As usual the owners of Creative Candles, Ken Weiner and Pam Fleischer are right on trend. As Pantone announced Emerald Green as 2013’s color of the year, Creative Candles was already selling and shipping their new color “Emerald” green in their new Metallics line, also consisting of Silver, Gold and Ruby. In the new year Copper, Pearl and Sapphire will be introduced in Metallics- giving you a glimpse of future color trends perhaps? Founded in 1961 by Duane and Nancy Benton, the Benton’s sold the company in 1998 to two business men, and then in 2005 husband and wife, Ken and Pam bought Creative Candles. Ken and Pam have really brought the company to a new level with their packaging, marketing and making their plant more efficient. But the best part of this American company is that quality is still the benchmark of their product. Employing about 20 people, each Creative Candle is hand-crafted by their artisans in small batches using the finest blend of waxes. Their tapers are made of beeswax, which burns slower and more evenly than paraffin and doesn’t drip or hardly emit smoke. The selection of about 56 colors Creative Candles offers is amazing and has caught the eye of many editors and celebrities, most notably Oprah and Martha Stewart. Both of whom use Creative Candles slender ‘celebration candles’ on their personal birthday cakes (Ken and cake baker Ron Ben-Israel jokingly call themselves “the cake baker and the candlestick maker”) and grace their editorial pages with Creative Candles ranging from tapers to floating and ball candles to pillars and votives. Over the years I have worked with Ken and Pam. They are passionate about what they do and are so energetic! They love working with their clients and customers and are always willing to work on new projects- especially when it comes to developing color. They really are such wonderful, caring people. They have resurrected this company and it’s soaring into the future. I’m really proud to offer Creative Candles in my shop and honored to carry an American made product. I’ve included photos that show you a glimpse of what happens in the factory. Ken and Pam extend a warm welcome to drop by if you are in Kansas City to see them. Isn’t that what you’d expect from mid-westerners? They are never too busy to share and talk about their company, it’s people and the process.
Creative Candles Celebration Candles on Oprah’s cake, Ken and Pam with Martha Stewart via Martha’s blog.
The new color introductions for 2013 in the Metallic candles line are Pearl, Copper and Sapphire
Some of the many colors that Creative Candles offers. Unused wax is hardened and stored for future use.
Tapers are redipped and redried several times until it’s the perfect length and diameter. A standard taper with a 7/8″ diameter is dipped 28 times.
Here an artisan hand dips tapers in vats of hot wax, one paper-thin layer at a time. After the tapers are dipped they are hung to dry.
Left: Vintage pillar molds hold hand-poured hot wax. Pure cotton wicks are tied to rods and hung into the wax until it solidifies. Right: A blowtorch gives pillars a smooth, matte finish and removes any lines from the seams of the mold.
An artisan works on votive candles. Creative Candles have been handmade in Kansas City for 51 years now.
Some finished Creative Candles taper candles which come in pairs. Their tallest taper is 39.4 inches!
Creative Candles labels.
