Today I drove over to my candle studio and did a little bit of work. It’s kind of baffling that this is what I do for a job, because I really love it?? Like I don’t know if I would’ve believed you if you had told me even six years ago that I would be making my own candles.

Since Spring is right around the corner I’ve got to start planning my candlemaking schedule for the new season. Right now it’s just too cold to pour any candles so I’m trying to make the most of this frigid period to plan and organise myself for 2022. I did want to make some candles today but the temperature inside my studio only just reached 18ºC after I blasted the electric radiator for a few hours!

Pouring hot wax under these circumstances will only result in a disappointingly lumpy surface on every candle and wax melt, and nobody wants that. I’ve seen some candle companies use heat guns to blast the tops of their candles, and if I have a batch that unexpectedly turns out lumpy I’ll do that as well, but it’s not something that you should be doing with every batch! Heat guns get so hot so quickly that they can easily scorch wicks and burn off the fragrance oil completely. The best thing you can do is pour your candles under the right conditions and only use a heat gun as a last resort.

Anyway, I had a little photo shoot at the studio and I’m super chuffed with the way the pictures look. Previously I was exclusively using my 50mm lens and was limited by the depth of the lens and the amount of space I could move back in my studio. The 18-55mm lens worked brilliantly for product photos. I also snapped a picture to show my set up for the photos, which includes two white crates that have LED photo lights taped to them, as well as a ring light. I would really like to get some clamp lights instead of always having to tape the LEDs to crates. Those lights actually came with a foldable light tent I bought for product photos but I never really loved the size or even the tent itself. The lights were definitely the most useful aspect!

Once I finished up at the studio I made my way back home for dinner and watching the new and final season of Search Party. Tonight I think Alex and I are planning on watching a film up in the movie room so I’m looking forward to that!