A few months ago I went to a Christmas Fair at Kura Hulanda Village and noticed that a brand new candle shop had opened up. If there’s one thing you must know about me, it’s that I’m a sucker for candles. Back when I was living in Boston, you could find me at a Yankee Candle store at least once every other week. There’s no Yankee Candle in Curacao, but we do have a Bath and Body Works at Sambil Mall. However, I much prefer to put my money towards a small local business, so when “Candle Connection” opened up in Kura Hulanda, I was ecstatic.

What does this have to do with Valentine’s Day? Well, I found out that Candle Connection is not just a local candle shop, but they also do candle making workshops. My dear husband was trying to brainstorm something to do this Valentine’s Day and set us up with one of their workshops. I have to say, it was pretty romantic and a fun activity. If you’re trying to come up with hands-on things to do with your loved ones in Curacao, keep reading about this candle making experience!

Arriving at Candle Connection

Candle Connection is located at Kura Hulanda Village, on the Otrobanda side of Willemstad. The village less than a 10-minute walk from Rif Fort, so it’s easily accessible to cruisers, visitors, and locals alike. The only thing is that parking at Kura Hulanda Village can fill up, in which case I park over by Bario Food Yard or the Renaissance Mall Parking Lot.

It was a hot and sunny February 14th, a rare Saturday Valentine’s Day, when we arrived at Kura Hulanda Village. We spent the early morning relaxing with the dogs and taking it easy. I loved that the Candle Connection offered flexible timing and had availability in the afternoon. Before we entered the candle shop, we popped into “It’s Better with Chocolate” to pick up some dark hot chocolate to sip on while we made candles.

We finally made it into Candle Connection and were greeted by the owners, Netty and Ryan. They warmly welcomed us in and gave us aprons to put on. After some casual chatting and brief introductions, Netty explained how the candle making experience works. We pick out our fragrances (maximum of 3 to keep it pleasant), then we choose our candle container. Once we accomplish those tasks, we place the wick, mix the fragrance oil with the wax, pour the oil/wax mixture in the container, and then trim the wick. Easy peasy!

Picking out our fragrances

Candle Connection has two full shelves of fragrance oil. The scents range from floral and fruity to masculine and musky. They also have a few ready-made fragrance blends of popular perfumes for anyone that prefers not to blend their own fragrances.

I was immediately drawn to the fragrances of apple, pine, and cinnamon. I like my candles to smell like a chilly forest walk in the fall, and those oils fit the bill perfectly. As someone constantly dealing with decision paralysis, I have to say I picked out my ideal scents pretty quickly.

My husband surprised me by going for floral scents. He chose cactus, lavender, and vanilla as his blend and they smelled amazing together. Calming but with a burst of bright floral notes. He said he already has “whiskey” and “leather” scented candles in his office and wanted to do something different.

Picking out our vessels

Choosing which container to put our candle in was a much simpler affair, only because there weren’t as many options. I already knew I wanted a simple black pot for my candle. There were other options in clear glass containers and a variety of colored pots, but I am drawn to black. It’s simple, and I’m a simple gal.

My husband chose a dark green pot for his candle, going with a cactus theme. I wasn’t surprised since his favorite color is green. We both chose the same style pot in different colors. As we always say, “same same, but different.”

Setting up the wick and pouring wax

One of the things I love about Candle Connection is that all of their wicks are wood crackling wicks. They’re not the typical cotton wicks you see in stores. These are flat wood wicks sourced from fruit trees, that yield a pleasing soft crackle when burned.

Netty explained in detail how to set up our wick, and we found the process to be pretty forgiving. If you have a partner with clunky ham hands like my husband, this will still be a great activity for them. We fit our wicks into a thin metal base, which we then stuck to the center of the inner pot using a circular sticker. All in all, it was easy!

Ryan came in after we set up our wicks and placed a warm container of melted wax on our table. Netty gave us the exact measurement we needed for our candle container and told us to go ahead and mix our fragrance oils and wax together. With a spoon I usually associate with milkshakes, we stirred our mixtures for at least 3 minutes before being given the green light to carefully pour our candle mixture into its forever home.

Creating our labels

Little did I know that candles take a few days to cure so that they burn slowly and correctly. After we poured our wax mixtures, Ryan took our candles to even out the wax with a heat gun. While he did that, we brainstormed some names for our new candles. We had a blast doing this.

My favorite names I came up with were silly like “Toe Fungus” and “Festering Wound” and “Week Old Leftovers” but I ended up with “Eyes Closed.” Why? When I smell the candle I made, and I close my eyes, I’m transported to a happy and relaxing place. It seemed fitting!

My husband wanted to name his candle “Tea in the Sahara” after the 1983 song by The Police, but I talked him out of it. The candle didn’t smell like tea whatsoever. I tried to get him to name it something like “Desert Rose” because it’s distinctly floral, but he said that sounded like a Seal song. He eventually ended up with “Desert at Night” because of the lulling smells of lavender mixed with vanilla with notes of cactus.

Candle Experience Cost

The entire experience lasted about 2.5 hours, and we had a great time. Netty and Ryan were so easy to chat with, and it felt like we were in their home. We were free to bring drinks, snacks, lunch, and everything was so casual. This is exactly the type of vibe we go for when we sign up for experiences. Not an uptight class, but more of an immersive hands-on workshop where you can be creative and experience a craft at your own pace.

We ended up being the only people who booked for the afternoon time slot, so it was just the two of us. This experience was well worth the 134 XCG (~$75 USD) given the great time we had. I know some people might think dropping $75 bucks on two candles is up there, but when you consider learning the craft, having wonderful hosts, and being able to goof off with your partner while doing an activity together, I find the pricing to be worth it. Especially on a day like Valentine’s Day!

Kat’s Final Thoughts

Last year for Valentine’s Day, we did a custom beach picnic at Marie Pampoen and that was lovely. My husband was recovering from dengue so he didn’t eat any of the picnic food, but we were able to enjoy a lovely morning together looking at the ocean. Even though a beach picnic is very romantic, I would much rather be doing something creative together like making candles. This was the perfect way to spend Valentine’s Day.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Valentine’s Day didn’t end after we made candles. Nope! My dear sweet husband took me out to Denny’s for a very romantic breakfast-for-dinner. He knows exactly the way to my heart, and I love him for it.

There are so many things to do in Curacao for romantic holidays, like Valentine’s Day. I hope this blog post inspired you to try something new like making your own candles. Thanks for reading!