In 1785, the company earned the honor of creating all the candles for the Vatican. He and his wife ran the business, keeping their children involved in the processes from an early age. As time went on, their children and grandchildren kept the business running as well as passed the family business on to their children. However, make sure your sleeves don t dangle where they can fall into the hot wax. Since you will have to get the candle wax very hot to melt completely, there is the risk of severe burns. You also have the risk of starting a fire. It is important to clean up all spilled wax immediately. It won t take long for it to harden, thus becoming very slippery. Once your candle is close to the desired thickness you want, shave it with a soft blade, giving the top a pointed look. Dip your candles a few more times to give them a smooth finish. Creating hand dipped candles is a great hobby or business venture. The process is time consuming, but the creations are beautiful. Some candle makers like to experiment with mixing colors to create their own unique and attractive candle colors. The colors come in the form of a dye. You have the option of leaving candles plain or adding your favorite scents. Traditional scents include cinnamon, vanilla, and potpourri. However, the choices are unlimited. Others smell like a chocolate cake or cinnamon rolls. The body of a candle is generally made of paraffin wax. It can also be made out of beeswax. Paraffin wax is a natural wax that comes from plants. This wax can be purchased from Petroleum Refinery or the Specialty Wax Processor. Beeswax is also considered a natural wax, and is taken from honeybees. His friends and family members loved it, and he began selling them. Soon the demand for them was more than he could keep up with. Mike soon learned that the area in his parent s home he was using to make the candles wasn t large enough. He also learned he needed help to meet the supply demands. At the tender age of 19, he invested in retail space to make and sell his candles.