Painted Lantern Candles is a tiny indie handcrafted chandler. We are produced out of and based in my home in Aurora, Colorado. Painted Lantern Candles was established with the thought that candles should look as amazing as they smell. All our jars and containers are unique and sometimes bespoke/custom showpieces that can be re-used, upcycled, and/or displayed.
All Painted Lantern candles are handmade in very small batches! The Travel Collection is poured in batches of 12, but almost all other batches are only 3-4 candles per batch. We use American soy grown in the American Midwest and purchase as much as we can from other small businesses like ourselves.
Painted Lantern Candles is woman-owned (that’s me!) and minority-owned (also me!). We are a tiny independent small business, because when I say “we” really I just mean me. (My friends and family occasionally get press-ganged into helping out at fairs, though.)
Although I’ve done my best to choose the best color for each candle, you can absolutely ask me to do a custom candle poured in the color of your choice. Please contact me for customization!
How did I get started?
I’ve always loved chemistry. I needed more art and creativity in my life, and I wanted to do something that would let me play with chemistry and physics while still being something I loved. A couple of years ago, I started making candles, hoping to add them to my line-up.
Being a perfectionist can be exhausting. Every single candle I sell has been extensively tested! Who knew there were so many facets to a good candle? The wrong wick and wax combined will soot up and coat things in fine black powder. Too large a wick and the candle burns too hot, which means a high risk of overheating the candle jar and causing a messy (and dangerous) explosion. Too small a wick and there’s leftover wax on the sides of the jar (what a waste.) And EVERY new fragrance interacts differently with different wicks and different wax!
- A candle that soots is a messy candle and dangerous to health. Every single Painted Lantern Candle has been personally tested extensively for zero soot.
- Candles that get too hot to pick up generally stress the glass of the candle vessel, so all Painted Lantern Candles are poured into ASTM-tested vessels that are wicked properly. (Candles within the same collection will not always have the same wick or even wick type!)
- Candles might have great cold throw but not smell like anything when lit. I personally formulate and test every single Painted Lantern Candle for hot throw (how strong/far the fragrance spreads when the candle is lit).
- The best candles burn super efficiently for the longest lasting and yet most powerful fragrance. I test many possible formulations until I settle on the best compromise between a great burn and a great hot throw that still manages to make the candle last as long as possible.
I’m proud of every single Painted Lantern Candle, and I hope that they bring you (or whoever you gift them to) many hours of enjoyment and fond memories. Please feel free to contact me at any time to share your experiences with my candles!