Light Street Candle Maker Creating Unique Scents

[This ‘SoBo Made’ feature originally appeared in the February 2023 issue of the South Baltimore Peninsula Post.]

When Mike Hoffman picked up his candle-making hobby again at the peak of the Covid pandemic in 2020, he couldn’t have imagined what his passion would grow into. Now he’s the founder and owner of Trial by Fire Candle Company, making hundreds of candles that are distributed around the country and the world, all from his rowhouse here in South Baltimore.

A Philadelphia native, Mike worked as a chef and musician before turning to candle making full time. The trained pianist moved to Baltimore in 2017 and played venues such as Howl at the Moon and had a regular gig at Ropewalk Tavern on S. Charles Street, where he still occasionally plays.

When Covid stalled his music gigs, Mike found himself pivoting to reconnect with his candle-making hobby full time. At first, he sold his candles to raise money for Baltimore’s Virtual Tip Jar, a crowdfunding hub for struggling service workers to help them get through the shutdown of their bars and restaurants. Candle making gradually took over Mike’s house, and word quickly spread about his products. As his candles’ popularity rose, locals inquired about wholesale orders and Mike landed his first big order with Brightside Boutique, which has several locations including one in SoBo (1133 S. Charles Street).

Trial by Fire candles now has an international reach, with orders shipped as far away as Turkey and Puerto Rico. About 80 percent of the candles are sold in the Baltimore area, mostly through stores like Federal Hill Ace Hardware, Brightside Boutique, and yoga studios in Federal Hill and Canton; 19 percent are sold nationally and 1 percent internationally.

Mike has refined his candle-making process over the past few years working in the basement of his rowhouse at 1412 Light Street. He sources his ingredients with care: fragrances from CandleScience, a company in North Carolina; wax from Quakertown, Pennsylvania; and jars from Lancaster, Maryland. CandleScience fragrances are nontoxic, “clean scents” based on essential oils. He uses 100 percent soy wax, which prolongs the life of the candle and doesn’t put toxins into the air. The jars come in three sizes: an 8 oz. single wick, a mid-sized double wick, and a 16 oz. double wick. Double-wick candles are better at “throwing scents” than single-wick candles, Mike says.

Although candle making involves only a few steps, the overall process requires care and attention at each step to avoid ruining the candles. Mike says his culinary background comes into play with the precise measurements, mixing, and temperature control required.

It all starts with melting the solid, flakey white wax. To melt large batches, Mike uses a double boiler with a water jacket. He starts by filling a metal vessel called a pouring jug with about 100 pounds of the solid wax and placing it in the double boiler. Water is pumped into the water jacket and heated to precisely 190 degrees. If the temperature is even just a little too low, the wax won’t “open” enough to bond with the fragrances that will be added later. Once the wax turns into a clear liquid, he removes it from the boiler.

A special blend of fragrances is added to the melted wax, and Mike stirs it all together to create a sort of emulsion. He stirs for exactly two minutes – any less and the fragrance will rise to the top in oily beads. If he stirs for too long, he runs the risk of creating air pockets in the wax.

After the stirring, Mike pours the mixture into a series of jars with the wicks already set in place. The wicks are held straight up by a wick holder that resembles a popsicle stick with holes bored in the middle laid across the top. After the jars are poured, he clips clothespins to the tops of the wicks to make them extra secure. A full batch of wax can produce up to 123 candles, depending on the size of the jars.

After 90 minutes, Mike uses a flat tool to press down slightly on the top of the candle to compress the wax and eliminate air pockets. The candles are solid in about three hours and are left to settle overnight. The next day, Mike removes the wick holders and uses a heat gun to smooth the tops of any uneven candles. He’ll clip the wicks to about 3/4 of an inch. Wax can expand over time and if the candle doesn’t sell right away, the wax could rise and swallow shorter wicks. Wicks cut to 3/4 of an inch will outlast any swelling.

Now the candles are ready to be labeled, which Mike does by hand. He lays out towels, puts a dozen candles on each, and cleans the outside of the jars three times with a microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol. This ensures there’s no debris on the surface when he applies the labels evenly on the front.

Mike uses a wide variety of fragrances from CandleScience, mixing and blending three into a proprietary ratio for his candle batches. His most popular candles are “Endless Sunday,” which is a combination of palo santo, cedar, and cardamom fragrances, as well as “Zesty Lavender” and “Sea Salt & Orchid.” There are dozens of candles, with fragrances ranging from earthy to spicy to abstract, such as “confidence.” He also makes special candles, including an outdoor mosquito repellent and an odor-eliminator candle that uses a proprietary formula that masks unsavory aromas in the air.

Mike is currently focusing on expanding his custom work, producing candles for weddings, baby showers, and other special occasions. Customers can work closely with him to choose three fragrances to combine, what the label will look like, and more. He recently collaborated with Ace Hardware on a scent for its resident cat, Decker.

Until recently, Trial by Fire was a one-man operation, with Mike doing all the making, marketing, and distributing. Now he has a small handful of staff to help with social media marketing and other tasks.

 “I’m not trying to take over the world,” Mike says of his business plans, “I just want to connect with people by sharing a quality product.”

Keep an eye out for his candles or reach out for a custom fragrance and label through his website. – John Thomas