Candle Maker Comes Full Circle

It was the 1970s, and hand-crafted candles were as much a part of the decade as platform shoes, beads, and bellbottom pants.

Deb Porter and her husband, Rick, learned how to craft candles from Rick’s father, Chet, who made candles in Indiana.

For a couple of years, Deb and Rick crafted and sold their own candles, before Deb turned her attention to raising and showing Cocker Spaniels at dog shows. She finished seven champions in the next five years, before moving with her husband and two young sons to Iowa for Rick’s job.

Another job offer in 1985 brought the Porters to Easton, Mass., and despite no longer showing dogs, the Porters drove to Barrington a few months later to see a dog show being held at the high school.

“As we drove into Barrington, I thought 'Oh my gosh, what a pretty town,’” said Porter.

The family stopped into Coleman Realtors, where they heard about Barrington’s exceptional school system and, in particular, the high school’s wrestling program.

The Porter’s older son, Ricky, a high school freshman, had been involved in wrestling in Iowa, and wanted to continue with the sport.

A younger son, Ryan, was just starting school, and the Porters knew that Barrington would be an ideal place to raise their family. They settled into a home near the high school and immersed themselves in their adopted community.

Porter worked for a while at the Boston Store, where CVS is now located, before working for a short period of time for an insurance agent. For her 40th birthday, Porter’s husband arranged for her to take horse-riding lessons, and Porter found a new love -- horses.

Over the next 10 years, Porter worked with a trainer and her own thoroughbred horses. After her last horse died five years ago, she found herself returning to something she’d done many decades before.

Ryan’s fiancee was making soy candles, and Porter thought they were beautiful.

“She gave me some as gifts, and I thought they were so much nicer than paraffin candles,” said Porter.

So two years ago, Porter started her new business, Tranquility Soy Candles, and began crafting candles out of soy wax.

Decades earlier, the candles she used to make were crafted using paraffin wax, the only wax that was available in the 1970s. Even today, the majority of candles are created using paraffin, a petroleum product.

According to Porter, there are many advantages to candles made with soy wax.

“Soy candles are cleaner, they burn about thirty percent longer, and the wax can be cleaned up more easily than paraffin candles,” she said. “In addition, when people burn soy candles, they’re helping to support American farmers.”

Porter said the soy candles she makes and sells at craft shows, in two retail stores, and on her website, www.tranquilitysoycandles.com, are infused with premium fragrance and essential oils. She said people who purchase her candles love that they are clean burning, and enjoy being able to remove the wick, wash the jar easily, and reuse it once the candle has completely burned down.

Porter sells her candles throughout the U.S., and her candles have even made it overseas to England via a customer who loves them so much that she gave them as a gift to friends there.

Although she sells lots of candles online, Porter said, she loves going to dozens of craft shows every year.

“It’s a fun thing to do,” said Porter. “We’ve met a lot of nice people.”