Silicone mould, 6 hexagons with bee, for beeswax and soap

01 · PRESENTING WAX

Turns cappings wax into something you can sell over a counter

Here this mould sells as much for wax as for soap. The hexagon with its honeycomb takes cappings wax out of the ingot format and leaves it presentable for direct sale, and since the tray stands 2.8 cm tall, the hexagon comes out solid: it handles and stacks without chipping at the edges.

02 · POURING

Beeswax shrinks about 10% as it cools, so fill generously

Beeswax melts between 61 and 65 °C and contracts by roughly 10% of its volume as it sets: the block ends up below the level you filled to, with a slight dip in the centre. Fill above the top of the pattern and let it cool slowly — cooling it fast deepens the dip. Once cold, the block comes out whole by flexing the tray.

The maximum temperature the silicone withstands is not published, so pour the wax already melted and off the heat: the tray is a mould, not a melting vessel.

03 · BEFORE YOU BUY

For handmade soap it works the same way, with melted soap base instead of wax. Silicone flexes once loaded: to move it full, rest it on something rigid.