Woodlot // Thrive in Life Feature

Four o'clock on a late November afternoon and the light is already going. This is the hour when a lot of coastal households reach for a match. A candle on the kitchen table will not heat the room or light it properly, but it changes how the evening feels, and on a dark, wet coast that counts for something.

Woodlot is one of the names that comes up when people here talk about candles. The Vancouver company makes small-batch candles from coconut wax, along with plant-based soaps and body care, and scents them with essential oils. Its goods turn up on the shelves of independent shops around British Columbia.

What small-batch changes

Most mass-market candles are made from paraffin, a petroleum by-product, and scented with synthetic fragrance built to fill a room quickly. There is nothing shameful in enjoying one. A candle made from plant wax and essential oils simply behaves differently. The scent is quieter and sits closer to the thing it is named for, so that cedar smells like a freshly cut board and not like an air freshener's idea of a forest.

Small-batch making in general tends to mean a shorter ingredient list and someone watching the pour. Coconut wax is popular with candle makers because it melts at a low temperature, holds scent well and burns slowly. For the person at home, the practical difference is a candle you light on purpose and pay attention to.

Soap at the sink

The same thinking applies to a bar of soap. A plant-based bar scented with essential oils replaces a plastic pump bottle and takes up less room. It asks for one thing in return, which is a dish that drains. A bar left sitting in water turns to mush within days, while one that dries between uses keeps its shape to the last sliver.

Cut a large bar in half and keep the second piece in a drawer with the linens until you need it. The body care section of the catalogue gathers soaps, salts and balms from other small makers.

How to burn a candle properly

A well-made candle can still burn badly if it is treated carelessly. A few habits make the difference:

1. Give the first burn time. Let the pool of melted wax reach the edge of the container before you put the flame out. For most jar candles that takes two to three hours. Cut the first burn short and the candle will tunnel down the middle every time after, leaving a ring of wasted wax.
2. Trim the wick. Before each lighting, once the wax is cold, trim the wick to about half a centimetre. A long wick gives a tall, smoky flame and soot on the glass.
3. Keep it out of drafts. A flame that flickers burns unevenly. Move the candle away from open windows and heating vents.
4. Stop at about four hours. Longer than that and the container gets very hot and the wick starts to mushroom.
5. Put it out gently. Use a snuffer, or blow softly with a hand cupped behind the flame. A hard puff sends wax across the table.
6. Know when it is finished. Stop burning when about a centimetre of wax is left. A flame too close to the base can crack the container.

Never leave a candle burning in an empty room, and keep it clear of curtains, children and cats.

After the last burn

When the candle is done, pour in a little hot water to loosen the remaining wax. Lift the wax out once it has cooled and floated free, put it in the bin and not down the drain, and wash the container in soapy water. It will hold pencils, toothbrushes or a cutting from the garden.

A slower home is mostly made of small decisions like these: fewer things, made by people you could name, used until they are used up. There is more in that spirit under home and made in Canada.

Tonight, trim the wick, strike the match and leave the overhead light off.