Fund Raising Success!

Campton Candle was able to raise and donate $100.00 to "Susan G. Komen for the Cure" this holiday season and $125 for the year 2009. We are setting a goal of $500 in 2010. Even small purchases of $20.00 will make this goal attainable. Visit CamptonCandle.com now to see our complete line of natural candles & skin care, shaker pegboards, and sterling silver jewelry handcrafted by Ken Little.

Best wishes for a wonderful 2010!

Ken Little

The Story of Campton Candle Company

The 4th anniversary of Val's death is here. The boys and I celebrate the value of family and friends each Christmas with a deep understanding of what that means.

Over 6 years ago, Val was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time her prognosis was pretty good and we looked forward to getting through the challenge and beginning life again on the other side. Val's treatment needs were pretty heavy though and she needed a lot of support and help in getting to and from the hospital, being able to rest in bed, with household chores and caring for our children, and help in caring for surgical wounds and the effects of chemotherapy.

In response, I resigned from my full-time job as a mental health counselor and began to create a new, mostly self-employed life that enabled me to maintain a flexible schedule and be responsive to the needs and demands of family life with cancer. Part of that newly created life was Campton Candle Co.

Campton Candle Co., in part, allowed me to be available to and care for Val and our two young sons as her disease progressed. It also enabled me to engage in what I think of as creative therapy. Making things and being creative has long been an important aspect of life to me and I found that expressing my creativity during Val's illness was even more important and a good way to find some partial relief from the growing tensions of life with cancer.

None of the need for flexibility has abated since Val's death nearly four year ago. The boys are still young and they need a parent nearby and available. My patched together career, now as a part-time guidance counselor and working to grow Campton Candle Co., allow me to do just that. It's the traditional Yankee way of life in rural New Hampshire, wearing many hats to make ends meet, upgraded by technology and the internet; but most of what I make is still made by hand with few machines and less technology.

I make everything at home: candles and soap in the kitchen, sterling jewelry and ornaments in the dining room, and shaker pegboards and quilt racks in the garage. All of our natural candle wax is melted on the stove in an old fashioned double boiler and hand poured into individual votive molds one at a time; each earring, bracelet, and ornament is shaped using hand tools and strengthened with hammer and anvil; each shaker pegboard is cut on a table saw, each peg installed by hand, and the finished product hand oiled with a cloth. Each and every item we sell is made by hand.

The internet and technology allow me to find the people like you who are interested in handcrafted candles and jewelry and wooden things; and you all allow me to grow Campton Candle and to be at home and available to my sons. This Christmas as we celebrate Val and life, family and friends, I will be certain to take a moment to think of and to be thankful for each of you too. Each of you is part of the story of Campton Candle and part of the story of our family.

Thanks and best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.

Sincerely,

Ken Little
Campton Candle Company

Working From Home

I managed to make 75 candles yesterday, while taking care of Jake who was home from school sick, while maintaining the sterile working environment! The benefits and challenges of a home-based business are many, but being available to my children when they are sick is among the greatest benefits of all!

Welcome to Campton Candle

My sons and I live, work, and play in beautiful, scenic New Hampshire just on the cusp of the White Mountain National Forest. Welcome to our web site!

I started this venture shortly after my wife, Valerie, was diagnosed with breast cancer. I run this business with three primary reasons in mind: 1) to make cleaner and healthier products with minimal pollution, packaging, and energy use; 2) to reduce and eliminate the use of unhealthy chemicals in the products I make, sell, and use; and 3) to support breast cancer research and treatment.

We support the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Susan G. Komen, Dana-Farber, and First Star Tonight, Inc.

The Norris Cotton Cancer Center is at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. They provided the vast majority of Valerie's cancer treatment and care. Valerie succumbed to cancer in December 2005. The Norris Cotton Cancer Center did a wonderful job and will continue to receive our thanks and support

First Star Tonight, Inc. is a Plymouth, NH area program supporting terminally and chronically ill children and young adults. Valerie was very invested in this program, both personally and professionally, and asked that we continue our support.

First Star Tonight, Inc.
75 Main St., Suite 4,
Plymouth, NH 03264

Breast Cancer Research
Norris Cotton Cancer Center
One Medical Center Drive
Lebanon, NH 03765-0001

Thank you very much for visiting our on-line store!

Best wishes to you all,

Ken Little
603-236-6893
ken-little@camptoncandle.com

http://camptoncandle.spaces.live.com/default.aspx

Honey

Honey is essentially composed of 20% water, 38% fructose, 31% glucose, 1.3% sucrose, 8.4% acid compounds, 0.8% proteins and 0.5% mineral salts. It also contains amino acids, vitamins such as biotin, nicotinic acid, folic acid, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine and thiamine, the enzymes diastase, invertase, glucose oxidase and catalase and the mineral content may include potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper and calcium. Its actual composition varies according to the flowers providing the nectar, the soil on which they grow and the seasons.

Honey exhibits pronounced microbial activity against most pathogenic bacteria and fungi regardless of their susceptibility or resistance to different antibiotics. The antimicrobial activity of honey was attributed to its high sugar osmolarity and low acidity, but honey has been shown to have stronger antimicrobial activity than corresponding sugar concentrations with similar pH. The antimicrobial activity has also been attributed to the enzymatically liberated hydrogen peroxide activity known as inhibine. Honey dressings have proven superior in the treatment of superficial wounds and burns, with patients experiencing increased wound sterilization, earlier healing, more pain relief and less irritation without allergies and other side effects often experienced during conventional healing processes. Honey also appears to promote rapid wound debridement, replacement of sloughs with granulation tissue and rapid epithelialization and absorption of oedema from around the margins.

These properties make it a suitable ingredient for skin care.

Honey has keratolytic properties and is used in facial radiance enhancing products and in anti-wrinkle preparations, alone or in association with alpha-hydroxy acids, where it improves performance while reducing irritation."

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Scented Candle Study

"Use of scented candles may contribute significant quantities of pollutants to the indoor environment, especially soot, benzene and lead."

http://www.lead.org.au/lanv7n4/L74-9.html

Campton Candle Co.

http://www.HoneyBeeCandle.com