WHY THE CANDLES ARE DIFFERENT So what makes our candles so special beside the unique look? For one they burn different than most pillar candles. What traditional good quality pillar candles have attempted to achieve is burning the entire candle without leaving any wax behind. This is exactly what you would want to see with solid color candles or ones that have an outer skin. Gateway Candles stained glass look and carved candles are intended to be reused by putting a votive or tea light candle in it after it burns! Why would Gateway Candles do such a weird thing? Since the lit stained glass candles have translucent colors that look like a beautiful stained glass window with the light shinning through, it was desirable to have it just burn down the center and keep the outside shell. As the pillar burns down the chips or "window panes" light up as the flame ignites each color chip. It's so much fun to see a window pane light up all at once as the candle burns down. The more the pillar burns the more of the stained glass effect you have. When one of the candles are about three quarters burned the entire shell looks like a lit stained glass window. What a sight! How is this achieved? It took more than four years of full time work to get it right. Wax that is produced in the United States is too opaque and most don't burn as clean as we require. We ended up testing many waxes, including soy and finally found one that is produced over seas (a trade secrete of where) that burns pure, and clean enough to produce the translucent affect as well as burning down the center, leaving the shell. Then there was the problem of the wax that was to be poured over these translucent chips so that it was opaque and burned cleanly, not smoking or balling up the wick as it burned. Also we faced the challenge of getting vibrant colors that mimicked the amazing colors of stained glass windows and didn't turn the wax opaque. Well, by the time we were done we ended up using three different kinds of wax and over 50 different color choices. Our process requires that after the stained glass candles are poured that they be shaved by hand. We then invented a machine that rotates slowly, varies the speed and holds the candle while it is being shaved by an artisan. These things are what makes Gateway Candles so different and why we believe that this is the next generation in candles, or will become in time. For those of you who are willing to take the plunge and buy one our candles you will see that compared to their picture they are so much more beautiful and elegant. Candle Burning Tip: A BRIEF HISTORY OF CANDLES: Candles can be traced back as early as biblical times. For many years they were the main source of light for peoples' homes. Many early Greek and Roman candles were made of flax thread coated with wax and pitch, while in other countries candles were made of palm oil, coconut oil, beeswax and olive oil. In England bayberry wax was refined for use in making candles. The earliest dipped candles were made of tallow. Not until the early 1800's was paraffin made to replace tallow as the main ingredient for candle making. Electricity has since replaced the candle as an important source of light, but the candle is still important today for its role in decoration on festive occasions, for the calm and sanctity it evokes in religious ceremonies, and for the general mood of warmth, relaxation, and even romance it creates in our homes. While candles were used in the past as a source of light, they are now used as a source of home decor, fragrance and just to set a pleasant relaxing mood. Many people use candles every day as a way to pamper themselves and add a special touch to their homes .Candles come in all shapes, sizes and types. From paraffin and gel to beeswax and soy, candles can be found in quite an assortment of materials. If used properly, a quality made candle can enhance your environment and provide a source of pleasure, set a romantic mood, light up your dinner table or even help remove offensive odors from your home. |