Cupid’s corner, located in Oshawa Ontario, offers Handmade Wax Creations made
with 100% Vegan, eco friendly materials. All products are Hand Poured to Order
Specializing in Custom Creations!
In this article I will be discussing an impactful small business created by an
amazingly motivated person in my hometown. I will discuss what they are doing to
help reduce waste by keeping all products sustainable while also giving back to
their communities and promoting inclusivity in our region. I will also be
expressing the huge differences in soy/beeswax candles compared to wax
products produced with paraffin.
Starting during the pandemic in quarantine, and no longer being busy with managing her work at the business “Glitterbaby Hair Studio”, Alex Christou was looking for a creative hobby that helped save the environment as well as reduce waste. She was interested in starting her small business and turning it into a brand helping to be inclusive with the LGBTQ+ communities.
“We encourage people to buy our pride candles because we try to yearly, or as often
as we can based on sales, make a donation to PFLAG Durham.” says Alex.
PFLAG Durham is an LGBTQ+ charity run by parents in support of those in the
community of Durham region showing support of anyone identifying with the
LGBTQA+ community. PFLAG Canada Durham Region supports all persons within
the area with their journeys through gender identity, gender expression and sexual
orientation.
Cupids Corner is currently the only local candle shop showing representation of
transgender bodies in their wax creations. The candles are sold locally at Alex
Christou’s place of management which is the only hair studio/salon that offers free
gender affirming haircuts for those who are or have transitioned. Helping
transgender folk have their first gender affirming haircut for free promotes an
inclusive environment all around and also helps to boost peoples self image, in order
to represent their identifying gender expression.
Creating Sustainable, progressive products is extremely important for the future of
any and all small businesses, that’s why it’s important for Cupids Corner to be a
reliable source for candles made with soy and beeswax. These specifically made
candles help to purify the air and unlike paraffin wax it leaves a good impact on the
earth. This makes their products trustworthy.
Every single candle product is made by using a soy and beeswax blend. The mix of
bee’s wax helps to give off the amazing scent of honey into the air. Candles made
with soy and beeswax also help to purify the air and, unlike paraffin wax, it leaves a good
impact on the earth.
It’s very common for most people to think that burning a paraffin wax candle is pretty
harmless and won’t impact the environment or their health. The unfortunate truth is that
chemists mix in toxic concoctions of colors and fragrances to most candles including
scented candles to make their products more marketable and appealing. The results
end up being a normal looking candle which releases seven documented toxins
–two of which are carcinogenic–when it burns.
A South Carolina State University study found that the paraffin candles that were tested released unwanted chemicals into the air including but not limited to: benzene, toluene, naphthalene, tri-decane, tetra-decane, penta-decane, and hexadecane.
When paraffin candles burn, they emit black soot and toxic fumes—similar in
chemistry to diesel exhaust. Continually burning paraffin candles leaves black soot
stains on walls, ceilings, furniture, and drapery. The microscopic soot particles at fault
for the damage also cause serious health problems. These tiny particles are easily
inhaled and get trapped in the deepest part of the lungs, which may cause
respiratory irritation.
Unlike paraffin candles, Beeswax candles could be considered beneficial to your
health by releasing negative ions when it burns. Pollen, dust, dirt, pollutants, and
anything else that could be harmful in the air all carry a positive charge, and that is
how they can be suspended in the air. The negative ions released from burning
beeswax negate the positive charge of air contaminants, and the neutralized ions are
sucked back into the burning candle or fall to the ground. Many air purifiers and
water filters harness this effective negative ion technology. Because beeswax candles
clean the air and reduce indoor pollutants, they can effectively reduce asthma,
allergies, and hay fever.
As well as helping to not release unsafe chemicals into the air, the beeswax that
Cupid’s Corner candles are made with gives off the incredible scent of honey!
Beeswax candles have a very subtle, natural scent, which evokes the earthy, yet
sweet aroma of honey. This makes them perfect to burn on the dinner
table, as they don’t overpower food.
Beeswax candles are one of the most popular types of candles and are
produced by honey bees. When supporting anything created by using
honey bees you are indirectly supporting the bee keeping business!
This is important because bees are one of the most essential insects in the
entire world. Bees not only help to pollinate flowers they help to grow our
vegetables and are extremely important to our agriculture, pollination is essential for restoring balance to our environment. Beeswax candles burn 3x longer than any other candle, The natural ingredients in beeswax candles assist in prolonging the burning period, in addition to the high melting point of beeswax.
The candles will also help people who suffer with migraines to not cause an
overpowering smell. Scented candles tend to cause headaches and migraines as well
as nausea for people who suffer from “scent migraines”. ‘20-90% of people who suffer
from migraine’s experience headaches caused by smell and are said to be the
second most common migraine trigger.’
As well as helping with buyers’ respiratory health, Cupid’s corner’s candle products
are also passionate about helping the earth’s health. All packaging included in
products are recycled & repurposed, including the bubble wrap which is made out of
recycled water bottles. Eco-friendly bubble wrap is made with up to 40% recycled
content and up to 20% post-consumer sources as well as being biodegradable. Using
recycled materials in place of average bubble wrap is extremely important because
bubble wrap as well as all plastic materials, especially single use materials, are
polluting our oceans more than we realize, this makes it important to search for
substitutes for plastic now more than ever.
More than just having great sustainable materials, all containers used for
transporting candles are designed to be reusable. Being able to reuse your container
while also receiving a great product is a win-win! By being able to enjoy your
amazing hand poured natural candle, as decoration or for candle use, you also
receive a reusable container for small products such as jewelry, change, herbs or
anything in between. Not only are you contributing money to a creative practice that
helps reduce waste on the earth, you’re helping a small business who uses their
proceeds to give back to their community.
Overall, I truly believe in supporting small brands that do their best to promote
sustainable products and help to promote inclusivity and donate to lgbtq+ charities
while also hosting a number of other small businesses as vendors in the durham
region for free! Everyone should be trying their best to shop local and support small
businesses during these hard times, it helps to strengthen our local economy and
reduce the environmental impact that big brands don’t care about.
Purchasing Cupid’s Corner products is the better choice than buying candles from a
department store because it’s also better for you and your families health since you
won’t be inhaling paraffin into your lungs. When you have the privilege to support a
local creator and artist it also means that you are supporting real people! These are
people who you may already know or get the chance to know and want to support
their art. Another benefit of supporting a local creator is that they typically don’t have
the resources to mass produce their product, which means what they do produce is
unique and one of a kind!
You will feel great about supporting a local business and you’ll have a unique one of
a kind product that helps to support Durham’s economy and environment, so it’s
more important to show that you care about your community than giving money to
businesses who don’t need it.
This article was created through a brief interview with the creator of Cupid’s Corner;
Alexandra Christou, The owner of a registered Safe Space in Durham which chooses
not to take any profit from any business that they promote! Through this interview I
conducted almost all of which was written though asking any and all questions
about the incredible business Alexandra has created. I researched about paraffin vs
beeswax products through reading different scientific articles which will all be
sighted below:
https://malibuapothecary.com/blogs/clean-candles/is-paraffin-wax-toxic
https://www.verywellhealth.com/smell-sensitivity-and-migraine-1719900
https://candles.lovetoknow.com/Beeswax_Candle_Health_Benefits
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleleinbachreyhle/2014/09/02/why-you-need-to-support-small-businesses
/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWc1dfyeeHU&t=3s&ab_channel=Cody%27sLab
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJMrUNsXOnI&ab_channel=Cody%27sLab
Article Written by Angel Gallacher
