It’s more of a question of why not beeswax?

Beeswax is made by honeybees building combs in their hives. Beekeepers extract the honey from the combs and they are left with the wax, a beautiful by-product of an incredible process of nature. No waste and sustainable.

Not only that - beeswax is said to have a completely clean, non-toxic burn that releases negative ions into the air which bind with toxins and help remove them from the air. It also lasts - beeswax has been found in ancient Egypt in tombs dating back to 1550 B.C. A pretty good expiry date then.

Also, I have heard that the colour of the light that is emitted from a beeswax candle flame is the same spectrum as the sun! Now that’s impressive.

In candles, beeswax burns longer and without soot- better for you, better for your kids and most definitely better for your white walls. They also drip less, smell good and are a beautiful colour all by themselves, completely naturally.

In an increasingly fragile world- beeswax is 100% natural and a renewable resource. The beekeeper we work with -Russell, and his team in the South Island NZ, are dedicated to educating and upskilling budding beekeepers and looking after generations of bees with passion and care.

“If the bee disappears from the surface of the Earth, man would have no more than four years left to live.” Albert Einstein

We believe in producing small, hand-made batches of high-quality items. We use good, kind materials that are gentle on the earth, and on our family. Things that we are proud of, and use in our own home.

Yes they are, and I wish they weren’t so that more people could own and enjoy them.

Cheap and easy to obtain, paraffin wax candles and petroleum-based crayons rule the roost in the consumer world. But sadly although a lot cheaper to buy these come at a price. Byproducts of quite a few yucky things think coal, shale oil, crude oil, and other chemical compounds. Eeek. Not things we want to burn in our homes or let our kids play with or nibble on at the kitchen table.

Beeswax is better for us, but harder to make and it takes 3-4kgs of honey to make 1kg of beeswax so no wonder it’s more expensive to get hold of and make things with. They call it liquid gold for a reason.

Don’t panic, this is called bloom! It happens naturally over time and is an indication of high quality - and a very high percentage of beeswax. It will be most obvious in our darker products. It is simply caused by the softer oils in the beeswax coming to the surface. You are more likely to see your pieces ‘bloom’ in Winter or the colder months.

You can gently buff it off with any old soft cloth you have lying around.

Ah yes, one of the caveats of being a human making these in our home means that they will never - and can never be perfect. As much as we try they may have a few lumps, bumps, bubbles or colour rub from touching each other on them (this can be cleaned off with a warm damp cloth, or fingernail)

The bonus to them being made at home by us is that each one passes through our hands and we really get to see and engage with each product before it arrives at your door. A truly human process made by us, for you, small-batch, small-scale in New Zealand.

If something has arrived that you are unhappy with, please let us know by emailing hello@poppyandsage.co.nz so that we can help you with that. We would hate to think you had bought something that wasn’t quite right from us for you or your family.

Depending on what day of the week you place your order on and whereabouts you are in the country will depend on when you receive your order. If your pieces are in stock we will aim to post them off to you within 7 days of your order being placed.

If your items are not in stock then they will be made to order which can take up to 3 -6 weeks. If there is something that you need urgently please get in contact with us directly at hello@poppyandsage.co.nz

One of the main driving inspirations for the crayons was to make something that we felt completely okay with our small twins essentially munching in front of us while they drew.

Our crayons are made with a mixture of waxes. The main ingredient is our South Island beeswax which we blend with a small amount of carnauba tree wax, raw cacao butter, and specially formulated high pigment food dye.

-The beeswax has been sterilised and purified to remove any honey residues. It is 100% natural and is antibacterial as well as antifungal. Wow.

-The raw organic cacao butter we use is the same cacao butter that I use to cook with, so it certainly is food grade!

-We also use a small amount of carnauba wax (from the carnauba tree), which we add to make the crayons stronger and smoother running. This means that the crayons don’t ‘judder’ along the page, or stick to the children’s hands. Something the early mixtures used to do a lot of, much to the disappointment of our kids who at that time (age 2.5) would say ‘Oh no, this is not a good one.’ Carnauba wax is used to make things like M&M’s shine, and it’s also used as a protective coating on many fruits like apples.

-Our high pigment, oil-based, specially formulated food dyes are made in Australia in a HACCP and FDA-approved facility.

All of that being said, the crayons aren’t a food product for consumption and they shouldn’t be used by really young children as small pieces may break off and cause a choking hazard. Please know that we have created these to be as safe as possible for you and your littles, but caution still needs to be taken with really little ones. And again, please don’t actually eat them! Even though the brown one does look a lot like chocolate and is quite hard to resist.

Our candles are made with 100% pure beeswax from our friends’ hives in the South Island.

The candles that are coloured are coloured with specially formulated non-toxic vegetable and mineral-based colours from our supplier in Auckland.

Our wicks are made in Wellington from pure braided cotton.

That is awesome that you want to send our products on an international adventure! Contact us directly at hello@poppyandsage.com and we can see what we can do for you.

Please drop us an email at hello@poppyandsage.co.nz or just fill in the form below. Thank you.