Candle Mould – Pumpkin

01 · A 250-GRAM CANDLE

Four to the kilo, and it shows

The supplier puts the load at 250 g of wax, consistent with the volume of a 9 × 9 cm pumpkin. That is four candles per kilo: in one piece, what would be fifteen or twenty tealights.

That changes where it sits on the counter: it is not the impulse buy by the till, it is a seasonal piece, and it carries a price to match.

02 · THE FIRST BURN DECIDES

It has to melt out to the edge

On a candle 9 cm across, the first time it is lit you have to let it burn until the pool of melted wax reaches the edge. Put it out sooner and the candle 'remembers' that diameter, then tunnels down leaving the wall unburnt.

With the supplier's 3×18 wick that means several hours. Worth telling the customer: it is the difference between a candle that burns through and one that stops halfway.

03 · WHEN IT SELLS

Autumn, and October above all

It is a short-season figure: autumn and Halloween. Outside those weeks it moves little, so production is planned ahead.

Pour between 70 and 75 °C, and since the piece is large the shrinkage shows more: keep hot wax back to fill the dip that forms around the wick. The mould has a slit: before pouring, close it with rubber bands so the wax does not escape through the join.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Each piece takes a quarter kilo of wax: worth knowing how much of your own wax you have before planning the run.