Gold Candles

We have just added metallic silver and gold candles to our pillar and taper lines. We have had many requests for metallic candles have finally added them to our website. These candles are the perfect decoration for 25th and 50th anniversary parties. These affordable metallic silver and gold candles will make any table display look expensive. Paring up a pillar candle with matching taper candles also makes for a very nice looking unity candle wedding set.

No Soot, Less Soot, More Soot Debate...Over

So there is this on going debate about soot from candles. The big issue is claims from soy candle manufacturers that soy candles don't produce any soot or they are soot free. We have been making paraffin candles a long time and soy candles since August 2008. While we have never believed that soy candles do not produce any soot we get asked about it quite often. People want to know if the air quality in their homes will be better burning a soy candle over a paraffin. According to the National Candle Association in an answer to the question "Is candle soot harmful?" they replied:


"No. The minuscule amount of soot produced by a candle is the natural byproduct of incomplete combustion. Candle soot is composed primarily of elemental carbon particles, and is similar to the soot given off by kitchen toasters and cooking oils. These everyday household sources of soot are not considered a health concern, and are chemically different from the soot formed by the burning of diesel fuel, coal, gasoline, etc."

In response to all the questions, I did my own test. I made two 16oz jar candles with the same fragrance and wicks, and burned them both daily for about 8 hours here at work until they were gone. I maintained both candles by trimming the wicks when they became a little to long from such a long burn period. The idea was to have the only difference be the wax type, 1 was soy, 1 was paraffin and see the amount of soot produced under a normal burn. I took this picture with the worst soot side facing the camera. The soy candle on the left has less soot around the top of the jar than the paraffin candle, but both have soot. Some of the soot around the tops of the jars was a result of blowing the candles out and the smoke that follows. The environment that these two candles were burned in was our factory and therefor quite drafty. Had these been burned in a home there would have been less soot on each jar. A second thing to keep in mind is that container candles have the hardest time burning with a still flame. They fight between hot air going out and cooler air coming in causes the flame to dance, causing more soot.
So what is the short answer to the soot question? Soy candles are not soot free but will produce less soot when burned under the same conditions as a paraffin candle.

Is Live Chat Helpful?

I have been considering adding a live chat type feature on our website so that customers can instantly get help and have questions answered. There are loads of programs and companies out there to use at a wide variety of prices. Of course each of the companies supplying the service tells me how much it improves sales and the overall shopping experience of the customer. Not that they are bias. To get an honest answer I am putting up a poll here on our blog. Basically, I would like to know if a live chat type program on our site is something you would find useful or if it would not really matter to you because you wouldn't use it anyway. Feel free to either leave a comment or answer in the poll.

New Prodcuct Added - Wax Tarts

We have just put a new line of products up on our site. Check out these new wax tarts. These candle tarts come in a small foil pan and have a nice decorative cut out shape in the top of them. Use the candle tarts in electric tart burners or in the tea light heated tart warmers. These 2 1/4 inch diameter candles are highly scented too. They are only $2.25 each. Need a cute gift idea for a friend? Put a few of these together with a tart warmer for a perfect gift idea. Go to our wax tarts page to check them out.

Mother's Day Event

We have our special Mother's Day Sale beginning today. Enter the code mother in the coupon code box and receive 20% off of any and all jar candles in your cart. The Mother's Day Sale will run from now until May 10th. Take advantage of these rock bottom prices and give your mom something she will love this Mother's Day. *discount not available to wholesale accounts. discount only available on purchases through the U.S. Candle Company website, not in our outlet store or through www.keystonecandle.com

Floating Candles

One of the questions we get quite often from our customers is regarding floating candles, or rather candles that float. The question is usually along the lines of " What makes the candle float or Will any candle float?" There is a pretty consistent look of surprise when we explain to them that just about all candles will "float". (I say "just about" since I'm sure somewhere there is a candle that won't) It is not the shape or size of the candle that makes it float but the fact that wax is lighter than water. The shape of a floating candle is important since that determines if the wick will stay out of the water. You could put one of our biggest pillar candles, 6x9, in a tub of water and it will float, only it will float on its side, putting the wicks under water.

CBS News Video - Burning Candles Safely

I just watched this news video done by CBS news on burning candles safely. It was a well done video and has some helpful information in it. I thought I'd share it just as a reminder to make sure to use your candles safely. Many times we (myself included) burn candles so frequently that we forget that if we are not careful we could injure our children or pets, or cause damage to our homes. The number one thing to keep in mind that was not mentioned in the news broadcast is NEVER leave a burning candle unattended. If you have to leave a room where a candle is lit, either blow the candle out or carefully take it into the other room with you. One of the most common areas I have seen lit candles left alone is in bathrooms. Many times the candles are left lit on the back of toilets. I don't think that the back of a toilet is a good place for a lit candle because someone with long hair, or a hooded sweatshirt could end up catching themselves on fire. Keep lit candles out of the reach of children. I know when my two girls were younger they were fascinated by the flicker candle flame. They also knew that the whole purpose of lighting candles was to blow them. Where did they learn that? The joy of blowing out birthday candles of course. So to kids, candles are a fun play thing. Please, please, please use candles responsibly. Now that everyone is terrified of candles, come check out our site for a wide selection of candles at really affordable prices.

Nice Testimonial

I received this email the other day for an extremely happy customer and thought I'd share it.

"Just wanted to send kudos your way for such quick shipping and a high quality product. I was having trouble finding a 6x9 pillar to fill a large, floor standing candle urn and your product filled the bill. I picked up the black, Opium candle and must say that the fragrance is a pleasant incense, not at all overwhelming like some cheap head shop. Great stuff! Keep up the good work and I'll spread the word about your business. Best, Neill - Florida"

It seems that it is more of human nature to send emails when your unhappy about an outcome then to send them when things turned out perfect. Of course we are here to help if there is a problem with anything. If you have any testimonials about our products we would love to hear them. I will be setting up a testimonials page on our site soon but for now you can either leave them as a comment here or shoot us an email.

Not All Candles Are Created Equal

We received a phone call the other day from a customer who had just placed a nice size order of jar candles with us a few days before this call. She wanted to check the status of it and we were happy to tell her it was shipping out that day. As the conversation started to come to a close she said she had a minor complaint. She said that on her previous order of jar candles non of them stayed lit, the flames just kept going out. That is not usually a complaint we get about our candles so we began to ask her a few questions of our own to try and see what the problem may be. Through continued conversation the lady admitted that she had been on our site and had left it. She wanted to do a little more looking around the web before making a purchase. She came upon a different candle company's website who sells jar candles in glass that look similar to ours. She must have called her order into this other company because she said she asked them if their jar candles were the same thing as U.S. Candle Company's candles. The customer service person told her they were so she placed her order with them. We explained to her that we do not sell to this other company and that they were not our candles. In fact she told us that her 26oz jar candles had 2 wicks in them. We DO NOT put 2 wicks in our 26oz jar candles, we don't need to. Our jar candles burn great with 1 wick. The point of sharing this story is that if you want OUR great burning jar candles make sure that you are getting OUR candles and not some cheap imitation made with lower quality materials. If you ever have doubts that another sites candles are not ours feel free to call or leave a comment to find out if they are legitimate.