Candles Now Have Popularity to Burn

Candles are lighting up in unlikely places.

They’re floating in the bathtub and the pool as party accents and replacing firewood as a focus on the hearth.

Today’s candles are far removed from the traditional 12-inch tapers on the dining room table. They’re everywhere, indoors and out. Novelties come in sizes ranging from tiny votives to pillars the size of logs and in all sorts of fanciful shapes from animals and reptiles to flowers, fruits and veggies.

Aromas--from vanilla, coffee, lavender or cedar to designer perfumes--waft from scented wax in frosted glass or fanciful resin holders.

“Candle sales have been rising for the last year or so,” says J.C. Edmond, president of the National Candle Assn. and of the General Wax & Candle Co. in North Hollywood.

He estimates sales of decorative candles for the home at about $600 million a year, up about 20% from 1993 estimates. Prices vary widely, from about 50 cents for a scented votive to about $50 for a large, decorated column.

Alexandria Lanuk, looking for a way to enliven a party, floated six tiny candles in a large bowl on her dining table. Lanuk, an interior decorator in Stamford, Conn., liked the effect so much that she floated about a dozen candles in the bathtub.

“The guests couldn’t stop talking about it,” she says.

Kathy LeVanier, vice president for Wicks ‘n’ Sticks, a national retailer headquartered in Houston, says floating candles are tremendously popular.

“They come in shapes like poinsettias, cherubs and turtles and, depending on size, can burn from 45 minutes to six hours,” she says.

Also popular are scented candles and treasure candles that burn down to yield a small gift such as a figurine or pin.

LeVanier says fragrance is the most noticeable addition to candles. Wicks ‘n’ Sticks, for example, has basic candles in 20 aromas. Vanilla is the No. 1 seller, but coffee was a big hit for the December holidays. There were pillars paved with coffee beans, coffee candles in giant cups and tiny demitasse and cappuccino in glasses topped with whipped white candle wax.

Earthy aromas also are popular. Last year, rain forest was a hit at Wicks ‘n’ Sticks shops. What’s new for spring? Freshly turned soil and new-mown grass.

Jo Brown of the Candle Connection in Mechanicsville, Iowa, is the master of mammoth candles. She makes a 21-inch pillar that is 7 1/2 inches in diameter and requires 33 pounds of wax. Generally, she skims white wax over chunks of leftover wax in various colors and fragrances. As the candle burns, colors and aromas change.

Other pillar candles range from about 2 by 2 inches to 6 by 6 inches, LeVanier says. They’re perfect for the fireplace.

“A selection of pillar candles in graduated heights is highly decorative, throws as much light off as a fire would do and gives off only a small amount of heat,” she says. “This is a good arrangement when you want to draw attention to the fireplace but don’t want to build a fire.”

Staggered heights and an adequate number of candles--seven is about right for the average fireplace--make the best display.

With the greater variety of candles is a broader selection of holders.

“Resin has expanded the choice in figurative candleholders,” LeVanier says. Hot themes include Greek (classical as in columns), gothic (heavily carved) and gardening, including rabbits and hollow rocks.

But the biggest trend in the big candle boom, according to LeVanier, is this:

“People are actually burning them and not just dusting off the same old pair they’ve had for 20 years.”

To burn a candle properly, trim the wick to a quarter-inch. Lighting a long wick is like lighting a little bonfire on top of your candle. It will melt the candle out to its edge and send wax dripping down the side.

Never place a lighted candle near a curtain or any other fabric covering that could be ignited. Always use a candleholder for a lighted candle, and never leave a lighted candle unattended.