Win - win - win - win!

It's such fun when something new comes to the gallery.  Today, on a dreary and wet Monday, the entire place got livened up by a delivery from Edmonds artist Amy Vakontios and her Sagapo candles.  You already know that we like win-win situations quite a bit.  Well, Amy's candles are sort of a win-win-win-win and keep winning deal.

First off, she uses palm wax, which is a renewable resource.  It's not paraffin, which is derived from fossil fuels.  Paraffin candles are the ones that make black spots on the ceiling above where they've been lit.  But not palm wax, no!  It burns cleanly and wonderfully.

Next "win" on the list are the fragrances Amy uses.  Not one to scrimp here, Amy uses the highest quality fragrances available for use with candles.  She knows a lot about this from first-hand experience, because she used to work for the only perfumery in Washington state, which provided lots of fragrances for the entire candle industry.  Talk about first-hand experience.  Because of this, her fragrances have very little solvent in them, so the scent comes through in a more pure form - not laced with chemicals.  This is much nicer to breathe, I can assure you.

Another "win" is that Amy painstakingly tests each candle to make sure the best possible wick is used.  So I asked her the other day just how many wick options are out there.  She said over 200!  Who knew?!?  So much for my one-day candle-making class taken years ago when I learned that there were maybe 2 kinds of wick.  Amy tests them to make sure the wick she uses with a particular wax in a particular shape will burn all the way to the edge and make the best use of every millimeter of wax available!  Waste not, want not...

But wait!  There's more!  Purchasing a candle made by Amy, an Edmonds artist, from Manya Vee Selects, an Edmonds business, means making the most of your spending money by infusing it right back into the community.  I'm sure you've heard it already, but shopping at the mall sends most of your money far away from here.  Shopping locally keeps 68 cents of each dollar in our area.  Shopping at Manya Vee Selects keeps about 80 cents or more here because you are supporting (1) Manya Vee Selects and (2) a local artist.

So there you have it!  Respect the earth! Make your home smell great! Improve our local economy!  It just doesn't get any better than that.

By the way, Amy's candles are available on our website too: Sagapo Candles

Manya
manyaveeselects.com