"Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."
- Gustave Flaubert
Joe and I are newly married. We enjoy every day modern conveniences I.e.; heat, plumbing, electric - and quite honestly, up until recently didn’t even recycle. We realized that in today’s modern world, there is no sense of adventure, no real exploration. Everything you want or need can be given to you in a moment. People mostly visit far off places by plane for vacation, stay for a week in one place and spend 2 years saving to fly off for another week to another foreign place. We decided that while we loved the idea of seeing the world, shouldn’t we see what our own beautiful country has to offer? We are un-mortgaged, have no children, and have really only one true possession: Our Honda Element. We converted the back of the car into compressed sleeping quarters and storage, and traveled across the 48 contiguous states in order to find out what it really means to live within your means. We traveled parks, campgrounds, cities, caverns, mountains, and deserts. We stood at the base of giant redwoods on the west coast, and watched in awe as the sun broke the horizon in the east. We soaked in everything that our phenomenal country had to offer and asked ourselves, what does our society need back?
The hardest part about this concept was understanding what it meant to have the basic minimum. What do you really need, and how do you get it? How do you genuinely sustain your life without the modern conveniences of everyday living? Answer: you figure it out. We saved a bit of money, sold off everything we could, and downsized to nothing but what was in our car and a storage locker. We took the chance, and hoped for the best.
In the midst of downsizing we conceptualized and created an all-natural candle using 100% beeswax, an all natural hemp wick, sustainable cork, and antique re-purposed glass. Ideally this candle would help promote the collaboration of small local American businesses, utilize sustainable and recyclable materials, and simultaneously call attention to the dwindling population of bees. We are hoping that by creating a piece of art that also serves a functional purpose, we will be able to call attention to the needs of the many species not just our own.
10% of our sales go to charities that research and combat Colony Collapse Disorder. We also created a series of candles in collaboration with glass artists who handcrafted the candle vessels. We looked at this as our unique way of supporting local artists and their dreams of putting something beautiful into the world. We look forward to meeting and working with inspirational and enlightened people.
- Gustave Flaubert
Joe and I are newly married. We enjoy every day modern conveniences I.e.; heat, plumbing, electric - and quite honestly, up until recently didn’t even recycle. We realized that in today’s modern world, there is no sense of adventure, no real exploration. Everything you want or need can be given to you in a moment. People mostly visit far off places by plane for vacation, stay for a week in one place and spend 2 years saving to fly off for another week to another foreign place. We decided that while we loved the idea of seeing the world, shouldn’t we see what our own beautiful country has to offer? We are un-mortgaged, have no children, and have really only one true possession: Our Honda Element. We converted the back of the car into compressed sleeping quarters and storage, and traveled across the 48 contiguous states in order to find out what it really means to live within your means. We traveled parks, campgrounds, cities, caverns, mountains, and deserts. We stood at the base of giant redwoods on the west coast, and watched in awe as the sun broke the horizon in the east. We soaked in everything that our phenomenal country had to offer and asked ourselves, what does our society need back?
The hardest part about this concept was understanding what it meant to have the basic minimum. What do you really need, and how do you get it? How do you genuinely sustain your life without the modern conveniences of everyday living? Answer: you figure it out. We saved a bit of money, sold off everything we could, and downsized to nothing but what was in our car and a storage locker. We took the chance, and hoped for the best.
In the midst of downsizing we conceptualized and created an all-natural candle using 100% beeswax, an all natural hemp wick, sustainable cork, and antique re-purposed glass. Ideally this candle would help promote the collaboration of small local American businesses, utilize sustainable and recyclable materials, and simultaneously call attention to the dwindling population of bees. We are hoping that by creating a piece of art that also serves a functional purpose, we will be able to call attention to the needs of the many species not just our own.
10% of our sales go to charities that research and combat Colony Collapse Disorder. We also created a series of candles in collaboration with glass artists who handcrafted the candle vessels. We looked at this as our unique way of supporting local artists and their dreams of putting something beautiful into the world. We look forward to meeting and working with inspirational and enlightened people.
What is Colony Collapse Disorder?
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) was first reported in 2006. Beekeepers began reporting high colony losses where the adult honeybees simply disappeared from the hives, almost all at the same time. There were few, if any, dead bees found in or around the hives.
The basis of CCD is believed to be a complex result of multiple factors with no single stressor standing out as the primary cause. In addition to CCD, parasites, pathogens, poor nutrition, pesticide exposure, lack of genetic diversity, and habitat loss can weaken or kill honeybee colonies. However, colonies affected by CCD had more variety of disease-causing organisms than colonies without CCD.
The basis of CCD is believed to be a complex result of multiple factors with no single stressor standing out as the primary cause. In addition to CCD, parasites, pathogens, poor nutrition, pesticide exposure, lack of genetic diversity, and habitat loss can weaken or kill honeybee colonies. However, colonies affected by CCD had more variety of disease-causing organisms than colonies without CCD.
Why Beeswax?(+) Lower Toxicity (-) Beeswax candles are all natural & do not produce toxic byproducts when burned.
(+) Neutralizing Pollutants (-) Beeswax candles produce negative ions to purify the air you breathe. (+) Relaxation (-) Burning a candle has relaxing properties that aid with stress relief & meditation. The mild, sweet, natural, honey scent of 100% beeswax candles soothes, but does not overwhelm. (+) Light (-) Beeswax candles have the brightest light of any candle & are the closest to natural sunlight which minimizes eye strain & reduces headaches. |
Why Hemp?(+) Saves Trees (-) One acre of hemp can produce as much paper annually as 4 acres of trees & can be grown in a few months without pesticides or herbicides.
(+) Better than cotton (-) Hemp is 10 times stronger than cotton & produces twice as much fiber per acre. The fibers do not have any chemical residue & prevent UV rays from harming your skin. (+) Plastics (-) Hemp plastics are 100% biodegradable & more durable all while using less material than traditional plastic products. (+) Construction (-) Hemp fibers are lighter & stronger than traditional building materials & provide better insulation and sound proofing. |