How to make and sell beeswax candles
Beeswax is a wonderful wax produced by honey bees and is one of the most interesting products produced by nature. You will love the colour and the beautiful natural scent of beeswax. Although it may resemble other waxes, beeswax is entirely different in its chemistry and molecular characteristics. Beeswax has great value as a candle wax and burns very slowly. Beeswax is also very stable and subject to deterioration by very few solvents.
Beeswax is produced by worker bees after consuming nectar from flowers – the same source as honey. Beeswax is therefore a further elaboration of honey itself! In this way beeswax is directly linked to the natural environment. You will be contributing to the natural environment by using this wax because you will be supporting beekeeping. Bees and beekeeping are important to us humans as bees pollinate one third of the food that we eat!
In this course I show you how to use this amazing natural product, beeswax to make your own candles. You can use these candles in your own home or give them as gifts to friends and family. You can also start your own small business making and selling beautiful beeswax candles. You don’t need to be a beekeeper – you just need a source of beeswax. The course will also direct you to sources of beeswax.
Everyone needs a side hustle these days and beeswax candles could be yours! If you enjoy working with your hands you will enjoy making candles.
The course will take you through beeswax – where it comes from and its properties. The course will show you the different ways to render wax from honeycombs. The course will teach you how to filter beeswax so that your wax is clean. The course will then show you how to candles using a variety of methods – container candles, moulded candles, dipped candles and rolled candles.
Once you have made your beautiful creations the course will take you through packaging options and how you can market and sell your beeswax candles. Who knows you may come to love beeswax so much that you might even want to become a beekeeper and produce your own wax (if you are not a beekeeper already!).
Preparing to make beeswax candles
-
1
IntroductionThis lecture sets the stage for the course ahead.
-
2
Assignment - Introduce yourselfLet's get to know each other!
-
3
What are candles?
What are candles, the history of candles and uses of candles today.
-
4
The candle wick
Let's learn all about candle wicks in this lecture.
-
5
Properties of beeswax
Beeswax is a beautiful and amazing product produced by honeybees. Let's learn more about it in this lecture!
-
6
Where to source beeswax?
Find out where to source beeswax in this lecture.
-
7
Summary
Let's look back at what we have covered in section one.
-
8
Test your knowledgeTest your knowledge on what we have covered in section 1
Rolled Candles
-
9
Introduction
Let's look ahead to section 2 of the course.
-
10
Safety precautions making and using candles
Safety is paramount. Before we go further let's look at what safety precautions are needed when working with beeswax and also when using candles.
-
11
Prepare to work with wax - dress and location
You need to decide on where to work and how to dress before starting to work with wax.
-
12
Candle making equipment & materials
In this lecture we look at the equipment needed to make beeswax candles.
-
13
Rendering honeycombs to make beeswax
This lecture explains how beeswax is extracted from honeycombs.
-
14
Filtering beeswax to be ready for candle making
Unless you buy clean beeswax you might need to filter it to make sure it is clean before making candles. This lecture explains how to filter beeswax.
-
15
Heating and pouring beeswax
This lecture looks at how to heat beeswax and the correct temperatures and techniques for pouring beeswax.
-
16
Adding essential oil and fragrances
You can add fragrances to your beeswax candles. In this lecture I show you how to add essential oil to your wax.
-
17
Burn testing your candles
To know how your candles will perform you need to burn test them. In this lecture we look at how to burn test your candles in a systematic way.
-
18
Cleaning up after candle making
Candle making can be messy! In this lecture I give some tips on cleaning up after candle making.
-
19
Summary
In this lecture we summarise what we have covered in section 2 of the course.
-
20
Test your knowledge
Container Candles
-
21
Introduction
This lecture introduces section 3 on rolled beeswax candles.
-
22
Making a rolled candle
I this lecture I explain what a rolled beeswax candle is and what you need to make one.
-
23
Practical assignment - make a rolled candle
In this assignment I demonstrate making a basic rolled beeswax candle using the wax and wick supplied by Dingle Bee Supplies (a local supplier in my country, Ireland).
-
24
Summary
This lecture summarises what we have covered in section 3.
Moulded candles
-
25
Introduction
This lecture introduces what will be covered in section 4.
-
26
Making container candles
This lecture introduces container candles and what you need to make container candles.
-
27
Practical assignment - make a container candle (Part 1)
This assignment shows you how to make container candles with beeswax. Now it's your turn!
-
28
Practical assignment (part 2)
Practical assignment continued .......Now that we have made some container candles let's see how they burn.
-
29
Summary
Summary of section 4 on container candles.
Dipped candles
-
30
Introduction
This lecture introduces section 5 of the course.
-
31
How to make moulded candles from beeswax
This lecture gives an overview on how to make moulded beeswax candles.
-
32
Practical assignment - make mouled candles
In this assignment you will be shown how to make moulded beeswax candle. Now it's your turn! Please share photos of your own moulded candles in the course Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/296988162621005
-
33
Summary
Summary of section 5.
Related Courses
