Candles that make Scents

Candles of all shapes, sizes and smells glow in popularity; Candles Warming Hearts And Cash Registers

BY HILARY GROUTAGE SMITH
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Not sure how a wedding day, approaching storm or Christmas night is supposed to smell?

No matter.

Candlemakers have it all figured out, and Utahns, fond of scenting their homes with wax and wicks, are buying them like crazy.

"I can burn a pumpkin candle and pretend I'm making a pie," said Debi Brady, assistant manager of Seasons, a gift shop in downtown Salt Lake City. "I always have a candle burning at my house."

And Brady is not alone. Americans spent billions on candles last year, said Susan Stockman, director of public relations for Yankee Candles, the Massachusetts-based candle giant that got its start 30 years ago when a penniless teen-ager melted down his childhood crayons to make a Mother's Day candle as a gift. Last year, Yankee did more than $280 million in business with trademark scents like Storm Watch, Witches Brew, Roses at Cliffwalk, Macintosh, Island Mango, Wedding Day and Christmas Cookie.

"Scented candles have become incredibly popular over the last decade. It's a nesting syndrome that's taking place after the 1980s syndrome of going out all the time. People are staying home more now,'' Stockman said.

Maybe more than ever in Utah.

"It's because of our heritage in Utah of homecooked meals and that country-craft atmosphere our homes take on in the fall," said Sue Christensen, manager of the Provo Yankee Candle store. "That's why they sell here."

Besides, candles can be given as gifts to men or women, they have no calories and are appropriate for occasions ranging from holidays to housewarmings.
Scentinals, a candle company based in Logan, has found a niche in the candle market by manufacturing custom-labeled candles for golf courses, banks, title companies, resorts and auto repair shops. The company also manufactures candles under its own label and distributes them nationwide. Manager Mark Hedin said fragrances are chosen from selections provided by out-of-state "perfumers" who sell the scented oils. This time of year, pumpkin spice is popular and candles vanish as fast as they are manufactured, but the biggest year-round seller is pomegranate.

"I'm not even sure what a pomegranate smells like, but people sure like it,'' Hedin said.

Ditto at Azania in Provo. Azania is a six-person operation that started in 1997 molding candles from oils imported from India. Pomegranate is the most popular candle the company sells.

"It's pleasant and fruity," said company president Thomas McKinnon.

In addition, the company makes a popular aromatherapy line that includes patchouli, sandalwood and nag champa. For Christmas, layered candles of spice, pine and cinnamon or almond, currant and fig are available.

Besides the scent, candles offer comfort and warmth and add ambience to a room, Hedin said.

"They're romantic. I have to have one going at my house. I've been working here so long I can't come home and not light one," he said.

But just as the popularity of candles has gone up, so has the number of fires, accidents and deaths they have caused. In Utah, the number of fires caused by candles has gone from 45 in 1995 to 95 in 1999, the last year figures are available. Two people have died as a result of candle-caused fires since 1995, said Janet Herron, deputy fire safety specialist at the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

To prevent fires, never leave candles burning unattended; burn them in an open area away from small children, curtains and pets. Never, ever, burn candles as part of holiday decorations like wreaths or Christmas trees, said Salt Lake County Fire Capt. Jay Ziolkowski.

"We would hope people would use common sense, but I have a job because common sense doesn't always prevail,'' he said.

The safest candles to burn are those that extinguish when they are tipped over, Ziolkowski said. Most candles marketed in jars are designed to do that, he said.

And it might be wise to avoid candles with metal in the wicks. Earlier this year, the Public Citizen's Health Research Group in Washington, D.C., released a report claiming candles with lead in the wick can elevate lead levels in the air as much as 33 times the federal safety guidelines. Elevated lead levels can cause lead poisoning that may damage the central nervous system and cause learning problems in children.

But with a little care, candles add romance, ambience and warmth to a home.

"I've heard a hundred different reasons people love candles," Hedin said. "For me, it's a comfort thing."