Bring a little light to the darkest holiday.
Nothing says perfect Autumn day quite like scented candles. Whether you buy them, make them yourself, or just hang around in the store for an hour smelling them and reminding yourself that you've already maxed out your candle budget for the month, candles are a quintessential part of the Fall season.
If you're looking for a candle that looks great, smells great, and gives you those *fall vibes*, look no further than Wicked Flames. The candle business, run by New Yorker Lindsay Preville, features hand poured candles in a variety of Fall scents – and, sometimes, with gorgeous horror inspired labels.
I recently had the opportunity to ask Preville a few questions about Wicked Flames, beginning with introducing herself and her candle business.
"I'm a mom, wife and owner of 3 crazy dogs." Preville, pictured below, told me. "I work full time for a health insurance company, and have started a candle business on the side called Wicked Flames Candle Co. I started out making candles for events but now I have added everyday candles and wax melts. My favorite part is how good the house smells while I'm making them!"
Preville's candles are available in scents such as Apple Maple Bourbon, Pumpkin Caramel, Apple Cider Doughnut, and, interestingly, Froot Loops. Her favourite, however, is Autumn Spice. "It's a mix between cinnamon and smoke. It just screams Fall to me. Reminds me of chimney smoke on a crisp fall evening, but with a little bit of sweetness. Apple Cider Donut is a close second!"
So, how does she make these candles? Preville describes the process as being like a "mini science experiment".
"After choosing the wax type and jar you want, you'll need to do some wick testing to find the right size wick for your candle," she explained. "That's when the fun begins. I recently bought a presto pot that I turned into a wax melter. It allows me to melt much more wax than I could before. I measure out how much wax I'll need for the amount of candles I'm pouring and start the melting process. Once my wax gets to about 185° F. I add in my fragrance oil. I stir, let it cool and then pour into my jars. After they sit awhile, I then trim the wicks, and add the lids and labels. They're all ready to go!"
However, I still had some questions – specifically about the labels, and the process of designing them.
"Designing labels is one of my favorite parts of candle making!" Preville told me. "It's the first thing that I notice on a candle. I like to use mine not only for scent, but as part as my home decor. I use onlinelabels.com to purchase my labels which allows me to use their designer for free. I start by picking some of my favorite movies or things i love about Halloween. Sometimes an idea just comes to me while I'm lying in bed, other times I just play around with the label designer until I like what I've put together. There are still so many more labels I would to create featuring Halloween, Stranger Things and some 80's slasher films. I could spend hours working on my labels!"
It shows – the finished labels are super pretty. One of my personal favourites is the label for her Poison Apple candle, a Disney-inspired piece bearing the quote "one bite, and all your dreams will come true".
Preville's wish to make a candle inspired by Halloween is no surprise – it's her favourite horror movie. "I have been a fan of horror movies since I was little," she told me. "I remember only renting scary movies from the video store growing up. And of course my home office is decorated with framed horror movie posters. But my all time favorite movie has and always will be John Carpenters Halloween. I do however love Ed and Lorraine Warren, so The Conjuring is another favorite."
Naturally, Preville loves not only Halloween, the movie, but also Halloween, the holiday – and the Fall season in general. When I asked what in particular she loved about it, she responded, "So many things! The crisp air, finally getting to wear my boots and sweaters, the beautiful fall foliage (especially in NY), apple picking, cider donuts, decorating my house, Halloween movies of course and dressing up! I also try to find some kind of ghost tour to go on or attend Haunted Happenings in Salem, Mass."
Preville started Wicked Flames only a handful of months ago. In that time, she's created a ton of gorgeous candles, and secured a five star rating on her Etsy shop. Moving forward, she's looking to grow her business and gain more awareness, starting with launching a website. "Right now I am only selling on Etsy, but I am preparing to launch a website hopefully in November to introduce my Winter Collection. I would also love to start selling my candles in small gift shops in the area. I am only making candles and wax melts for now, but I would love to expand to bath products and fragrance sprays in the near future."
Preville stressed the importance of supporting small businesses, saying, "Whether it's candle making, baking, crafts, etc. I think everyone is creative in their own way and should have the opportunity to shine." I couldn't agree more – and if you're interested in supporting a small business, you can buy your own Wicked Flames candle on Etsy, or follow the business's Instagram for updates on new candles, pretty labels, and the launch of a website sometime next month.
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