The BLC Blog

Many many thanks to the folks over at the Charitable Gift Giving Blog for their kind words about our candles. We really appreciate the post and the pictures of our candles in action! Click on the image below to be directed to our awesome write-up.

When one witnesses inspiration on a global scale, not just in its reach around our good and great earth, but in its intensity as well, where does one begin?

A couple of representatives of black & light co, candle slaves as we often refer to ourselves, although in this case they may have been candle elves due to the time of year, recently viewed inspiration on that global level. They attended for the second year, Nancy Rivard’s and Airline Ambassadors International Annual Event honoring people of compassion and peace who acted on behalf of others. This year’s event was again in NYC at the UN building.

This year’s recipient of the Global Compassion Award was Jauquin Antuna, Founder of Paz y Cooperacion, which in English means Peace and Cooperation. Jauquin’s site link in English can be found here. Jauquin counts Mother Theresa, with whom he’d conversed at length as one of those who inspired him. Listening to this great man, as he spoke of what each and every one of us can do to foster a better life, as just plain ordinary people, for others was proof our world is capable of doing better, and that despite the drudgery of war, violence of all sorts and the economic environment, the world can be and is a better place. His enthusiasm, great cheer, and absolutely childlike glee infected everyone. As he said (or something to this effect), It is through the wisdom of children that we often see the solution to problems we adults struggle to solve.

The Global Humanitarian Award recipient was The McCord Foundation, Jim and Darlene McCord. The Foundation currently funds activities in three areas: athletics at the University of Iowa; research fellowships in the University of Iowa biosciences department; and independent labs working on researching the Buruli Ulcer. Their site can be found here. The Foundation’s unique Pennies Have Power program utilizes the fundraising skills of children helping children, by empowering grade-schoolers to raise money to help Ghanaian children suffering with the Buruli Ulcer. Buruli Ulcer is a skin destroying disease affecting people in thirty-one countries. Darlene spoke, like everyone seems to at these Airline Ambassador events, that any person, can help other people in greater need, particularly children

black & light co chose to become involved with Airline Ambassadors in August of 2008, at the suggestion of our Director of Sales & Marketing. He agreed to contribute goods and monies for the October Global Compassion event. Holly Eve, an elementary school teacher for twenty-five years before retiring early to found black & light® co, attended last year’s event in person. Holly’s had her life changed by many things over many years. That singular event instantly made her top five and possibly even higher, and Holly has experienced perhaps more than her share of life changing events.

Her candle elves are pleased to report after this year’s event that black & light® co will always support Airline Ambassadors in every way possible. Nancy sold our staff with her amazing effort. She convinced us too of the one thing that best sums up her sixteen year plus effort

Ordinary people can indeed do extraordinary things.

There is no better phrase to communicate what Nancy Rivard and her team of thousands of ordinary volunteers do and dovetails perfectly with Holly’s mission – “We measure our success by how well we support those in greater need.”

At the end of this blog are a few pictures from the paparazzi of one of our candle elves who attended the event on Holly’s behalf. We’d like to close this post with this comment about the people pictured below who help Nancy by emcee-ing her Global presentation events.

They too epitomize what Nancy is about as they delivered their comments with eloquence, compassion, and a deep passion for inspiring others to do what they can as just plain ordinary people, like each and every one of us are regardless of race, creed or station in life, to help our fellow human beings, particularly those most vulnerable, the children of our world, and above all those children who literally have nothing; no clothing, no house, no food, literally. Of their genuineness, there can be no doubt.

Visit Airline Ambassadors at www.airlineamb.org and please think about becoming one. We all need to be ambassadors of peace and goodwill, towards all men and women of the same,  and not just at this holy and joyous time of year, but always, and especially to those little ones of us, our children, the future of who we are.

Thanks to Purely Delicious for the great mention in their most recent issue! Check it out below…

Taking pictures of our candles is not the easiest task in the world. Just ask Holly and her helper. They’ve been hard at work the past several weeks trying to get the ‘perfect’ picture of our candles in a setting. Here’s an example of what they’ve been able to accomplish!

Because of the way our candles glow, they are not easily photographed in normal lighting. In other words, you either have to sacrifice the design (shoot it without the flash) or the glow (shoot it with the flash and other background lighting). It takes a keen eye and a great deal of practice to be able to get the glow of the candle coupled with the color of the design on it.

We think they’re doing a great job but we are always welcoming suggestions. If anyone has any experience photographing glowing (literally) objects and they have secrets as to how to keep detail, please let us know!

Holly Eve, with great gratitude, recently offered Mayo Clinic employees, friends and family a discount code, mayo10. Very simply any item ordered with this code will result in a ten percent discount for any user of the code and a similar amount will be allocated and sent to Mayo’s financial donor program completely under the rules they specify for any cash donors.Holly is doing this independently of Mayo Clinic and infers in no way a relationship with this incredible health system.

Holly’s reasons are personal. She is married to a man whose been on disability since 2000 and who’s quality of life was seriously questionable as recently as May of 2009. Three visits to Mayo Clinic gave him an incredible new lease on life, not a cure due to the incurable nature his particular health situation, but a much brighter prospect for a much higher quality of life. He is proof positive that Mayo works constantly and almost exclusively with one simple thing in mind, what is in the best interest of the patient.With Mayo, this is a statement more than it is a question.

She and her husband know this first hand, upfront and personal.

It is with deep appreciation that Holly offers this discount to anyone interested in purchasing a gift or candle that gives back, to Mayo Clinic for changing her husband’s life.

Big. Fat. Dots.

Make no mistake about our latest design, Fat Dots came out in a BIG way! They are the final addition to our 2009 ‘holiday’ collection, and are currently available in silver and gold – but expect many more colors to follow.

Like the rest of our 6″ candles, Fat Dots retails for $34.00 and will burn over 90 hours with proper care. Fat Dots are a GREAT addition to a holiday themed dining room setting because of their classic design and unscented nature, and make for perfect house-warming holiday gifts.

Yes its that time of year again, when all of us in Michigan wish we were headed to Florida for some fun, some sun, and some R&R at our favorite seaside watering hole. Alas, it won’t be long till’ the skies are continually gray and those joyous little white precipitous dots begin falling from the sky.

Fortunately, black & light co. has figured out a way to bring a little warmth to oncoming winter. We would like to introduce our newest candle, ‘Flurry,’ a 6″ engraved pillar that has captured some of those frozen ice crystals on its surface. Available only at www.blackandlightco.com this holiday season, we hope Flurry will bring a much needed warmth to your home on many a blistery winters eve!

Our newest ‘Holiday’ themed candle, Holly is sure to fit a variety of interior motifs. Whether an accent to an end table, or the centerpiece of your holiday feast – our newest candle is sure to make your room glow for hours on end.

Holly is our first hand-painted candle, and will burn for over 60 hours with proper care. The Holly candle retails for $28.00 and is available exclusively at our online retail store. Click here to see our newest candles or click on the image above!

We have just added THREE new Inspirational candles to our collection. ‘joy,’ ‘dream,’ and ‘believe’ are the newest additions to our family of 4″ classic white pillars and are sure to be a glowing success.

The entire Inspirational collection is available now! And don’t forget – we are also donating a percentage from the sale of each inspirational candle to Airline Ambassadors International. AAI helps children from impoverished communities across the globe. We feel that the words on our candles perfectly symbolize what the caring folks at AAI are trying to accomplish every day.

Many of you received an email this weekend detailing our share the glow!™ code campaign. We assigned each of our customers – and others who signed up for our news updates – a personal shopping code to share with their family and friends.

If their code generates 6 orders they receive a free candle of their choice! Our entire database hasn’t even been emailed yet and we already have several people who are well on their way to a free candle.

This offer isn’t just available to customers, anyone can join in the opportunity to receive a free candle. Just email logan@blackandlightco.com to have your own personal shopping code assigned and to start sharing the glow!