A candle rewards attention. Not constant attention, it does not ask to be watched but the small, occasional gestures of someone who understands what they have.
Here is how to get the most from a Forma Comptus candle, from the first light to the last.
The first burn
This is the most important.
Wax has a memory. On the first burn, the pool of melted wax sets a precedent that every subsequent burn will follow. If you extinguish the candle before the pool has reached all four edges of the vessel, which, depending on the size of the candle, may take two to four hours, you will create a tunnel. The wax will continue to burn downward through that tunnel on every future use, leaving a thick wall of unmelted wax around the edges that will never burn.
Let the first burn go long. Let the pool reach the edges. Then blow it out.
Everything that follows will be better for it.
Trim the wick and keep it centred
Before every burn, not just the first, trim the wick to approximately five millimetres.
A long wick produces a large flame that moves too much, consumes the wax too quickly, and leaves soot on the inside of the glass. A trimmed wick gives you a stable, steady flame that burns cleanly and evenly. It is one of those small actions that makes an outsized difference, like sharpening a knife before you cook.
Use scissors. Pinch the trimmed piece and remove it before lighting, stray carbon in the wax pool will interfere with the burn.
Our wicks, as well as our products, are as sustainable as possible. We won't use chemicals or such, so the wicks are glued to the glass. If the wick strays too much from the center of the glass, reposition it to the center.
Where to burn it
Away from draughts. A flame disturbed by air movement burns unevenly and tends to smoke. Away from other heat sources. On a surface that will not be harmed if a small amount of wax finds its way there, which, if the candle is behaving correctly, it will not.
Do not burn for more than four hours at a time. The vessel becomes very hot with extended burning, and the wax pool deepens in ways that can affect the wick's stability. Four hours is ample. It is enough time for a room to be entirely transformed by a fragrance.
When the wax is gone
The vessel remains.
Remove any last traces of wax by pouring a small amount of near-boiling water into the glass, the residual wax will lift to the surface, cool, and can be removed in one piece. Wash with warm, soapy water.
The vessel is now ready for flowers, for wine, for water, for whatever you choose. The glass does not stop being beautiful when the candle is finished. It simply becomes available.
On patience
A Forma Comptus centrepiece burns for over two hundred and fifty hours. That is an invitation.
Not every beautiful thing needs to be rushed.
Burn it once. Keep it forever.
