What Time Is It? It's The Wicking Hour.

Calling all candle lovers...

There are many things to love about The Wicking Hour's line of candles and wax melts: they're vegan and cruelty-free, they're handmade, they're all sorts of spooky. However, perhaps my favourite thing about The Wicking Hour is the fact that they offer cherry-and-merlot-scented wax melts designed to look like blood bags where you can actually squeeze the blood out.

See, I love candles and wax melts – and I love Halloween-themed candles and wax melts in particular – but for the most part I love them because they're comforting, they're pretty, and they smell nice. It's rare that, while looking through a candle company's line of products, I actually sit back and go, "Woah. What was that?"

However, that's exactly what happened when I came across The Wicking Hour's blood bag melts – and that sort of innovative, unique, more-than-a-little-macabre product is exactly what Alex Miller, the creator of The Wicking Hour, strives to make.

I recently had the chance to interview Alex about The Wicking Hour, which she runs entirely by herself. Alex initially began making creepy candles to pass the time while on furlough during the pandemic – then, once that furlough escalated to her being laid off, she decided to turn her hobby into a business.

"The thing that surprised me the most about the process of starting a candle business is how much testing is really involved to ensure that you provide a product that is super high quality but is also safe for someone to burn in their homes," Alex told me. "Each fragrance might act differently and what works for one combination might not work for another. It took me about 6 months to get to a point where I felt comfortable selling my products."

Now, Alex has the candle-making process down to a science. "The basics of making my candles are to start by putting the wick in the wick stand and adhering it to the bottom of my jar," she explained. "I then weigh out how much wax I will need and put it in my wax melter. While I’m waiting for that to get to the right temperature I measure how much fragrance oil and liquid dye I will need into my pouring pot. Once the wax has gotten to the correct temperature, I turn off the warmer and let it cool down enough to still bind well with the fragrance but not burn any of it off. Then I pour the wax in with the fragrance oil and liquid dye and stir for two minutes. Lastly I pour it into the vessel and leave it to cure for 1-2 weeks to optimize the hot throw (how it smells when lit)."

The decision to make Halloween-themed products came naturally to Alex, who has always loved the holiday. "It would probably be easier for me to tell you what I don’t love about Halloween," she joked. "It’s a time where it’s cool to be creepy and everyone can really let their creativity shine through whether that be through their costumes, painting pumpkins, or even making candles. I also love the nostalgia aspect because Halloween has always been such a big event for my family."

As a lifelong Halloween lover, Alex has a long list of Halloween-themed or "witchy" creators and businesses that she loves: Wild Witch Bath Co, Moonlit Resincraft, Reins Designs, Sundaze Vegan Goods, Angelique's Goodies, Scorpio Sun 95, The Brave Little Stitch, and Mady's Bling Shop, to name a few.

As for her own candles, Alex's favourite is the Luna candle, a moon themed piece that she described as "time consuming ... but worth it".

For the future, Alex hopes to continue growing her business and developing her brand, someday making it into a full time job.

"One of the main reasons I got into making candles and wax melts in the first place was because I wanted to make something nobody had ever seen before such as tarot card and blood bag wax melts," she said. "I also always try to tie my names, photography, and packaging back into my brand which has allowed me to develop a strong brand image. I have a lot of other ideas that I can’t wait to put into motion and am so thankful for all of the love and support I have received so far that will allow me to do so ... I love doing this, so the ability to do it all the time would truly be a dream."

If you want to support The Wicking Hour, you can check out their Etsy shop, or follow them on Instagram. And hurry – the blood bag melts are on sale!