Hellen’s Boutique

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Learn more about Hellen’s Boutique

What inspired you to start your business?

I was first inspired to start my business during the pandemic. Seeing as everyone was getting sick, and how life is way too short, I told myself “You always wanted to start your own business, just do it while you still can”. The question was, what do we actually make? It needed to be something that we had complete control over, from making the product to shipping it. Since it was the pandemic and there was so many unforeseen delays in shipping and materials, we had to go this route and do everything ourselves to make sure our customers would get their product on time.

How we decided what to choose:

When we first started our business, we actually hated all candles on the market. Everything on the market smelled way too intense, affected our allergies, and the fragrances they use are just bad for you all around, to the point that smelling them actually made me feel sick.

My goal was to make a candle that I actually enjoyed, that the fragrance and materials were actually good for me, and that didn’t make me nauseous. Through my extensive research, I found sculpture candles. They were the most sustainable and eco-friendly options coming to market.

I didn’t just want to make another business that sells candles, I wanted to make a difference in the world and providing eco-friendly options, with a made to order model. Which means that we use only what we need, and have a less environmental impact with our sustainable soy wax and Premium fragrance oils.

With this foundation and values, I created beautiful decorative candle pieces, that can actually act like a pretty air freshener for your space. I lightly fragrance the candles using premium fragrance oils that are phthalate, paraben, and acetone free, and pet-safe. This is what allows us to have a beautiful candle without the headaches and the nausea.

These candles are truly art pieces. They are an act of love and skill I have mastered over the last few years and I am proud to be an artist that provides responsible products to homes around the world.

How do you describe your business?

Our business is handmade, eco-friendly, sustainable business. Providing luxury handcrafted sculpture candle pieces made from high-quality soy wax and premium fragrance oils. Our premium fragrance oils that are phthalate, paraben, and acetone free, and pet-safe.

We are self-taught and we have learned everything from YouTube. We have mastered these techniques over the last 5 years. We make the candles using a curated selection of molds. We pour our wax and fragrance in the moulds and carefully de-mould the candles when fully cured. Our curing process can take up to 48 hours. After that, we go in with carving tools to refine and fix any imperfections or flaws on the candle. We have worked tirelessly to perfect the craft, and are constantly learning new techniques. One of our favourite challenges to take on is to create custom colours for our clients. Some want really unique colours so we use our artistic eye and colour theory to get the perfect colour.

Most candle companies use a dip technic for colouring their candles, which is a method where they take a white base and dip the candles frequently to get the desired coloured. We do not do this. We mix in the colour while the wax is melted to get a candle fully embed with the customers desired colour. All candles are poured in small batches and made-to-order so you are getting one-of-a-kind pieces each time.

What makes us unique is that we fragrance our sculpture candles, and we offer sure customization from colour to type of fragrance. This is why many love working with us for unique gifts, weddings, events, client appreciation gifts. Our candles are mostly for decorative purposes. Which is why we fragrance our candles, you don’t have to burn them to enjoy their fragrance. Simply put it in the spot you prefer, and that area will start smelling like your preferred fragrance – light and subtle. Many of our customers choose to not burn these beautiful sculptures but some love watching the process of something beautifully melting away. It really helps keep you in the present and lets you enjoy every moment.

Why do you think it’s so popular?

What makes it so popular is it’s actually inspired by a famous sculpture created by Italian sculptor Raffaele Monti in the mid-1800s. Many have seen this piece in Pride and Prejudice and absolutely love it. A lot of people connect with this sculpture, some people see mother Mary, some people see beauty, some are afraid. The beauty of this piece is that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. True collectors and artist lovers connect with this, have it displayed as their own art piece in their home. It’s truly a piece that wows everyone who looks at it. The materials used are the same as all our sculptures. The process takes 48 hours to cure. After the curing and de-moulding process, we have to go in by hand with craving tools to define a few details, and fix some imperfections that came up through the de-moulding process.

What’s your personal favourite product from your shop right now?

My favourite products are the Veiled Lady Sculpture and our Macaron Candles. They are both really challenging pieces to master, but very rewarding when completed. I love when my pieces are harder to make, because you truly appreciate the work that goes into in. You feel a big sense of accomplishment when things come out perfect. All our sculptures with intricate details are all really difficult.

Specifically for our macaron candles, they actually have the same process as baking real macarons. If you ever have made these, you would know how difficult they are, and you know that once you really master them, it’s a beautiful and fulfilling achievement.

Macaron Candle Process:

We first make the shells, colour and fragrance the wax to perfection and pour the wax in the mould. When the shells are a few minutes into curing, we place a small stick at the centre of the shell to embed a hole for the actual wick placement. Several minutes later when the wax is almost fully cured, we remove the small stick. Once the shells are fully cured, you are left with a small hole to insert the wick on both sides of the shell. Using a carving tool, we make the hole in the centre wide enough for the wick to fit. if you are not careful, you can actually break the shell in half which I have done several times. If we break the shell, it has to go back into the remelting process as there’s no other way to fix it. Once the bottom macaron shells are wicked, we then make the filling portion of the macaron, which is a vanilla base. We whip the wax, place it into a bag, and then pipe it onto the shell. We then put the wick through the top macaron shell and press them gently together to finalize the macaron. After all this work, you let them sit for 24 hours before packing them into our signature macaron box.

A lot of work and a lot of steps, and very hands-on process, however very rewarding when complete. This is why I call this an art, because of the skills and techniques we need to make this happen.

What’s your favourite local Toronto shop?

Arts Market – it helps local artists have a space to display their art and share it with their local community.