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 February 2006 Back to Table of Contents Back to Archives Main Page Section: Life & Leisure A Warm and Lovely Glow By Colleen Maroney Fahey Cindy and Erik Laustsen began dipping candles in 1980, after apprenticing with an uncle at his candle factory, in the lovely village of Karlebo, Denmark. After returning to upstate New York they began making candles in a friend’s barn and circa 1810 schoolhouse, and Danica Design was born. In 1982 they moved to the coast of Maine, where they occupied three floors of a Victorian carriage barn and expanded their line of hand-dipped tapers. Cindy and Erik Laustsen began dipping candles in 1980, after apprenticing with an uncle at his candle factory, in the lovely village of Karlebo, Denmark. After returning to upstate New York they began making candles in a friend’s barn and circa 1810 schoolhouse, and Danica Design was born. In 1982 they moved to the coast of Maine, where they occupied three floors of a Victorian carriage barn and expanded their line of hand-dipped tapers.
Danica Design typifies the more than 400 commercial, religious and institutional manufacturers of candles who have seen the light and helped make candles burn in seven out of every ten households in America. It’s generally believed that the first candles were developed by the Ancient Egyptians, who used rushlights or torches made by soaking the pithy core of reeds in melted animal fat. However, the rushlights had no wick like a true candle. The credit for wicked candles goes to the Romans who dipped rolled papyrus repeatedly in melted tallow or beeswax to illuminate their homes, travel at night and brighten religious ceremonies. There is evidence that other early civilizations developed wicked candles using waxes made from available plants and insects. Early Chinese candles are said to have been molded in paper tubes, using rolled rice paper for wicks, and wax made from an indigenous insect combined with seeds. In Japan, candles were made of wax extracted from tree nuts, while in India, candle wax was made by boiling fruit from the cinnamon tree. Most early Western cultures relied primarily on candles rendered from animal fat (tallow). A major improvement came in the Middle Ages, when beeswax candles were introduced: burning pure and clean, without producing a smoky flame. It also emitted a pleasant sweet smell rather than the foul, acrid odor of tallow. However because beeswax was so expensive, few aside from the church and the wealthy could afford to use it. Colonial women offered America’s first contribution to candle making, when they discovered that boiling the grayish-green berries of bayberry bushes produced a sweet-smelling wax that burned cleanly. The growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century brought the first major change in candle making, when spermaceti — a wax obtained by crystallizing sperm whale oil — became available in quantity and produced a significantly brighter light. Paraffin wax was introduced in the 1850s: odorless and bluish-white in color, and it burned cleanly, consistently and was more economical to produce than other candle fuel. Then, in 1879, the light bulb was introduced and candle making began to decline. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s, when interest in candles as decorative items, mood-setters and gifts began to increase notably. Candles were suddenly available in a broad array of sizes, shapes and colors, and consumer interest in scented candles began to escalate. The 1990s witnessed an unprecedented surge in the popularity of candles, and for the first time in more than a century, new types of candle waxes were being developed. In the U.S., agricultural chemists began to develop soybean wax, a softer and slower burning wax than paraffin. Candles have come a long way. Though no longer man’s major source of light, they continue to grow in popularity and use lighting the way for celebration, romance, serenity and hip home decor. While modern candle-making processes vary, most candles are made through the timeless process of placing a cotton wick into wax which is then molded, dipped, extruded, pressed, rolled, drawn or filled into a desired shape and size. Candles burn long and clean when the proper material and grade of material is used. A good wick and a good grade of wax sized properly is the key. Danica Design uses a blend of beeswax and other premium waxes in its tapers. Cindy is quick to point out that no lead wick or animal by-products are used in the making of their candles “All of our candles are solid color and long burning. Our scented products have fragrances throughout and we use braided cotton for the pillars and tapers. We use a different size wick for each product and sometimes a different one within scented products if they are scented.” There is a lot of concern these days about the use of lead in candle wicks, but Cindy assured us that this hasn’t been allowed in the US for years, and people shouldn’t be afraid. “Our wicks for pillars and tapers are cotton core. Our jars and votives are meant to puddle so they should be burned in a tightly fitting container, They use zinc which is not harmful. The other hot candle topic is soy, which some feel is superior to paraffin, the industry standard. Although Danica has begun to use soy to make their candles, Cindy assures us that soy is refined just like paraffin. “It is a good product; its just that soy candle makers always portray paraffin candles as inferior due to the base product. Paraffin is a natural product. “There’s a lovely image of soy being harvested from the earth, boiled down by peasant farmers and lovingly made into candles. But in reality it is harvested by huge corporations and refined in New Jersey plants, just like paraffin. Paraffin is really the by-product of stuff we use in daily life anyway. It’s like eating the crust on the bread as well.” Danica also adds beeswax to its candles — it helps in the look and burn of the candles. Candle making is nothing if not labor intensive. Taper candles are dipped up to 50 times with cooling periods in between. Danica makes 41 colors in tapers in ten difference sizes. They hand pour jars, pillars and votives in up to 30 fragrances. If your path doesn’t lead to Maine anytime soon, Danica Design’s website will light your way to quality candles: www.danicacandles.com or call 1-800-244-5852.
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