Pouring day at the studio
A Tuesday morning at the pouring table: melting, weighing, the two pours and the long wait on the racks.
What goes into a ₹1,250 candle
Wax, scent, glass, two weeks on a rack and a person at the pouring table: how the price of a 200 g candle adds up.
A candle looks simple, and in a way it is: wax, a wick, a jar and some scent. But the sums behind our 200 g jar may be useful if you have wondered why handmade candles cost what they do.
The soy wax costs about ₹50 a candle. The fragrance is the expensive part: we use fragrance and essential oil blends at 8% of the wax weight, which is 16 g per candle, and good oils cost between ₹6 and ₹12 a gram. That is about ₹150 of scent. The amber glass jar with a wooden lid costs ₹120, the cotton wick and its base ₹15, the label and burn card ₹20.
Then labour. We pour 40 candles in a batch, and a batch takes most of a morning: melting, weighing, heating the scent in at the right temperature, pouring in two stages, and fixing the wicks straight. After two weeks of curing, each candle is trimmed, wiped, lidded and labelled by hand. Packing for shipping, with paper, straw and a double box, takes more time and about ₹60 in materials.
Add studio rent in Assagao, electricity, the candles we test and throw away, payment fees and wages for four people, and the cost of a 200 g candle comes to about ₹820. We sell it for ₹1,250. Shipping across India costs us ₹120 to ₹180 a parcel, which is why it is free only above ₹2,500.
