Saturday, October 17, 2015

A Thing I Recommend You Buy

I've had some fun with autumn online purchasing (when the weather gets tough, the tough get shopping - from the comfort of a couch) but I do have a weakness for lifestyle stores. That's why, when Caban died, I went into mourning for a season (ok, a year).

There's a TO shop I enjoy, called Ziggy's, where you can get a smattering of everything home - from furniture to art to cutlery to weird things you never knew you wanted to boutique skin care to candles and the list goes on. I have no idea how the owner, Julie, finds all of these things - and how she's managed to fit them all tastefully into a store that can't be more than 1000 square feet.

At any rate, I'm not a regular candle buyer (for myself), although I do love a good candle, partly because so few candles are good and partly because Scott is ridiculous about turning them on. Somehow he purports to get a headache 30 seconds after one has been lit, every single time, regardless of the brand, scent or type of wax.

But while I was looking at the pretty things at Ziggy's (window shopping expedition on the way home from work), I did smell all the candles (who doesn't?!) and I discovered this one:

Kobo Warm Embers @49.00 CDN in store - Not related to Indigo in any way, CDN readers...
It smells like no other candle I've ever come across and I've run the gamut, I assure you, not to mention that fragrance is, and always has been, my scene.

How to describe it? It smells like woodsmoke and ash - like that piney, almost acrid, top note of burning leaves (my mother's fave scent in the universe and really, it is pretty fantastic). It evokes that deep urge for warmth when out in bracing cold - it's comforting but in a theoretical way. It is NOT sweet or spicy. It does not linger - but fades in the air. It's the PERFECT candle for a person who desperately wants a hearth or wood stove - you know, the kind who puts on the fireplace channel but then needs fragrance to realize the fantasy. (What? People do that.)

This brand, Kobo, doesn't have the cache of something truly independent (it's a going concern, online) nor that of the venerable innovators such as Diptyque. But the presentation is clean and elegant (once you divest the candle of the, frankly, oversized box) and it comes with great matches. Apparently, it burns for 80 hours - which makes its price point very reasonable. I do wish they'd named it Woodsmoke or Ash because Warm Embers says nothing to me.

I should also mention - and this trumps everything else I've said - that Scott has allowed it to be lit 2 (sub-zero) evenings in a row, unheard of in these parts. In fact, the first time I lit it, I put it in the dining room, out of his line of sight, just to see how long it would take for him to complain. He didn't know it was on until I pointed it out. He thought the scent was coming from outside?!

It would make an easy to acquire, delightful housewarming or holiday gift - almost as good as CURIO :-) dare I say, so keep it in mind as the season approaches.

Today's questions: Have you heard of Kobo candles? Do you like them? Do you have a candle from another brand that approximates this wood smoke scent and, if yes, give us the details! Julie, from Ziggy's, said in all her time she hasn't come across another candle that smells this way and she's in the biz... FWIW, neither have I.

11 comments:

  1. Growing up with a fireplace and thus stinking like this all winter (and getting made fun of for it at school), I can't imagine anyone going out of their way to get the smell. But, to each their own. Glad you found a candle that your husband can tolerate, though I feel his pain--I LOVE scented candles, but the smell gets overwhelming quickly and as soon as you snuff it out, all you can smell is the smoke. :-(

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    1. Wow! It never occurred to me that someone might not like the smell of wood smoke! I love it when candles get snuffed out and you can still smell the wick. Or when you light a match and then put it out. Kids are beyond stupid, btw. When that's what creates a target, they need to get more creative. And happily, now you can just use your central heating and forego ever turning on a fireplace again!

      PS: The one thing that's keeping me from having a nervous breakdown about my next reno is that I'm getting a woodstove. I want it so much, I'll just have to put up with the rest.

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    2. Ha. Yeah, I would agree, kids are just plain mean. But no, I don't miss the smell of burning hedge AT ALL. That said, I don't mind a campfire--as long as it's outside. We hung out next to one for several hours last weekend with some old friends and had a great time (though it was terribly smoky, HA!) Maybe beer makes it tolerable? ;-)

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  2. We have had a woodstove for many years and I love it! The newer, more efficient stoves don't smell very much-inside or out. It just wouldn't be fall, if we didn't have to go get several truck loads of wood (we are a year ahead with our wood , so it seasons properly). As for the candle, my husband just plan hates smelly candles with the exception of beeswax....so it wouldn't fly here I'm afraid.
    Barb

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    1. This is why I don't understand gas fireplaces - what's the point?! And who needs the candle if you have the real thing.

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  3. I wish I could have candles, but I have accepted how the smoke irritates my sensitive skin. Sigh.

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    1. Sucks. Hopefully you can do essential oils in a diffuser?

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  4. FYI, everybody, this comes in a 4 oz travel size! Perfect to counteract the godawful disinfectant smell my usual hotel uses in the rooms. Candles are nice for making yourself feel better when traveling for work.

    Both the 11 oz ($38 w/ free shipping) and 4 oz $12+$3.95 shipping) are on amazon.com for US readers, If you go to smallflower.com, you can buy it directly from them, and $85+ purchases get free shipping, which is nice if you like to go out of your way to support smaller businesses.

    You're right that a candle that candle haters don't mind is a great housewarming, holiday, or hostess gift!

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    1. Great info! Thanks for sharing. A mini size would be perfect for travel!

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  5. I'm just going to say how satisying I find fake fires. After 2 years of heating solely (&incredibly frugally) by woodstove in rural WA state, the last 10 years here in coastal Alaska have been virtually wood fire free. I find my asthmatically lungs the happier for it, but my spirit the crankier. And so I learned the utter joy of the fake woodstove electric heater. I rarely turn on the actual inefficient & $$ heat function, but those warm flames? Joy. What was fascinating is that my collie would go lay down in front of it - the fact that it emitted no heat was inconsequential. Like me, she just loved the hearthiness of it. Many friends have eyerolled me over this, & I get it, but they often get past the tacky factor, just as I did. And then I have the great fun of being shown, rather sheepishly, the new fake fire at a friend's house.

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    1. I'm so pleased for you that you're better for being wood-fire free. They have some electric fireplaces now that are incredible fakes. I saw them on TV a while ago and I was amazed. Here's for all the ways of appreciating hygge!

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