Hi! Brittany, here!
When I started making candles in my kitchen in 2013, I would play with so many different fragrance oils—vanilla, lavender, pine, chocolate chip cookies, bake-y scents…I even played around with color at one point (some of my first candles were BLUE!! Can you imagine?). I was thinking about what type of wax to use—beeswax, paraffin wax, palm wax? Gel wax? Soy wax?
What would be best in a candle?
I was obsessed with the idea of soy wax coming directly from our farmland, mostly in the Midwest & always the US, so I always chose soy wax as my “candle base." I also loved that it was a very clean wax and the candle would actually last longer. It’s one of the biggest perks of purchasing a soy candle (seriously, look for that label when you go candle shopping…it makes a really difference!).
Haha, actually all this candle talk makes me realize I really need to talk about the craft of candle making more. There is as much as a science as there is art. At some point, I nailed down the recipe after some very, very questionable “recipes” that didn’t turn into great smelling candles or candles that just didn’t burn right. Have you ever had a candle that didn’t burn right? For example, maybe the wick got extinguished and the candle “tunneled?” Without careful testing and ingredient selection, a candle is useless!
Did you know there are different wick sizes? Different fragrances where the oil has a different viscosity which can impact the recipe and how well the candle burns? Me neither!
I actually spent the first 6 months of candle making working out the kinks—it took awhile to find that perfect candle recipe. It truly was a craft that I perfected when I was unemployed. Actually, the Momma’s Kitchen candle was a recipe I perfected in the first house that my husband I owned in 2013.
Antique Candle Co. (it was called Antique Candle Works then) was born in 2014! That first Fall candle season is when I crafted our first Pumpkin Spice candle batch. Man, I was hooked. Pumpkin Spice is still my favorite candle of all time (Second is Pineapple Coconut, a candle you can get in the Summer. If you are on our email list, I’ll email you when it comes back!)
All that to say, I’m a maker first. I’m the founder of a candle company & love candles, yes! But I’m a crafty person who admires, respects, and supports other makers like me.
One of my faithful and Jesus-lovin’ friends, Tim, owns Schuil Coffee which is very close to where we make our candles. He lives & breathes his craft of making exceptional coffee. In fact, Schuil Coffee (like school, without C 😉) was the first to focus and roast exclusively specialty coffee in Michigan, and one of the first in the US.
My candle making team is fueled by his coffee—it's in the pot right now! 🙂 We even thought about bundling his coffee with our coffee candles like Fresh Roasted Coffee to help introduce others to his Pumpkin Spice coffee.
Or Pumpkin Spice candle & Pumpkin Spice coffee? Maybe I’m crazy haha!
So as I enjoy my Pumpkin Spice candle, I’m also enjoying his work of art that he crafts with his team, too. In fact, I want to share that with you! 👇
To celebrate our partnership, Tim and Schuil Coffee are offering 30% off your coffee order through October 31! Use the code 'ACC30' at checkout on SchuilCoffee.com.
If you try out Schuil's coffee, let us know in a comment below! I'd love to know what you think! (Bonus if you do the candle + coffee combo. 😉)
Side note not related to candles or coffee at all: Tim & I met because we are both radical lovers of Jesus. We actually both serve and give our time to Guideposts Magazine & the Abide prayer and meditation mobile app.
Guideposts wants to see the world filled with hope by inspiring people to believe anything is possible through faith, hope, and prayer. Jesus changes lives. We are both board members and give our time, & at times our personal capital, to be a part of people being blessed outside of our day jobs of making coffee & candles. 🙂 We really do enjoy it, and that’s how I met Tim and Schuil Coffee!
xoxo Brittany, owner & founder of Antique Candle Co.®
‘ACC30’ offer valid for 30% off one order through October 31, 2025 at 11:59 pm ET at schuilcoffee.com. One use per customer, per order. May not combine with other discount offers.