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!
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Bobeche
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.
Rusty Dreams
My dreams are the color of rust
Sepia tones of things from days gone by
Rusty pipes and brass tinged with the ages, things once useful now forgotten
Refind into new and beautiful
My treasures are covered in dust
Found in bins and trays and hidden places
Discarded glass in hues of blue and green
To be Refind into visions of light
Inspired by things layered in crust
Bark, cones, flowers and leaves
Nature made
Fallen to the floor of the forest, washed up on a beach or piled in a junk store
Refind into creations uniquely beautiful
©Belindabotzong2017
Sunflowers in Progress
Here is a taste of the latest work in progress at Refind Creations.
This is an abstract birch forest made of birch bark and leaves. This will be mine but it inspire more to come.
The others are sunflowers made of cork floats and pine cones. These make me happy. Sunflowers are joyful and beautiful even when they fade.
Soon to be for sale at Whatcom Art Market in Fairhaven!!
©Belindabotzong2017
Weekend!
This cold and snow covered weekend is the perfect time to head to historic Sedro-Woolley for a day trip! Visit the amazing museum, get a perfect cup of coffee and lunch at The Woolley Market, shop the many antique stores, including of course, Ferry St Antique Mall at 100 Ferry St. Stop by our booth and buy a candle or two to help light up these dark wintery evenings!
Our candles are unique and beautiful. Hand poured soy fragranced with essential oils — lavender and jasmine, orange and cloves. Our vessels include antique insulators sitting upon beautiful antique bobeche stands. We have many styles and colors to choose from.
Ten percent of all sales goes to the Lighthouse Mission in Bellingham.
You will love spending the day in Sedro-Woolley! Post a comment here after you go and let us know how much fun you had!!
Opening Day!
Tomorrow is the official opening of Booth 33 at Ferry St Antique Mall in Sedro-Woolley! We have beautiful soy candles hand poured into antique insulators! We have succulents in the insulators as well. Most include a beautiful bobeche as a sturdy stand. There are a variety of sizes and colors to choose from. Whether for your own home or as a gift, these unique candles will provide hours of fragrant light! Stop by and see our selection and enjoy seeing all the other awesome booths in the store!
Rust and Roses
These projects have come to life after months of percolating in my head! These will be featured in our opening of booth 33 at Ferry St Antique Mall in Sedro-Woolley on November 1!
Enjoy… Rust and Roses
And other works in progress…
Moving In
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..
Our business card…
Candle production
We spent the weekend pouring soy wax candles to feature at the grand opening of our booth on Wednesday November 1! We have big candles poured into unique and beautiful containers as well as smaller candles poured into antique vessels such as the clear blue glass insulators and brown porcelain insulators. We added bases made from antique bobeches to add beauty and stability.
We will also offer several succulents in the same types of containers. When your candle is finished you might consider refinding a purpose for the container by filling it with a succulent layer on!
We look forward to hearing from everyone about how they were able to refind with us!
10 percent of sales from the candles will be donated to the Lighthouse Mission in Bellingham to help others refind their light!
©Belindabotzong2017