Dates:
Sunday, Sept 27th
Time: 1-3pm
Cost: $65/pp
In this hands-on workshop you’ll create three take-home treasures: a massage candle that melts into warm, silky oil; a nourishing body butter rich in natural emollients; and a tinted lip balm—each formulated with natural waxes, butters, and oils chosen for their unique nutritional properties for the skin and spirit.
As we melt waxes and blend nourishing oils and butters, you’ll experience the meditative rhythm of the process—breathing in the therapeutic aromas of pure plant essential oils and engaging your senses through each step. Participants will learn how to melt and pour safely, blend scents and botanicals mindfully, and understand how ingredients like beeswax, soy wax, shea butter, cocoa butter, and jojoba, sweet almond, and coconut oils each bring their own texture, aroma, and skin benefits. We’ll explore how dried botanicals like lavender, rose, and chamomile can be woven into your creations for both beauty and benefit.
We’ll discuss the properties of various waxes, butters, and oils, and how different botanicals and essential oils can enhance the aesthetic, aromatic, and therapeutic qualities of each item you make. A variety of vessels, tins, and accessories (gemstones, washi tape, labels, ribbons) will be available, allowing you to personalize your creations to suit your space, style, and spirit, or to make the perfect gift.
As we allow our creations to firm up, we’ll take part in a ritual to connect with nature on the beautiful grounds of the farm, and to reflect on what the candle’s flame can inspire us to ignite within ourselves, and what it can allow us to let go of.
Whether you’re drawn to the craft for its practicality, artistry, or serenity, this workshop offers a welcoming space to slow down, engage your senses, and create something beautiful and useful with your own hands—candles to melt into massage oil, butter to soothe your skin, and balm to carry with you long after the workshop ends.
Each participant will leave with one hand-poured massage candle, a body butter, and a lip balm, along with a deeper understanding of the materials and methods, and a how-to manual to take home.
Tara S Ocansey is a multimedia artist and maker, mom, gardener, environmental educator, nonprofit leader, and community advocate. Motivated by a desire to more deeply connect with self, family, community, and the natural world, her work explores the rhythms and patterns of our human and ecological systems, and seeks to cultivate connectedness through shared creative experiences. As a collector of crafting endeavors, Tara began her candle making journey after coordinating a sustainability-focused vocational training program in Ghana that equipped young women to make upcycled products out of discarded glass and plastic. To support the trainees’ business, Tara imported the beautiful handblown recycled glass vessels into the US to sell at markets, and learned candle making to put their artistic works to practical use. Tara has been a purveyor of handmade candles, plant-based skincare, home decor items, and accessories at dozens of markets across NJ and NY.