Full Moon Candle Co.
Owner: Mikie Smith, owner
Location: 609 W. Washington St. Ste. 13, Sequim
Phone: 683-8377
Website: www.fullmooncandle.com
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
A longtime candle connoisseur, Mikie Smith is celebrating the grand opening of her new business — and a well-known name in Sequim: Full Moon Candle Co.
A faithful customer of the candle shop for more than a decade, Smith lit up at the opportunity to buy the business last fall when owner Joy Castaneda decided to retire.
Over the past few months, Castaneda has mentored Smith in her tried and true techniques of artisan candle making.
“I really honor Joy’s hard work and passion for growing Full Moon candle into what is today. I feel like she has ‘passed the baton’ to me to carry on what she has begun. I’ve loved her candles for 15 years and I’ve been burning her candles for a longtime,” Smith said.
“It’s been fun to learn how to make them from her and meet all the customers she’s had.”
Through Saturday, March 12, Smith is offering a 20-percent discount while supplies last, hoping to draw in new customers and welcome back Castaneda’s loyal customers.
In preparing her handmade candles, it’s as much art as science, according to Smith.
“All the candles are handmade and poured using ultra-refined food-grade paraffin, superb-quality fragrance oils and quality cotton wicks. My wax comes from a Seattle supplier and fragrances are from all over the country,” Smith said. “Most high-quality fragrances are made to be used in wax but an oil may smell differently if you put it in wax, so I have to … make test batches to see if it burns properly and smells as good.”
The wick must be properly sized for each candle and positioned correctly in the candle so when it burns, the wax melts flatly up to but not over the edges.
“I burn a test candle a minimum of three hours so it gets a nice flat spot and trim the wick every two hours because if the wick gets too long, the liquid will pool to one side and spill over the side,” Smith said.
She stresses to customers the importance of trimming the wicks to avoid wasting value by creating a tunnel or well in the candle’s center that shortens its usefulness.
“There are lots of ways to make candles, but basically you melt wax, add colors, add fragrance and pour it into a mold,” she said, explaining that her method is proprietary. “It takes about 24 hours before a candle is cured.”
Full Moon’s candles come in 35 scents and a rainbow of colors that are as pleasing to the eye as their aromas are to the nose. Size options are 4-inch, 6-inch and 9-inch for pillar candles plus Smith makes tiny votive candles and what she called “melts” which liquify in warming pots — they come in packs of six and provide 40 hours of fragrance.
Treasured mostly for enhancing a soothing mood or as accent pieces in home decor, candles also are powerful beacons when the power goes out. The pillar candles, from small to large, burn 100, 200 and 300 hours respectively and even the tiny votives will last 15 hours.
“Jamaican Spice is easily the most popular with White Ginger and the masculine French Kiss,” Smith said.
“My favorite depends on the day — Sugared Spruce, Coconut and Pineapple, they’re all lovely — it’s really hard to pick. I get a new appreciation for each scent when I pour it. Several customers have been asking for patchouli so I will have a batch by the grand opening.”
The store also carries pillar, votive and taper holders, home decor items, cards and decorative whimsical signs such as: “Wine is to women like duct tape is to men — it fixes everything.”
“Candles are good gift items for housewarmings, Valentine’s Day, teachers, secretaries and bosses and I do have gift boxes,” Smith said.
Each month Smith intends to offer a drawing — one chance per purchase — for a graduated trio of pillar candles, a $60 value.
“I’ve been fascinated with candles because making them is a creative outlet. I can’t imagine not having them around.”
Under Smith’s hands, Full Moon Candle Co. will continue its legacy of selling fine, handcrafted candles.
