I write this post as I'm in the midst of working out and finalizing the details of my relaunch. I'm a nervous ball of anxiety but in the best possible way. Good anxiousness, that's a thing right?
Why did I rebrand my small candle business? When JUDES & CO. started, I had launched with what was accessible and affordable to me at the time. I love what I did with what I had but after two years, I sat down to evaluate what I wanted to do with the brand moving forward. I decided to take the leap and do the rebrand to reflect me, judes.
I have had this vision of what JUDES & CO. could be and what it would look like. I am very particular with what I like and my love for doing things with my hands combined with my attention to detail has created what you see today.
I am so amazed at how much I've learned and how much I've achieved with this small business so far and I can't wait to see it continue to grow. With that being said, I'm proud to say that this relaunch of JUDES & CO. is authentically me in every way and I couldn't be more proud.
I hope you love the new look as much as I do!
]]>Be honest. Have you ever purchased a candle and actually read the label on the bottom of the candle? Most of you will probably say no. Did you know that the warning label on the bottom of the candle tells you how to safely burn your candle? Let's get into it.
WOODEN WICK CANDLE CARE 101: The Basics.
Burn within sight. Never leave a burning candle left unattended. This one is simple but so, so important. If you leave the room, simply blow out your candle.
Do not burn your candle on or near anything that can catch fire. Keep away from drafts, children & pets. Have a long curtain? Maybe some house plants? Make sure that you're not burning your candle near anything that could potentially catch fire. The most common hazards are ones you don't think about such as a draft from the window blowing the curtain to the flame or a child or pet getting too close and knocking it over. Be aware of your surroundings and have your candle on a heat-resistant surface away from anything that can catch fire.
Never touch or move a hot candle. Candles are quite literally small little fires. Fire = heat. Even if you just blew the candle out, do not move it until it's cooled and the wax has solidified.
Trim your wicks. Before each burn, trim your wick to 3/16" (5mm) to prevent tall flames, smoking and soot. You can do this with a wick trimmer, nail clippers or by simply using your fingers to snap off the burnt area of the wick. Trimming your wicks will give you a longer, cleaner burning candle and is definitely a game changer in prolonging the longevity of your candle.
Do not burn your candle for more than 4 hours at a time. For safety purposes, don't keep a candle burning for longer than 4 hours. If you burn your candle for too long, it can lead to a dangerously large flame, smoke and soot.
Discontinue use when 1/2" of wax remains. As your candle burns lower and lower, the hotter your vessel gets since the flame is near the base. For safety reasons, it's recommended that you discontinue use when 1/2" of wax remains to prevent your vessel from overheating and possibly shattering. For safety reasons, we use specific wick clips to ensure that you can't actually burn our candles down to the base.
We know this may seem like a lot but once you have these candle care steps ingrained in your thoughts, you'll think twice about how you burn your candles moving forward. Accidents can happen and things can change in a blink of an eye. We want you to be able to enjoy your candle in a safe environment. Some of this may seem silly but it's always better to be safe than sorry.
& remember to always trim your wicks!
]]>1. 'I Like Your Face' Card - Whitney Luu $5.50
The first organization I’d like to highlight is The Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice. The work they do to provide support for youth and low-income immigrant seniors in Chinatown and Downtown Eastside hits home for me. This organization helps seniors and youth overcome language and culture barriers to basic needs services. They also help empower seniors and youths to work together to improve their communities and tackle the difficult problems of oppression and violence.
The second organizations we’ll be giving back to is the Endless Pawsabilities Rescue Society. If you know me personally - you know I love dogs. Some would say I’m a little obsessed. Our two dogs are quite literally my life - they’re my children, my joy, my everything.
Riley, who is a the newest addition to our pack was rescued through Endless Pawsabilities. She is the sweetest girl who completes our little family. With that said, I am incredibly grateful for Endless Pawsabilities Rescue Society for all the incredible work that they do for animal welfare. They are dedicated to the prevention of pet overpopulation by advocating for spay and neuter programs and responsible pet ownership.
I am blessed to be able to have opportunities to give back to the community. Contribution is important to me and is something I plan on expanding within JUDES & CO.
So from now until the end of the year, know that any purchase that you make through JUDES & CO., each of these amazing organizations will be receiving 10%.
Love, Judes
Photos: (1) My beautiful grandma (2) Sweet Riley Girl
]]>There are so many emotions that I’m experiencing that I won’t be able to convey through this post.
Hi world, I’m Judy but all my friends call me Judes and I’m the person behind JUDES & CO. I'm a coffee drinking, dog obsessing, dreamer with a severe case of wanderlust.
Starting JUDES & CO. was something totally foreign, exciting and scary. It’s pushed me so far out of my comfort zone in so many ways. It’s been one of the most creative, rewarding, exhilarating and challenging things I’ve ever done. I’m so proud to say that this labour of love is authentically me.
It can be lonely, experiencing all the highs and lows of running a small business on your own. There are slow days, moments of frustration and uncertainty but the love, encouragement, kind words, and all the moral support this community has given me has kept me going and is something I will cherish forever.
On the eve of our first birthday I wanted to write a little note to introduce myself but to also express my love and gratitude to this community. This passion project means so much to me and is transforming to something I could’ve only dreamed of.
I will never be able to fully express my gratitude but please know that I’m so incredibly grateful to each and every one of you.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for loving our eco-friendly candles.
Thank you for being so kind and welcoming.
Thank you for making this a year that I’ll never forget.
]]>We know it's important to know what's in the products that you use and have in your home. We felt the same way when we created JUDES & CO.
When we ventured into candle making, we were overwhelmed with the amount of options that are available. After extensive research, we've created a product that we are so proud of. Our candles were created with you, your home and our environment in mind.
Let's get deeper and break it down. Here's what goes into our eco-friendly coconut soy candles.
Wax.
How did we end up with a personal blend of coconut soy wax? When choosing our wax we wanted something natural and clean burning. A large part of the candle market uses paraffin wax. Although there are many attributes that make paraffin wax attractive, the fact that it's a by-product of petroleum had us looking for another option. We wanted something that would be more sustainable and eco-friendly for our earth but also something that would be safe to burn in our homes. Both coconut wax and soy wax fit that criteria for us. When testing, we couldn't choose one that we loved better than the other so we mixed them together and our personal proprietary blend was created.
Coconut wax is made from the meat of the coconut. It’s organic, renewable and pesticide free. Coconuts are considered a high yield crop which means less coconuts are needed to get a sizeable about of product. Making it one of the most eco-friendly waxes on the market. Soy wax is made from soybeans, a renewable resource that’s non-toxic and kosher certified. The combination of these two waxes gives us a longer and cleaner burning candle, making it one the best available options on the market.
Wicks.
To be completely transparent, we actually almost launched with cotton wicks but there's something so, so special about wooden wicks and we couldn't get them out of our mind. We ended up switching from cotton wicks to wooden wicks, delaying our launch by a few months in order to test our wax with wooden wicks. Our wooden wicks are FSC certified, sustainable, natural and eco-friendly. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing but they make a unique, soothing crackling sound when lit. We feel that wooden wick candles create an ambiance that you just don't get with the regular cotton wicks.
Scents.
This is a controversial topic in the candle community so we'll preface this with this.. The following is our informed opinion after doing our own research. If you feel differently than we do, that's okay. We are all entitled to our own opinion.
There are those who believe that the most natural route to go when scenting a candle is to use pure essential oils. Here at JUDES & CO., we don't necessarily agree and here's why. The properties you get when using essential oils for aromatherapy (such as a diffuser) are not the same when using essential oils in a candle for a few reasons. We are not saying that essential oils are toxic, as a matter of fact essential oils are pretty great and have some amazing properties when used correctly. Most essential oils have lower flash points than fragrance oils do. When lit, the heat from the flame can change the chemical compound of essential oils causing oxidization, making some of them (not all) toxic when burned in a candle (especially for pets). That's one of the reasons why we use high quality fragrance oils in our candles. Fragrance oils have been created and formulated to be safely used in candles. Here at JUDES & CO. we use high quality fragrance oils in our candles and are proud to say that all of our fragrance blends are phthalate-free and paraben-free.
Jars.
Our jars are a pure personal preference but we chose it mainly because we are obsessed with the colour amber! Our glass jars are non-toxic and environmentally friendly. When you're done with your candle you can reuse and repurpose the jar for your own personal use at home (blog to come) or it can be recycled.
After countless months and hours of testing we are proud to say that all of our candles are dye-free, phthalate-free, paraben-free, lead-free and vegan. Our eco-friendly wooden wick candles are hand-poured in small batches in Vancouver, Canada.
Thank you for taking the time to read about what we formulate our candles with and how we chose the ingredients we put into it. We hope it gave you a bit of insight into what goes into our candles and that you feel good about burning ours in your home.
Our Resources:
Candle Science
Village Craft & Candle
The Wooden Wick Co.
Martha Stewart
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