A & R Creations

My wife and I make our products by hand at our home in Woodburn, which is located in Clarke County. I have been making items out of wood for many years, and my wife makes a variety of craft items.

My wife likes to burn candles and prefers soy candles over regular paraffin candles. Soy candles seem to last longer and do not put off black smoke that the paraffin candles do. Finding soy candles was difficult however, since most large candle makers still used the paraffin wax for their candles. One weekend, we were in Southeast Iowa for a family luncheon, and my wife bought a soy candle at a gift shop.

My wife liked the soy candle so much that we contacted the maker of the candle. The lady told us a little about how she made her candles and explained that she had attended a workshop run by the man who created soy wax. After making a few more phone calls, my wife and I decided that we did not need to buy candles----we could make our own! We contacted the creator of soy wax and attended one of his workshops. He provided some training and contacts for fragrance, candle making supplies and other tips.

We started making candles in 2004 and have expanded the number of fragrances and types of candle products. We sell products out of our home, at the Osceola Farmer’s Market and at local craft shows.

We use a high percentage of fragrance in our candles from top to bottom. We have performed numerous “test burns” to provide an even burn and eliminate “tunneling”. We have also found that making candles is not as easy as we once thought, but we enjoy hearing how people like our products.

Thank you for your interest, and we hope you enjoy our products.

Allan & Ronda Mathias, owners.