By Anthony Richards

Scented candles can fill the air with various aromas, but this Valentine’s Day, if love is in the air, Burning Bush Candle Company may have the scent you are looking for.

Kasey Bushman is the owner of Burning Bush and a Nocatee resident. She has been making candles since 2008.

“I was an at-home military wife that needed something to do, and I’ve always been creative,” she said. “It arose out of wine glasses and boredom.”

What began as a hobby that she just sold to friends quickly grew into something much larger as word of her candles spread.

“Within the next six months, I had been asked to put my candle company and all my little things in a store at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas,” Bushman said.

One of the items she has made from the start is putting a candle in a wine glass, which she said would be an excellent item on Valentine’s Day.

“I make small batches and do custom designs for homes,” Bushman said. It has morphed over the years as design likes and dislikes in homes change. I try and go with what is modern and what people are really liking.”

She makes the products in her home and has some on display for sale at her salon located at suite 117 in the Total Salon Studios building at 1520 Longleaf Pine Parkway.

Looking back, Bushman never thought it would get to this point where she would be making candles for the public.

“I did it because I liked it,” Bushman said. “Making candles is very cathartic and very soothing with the melting and blending processes. I’m a hair stylist for my bread and butter (job), and it can get very chaotic, so when I need down time, my candles do that for me.”

“There’s actually science involved in it,” Bushman said. “If you want a very pretty product, you have to be patient.”

Over the years she has expanded her products beyond just candles, including artisan soaps, bath bombs and other body products.

A popular comment she hears about her products is that her customers love the fact that they know what ingredients are in them and that she has the customer’s skin in mind with everything she makes.

“I grow the herbs and botanicals I put in them and infuse the oils myself,” Bushman said. “I got diagnosed with lupus 12 years ago and I can’t use store-bought products because my skin reacts. People who get to know me know that they can come in my backyard and see a lot of the stuff that I use in my products.”

For the past six years, she has held an annual event in Nocatee called “Fallapalooza” designed to showcase other local creators in the area, such as bakers and crafters.

“I love this world of creation,” Bushman said.

According to Bushman, the event in the fall has gotten so big that she is planning on having a “Springapalooza” as well in April.

“People special order and I make stuff for that event that I don’t the rest of the year because it’s not necessarily related to a holiday,” Bushman said.

She has thought about every aspect of her products, even the wicks inserted in her candles.

“Mine are made from soybean and pure cotton core wick, so they help the small independent farmer, and they are environmentally friendly, because there are no added chemicals or metal in the wick to help them burn stronger or longer,” Bushman said.

There was much trial and error for Bushman in the beginning as she fine-tuned her skills as a candle and soap maker, but over time she was able to find perfect mix needed.

“For the candles, the science is all about temperature and gauging what you’re trying to do,” Bushman said. “There are different fragrances that melt at different heat points, so you’ve got to know what you’re working with chemical wise on that front. If you pour too hot, they’ll (candles) bubble and create crevasses and if you pour too cold, you will get lots of clumps and bumps.”

She usually picks an entire day to focus on making her products and when she does, her kitchen suddenly becomes her work area, as she makes roughly 60 candles and four or five blocks of soap, all of which go into a room that is solely designated for the hardening and curing process.

“I break down my entire kitchen and put everything personal away,” Bushman said. “I completely disinfect my kitchen; wear gloves and put my hair back. It’s like a factory in there, but my kids and husband don’t mind it because at least the house smells nice.”

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Originally Appeared Here