"𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘴"....small things.
Hello, my name is Georgina Baker and I make cositas.
I have been asked about the name, "𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘴"....well my Spanish background is the first connection, as the word, 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮 translates to, small thing.
Also, It is often used as a term of endearment. I had a couple of cousins to whom I was very close to, much taller than my 5’2 , call me exactly this, Cosita. To this day, I can remember my cousin, Joan calling for me, “𝘰𝘺𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢”. He has passed away, but I still remember this with a smile and much affection. However, “hey small thing” does not sound as endearing...haha.
Lastly, I thought what a great name for my page, a personal connection and a great word to highlight a collection of small things...𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘴.
For those of you that don’t know, in Spanish you can add the endings “𝗶𝘁𝗼”(masculine) or “𝗶𝘁𝗮”(feminine) to the end of words to denote smallness or affection. You will often hear me call my sons Marco and Mateo-𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗼 or 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗼. In English we often add y...I love you Todd becomes, I love you 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗱𝘆!
That's it, the evolution of 𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘴! 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴!
Oh the tagua nut one of my favourite materials to wear…
Tagua otherwise known as vegetable ivory is a natural beauty, dyed many colors and a sustainable product from Ecuador and other South American countries. Tagua nuts grow in clusters on the palm then fall to the forest floor when ripe.
Each tree produces 20-50 lbs of nuts per year. The nuts take up to 12 months to ripen, until they are the colour and hardness of bone ivory. Once mature, a tagua palm will produce nuts for up to 100 years.
The nut clusters are gathered by people in rainforest communities, then dried for up to six months in the equatorial sun. Harvesting tagua causes no harm to any animals or the forests where it is gathered, and provides an economic incentive for local communities to protect the rainforests.
You will find a few of my items made of tagua, although it is harder and harder to get, I continue to search for it.
Wick Testing
Wick testing has to be the most frustrating part of candle making. However, it is also the most important. It ensures the best performance of the candle. Wick testing takes into account many aspects…the vessel type and size, the type of wax, the size of the wick, the type of wick, the burn pool, the fragrance or essential oil, the cold throw(the aroma the candle gives when it is not burning), the hot throw(the aroma emitted as it burns) and the temperature of the wax and container as the candle burns and how long the candle burns.
Every time I change fragrances or change wax or the vessel or the wick I need to test the candle for optimum performance. It’s tedious and takes a lot of time. I am the most impatient with the curing, but it is a necessary evil.
Here is a picture the wax from previous testing being melted. This process it time consuming, but I will reuse the vessels and some of the wax for more testing.
Wick Testing 1
Wick Testing 2