Dipping Candles isn’t Boring
As I was dipping candles the other day, one of my precious sons proclaimed that it must be boring to dip candles for hours… I laughed, because it might be boring for some. Monotonous sometimes. But, I’m inspired. It comes and goes in waves. I pull out the dipping pot and the pouring pot, wait for the beeswax to melt (this part can test my patience, but it can’t be rushed because burning beeswax ruins the structure for candle making) and cut my wicks to size. Then, I dip. over and over and over. It’s therapeutic. It gives me a chance to think and to give thanks. I have hands. I have a place to work. I have little ones around that I can keep close as I work in my kitchen. I used to think I needed a brick and mortar studio/storefront, but I very recently embraced that I can do this work right here at home. creating. dipping. rolling out the candles after a few dips to straighten them. all right here in the heart of my home.
I don’t need anything else. I don’t think it’s boring. I love it. I love this work and I love that can do it without extreme pressure to perform. It’s a craft that has it own quirks. Unique smells depending on the honey crop, slightly different taper widths depending on the temperature of the wax during each dip. Something in each pair that reflects what’s going on in my life at the moment. it’s all handmade beauty that can’t be replicated by machines. I think it’s fruitful work and I know that my family enjoys their glow and that is enough. That is enough to make the hours and hours of dipping candles worth it. knowing that each humble meal enjoyed at our table will be illuminated with the flickering flame in the center of it all, keeps the work enjoyable.
It’s a tremendous blessing that others think that these candles are just as special as we do. They are an investment. They are created with gratitude and love and the painstaking process of holding every single section of hand-cut wicking and dipping it until a candle is formed. this is all after processing and filtering the beeswax to make it useable enough for the tapers. Dipping candles and creating a little light is a labor of love and that is anything but boring.
XO,
Melissa
