Silicone Mould – Rudolph Pendant

01 · THE ANTLERS ARE THE FRAGILE PART

And the last part to fill

The antlers are the thin, branching part of the figure: it is where air gets trapped as you pour and where the piece snaps as you demould. Pour slowly, tapping, so the wax reaches the tip of every tine.

Beeswax pours between 70 and 75 °C. It melts at 62-65, so below that it arrives thick and will not enter fine detail; above 85 it darkens.

02 · THE FREEZER IS NOT A GOOD IDEA

With beeswax, fast chilling works against you

There is a trick going round about putting the filled mould in the freezer to harden the tips before demoulding. With resin or plaster it may pass; with beeswax it does not pay: chilled suddenly it turns brittle, and a section as thin as an antler breaks more easily, not less.

On top of that, coming out of the cold the piece picks up condensation and the surface loses its shine. What works is the boring answer: complete cooling at room temperature, unhurried, then open the mould right out to free the antlers without levering.

03 · LED LIGHTS DO NOT GIVE OFF HEAT

If scent is the selling point, say how it works

Adding essential oils to the wax as you pour — pine, cinnamon, orange — turns the pendant into an air freshener, and it is a good product to sell. But it helps to know where the heat comes from: an LED string gives off almost none, so hanging it among the tree lights no longer diffuses the scent the way old bulbs did.

It works just as well in a wardrobe, in the car or near a radiator. And the essential oil goes in with the wax off the heat: hot, the aroma leaves with the steam.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

A decorative pendant: little wax, high turnover.