The atelier

Nothing here is made quickly.

Melt, blend, pour, set, cure, trim, box. Seven steps, ten days, one pair of hands.

Create yours

How it is made

Seven steps, ten days

  1. 01

    Blend

    100% GMO-free soya wax is melted and brought to pouring temperature. Soy sets firm. The ratio is fixed — it is not adjusted down when input costs rise.

  2. 02

    Scent

    IFRA-certified fragrance oil is added at 8–10% at a specific temperature. Too hot and the top notes flash off; too cool and the oil never fully incorporates.

  3. 03

    Pour

    Poured by hand into each vessel or mould. Hand-pouring is why no two pieces are identical, and why the surface has a slight matte irregularity rather than a moulded sheen.

  4. 04

    Set

    Left to set undisturbed at room temperature. Cooling a candle quickly causes the wax to crack and pull away from the vessel.

  5. 05

    Cure

    Ten days. This is the step almost everyone skips, and the one that decides how the candle smells for its entire life. Curing lets the fragrance bind into the wax rather than evaporate on the first burn.

  6. 06

    Trim

    Each wick is trimmed to 5 mm — the length it should be lit at. Most candles ship with wicks left long, which is why a first burn so often smokes.

  7. 07

    Box

    Packed by hand in a midnight box with a card, in shredded kraft so nothing moves in transit. Gift orders leave without a price or invoice inside.

Why hand-poured is not just a phrase

"Hand-poured" appears on a great many candles that were made by machine and finished by hand. Here it means what it says: the wax is blended, scented and poured by one person, in batches small enough to watch.

The visible consequence is that pieces vary slightly. A sculpted candle from one batch will not be a perfect match for the same design from another. Surfaces have a faint irregularity. We think that is the point, but it is worth knowing before you order two of something expecting them to be identical.

The invisible consequence matters more. A person watching a batch notices when the wax is a degree too hot, when a wick has drifted off-centre, when a pour has set unevenly. A production line does not.

Questions

The making, answered

How long does it take to make one candle?

Pouring takes minutes; the process takes ten days. Curing is the bulk of it, and it cannot be shortened without the candle smelling weaker for its whole life.

Why do two candles of the same design look slightly different?

Because they are poured by hand in separate small batches. Surface texture and colour vary faintly between batches. If you need an exact match for a set, order them together and tell us.

What is curing, and does it really matter?

Curing is resting a finished candle before it is burned or shipped, so the fragrance binds into the wax. It matters more than almost anything else: an uncured candle smells noticeably weaker, and no amount of extra fragrance oil compensates.

Can I visit the workshop?

We are a small working studio in Ludhiana rather than a retail space. Write to info@candlesbymidnight.com if you would like to arrange something.

Do you make bespoke candles?

Yes, for orders of 50 units or more — bespoke scent selection, branded packaging and cards. For smaller quantities, build a Midnight Box and choose a fragrance for each candle.

What happens to wax that fails?

Failed pours are remelted and reused within the same fragrance where the wax is clean. Pieces that set badly are not shipped and not sold at a discount.