Beeswax candles add a magical glow to the Nordic state dinner
The soft glow at the Nordic state dinner at the White House last month came from a little candle company in Santa Cruz, California.
The pure beeswax pillar candles burning atop rows of tall, beveled crystal candlesticks were crafted by Perin-Mowen, which has been producing all-natural candles since 1983. The pillars are hand-rolled from sheets of American beeswax, which have a honeycomb-impressed pattern.
On May 13, the candles twinkled away under a tent on the South Lawn, at a state dinner hosted by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama for the president of Finland and the prime ministers of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland.
More than 300 guests dined on tables whose design took inspiration from “the cycle of northern lights and shadows, seeking to emulate the aesthetic qualities associated with the five Nordic nations,” according to the description of the dinner released by the White House. The flickering candles, set on rustic wooden tables, reflected “the rainbow hues that tinge a long winter sky and tint new fallen snow,” according to the White House.
Cynthia Begin, operations manager at Perin-Mowen, said she was delighted when she heard the company's candles were going to be used at the dinner honoring the Nordic nations. (The company shipped 170 candles.) “I like the Nordics' philosophy and that they appreciate nature,” Begin says. “It feels good to know that our candles from our small business were chosen.”
Perin-Mowen, which originally started in New York, does most of its business with small retailers and special-events planners, who appreciate the elegant look of the hand-rolled candles. It also sells them individually online at perinmowen.com, priced at $23 to $124. “We are kind of a cottage industry now,” Begin says. “You see all of these plastic candles and LED lights. They are all our competition. Many people have moved away from beeswax, which is more expensive. But a lot of people like them because beeswax produces less soot than a regular candle.”
Perin-Mowen sources exclusively American wax and uses American-made wicks and boxes, Begin says. The company, which employs only four to six people, still does things the old-fashioned way. “We still have a clientele that comes back year after year,” Begin says. “They don't like scented candles. The only scent that comes from our candle is the gentle natural aroma of beeswax.”