Tomorrow, Tuesday December 20th, is your last chance to order candles and receive them by Christmas. If you are outside of California you may need to choose expedited shipping, so give us a call and we will let you know which option to choose. 310-697-3994

Happy Holidays from all of us here at Giant Candle Company!

Orange pillar candles are a sophisticated compliment to your Halloween decor. Dress your pillar candles up with props from your local craft store for extra pizzaz (this fine faux owl is an excellent choice.)

One of our favorite colors here at Giant Candle Co. – Magenta. What scent would you choose for your magenta pillar candles?

Nothing feels more like Fall than a maple, burgundy, maize or brown pillar candle. Popular scented candles are “Pumpkin Pie” and “Grandma’s Kitchen”, but you can find hundreds of Fall scents to choose from when you place your order. Order by August 15th to receive your candles by September 1st.

Now through the end of February, all unscented rectangular fireplace candles and all unscented 23″ tall pillar candles (any shape or diameter) are 10% off! Be sure to select “Unscented” during the ordering pages to take advantage of the sale.

Please note the discounts are applied after your order is placed, so we will email you an updated invoice with your final total reflecting the discount before your credit card is charged.

Happy Valentine’s!

It’s that wonderful time of year again, our very favorite time! To share in the holiday spirit we’re throwing a Thanksgiving Sale. Place your order anytime now through Monday 11/29 and not only can we guarantee your candles will be delivered before Xmas, but you will save money – 10% on orders above $100, 12% on orders above $500 and 15% on orders above $1000 **. Beautiful unique pillar candles from Giant Candle Company not only make great personalized custom gifts, but are also a great addition to your home to ring in the Holiday Season! From a square magenta candle that smells like huckleberries, to a brown pillar candle that smells like Egyptian Sandalwood – 5″ tall to 23″ tall, we can make just the right gift for that special love interest, friend or family member.

If you’re looking for holiday inspiration, here are some popular scents of the season for your pillar candles: Christmas Cookie, Christmas Garland, Christmas Morning, Christmas Wreath, Cinnamon, Country Christmas, Cranberry, Gingerbread, Hawaiian Holiday, Holly Berry, Pumpkin Pie, Spiced Plum, Spruce & Berries, Sugar Cookie, Victorian Christmas, Winter Holiday and Egg Nog.

Please note the discounts are applied after your order is placed, so we will email you an updated invoice with your final total reflecting the discount before your credit card is charged.

Happy Thanksgiving!

** This Thanksgiving Sale does not include candles taller than 23″ due to labor and production time.

In spring and summer I love to sit outside in the late afternoons with a good book. But in the late afternoon the pesky mosquitoes also like to come out. So to keep them away, I light several pillar candles scented with Citronella.

If you have mosquitoes, you should read the recent post concerning West Nile Virus that I have posted below. To protect your family from mosquitoes it’s important to stay informed and use a safe insect repellent.

We offer Citronella candles in over 10,000 different combinations of shapes and color, to keep the mosquitoes away. To order just click below and select “Citronella” from our scents:
http://giantcandleco.com/candles.html

More info on the West Nile virus and mosquitoes: www.cdc.gov/westnile/

Have a fun and safe summer!

The National Candle Association tells us that candles have been used for more than 5,000 years and yet little is know where candles were first used. Many feel that candles were designed by the ancient Egyptians who used torches or “rushlights” made from soaking reeds in animal fat. However these “rushlights” had no wick to speak of. Although the Egyptians were using wicked candles in and around the early 3,000 B.C., many experts have said that the ancient Romans used papyrus dipped in either tallow or beeswax to make their candles way before that time period. These early candles would have been used to illuminate homes, traveling in the dark, as well as for important religious ceremonies.

The National Candle Association credits the early 19th Century for the most improvements in candle making. In 1820 a french chemist found a way to extract stearic acid from animal fatty acids. He found that the use of stearic made candles much harder and more durable. The use of stearic wax is still used today. Then in 1834 an inventor by the name of Joseph Morgan invented a machine that could make candles easier and faster as well as more affordable. In the 1850’s paraffin wax was created from petroleum. Paraffin was found to work perfectly in the making of candles because it burned well, was odorless, and was cheap. The only problem was that it was soft and had a low melting point. Soon it was discovered that by adding stearic acid to the paraffin wax you ended up with the perfect substance for making durable candles.

Candles have been around for a very long time. What is interesting is that as candle makers we each have our own way of making candles. Many candle makers create and develop their own unique wax formula. My husband, Duane, who I think was a chemist in another life time, created our companies wax formula by using 3 different kinds of wax (beeswax is one of the elements) and by adding stearic to our formula has come up with a very special wax mixture. Duane spent countless hours perfecting our formula.  We are proud of the way our formula produces not only beautiful mottled candles but also candles that are both durable and safe.

From the early days of candle making to today, candles have gone through many stages. Their popularity has continued to grow into a billion dollar industry today! Candles may not be required today for lighting our homes but they can provide us with joy, warmth, and romance in our every day life!

We are closing out our wrought iron stands and while the supply lasts you can get a free stand to go with your candle. The qualifying sizes of candles are 7″ square and round, 8″ square and round, 10″ square and round. If you place an order for any one of those size candles in any height  from 7 1/2″ or taller we have listed on the website you’ll receive a free stand in either double or single scroll design and in either black or rust color.

Don’t wait, we are already out of the 8″ double scroll round rust color stands and have between 2 and 20 left of each of the other sizes so they won’t last long. This is a great chance to get a super high quality wrought iron stand worth $47 to $52 for free.

When placing your order our shopping cart system will not deduct the stand online but please rest assured when we process your order, which we do manually, we will deduct the price of the stand from the total bringing the price down $47 or $52 depending of which stand you have ordered with your candle. The invoice you receive with your order will show the correct amount.

If you select a stand that we are out of we will substitute the closest stand we have in stock. Once these are gone they are gone forever.

Our sense of smell isn’t necessarily something many of us think about much. Many don’t think that scents can improve our health or make our lives better However, we certainly don’t like it when we smell something bad or offensive. I have always hated the scent of burning toast! That smell seems to always put me in a bad mood! One thing however is for sure! We all have very different likes and dislikes when it comes to our sense of smell.

Most of us have heard the term aromatherapy. But what exactly is aromatherapy? Briefly, aromatherapy is the use of plant oils, including essential oils, for the well-being of ones body, mind and some believe the soul. I am certainly no expert on this topic. So for this post I turned to the internet and found many well written articles on the subject and if you want more information I would suggest you do the same. You may also wish to make a trip to your local library. Many books on this subject have been written and can give you more detailed information.

My interest on this subject began many years ago when I found a unique shop in the famous Pike Street Market in Seattle. The store was filled with lots of jars, ointments, creams, all used for homeopathic cures. This shop called out to me every time I visited Pike’s Street Market. I would go in and browse around and always end up in this one section of the store where there was a large array of essential oils. I would look at the essential oils and read all about what they were supposed to do for you. At first I didn’t have much faith that by using grate fruit oil in my bath that I would feel energized or that by using lavender it would help boost my immune system. However, I quickly became a big believer that the use of scent helped to enrich my life in many ways. Then one great day I discovered that scented candles worked well too!

Unfortunately, many of these candles that I bought were either not made well or after lit for a few months would not emit the fragrance they promised. So when Duane and I decided to start making our own candles, we did a lot of research to find a top quality fragrance company. We are also very particular about the amount of scent we use when making our candles. We want the fragrance to be just as pleasing and fragrant at the end of the candles life as the first time you lit it.

In prior posts I have given suggestions for scents for different rooms and different occasions. What I wanted to do in this post was to share some scents that Aromatherapist’s use to help with different physical and emotional issues. Again, you may or may not believe that they will help cure you of these ailments but hopefully they will raise your spirits and help you feel better!

For those that suffer from Anxiety (and who doesn’t in todays world?) the use of  Bergamot, Cedarwood (we do offer Cedar), and Lavender are recommended. For depression Jasmine, Lavender, and Neroli are suggested. For grief felt by the passing of a loved one, a pet, or at the end of a friendship or relationship Frankincense and Rose may help you cope with this painful sense of loss. Stress seems to be something we all struggle with at some times of our lives. Being parents of an almost 6 year old along with running 3 businesses we often find our selves stressed to the max! Once our little one is down for the night we turn off the lights and light our candle scented with Ylang Ylang. Ylang Ylang with it’s sweet floral scent and hint of Jasmine not only is considered a potent aid to romance but also is known to help you unwind & relax. You may also wish to try Chamomile, Lavender, Sandalwood, Orange or Cinnamon (these last two are helpful in not only lifting your mood but also can help give you an energy boost). All thought to help calm you down. To help strengthen the immune system you may wish to consider either Lavender, Lemon, and Tea Tree oil (not on our list currently but we can special order it for you). Also know to help lift your spirits and help you get out of your mad mood are Jasmine and Bergamot. Chamomile and Lavender are helpful at bedtime. Eucalyptus, Sage, Basil, Cedar, and Myrrh can be helpful for those who suffer from coughs and bronchial problems. There are certainly many other scents that can help you with your everyday life and help you to feel better. These are just a very few that I have listed. With over 400 scents available we hope you will be able to find the right scent for your home, office, or loved one that can give you a peaceful feeling of well being.

I found the following in an article while doing my research that said that “ Scents affect the way we feel, which isn’t surprising when you consider how we smell. When we breathe in fragrance molecules through our nose, they attach themselves to olfactory sensors that transmit impulses to the brain.” That is pretty easy for most of us to understand. In this same article the author quoted Alan Hirsch, M.D., a neurologist and psychiatrist who heads the Smell & Taste Treatment Center in Chicago. He says “The quickest way to induce an emotional response is through smell”. The author asks us to “think back about how the aroma of pumpkin pie can instantly transport you back to a childhood Thanksgiving and evoke the feelings associated with the memory. Creating Positive feelings and physical changes is what aromatherapy is all about”.

I hope you find these suggestions give you help and guidance in making a scent selection for you or a special person in your life. When life gets to be hectic, overwhelming or just too much, we hope that our candles will help you to relax, breathe & enjoy!

Material for post found at the following sites:
Quotes from article: “Soothe yourself with good scents: essential oils can help heal body and soul – aromatherapy – includes recipes and safety tips” in Vegetarian Times, Feb, 1995 by Maryann Hammers
Lots of great info found at:
http://www.aworldofaromatherapy.com/
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/delight-the-senses-breathe-scents-to-heal-body-min

http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/wharoma.asp

http://www.aromatherapypoint.com/

http://www.aworldofaromatherapy.com/