Questions
Short answers from the desk at 71 Market Street. The longer notes on cold and soot are under Notes.
What wax is in the jar?
Tumblers and 12 oz jars are a coconut and soy blend, poured at 62°C, with oil at 7 percent by weight when there is a scent. Pillars are beeswax, unscented, no dye. The cotton tape on each vessel repeats this. More detail is on Poured.
How long will it burn?
About 40 hours for the 8 oz tumbler, about 55 hours for the 12 oz jar, if the wick stays trimmed to 6 mm and you are not burning it in a draft. The beeswax pillar is better counted in evenings: about two hours at a sitting, many evenings. A five-hour burn under a vent will soot before it reaches those hours.
Why is there soot on the ceiling?
The flame was moving or the wick was too tall, often both. Carbon that does not finish burning lands on glass first and plaster later. Heat vents, a whistling window, and a carbon cap are the usual causes in a Portland winter. Dark dye makes it worse. We do not use dark dye. Trim to 6 mm, move the candle until the flame stands straight, and read Wicks if you want the mechanism.
Will you trim a candle you did not pour?
We will look and say whether the wick is too long. We will cut a Cinder Moss wick at the counter for no charge. We will not cut into someone else’s wax or fit a new wick to an unknown blend. The brass trimmer we use is $18 if you want one. See Trim.
The scent is stronger at home than in the shop. Is the jar different?
Usually the room is different. The shop door opens all afternoon. A heated apartment in February stays shut, and the same 7 percent oil reads louder. Burn it for less time, or air the room through a doorway, not through a window beside the flame. Sprays and diffusers behave the same way. They are on Room scent.
Can you ship a box out of Portland?
No. Glass stays in the room. Cold trucks and broken vessels are the reason. If you cannot carry it today, call (207) 555-0133 and we can hold a labeled jar until the coming Sunday.
The jar tunneled. Can you fix it?
If the tunnel is shallow, a long, still burn with a 6 mm wick can catch the edges, once the jar is at room temperature. If the hole is deep, bring our jar in and we will look at it on the bench. We do not rebuild a candle burned to the last centimeter. A cold car ride is a common start to this. The 11 February note is that story: a cold jar and the first melt pool.
Do you take cards?
Cash and common cards, at the counter, during posted hours. Maine sales tax is added where it applies. Monday the door is locked, so Monday is not a sale day. Hours are on Market Street hours.