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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Why A Mason Jar?

La Belle - "the beautiful".  How do I package a candle that is representative of it's name.  Well, I started thinking, I know, here you go again, thinking..., and I determined the three most important attributes the our perfect candles should exhibit are:
  1. Beautiful smell
  2. Beautiful burn qualities
  3. Beautiful appearance
Through diligent experimentation, I mastered the first two.  My candles smell extraordinary both when they're burning and when they're not.  The burn qualities are exceptional...a consistent burn across the top of the candle...a wax pool just as it should be.  But, how do I incorporate these qualities into a beautiful package, while at the same time maintaining the historical relevance my candles represent?

The search begins.  I scoured countless websites viewing hundreds of containers trying to determine which one would be the absolute best container for La Belle Artisan Candles.  Which one is worthy of the exceptional smell and perfect burn qualities my candles have?  Which container depicts the "artisan" craftsmanship of my creations?  Is it an apothecary jar, a Libbey, a tureen?  None of these captured the essence of hand poured, hand crafted candles. 

Then I ran across the Mason Jar.  Hmmm...a Mason Jar.  The first thought that popped into my mind was not how a candle would look in a Mason Jar, but my grandmothers delicious Mustang grape jelly that I couldn't get enough of when I was a child.  I remember my grandfather picking countless Mustang grapes each year and bringing them home to my grandmother who would tirelessly transform those bitter grapes into some of the sweetest jelly I've ever tasted.   The care required to ensure the jelly was well preserved was an art form in itself.  Maybe not for her generation but certainly for ours.  You see, my grandparents were from, what I would say to be, the last generation who preserved their food out of necessity.  So to me, canning is has quickly become a lost art form replaced by the nearest grocery store.  But I still remember those beautiful jars of preserved fruit and vegetables that lined my grandparents pantry.

Maybe this was the container that could represent the artisan craftsmanship of my candles.  After all, the preserving and canning process of years gone by required a craftsmanship all of its own.    So, where did the Mason jar come from?  Well, countless jars were patented in the early 19th century but it wasn't until a tinsmith named John Landis Mason created a jar with a screw on lid which gave rise to the ease of canning and preserving  that believe it or not is still in use today. 

This container, the Mason Jar, proved to be the container that truly represented the craftsmanship of La Belle Artisan Candles.  It has a historical significance in all of our lives.  If we search hard enough, we all have memories of family meals or a special dish that only could be found at our  grandparents house and wish that we could recreate the goodness of grandmothers cooking.  That goodness is found in our artisan candles which are individually hand crafted with the same care taken by our grandparents to ensure that their sustenance was maintained. 

Visit our store at La Belle Artisan Candles.



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