Dipping Candles in November

    The Beez Neez Apiary Supply is a highly seasonal business. I'm like the proverbial "one armed paper hanger" in March through June. Then there is a big drop off in our business in the fall. November through January I'm more like the lonely Maytag repairman from the commercials. Actually, I don't mind the seasonal rythym of the store. I gives me time in the winter for recreational  activities like candle classes.  We held our first candle class of this past Thursday (November 12).  I have scheduled candle classes on most Thursday evenings in November and December. I say most because there will not be classes on either Thanksgiving day or Christmas Eve. I charge $20 per person to take the class. Then the class participants can buy any candles we make that night for the cost of the filtered beeswax. I currently sell filtered beeswax for $14.00 per pound. I normally sell beeswax candles for $1.30 per ounce ($20.80 per pound).

A nine piece beeswax nativity set

Beeswax Christmas ornaments

    I really enjoy making beeswax candles.  They are almost magical.  A beeswax candle will burn much longer than a paraffin candle, it will burn cleaner (no soot mark on the ceiling), and smell wonderful.  There is no nasty smell that needs to be camouflaged by the addition of any scents. Beeswax candles smell like they are made from honey.  In fact beeswax is made from honey. The bees consume honey and turn it into beeswax with the wax glands located on the under side of their abdomen. I have read that it takes anywhere from 5 to 10 pounds of honey to produce one pound of beeswax. Beeswax has the highest melting point of any natural wax which is one of the reasons it burns so cleanly. When the bees are making beeswax they hand together in big long chains like trapeze artists. This is called festooning.  As the bees produce flakes of beeswax, other worker bees climb up and down the living chain of bees to collect it and carry it to their current building project.

Hand dipped beeswax tapers

Large pine cone with tea lights and votives

    I even enjoy the messy job of rendering the beeswax.  Last year I rendered beeswax from five 55 gallon drums of cappings which resulted in about 1,060 pounds of beeswax. The little Walter Kelly water jacket cappings melter that I have was probably not intended to do that kind of volume. Last year  (2014) was a good honey year. More honey harvested means more beeswax from the cappings.  This year was not a very good honey year in western Washington due to the dry weather. Instead of five 55 galloon drums of cappings I only have one drum of cappings waiting to be processed. I will be lucky to end up with 220 pounds of beeswax from this years production.