Author: Belinda Botzong

I am amazed by the beauty of the glass used in antique insulators.  The clear turquoise blue reminds me of a tropical ocean while the clear or smoky glass’ simplicity is alluring to my creativity.  There are many more rare colors like amber, green, and pale blue.
The glass and porcelain insulators we use are as much as a hundred years old.  Think about the early 1900’s when telephone poles and electric poles were becoming prevalent.  These insulators were used on those high voltage poles and I am intrigued that something so industrial in use was created in such a beautiful way.
We are using the insulators for a couple of projects at Refind Creations.  We have hand poured soy wax candles that are stabilized by a bobeche (see earlier post), as the majority of insulators are rounded on the top (which becomes now the bottom when making a candle!).  We have also filled many of the insulators with hearty succulents.  The contrast of the beautiful, arid succulents to the browns of the porcelain insulators is one of my favorites.  We used moss to enhance the beauty of the entire package.
We have had so much fun pouring, fragrancing, and finishing the candle insulator project.  These will make beautiful Christmas gifts, wedding gifts, or birthday presents.  And when the candle has been used up, the insulator can be repurposed for a planter or as a home decor item.  You might even find some other use for them you could share here!

All of the crafted items in our space at Whatcom Art Market include elements that are antique, old, found, or natural, and they come together into Refind Creations.
One of my favorite items to use right now are bobeches.  What in the world is that?
Bobeche is a French word that is used for the ring of glass or metal with a hole in the center that forms a cup on a chandelier.   Originally it would catch the wax drippings.  Currently they are used around the light sockets of hanging chandeliers.
Here are some of the bobeches we will be using in upcoming projects:

There are a wide variety of designs and metals used in creating a bobeche.  They are beautiful all by themselves in their artistic swirls, curves, and patterns.  Some are brass, gold, or cast iron, and they develop a beautiful patina that is very inspirational in our designs.
In our creations, we have used bobeches to provide stability for our candles, which are mainly poured in antique insulators.  More about those in another post.

Today I got a lot of things moved into booth 33 at Ferry Street Antique Mall! So fun to set it all up. Can’t wait to get started November 1..