Candle care & safety

A candle is a small piece of engineering — wax, wick and the room it sits in. These are the things we’d tell you across the bench in Holyport, and the plain rules that keep a naked flame safe.

The first burn sets the pattern

Give the first burn time — two to three hours, until the melted wax reaches the glass all the way round. Wax remembers. Put it out early and it burns down in a tunnel from then on, leaving half the jar unused on the sides.

Before every burn after

• Trim the wick to about 5 mm. A long wick makes a tall, smoky flame; a short one keeps it steady and the glass clean.
• Stand it on a flat, heat-resistant surface, away from anything that could catch — curtains, books, the edge of a shelf.
• Keep it out of draughts. A draught bends the flame and eats the wax on one side.

Getting the scent into the room

Light it half an hour before you want the room to smell of it, with the door shut. The Walled Garden candles suit a bedroom or a hall; the core range will carry a sitting room. Two candles in one room fight each other — one in each room is better.

While it’s lit

• Never leave a lit candle alone. Put it out before you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Keep it out of reach of children and pets.
• Burn for no more than four hours at a time.
• Don’t move it while the wax is liquid. The glass is hot.
• Keep the wax pool clear of match ends and wick trimmings.
• Snuff it rather than blow it out — less smoke, and the wick stays where it should.

Knowing when it’s done

Stop when there’s about a centimetre of wax left. Below that the flame sits too close to the glass and can mark the surface underneath. A core candle gives around thirty hours; the Walled Garden candles around twenty-five. When it’s out, stand the jar a minute in hot water, wipe it clean and keep it — refills are coming later this year.

The label on the base of every jar carries the safety instructions for that candle. Read it, and keep it on.

Anything we haven’t covered, ask — hello@theluminary.uk. Every order still leaves Holyport packed by one of us.