The Milk & Cookie Candle Company make some of the most amazing candles and wax products out there and we’re so lucky to work with them (since 2012!) and to be able to call Trish and Terrance, our friends.
Their products are highly scented; they hand blend their fragrances and use the maximum amount of premium essential and fragrance oils possible in candle making. They use all natural products and are dedicated to being Eco-friendly even going so far as to use veggie dyes in the labels.
They are creatively inspired by and love making super scrumptious products with scents like flavors Caramel Corn, Waffle Cone, Cotton Candy and even Maple Bacon!
I’m so happy to be chatting to Trish today for our latest Behind The Wick interview.
Tell us a little about yourself – what originally drew you to making candles and launching your own business?
I have always loved candles since I can remember; my parents, especially my Mom, loved anything that had a delicious or a homey and cozy scent. My parents were big on making a house a home, and I learned at a young age this had a lot to do with candles.
When I was growing up my family owned flower shops around the area where we lived, our shops much like our homes were filled with the gorgeous aromas of flowers and sweet smelling candles for every occasion. I became almost obsessed with sniffing all the different scents. Fast forward to years later and one day while working on another project all together, the name, “The Milk & Cookie Candle Company” just popped into my head. I began to research the candle making process, and made the decision excitedly, this is what I was going to do. To this day I absolutely love candle making, and enjoy all the element of it, from dreaming about my favourite scents especially childhood ones, label and candle designs, to being inspired by our customers’ awesome ideas.
Tell us about the process that goes into making your lovely candles? What wax/products do you use?
When deciding to go into the business of making candles, I felt very strongly as to what kind of wax and products I wanted to use, I made the decision to use only eco friendly soy wax, that is harvested in the USA from a renewable resource. I wanted to create candles that not only smelled yummy, but, were healthy to enjoy and with eco friendly soy, not only do you get a toxic free, carcinogenic free candle, but, also almost 97% soot free as well. We only use lead free cotton wicks and our candles have a very low melting point as well as an easy clean up with just warm sudsy soap and water.
When it comes to fragrances, I love to hand blend our oils, it’s important that it inspires me so, when I am doing this I mix till it smells just right. All our oil bases are made by a family owned business in the USA. I wanted to know everything that I was blending into our candles from top to bottom was an eco friendly healthy product to use and enjoy. That is also why we only use veggie dyes, we also don’t want to use anything animal based, because we love our furry friends, so all our products are never tested or derived from animal products. All my candles are hand poured, sprinkled and wrapped.
What’s your inspiration for coming up with new scents?
I love coming up with new scents, a lot of inspiration for me comes from childhood memories, but, I am also inspired by things around me and things that I love.
Customers often inspire me to try things I wouldn’t of thought of, I love being able to just create!
What is your favourite candle scent of all the candles you make?
Oh gosh that’s hard! I honestly think it would have to be Strawberry Shortcake, but then there’s Chocolate Chip Mint too.. it’s so hard to pick just one!
Are there any scent combinations you’ve tried that have turned into a total disaster?
Hmmm…LOL not really, I just about love everything. I really dream about something until I make it and often you will see me wafting oil bottles in multiple’s by my nose and seeing…hey does this smell as good as I think it will?
What about happy accidents?
I have definitely had a lot of those, stuff I didn’t think that work together and then I am like ooooooh! Oh my!
Are there any other candle brands that you like and buy from?
Yes, I did try a Bath & Body Works candle in Peach Bellini, and I thought it was so good!
What are your favourite scents in general from other brands?
I think that would be anything with Strawberries, Peaches or Watermelon.
What five items would you take to a desert island? (One has to be something you sell…)
I would definitely bring my laptop and hope there’s a plug somewhere LOL! Also, lip balm, my pillow, some chocolate and of course one of my own candles.
Have you any new and exciting creations planned that you’d like to share with us?
I do! We are bringing out a line of cocktail candles that look good enough to drink and smell divine.
Thank you to Trish for taking part and if you’d like to treat yourself to some goodies from The Milk & Cookie Candle Company, Trish has kindly offered all V&L readers a lovely 20% discount! Use code: vanillaandlime
I highly recommend Blue Hawaiian and Luscious Lemon Pound Cake, they’re two of my all time favourite scents.
Show the Milk & Cookie Candle Company some love of Facebook, HERE and follow on Twitter @MilknCookieCo
From one handmade-candlemaker to another, best wishes to you on the success of your Etsy shop! We all need to lift each other up in this nutty business we so dearly love!