The Method to the Madness: What fragrances make the cut.

First of all, our apologies. We haven't posted anything in our blog for years. We are no writers, we are more of talkers, verbal story tellers. Those who have met us in our events, or farmer's markets could certainly attest to that. We won't promise to write more but we will certainly try. With this pandemic, we should have the time. Or not.

Now to answer the question above, believe it or not, it does go through a process. A method to the madness. We just don't put a fragrance into a candle and call it a day, (ok here's a jasmine scented candle!) it is our attempt to share our experiences about a particular person (our Flight Crew Series) a mood (Chandler's Reserve) or a destination (Layover Collection, Holiday Collection, Seasonals). Everything we sell has a significance to our lives as chandlers and flight attendants, all of our candles have a story to tell.

First we ask you, our consumers, and people that we meet each day, either in our events, our store, or even on the plane where we also work as flight attendants, What are you wearing? what kinds of aromas/fragrances does one like? If it's something that fits our brand, we develop it and test It out. But a fragrance has to be something that we feel passionate about. It is hard to sell something just for the sake of selling something. You as consumers see it, you feel it. It truly has to convey an emotion, a memory, a story.

Our Taipei candle was inspired by our visit to that city a few winters ago. Taipei is a bustling metropolis, a good mix of modern and traditional, a true big Asian city. A few hours drive outside of Taipei is Jiufen, the home of the floating lanterns. The moment we set foot in that place we were enchanted. It is said to have inspired the animation movie Spirited Away, and it looks just like it. The tea shops on the hill, the steep stairs that leads to temples. the market and its narrow cobblestone streets. A scenery that is sure to satisfy one's sense of sight.

The fragrant aroma of star anise that permeates from the eateries in the market, and the railroad tracks where they release the floating lanterns is the one that evokes a lot of memories of our visit to Taipei. Star anise, cardamom and incense mixed with the mountainous breeze transports us back to that spiritual high of being there. In short, a fragrance has to be an experience, has a story to tell and most importantly, yes it has to smell good. That is how it makes the cut.

Our Overture candle, from our Chandler's Reserve line was inspired by a cologne Ed had to have in one of our visits to Japan. As soon as he sprayed that black pepper cologne onto him, I had to do a second look, and I was immediately smitten. It truly was an overture! That aroma had a profound influence on us that we had to turn it into a candle.

There are many candle companies out there in the market, and more and more people have turned into candle making as a business and as the saying goes, the more, the merrier. What this does for us though, is it keeps us on our toes to strive to do our jobs as candle makers better. But despite the competition, I am proud to say is what makes 676 Candles unique is we just don't get a generic jasmine fragrance and mix it into soy wax and call it a candle. Our candles tell a story. We just don't stop at a jasmine fragrance; we add cashmere and linen to soften it up and call it Between the Sheets because that's the story we want to share.

So in short, it is a collaborative effort between all of us. We make it if we truly believe in it, if it touches us, if it smells amazing and if it makes all of us happy. Isn't it what the point of a candle is? To make us all happy.

XOXO,

Tennessee