Candle mould - Angel (tall)

01 · THE HEIGHT IS THE PRODUCT

Sixteen centimetres from little over a hundred grams

A tall, narrow candle yields far more than a solid one: here you raise 160 mm from about 115 grams, while a chunky piece half as tall can ask for twice that. It is what makes this the most profitable mould on a Christmas table.

The price of that slenderness is detail: the fine relief of an angel is exactly where a poor mould fails. The flexible silicone reproduces it and releases it whole, without dismantling anything.

02 · THE WICK AND THE BURN

3×8 as a starting point, not as a guarantee

The maker recommends a 3×8 wick. Take it as a starting point: beeswax melts higher than paraffin and asks for more wick at the same diameter, and on a tall narrow candle the margin is thin.

The first piece tells you. If the flame digs a well and drowns inside it, the wick was too small. If the pool floods over the edge and the candle weeps, there is too much.

03 · HOW TO POUR IT

Wax at 70-75 °C and cooling without moving the mould

The mould has to be clean and dry. Centre the wick, secure it and pour the wax at around 70-75 °C. Above 85 °C beeswax starts to darken and you lose exactly the colour that makes a beeswax candle worth having. The mould has a slit: before pouring, close it with rubber bands so the wax does not escape through the join.

Then let it cool naturally without moving the mould: that is what prevents bubbles and internal voids in a piece this tall, where the wax contracts along its axis. Finally trim the wick to the length you want.

04 · WHY IT IS WORTH IT

The same kilo of wax, sold a different way

Cappings wax is sold in bulk by the kilo when it could be sold by the piece. Nine 16 cm angels come out of one kilo, and a recognisable figure sells itself at a December market. It is beeswax, with no dyes and no added fragrance, which is what people buying handmade look for.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The two numbers that decide the piece.