In this series of blog posts we attempt to examine and articulate what it is that makes a Queen B candle unique. What it is that sets Queen B candles apart from other beeswax candles on the market... ie what are the hallmarks of a Queen B candle.
First amongst those differences is that the beeswax we source simply isn't available on the market to anyone else. Being Australian beeswax, it is natural free from chemical miticides. It is also sourced from 2nd, 3rd or 4th generation beekeepers who have been brought up using traditional methods of beekeeping and who approach beekeeping more as an art / slow living than as industrialised production.
The beeswax we source is the finest beeswax on the Australian market and we pay our beekeepers a premium for it. We buy from beekeepers who have their girls foraging on particular honey flows, from a variety of geographic regions, who use a specific method of extraction (that is gentle on bees) and who don't overheat their wax as part of the extraction process.
Having sourced that extraordinary wax, our beekeepers clean it once for us over a period of 24 hours, and we then spend another 48 hours - using just water, time (for the dust to settle) and filtration to remove dust and impurities. The image shows the dust removed from just one 24 hour cleaning.
Our method of cleaning beeswax is proprietary (ie no one else knows the detail of it) and ensures a Queen B candle will burn better than any other beeswax candle on the market.
What do we mean by 'better'?... we mean, like for like, a Queen B candle will burn for longer and with a larger golden flame than any other comparable beeswax candle. Feel free to take the test... we have!
If I had to say what creates the environment in which this magic is created, it would be the qualities that we look for when we're hiring and that we each bring to work every day at Queen B. It's a tall order and we've absolutely got it horribly wrong on occasion, but for the stayers, the values we all hold dear are:
- humility (underestimating the power of nature is a mistake we've made to our own detriment on occasion),
- inquisitiveness (to better this extraordinary natural product that we get to work with every day,
- attentiveness (to detail, to one another and to being in the moment)
- respect (for bees, beekeepers, the planet, environment, our customers, one another, the earth angels who volunteer here... basically anyone we come in touch with
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