 Reserve your space now in one of our candle-making classes, Saturday, May 5th, at Dolce' Vita in downtown Florence. This is the perfect event for you and a girlfriend, moms and daughters, or you and your evening date. In less than one hour, you will make two 8 oz. soy wax candles using your choice of vessel and fragrance. Click the class time below that works best for you. Class size is limited to ten, so sign up today. What do you need to bring? Nothing. We'll supply everything. Delicious food and beverages will be available for purchase from Dolce' Vita during the class. Appropriate ages? Mature children and adults. We suggest 13 and older. Plan to pick up your candles 4 to 6 hours after your class or at your convenience the following week. Reserve Your Space Now
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 When we first met Kelly and Shelly at "The Market" in Atlanta we knew they were on a mission. Exactly what that mission was we weren't privy to.They knew they wanted our candles to be a part of, what we would later come to know as, their Rebellion! On April 23rd "The Rebellion" will officially begin in Tallahassee, Florida. It's a rebellion against ordinary, mundane shopping at ordinary, mundane shops. Tallahassee better get ready for some Spirited Shopping as Rebels' Midtown Boutique will usher in a unique shopping experience that will allow shoppers to enjoy a large selection of quality clothing and gifts at an affordable price in a relaxed atmosphere. Midtown Rebels' will even offer a selection of local beers and wines to help make your visit even more enjoyable.  While you are visiting with the Dynamic Duo of Fashion please check out, while you check out, our hand made candles. Carolina Wren is very excited to partner with Rebels' Midtown and watch the exciting things they are doing . We think you'll find a great fit in what they are providing. We take great pride in hand cutting and hand pouring each one. Also please follow Rebels' Midtown Boutique on Facebook , twitter and Instagram .
For location, store hours and other useful information click here. Again, we are excited and inspired to have a glimpse into the work of Hayley Childress, as she continues her training into the world of combating human trafficking. One Saturday we helped out with a screening of the documentary Dark Side of Chocolate and its follow up documentary Shady Chocolate. A local Tauranga anti-trafficking group called Traffick Jam hosted it. It was a great opportunity to talk to people in the community about ethically sourced chocolate, especially seeing as Easter is coming up.
In the documentary, it shows how prevalent illegal child labor is on the cocoa fields and how many major chocolate companies get their supply from those very same fields. I had seen the first film, but even watching it again and watching the follow up film, I was challenged even more. During the screening, Trade Aid was present. They are a New Zealand operated, Fair Trade company. They had different chocolate items for purchase. It was so important for them to be there because many times, when we see something like that it can be overwhelming and a little bit of paralysis can set in. We’re left wondering what we can do about the problem and what alternatives we have. Highlighting a solution to such a dark issue really added a positive level to the experience. As I mentioned, Easter is coming up and Easter is a big time for chocolate. If you’re in the US (or NZ) you can go to my website thrivenco.com/EasterChocolateGuide for an ethical chocolate purchasing guide. Hayley's story becomes more and more compelling and relevant. You can help support her efforts with us as we continue to support her by donating $2.00 from each candle or reed diffuser purchased online.  When Lisa first approached me with the idea of making candles from recycled wine bottles, neither of us had a clue how to do it. We had never heard of cold work and couldn't imagine what cold work would have to do with wine bottles. So, being red blooded Americans, we immediately, after some procrastination, set out to invent a process on how to cut a glass bottle. Step one, Google; step two, Youtube. Problem solved! We wished. We looked at all the various DIY projects with string and hot water and even bought a little for contraption that only works if the bottle is perfectly round, which hardly any of them are. We finally settled on a little wet saw from Harbor Freight that costed about $60. We set it up in the back yard and I approached this power tool with a great deal of trepidation. I had no idea what was going to happen when I took a glass bottle and forced it on to a spinning metal disc encrusted with diamonds and moving at approximately 600 rpms. I'm sure I must have looked like a 1950's Sci-Fi mad scientist dressed in rubber boots, goggles, gloves and wearing a trash bag with holes cut for my arms and head. Slowly, we worked trying to figure the best way to move the bottle around to get the best cut. Although happy to have successfully cut our bottles, we were always a little disappointed in the quality. So our internet search continued, until one day I stumbled upon a little site called HisGlassWorks! It was there that I learned about the differences in diamond blades, wet saws and a little, but important thing called "blow out". We began to measure our successes by how many wine bottles we cut at one time. It started out with 3-4 dozen. Then slowly, as demand grew, it morphed into 6-8 dozen at a time and we really thought we were doing something. All this time we tried different techniques and production processes to try and make our cuts more efficient, and that's when it dawned on me........we need a new, bigger, faster saw! But we'll go into that at a later date. I'd like to encourage you to sign up for our newsletter to get updates on our sales, our efforts to help others, or just read about our journey into candle making. So go to the sign-up, like us follow us and you'll hear from us soon. We're hearing straight from Hayley Childress about important, moving lessons she's learning through Justice Training & Outreach in New Zealand. Take a moment to read & learn about how her mission continues to develop. "On Friday afternoons we typically have work duties (cleaning, maintenance, etc.) but one Friday afternoon, we were just handed a packing list and given 3 minutes to pack what was on the list. The list only included a sleeping bag, rain coat, 1 change of clothes, any required medication, a journal and sunglasses. We were about to start an unexpected Justice simulation. Each of us was given an envelope with our refugee story. We were simulating refugees from Trinidad & Tobago whose homes had been flooded. We were temporarily “placed” in an unknown, unfamiliar location and were given 3 ropes, 3 tarps, a pot, pan, 3 bags of rice, 6 cans of beans and fire wood. We were not told how long we’d be there nor what would happen while we were there. We spent 48 hours in an isolated location, sleeping in a tarp shelter we made ourselves, only having rice & beans to eat. Throughout the simulation period, our leaders presented us with different circumstances like threats of deportation, government fees, human-trafficking (which was staged as a possible adoption opportunity) and different degrading scenarios. The experience really shed light on the lack of control there is in a displaced person’s situation. In essence, they’re waiting for other people to make decisions for them. Even when a refugee does have power in the decision, most of the options aren’t ideal. Even after 48 hours, in a scenario that wasn’t even real, we were all very drained both physically and emotionally. I can’t imagine the extent of what it would be like to be an actual refugee, but it definitely gives a perspective and really revealed things about some of the struggles refugees might face in ways just reading about it could never do. It was a very humbling experience and I’m grateful for it. I think the biggest lesson learned was that when serving & helping others, especially in foreign countries where realities can be drastically different than ours, it’s really easy to get into a “fix it” mentality, which can quickly lead to a very demeaning posture. There has to be an abundance of empathy and humility. We’re not meant to be saviors, we’re meant to simply be servants."
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You've burned your container candle down to the wick, but you don't want to toss it inn the trash. How do you clean out your candle jar and get rid of the last bit of wax so the jar can be used for something else? Here's how:
1. Set the container in an oven-safe baking dish and heat at 250 degrees until all the wax has melted. Use the oven timer as a reminder to check every 10-15 minuted. (Yes, it will catch fire if you forget about it.)
1. Set the container in an oven-safe baking dish and heat at 250 degrees until all the wax has melted. Use the oven timer as a reminder to check every 10-15 minuted. (Yes, it will catch fire if you forget about it.)
2. When all the wax has melted, carefully remove the dish and container from the oven. Using grippy oven gloves, pour the melted wax into an empty aluminum can. Use tongs to remove the wick if necessary. Never pour any wax, even just little bit, down a sink drain. Immediately wipe out the jar thoroughly with paper towels before it cools down.
3. Wash the container in hot, soapy water. Rinse well and dry. Any residual wax can be removed using a paper towel and rubbing alcohol.
Next: How to remove our label, too!
Campbell's Covered Bridge built in 1909, is the only remaining covered bridge in South Carolina. Off Hwy 14 near Gowensville.
A noble Catawba Indian who befriended early Camden settlers, King Haiglar is often called "The Patron Saint of Camden." Today, he reigns over Camden in the form of a life-sized weather vane which graces the tower of what once was the circa-1886 Opera House.
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