Whenever I can, buying USA, especially local made products is high on my list when shopping.  Back at Christmas I was gifted with a unique and fun candelabra from my husband made from an old wine bottle with an hand-forged iron topper.  It holds four glass votives.

 

I love how it is made because it can go from a casual outdoor setting (how I have it featured now), to a vintage set table.

The company where Audley discovered this sweet little gem is located in Greensboro, North Carolina, just a few hours from our home.  Introduced in 2009 at the High Point furniture market, and owned by David Oreck (of Oreck vacuum fame) with its 40-something employees, everything here is made in the USA.  It may not necessarily be made in NC, but the glass, iron, wicks, etc… are all American made.  The candles themselves are made and pour right in North Carolina.

Now I admit, I am a self-proclaimed candle hoarder.  I love to find my favorite Yankee Candle and Colonial Candle scents at TJ Maxx or HomeGoods and store them up.  When we have company over, there are generally no less than three candles lit, making everyone suffer through my obsession with musky fragrances.
I also love to give candles as gifts!  From a hostess gift to an inexpensive birthday gift, scent candles in pretty jars seem to never go out of style.

As Audley passed through Greensboro on his last business trip he stopped and picked me up an actual candle from Fragrant Passage.

{He actually stopped to purchase a new votive where his kitty cat decided to knock my wine bottle candelabra over and break a votive.}

Fragrant Passage has a factory store that is apparently stocked with an abundance of accessories, delicious scents and styles.

This Pure Air vanilla scented candle Audley chose is specifically made as an order eliminator instead of just making a room smell good.

I’m generally not a fan of food scented candles, but this vanilla is not over powering.  As for oder eliminating, I cooked bacon in the kitchen the other morning and after lighting the candle, it didn’t take long for the smell of fried bacon to disappear from the kitchen.  Even after blowing the candle out, there was no lingering scent of bacon.

Personally, while I like bacon, I do not like it smelling up the house all day!

Not only does this American company feature the Pure Air candle, they also carry oil diffusers, decorative glass candles, tapers for special occasions and votive candles.  They even have a candle packaged as “Coffee To Go”; it’s packaged as a coffee to go cup!

My candle was considered an “oooopppps” because it was more pink than white in color, so it was only $5.  Candles normally range from $10 and up.  The little USA made glass votives Audley replaced for me?  They were just .99.

Definitely affordable!

After such a positive experience with the candles (and Audley says their staff is super friendly & helpful, as well), I would like to try another of their candles soon.