Rolling beeswax candles from craft store honeycomb sheets is a fun way to introduce children to a new hobby, but that’s not how you make traditional, non-toxic beeswax tapers. The sheets have been processed and colour has been added. They also burn down quite quickly.

There’s a reason that craft stores don’t sell what you need to make the latter — the equipment is specialized, pure beeswax isn’t always easy to find, and it takes time, commitment and energy to make good beeswax candles.

My beeswax comes from Campbell’s Honey House in Dartford, a delightful tiny hamlet about 30 minutes from my home. The Campbells have been beekeepers for at least two generations. I  look forward to the annual autumn drive to pick up my beeswax. The colours are gorgeous as I drive through the Northumberland hills, the vistas are breath-taking and the homesteads are few and far-between.

My set-up for dipping tapers is very homespun and takes up most of my small kitchen. (Everything I make for Smallbones is made on-site — my surroundings are usually in chaos!)

First, there’s the tall, slim stainless steel vat that I had specially made by Vout Welding in Cobourg (aluminum and other metals discolour beeswax). It sits inside a large stainless stock pot that acts like a double-boiler for melting the wax. This is what ten pounds of beeswax cappings look like after cleaning. My melting vat holds about 30 pounds that I top up throughout the process. I buy cotton wicking by the spool.

After the wax has melted (I begin very early in the morning as it takes at least four  hours) I can get on with making candles! I cut the required number of wicks to the correct length for pairs of tapers while the wax is melting. I make one dozen pair at a time and dip them, one by one, into the hot wax and drape them over a dowel suspended between two chairs — very high tech!

Three dips

For the first 3-4 dips, the wicks must be straightened before each dip, then dipping can continue with straightening only as needed, and cutting off the ‘big drip’ at the bottom 2-3 times. The first picture above is after three dips, and the second is after six dips. After 20-30 dips (seems to depend on the season & room temperature) I have lovely tapers that give light, smell wonderful, are not allergenic and last a very long time. This is the Smallbones page with lots of information and tips about beeswax candles.

25 or so dips!

Making beeswax pillars, votives and tealights is even more specialized. Regular candle moulds don’t work with beeswax. When I began I tried metal moulds and hard plastic moulds. I could not release the candles from the moulds and I was ready to give up when I found the man who I later called my “beeswax candle guru.” I had a one-on-one workshop with him where I learned many nuances of working with beeswax and even how to judge beeswax quality. He also taught me how to make beeswax pillar moulds from (I’m sorry to admit it’s a horrid plasticky type of stuff) a bright pink substance that works like a miracle!