Eventually I discovered that my blend of Coconut Waxes was modified by its supplier which caused even more wicking issues. I was so overwhelmed with wicking my vessel that I got the company involved and they took three weeks to send back a test report. Long story short ~ I'm still testing to find the best wick. 

It took me  two years to settle on a supplier before I launched who offered a wax that was biodegradable, eco-conscious and produced amazing results! There were countless failures, setbacks and victories to be celebrated along the way! Even today I’m still tweaking my recipe to make sure they provide the strongest scent, most even burn and best overall performance! The wick testing was the most difficult part of all, and I still struggle with this aspect today! Wick testing was the biggest nightmare of all and was the largest part of my struggle in getting my candles to you. I couldn't sell them to the public knowing they wouldn't burn right from first light. It was my largest setback, and the hardest part of the testing phase.

I decided to go with a glass bottle that had a potion-bottle aesthetic that all my D&D lovers would die for! My idea was to create a core-collection of 8oz Deluxe candles that represent cantrips and abilities people would use as their class in the game. This way, when people light a Faerine's Forge candle, they are brought back to the moment, engaged in the present and reminded of all the wonderful things associated with that scent!

This vessel just so happened to be one of the hardest to wick due to it’s 4” diameter! It’s rather wide and tapers up, which makes it rather difficult to wick consistently. I tried using mica earlier on because everyone loved sparkles but quickly realized they clogged my cotton wicks and removed it entirely. I now put them in my wax melts instead! I went through 15-20 cotton wick variations in this vessel that failed to work well before deciding to switch to wooden wicks.

Wooden wicks proved to be just as complex as a cotton wick if not more but added to my fantasy aesthetic! Everyone loved the cracking warm ambiance so I kept them! I love wooden wicks for their crackle and teardrop flame that gives my candles a perfect aura. However, I am a sucker for a good cotton wick as well, so I decided to offer a cheaper standard version of my candles that use a cotton wick instead. These are just as potent and smell just the same as the wooden wicked versions. They just don't have ALL the bells and whistles. 

The second hardest part was fragrance testing! Interested in what came next? Embark on the next step of my journey through this link ---> Custom Fragrances: "The Best Part!"

Creator Corner

"Why does my candle burn black soot, tunnel or flicker?" 

Nothing measures up to the nightmare that is tunneling for candle-lovers. We respect the art of candle-making and understand that candles need appropriate care of course, but sometimes tunneling, sooting or flickering is inevitable. I'm here to help you understand the root causes of these issues and how we can prevent them from happening where possible. If you're enjoying my Creator Corner snippets, read up on my other blogs here! I have other articles on natural candles and if candles are safe for animals. Enjoy! 

Through these last few years of creating candles I've come to understand that there will always be a few inevitable questions that are bound to be repeated throughout time. Top three questions have been, "Why is my candle producing black smoke", "why is my candle tunneling downward?" and "What does it mean when my candle flickers?" All are likely solved by a single action ~ Trimming your wick! 

Let's start with the most popular question, "Why is my candle tunneling?" which can start because of a few simple factors but doesn't have the most simple solution.

Believe it or not, candles have memory! I'll be using some terms you may not be familiar with, here are some keywords you may not be familiar with:

Melt Pool; the layer of wax that is melted.
Full Melt Pool; the melt pool of wax reaches the edges of the container.
Vessel: the container that houses the components that make up the candle. Fragrance Load: how much fragrance is in a product. 

Picture this, you had a long day at work and are excited to come home and light your brand new candle from Faerine's Forge! You trim the wick, light the candle and embark on a magical scent journey. Distracted by the memories of your epic fight with Vecna, time passes and you realize you need to make an unexpected adventure to the grocery store before dinner! After only an hour of burning the candle, you cap the flame and think nothing of it. Typically, most candles will not burn past the dimensions of the very first melt pool. So if you didn't blow the candle out when it reached a FULL melt pool, then the wax will likely never reach the edges of that container ever again! *Cue horror music* 

This is very different than "Cling" which is a small layer of wax that clings to the vessel and eventually melts once it ha been burned a few times. This is perfectly normal in more natural candles and nothing to worry about. 

That 's what tunneling is, a terrible waste of precious wax that could have been burned but unfortunately is left behind. This happens for a number of reasons, but that is the most common; blowing your candle out before it melts fully to the edge of its container. I've had more inquiries about this topic than any other, and promise that it is easier to prevent than to fix.

To prevent this specific tunneling issue from happening, simply blow out the candle after it has reached a full melt pool. Let the wax melt to the edges of the vessel and then extinguish the flame every time you light it!

If you don't have 3-4 hours to burn a candle, don't do it! That is what we have wax melts for. They melt incredibly quickly, have a higher fragrance load, and don't require a full melt pool to function well. If I know I won't have a ton of time to be at home or actively monitoring a candle flame, I use my wax melts! 

Other reasons are as follows...

If you trim your wick too short, it won't have enough fuel to create a consistent flame that gets hot enough. I know this is tricky with wooden wick candles because they are fueled better when closer to the wax (about 1/8th an inch) but it is so easy to trim a little too much and be left with a candle that is suffocating itself. It's best to make sure you trim the candle with an actual trimmer, straight across and not with your fingers or a nail clipper to get the most out of your candle experience! Who would have thought candles could be so high maintenance? 

Another reason could be poor formulating of the candle itself. Here at Faerine's Forge I make sure to test every single batch of candles and melts that I create to ensure they are all working perfectly. If you've been following my adventure thus far, you know I have done a ton of renditions and changes to both my formula and my components to ensure I have the perfect burn each time. I personally make everything myself in small batches to make sure that I can do a quality control test with every release. So you know that if something goes wrong, it is not a formulation error. 

Next! "Why is my candle sooting and flickering?"

In my time of being a maker, this question gets asked quite a bit on candle forums from makers and users alike. It can happen with any wick or wax, so forget what you think you know about paraffin being the only wax to produce soot. Soot is a natural byproduct of flame and fuel, and can happen with cotton or wooden wicks, though more popular with cotton and paraffin candles by far in my experience. This will happen regardless of the components when a flame is getting too large, there is too much fuel for the wick, the candle is being burned too long and/or the wick is not getting trimmed. You'll notice that a ring of black soot will start to form around the rim of the candle vessel and sometimes even inside the container! All the above can be an issue at the same time. Here are some simple steps I do to avoid the soot rings from developing and getting in the air. This can be especially dangerous for self-cleaning animals, which I talk about in my blog here. 

1. Trim the wick every 2-4 hours to avoid it getting too long. 
2. Don't burn the candle down to the very bottom. This can cause the vessel to get too hot and shatter, as well as produce a lot of soot. 
3. Pay mind to the flame height, if it is seemingly too high (usually more than an inch) then trim the wick. 
4. Keep the candle away from drafts which can mess with the fuel ratio. 

Flickering goes hand in hand with sooting, and can often be caused by the same issues. Flickering happens when the flame does not hold a perfect tear-drop shape that we chandlers work so hard to achieve. When the flame has too much fuel, and even sometimes too little fuel, you'll notice an abundance of flickering and dancing flames. Now, this doesn't mean that a flicker occasionally is a death sentence to the candle, rather, it's quite common and natural for a flame to flicker here and there. What is bothersome is when a flame is constantly moving, dancing and flickering. This can be a sign that there is too much/too little fuel and the flame is struggling and not potentially having a reaching a full or consistent combustion. Here are a few things I've done to minimize dancing and flickering flames: 

1. While using a candle-specific trimmer only, trim the wick to 1/8th an inch to see if that helps the flickering/dancing flame.
2. Keep the candle away from drafts, this is the most common cause of a flickering and dancing flame. It could be as simple as the candle being in direct line of a heating vent or window. 
3. Do not spray cleaning solution near a candle by any means necessary. May sound like common sense, but you wouldn't believe how common this is. The chemicals from most cleaning solutions act as fuel to the flame and can result in an explosion. Please mind where your candle is located when using cleaning products! 

Conclusion 

TLDR: 

1. If you notice your candle sooting or tunneling, check out my FAQ page here. There are lots of common questions about candles and trouble shooting answers available there. I am also available on my socials and in my contact page to answer any question you may have regarding this or other topics, to the best of my ability of course!