I have noticed that in several places you mention "testing" candles. How do you do this and why?

Blunt answer: Any one that makes anything and does not test it before selling it is asking to go out of business.   Long answer: We test our candles by making them exactly the same way as we make them for you. It is a test of the process as well as the product. By testing we ensure that our process does not waste time and supplies, but also produces a safe and better product. We start by making 4 indentical candles just like we would for you. The same formulas and steps, no changes. We then burn those candles in several fashions, standard test burns of 4 hours per burn, short burns (under 90 minutes), long burns (6 hours) and start to finish burns. So for any 1 particular candle this means at least 4 candles each time we want to test the littlest change. When we test we look for scent throw, length of time to create a full melt pool, smoking (the ultimate sin), heat transfer to the glass (lower is better), total burn time (longer is better) and safety. Each test is charted on a test document and kept on file to record results and to look at for trending and developing new ideas. Example: Our large jar candle worked great with a single 40 size wick for the start to finish and long burn tests but failed miserably on the short burn test. None of the 20+ other sizes of wick would meet all of the requirements for the 4 burn testing when installed as a single wick. After around 100+ candles we found the only wick solution that met our requirements was dual size 34 wicks.  Each new scent has to be tested as well as new colors or glassware or even a new shipment of wax from the manufacturer. Simple things such as white dye can be a problem. White dye if used in too large a quantity will destroy the burn characteristics of a candle well before similar concentrations of other colors. The most important part of testing is safety. You are asking us to make a product for your house that produces a flame. To not ensure the safety of that product would be inexcusable.