Bloor-Yorkville is home to the most unique experiences when it comes to dining, shopping, wellness, and culture, and we’re thrilled to let you know about the newest experience at Lab by Kandl Artistique. This summer-long candle making pop-up will be open from now through to September at 156 Cumberland Street. If you’re looking for the perfect girls’ day, bachelorette party, or date night activity, we invite you to experience this totally unique class. Guests will take home a fully customizable 10oz scented candle, beautifully packaged, and completely original. The team is happy to accommodate groups or one-on-one classes and can incorporate special add-ons, such as a birthday cake or share plates.
Candle Making in Bloor-Yorkville
The pop-up takes place in one of Cumberland Street’s historic townhouses, on the top floor of 156 Cumberland in a quaint space featuring a floral photo wall and plenty of candles, creating a true sensory experience. Guests can choose from two candle making classes: the “Classic Lab,” an ideal introduction to fragrance selection and candle making, or the “Glowness Lab,” which incorporates mood-enhancing scents, colour therapy, and crystals.
Some of our office staff were lucky enough to try out the Glowness Lab, giving us a chance to create our own completely unique scents with personal design choices! First, we suited up in our aprons, which set the tone to make us really feel like chemists at work. From there, our instructor led us through colour theory, helping us decide on the colours of our candle vases and accompanying crystal, which we glued onto the lid. We were then taught how to place and glue our candle wicks in place. Each wick is specifically chosen by the instructor based on which essential oils will be used in your candle, ensuring the longest burn time possible.
From there comes the scent! The Custom Mix Palette includes the Crown, Heart, and Root, which are essentially the base, middle, and top notes. We were given plenty of time to select our personal favorites from each of the categories (and were armed with espresso beans to sniff in between, which work as a bit of a nasal palate cleanser). We had 5 essential oils within each category to choose from, but the good news is that each of the crown, heart, and root scents are completely interchangeable, so you can’t go wrong. All you need to do is decide which three scents you like the most, and you can rest assured they’ll work together to make a fantastic final scent.
After selecting our scents, we poured a vial of each one into our melted wax, which was housed in stainless steel pitchers, while stirring vigorously to ensure the oils are blended. If you’re anything like me, you might pour the oils into the candle holder by accident, but as I quickly learned, any mistake can be corrected. While it might seem like a high-stakes operation, there is really no true way to mess up your candle. Our instructor was quick to intervene, helping me course-correct and get back on track.
From here, we poured the mixed wax into our candle holder, where they sat to cool for 30 minutes. And just like that, we were the creators of our own, completely unique, scented candles! Kandle Artistique uses high quality soy waxes and wicks to ensure maximum burn time and equal distribution of scents. The biggest tip for longevity is to make sure that on your first light, you let the wax completely pool around the wick, to avoid burning down into a “tunnel.”
The Lab is a fantastic way to take a break from your day, learn about scent and colour theory, and have a completely new and creative experience. If you’d like to book a session, be sure to do so soon and catch the pop-up before the end of summer! Afterwards, you can stroll over to one of our many nearby patios for lunch or dinner and make a full day of it!
Call the team at 416-215-2150 or send a message on social media to request a booking time at the Cumberland Street Lab. If you’re following them on Instagram, you may have noticed that even Drake stopped by to create a scent! Don’t miss out on the fun!
Lab by Kandl
156 Cumberland Street