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Enter the Galerie Aromatique

Learn About Burning And Storing Your Soy Candles

"Home Friendly"
by Jamie Lemke-Barrand, Herald-Republican

ANGOLA - Grazia Wilson readily admits she gets bored easily and doesn't often stick to doing one thing for too long.

The daughter of a "non-disciplinarian" mother and a traveling concert violinist father, Wilson realized from an early age that most of her talents were creatively based and were things she could do with her hands.

For a lot of years, she went from thing to thing, but has finally found something that seems to be able to hold her attention developing scents for and hand-pouring her own soy wax candles. She has parlayed that passion into her own business, which she christened AromaSoy by Grazia.

"I believe I'm going into my fourth year," Wilson said.

Wilson doesn't really have a store. She makes her candles in a little workshop on Hoosier Drive, and distributes them via home parties, fund-raisers, the Internet and other businesses.

‘Earth-friendly'

Wilson is a totally self-taught candlemaker. She became interested in the business after a friend of hers in Atlanta became successful at it.

Soy candles are very different from conventional candles, most of which are made with petroleum-based paraffin wax, Wilson said.

"Paraffin is unhealthy," Wilson said. "I wanted to make candles, but I wasn't going to do something that was detrimental to the environment and to people's homes and health."

Wilson has done her homework on the difference between the two types of wax.

"Paraffin is a by-product of gasoline," she explained. "It's been researched, and it's been proven to have many toxins.

"Soy, on the other hand, is an all-natural, consumable and renewable product," she continued. "It's earth-friendly. It's healthy for individuals, and provides another soy bean use."

The wicks in most candles on the market have zinc core wicks ("they used to be lead"), Wilson said, but hers have paper or cotton cores.

"I go 100 percent natural," she said.

Wilson said it's also her opinion that soy candles are a better value than conventional candles.

"They're non-toxic, and they burn cooler so they can burn 30 percent longer," she said.

Aroma abounds

Wilson's theory on candles is, "the stronger, the better." In fact, she uses triple the industry standard of fragrance oil in her candles (industry standard is 3 to 6 percent oil, Wilson uses 10 percent). Her more than 100 self-developed scents range from food-inspired aromas like After Dinner Mint, Angel Food Cake, Buttery Caramel Corn and Homemade Apple Pie to florals such as Hawaiian Plumeria, Lavender & Herb and Lilac Mist to her very own creations such as Cashmere Scarf, Irish Linen and Mayan Gold. She is always developing new scents.

"I want my candles to have superior appearance, performance and scent throw," she said. "I use expensive oils. I've gone through hundreds and hundreds of fragrances to come up with my list. Some of them just don't work."

Wilson uses scented oils, aromatherapy and essential oils in her candlemaking.

Branching out

Pouring soy candles can be a challenge, Wilson said, because soy wax "can be temperamental."

"You have to have it at just the right temperature," she said.

Wilson spends a lot of time thinking of ideas for new product lines. Currently, lines she carries include AromaGems, which are candles adorned with semi-precious stone wire cuff bracelets; AromaNaturals, candles made with essential oils; AromaSpa, which are candles made with mineral sea salts, Dead Sea salts, pure extracts, essential oils and dried botanicals; the less-formal Balmoral Collection, the Bean of Light Collection, which Wilson describes as having a "country, primitive look," and Wilson was commissioned by the Beverage Buddies Co. to create as a complement to their line of soybean snacks; the Contemporary Collection, made for use in bedrooms and living rooms; the Nature's Bounty Collection, a line "with a more contemporary flair," and The Vineyard Collection, which are wine-inspired scents poured in wine goblets and champagne flutes hand-painted by Fremont artist Tarma Van Aken and adorned with wine charm markers.

Several Steuben County area locations currently sell AromaSoy by Grazia candles. They include Americlean Dry Cleaners, Cuts by the Green hair salon, Gen's Hallmark, Johnny Lema's, Potawatomi Inn gift shop and Skin Solutions. In Fort Wayne, Wilson's products are available at Head First Hair Salon in Time Corners and Sandpoint Greenhouse South.

A fund-raiser program is available through AromaSoy by Grazia. Participants receive 50 percent of the proceeds from fund-raiser sales, Wilson said.

Wilson has also developed some bath and body products, including PetalSoaps silk flower petals dipped in handmade soap; BuG OFF natural insect repellent spray and candles; perfume roll-ons, essential oils and potpourri.

One of her goals, she said, is to make products that are in everyone's price range. Her products range in price from $4 all the way up to $150.

Wilson can be contacted at 668-3584 or GraziaW57@msn.com.

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