I have a confession to make: Mitch and I are addicted to candles. Yup, you read that right – a cold, hard and dangerous addiction to wonderful smelling candles. We can’t help it! At Target? *sniffs all the candles* At Whole Foods? *sniffs all the candles* At any local shop who carries candles? *sniffs them all and holds each other back from buying them all.*
Whew! Sooooo glad to get that off my chest. Thanks for all of those who still love and accept me, even with this addiction. 😉
Did you know that Kansas City is filled with so many different candle makers? If you did, you’re cooler than myself. I was surprised at how many I could find. If you didn’t, you’re in the club with me! Now, as much as I would love to talk about all the Kansas City-based candle makers out there (’cause there’s a lot of ’em) – I have higher standards for myself and our home. We focus on living a more natural and clean life. Read more about how I live to understand why this blog skews being natural too.
All of this to bring me to my topic of today: locally made candles that have a natural spin to them. I’m sure everyone knows that soy candles are the “natural” candles. But do you know why?
Five Reasons You should Choose Soy Candles:
- They aren’t as dirty. Soy candles are made from soy, a natural & renewable source while “normal” candles are made from paraffin – which is made from petroleum. YUCK! (Petroleum is nonrenewable and contains carcinogenic properties)
- Cleaner burn. There’s little-to-no soot while soy candles are burning, making it look nicer, but also allowing for cleaner air (since they aren’t releasing toxins) and cleaner surface areas in your home (like any walls your candle may be nearby).
- They last longer. Um, holla for those dollar savers like me! Soy candles last longer because soy candles typically burn slower and with cooler burning temperatures.
- Eco-friendly. Because soy wax is biodegradable.
- Supporting American farmers. Petroleum is sourced overseas and not considered economically stable, while soy agriculture is located here the US. That helps support our local farmers and keep money here on U.S. soil.
So, glad we’re on the same page now. Thankfully, Kansas City is blessed with an abundance of soy candle makers, as well as others who go even further with lead-free cotton wicks, essential oil fragrances, being Non-GMO and more. I’m going to go through the candles currently in my home, what I like about them and then move into some others I’m interested in.
Our Local, Natural Kansas City Candles Lineup
The first brand we explored was Wood + Wick Co. This local brand is so great for so many reasons. All of their scents are inspired by nature and they base all of their decisions “on how they will affect nature and people.” That right there, is so beautiful. Each Wood + Wick Co. is hand-poured and made with 100% soy wax, fragrance oils, cotton wicks and no additive or dyes. To top it off, they donate 3% of profits to The National Park Foundation. They even had a special offer going for Standing Rock. They created a special “Mother Nature” scented candle and 50% of the profits from these candles went straight to support Standing Rock. How inspiring!
We previously had the “Redwood” scent, and it was amazing. Currently, we are burning the “Whiskey Smoke” scent which was actually a secret santa gift at work. The name of that scent is exactly what it smells like.
What I also like about this brand is how they collaborate with other local Kansas City makers. I’ve seen them make coffee-scented candles with KC’s Maps Coffee Roasters. Plus, they have a chai spice candle that they worked on together with local Hugo Tea Co. I love watching the entrepreneurship community come together. Although I got this particular one as a secret santa gift, we purchased our previous one at Made in Kansas City’s Prairie Fire location.
Next up is Shine Candle Co. Upon writing this, unfortunately their website was down, so I’m going to use the best of my memory. Of course they’re Kansas City based, and they craft their candles in small batches using 100% soy wax, pure essential oils and lead-free cotton wicks. Shine Candle Co. is seriously top-notch and checks every box off my list for being truly natural candles. Using essential oils as the fragrance is the best possible way to do natural fragrance (phthalate-free is the next option I’d go with after). I wish their candles had the name of the scent on them, but I believe ours is “Balsam – Fig” scented, I could be wrong though. Whatever it is, it’s a fruity/earthy scent and it’s fantastic. I picked up ours, with their candle coaster, at Golden & Pine and actually was a Christmas gift for Mitch this year.
In addition to the qualities mentioned above, they also have a collection of candles for certain purposes, based on the essential oil blend. There’s Alert, Calm, Brave, Love and Well. I picked up the Well one for Mitch’s mom for Christmas at Hand & Land. I think these are particularly unique, and they showcase and leverage the power of essential oils.
Alongside their glass tumbler candles, tin / purposeful candles and candle coasters, Shine Candle Co. also has a tea light set and multipurpose sprays. (We LOVE our spray and have it in our bathroom)
Next up in my household is Trapp Candles. I have the cutest little votive that sits as a decoration piece in our living room, rather than a candle to burn. I received this from Mitch a couple of years ago for my birthday. It’s the “Fig & Mimosa” scent and you can smell it right when you walk in the door – fruity and amazing!
I will say though, one slight drawback for me is that Trapp’s candles are a “soy-blend” (vs. being 100% soy), and I’m unclear on where the fragrances are from. This makes me slightly hesitant to burn this candle due to the “truly natural” standard I have. Still, this is a quality candle that looks great in our home, and since there’s a “bottle of perfume in every candle,” it smells amazing even without being burned! So overall, I’d still recommend Trapp Candles for those who aren’t as “anal” about natural things as I am. 🙂
The last one is a bit of a cheat – it’s not a locally-made candle, but I did get it at local shop Golden & Pine. This next candle was another gift for Mitch this past year and has the MOST delicious smell in the world. From Nashville, TN is this “Leather and Oakmoss” candle from Paddywax. Still soy wax, hand-poured and made with a (double!) cotton wick. Plus, it’s freaking B-E-A-U-TIFUL. Just. Look. At. It.
I know you’re impressed, right? Such a gorgeous candle. Anyways, thanks for letting me “cheat” guys. 😛
Other Local, Natural Candlemakers in KC
To wrap up, I’d like to share some other locally made natural candle brands I know of with some details of each.
- Central Candle Co.
- Soy wax
- Cotton wicks
- Hand-poured
- Phthalate-free fragrance oils
- They come in their own handmade ceramic vessels. (so great!)
- Lake Candles
- Soy wax
- Cotton wicks
- Hand-poured
- Phthalate-free fragrance oils
- Fun Kansas City based names
- (I actually bought the Midwest Magnolia one for my mom for Christmas – loved it!)
- Nectar Republic (formerly Milk + Honey Candles)
- Soy & beeswax blended wax
- Cotton wicks
- Hand-poured
- Phthalate-free fragrance oils (they do have a collection with essential oil fragrances, so that’s great!)
- Each part of their candles are midwest sourced
- 5% of profits are donated to “Save the Bees” (love!)
- More offerings including wax melts, bath goods and workshops at their storefront in Wichita, KS
- Crimson Candle Co.
- Organic soy wax (nice!)
- Phthalate-free fragrance oils and essential oils
- Hand-poured
- Also have wax melts
- The Vineyard Wick
- Soy wax
- Wine scent specialty
- Reuse old wine bottles as the vessel (love this!)
- Nothing on their website talks about fragrances, so I can only assume with the nature of capturing wine scents is that they aren’t essential oil based at minimum (unclear)
- Also no info. about the wick or being small batch / hand-poured (unclear)
- 5B and Co.
- “Soy-blended” wax (not my fave)
- Uses “the best oils” (very unclear)
- Hand-poured
- Lead-free cotton wicks (nice!)
- 170+ different scents (holy cow, but makes me continue to question the oil scents)
- More specialty candles options like tapers, pillars, votives, etc.
- Can return clean candle containers for a refill price
- Actually started in Weston, MO, but now reside in a Brookside storefront
There are tons of different candle makers in Kansas City, and probably more natural candles around town too than what I’ve mentioned here. But these are the ones I have in my home currently and have discovered myself.
I’d love to hear what natural and local candles you guys like and enjoy, too!
