Winnipeg candle-making duo gaining international exposure

A Winnipeg candle-making duo is seeing sales rise and their products light upin the hands of Hollywood stars.

Amanda Buhse and Tom Jansen recentlybecame business partnersbut have been friends for years.

Jansen and Buhseformed Coal and Canary Candle Company three months ago.

Buhse's background in graphic design and marketing helped come up with the brand.

The candle's are eight ounces in weight.

"Tom and I hand pour each and every one," said Buhse.

They're a blend of soy and vegetable wax, with an unconventionalwide wooden wick something that sets them apart from the competition.

"A lot of retailers don't go for that, we don't want to skimp out on that," said Jansen.

They've made a 1,000 candles thus far and have paid for everything out of pocket.

Hollywood appeal

One day a few weeks agoBuhse decided to contact a company inLos Angeles that creates celebrity gift bags for the Oscars and Grammy Awards.

"I Randomly sent them an email and said, 'Hey, this is who we are,'" said Buhse.

The hope was to get Canary and Coal candle products in the gift bags earmarked forcelebrities.

A few weeks later they received a response. The small Winnipeg company, that has only been selling candles for six weeks, was asked if they could fill an order for both award shows.

"I don't think I've ever been so nervous in my life," said Jansen. "It's a mixture of the most excited, mixed upwith the most stressed out you've ever felt."

Buhse and Jansen will be spending the next couple weekscreating 270 sets of three candles that will be destined for gift bags to be doled out to the stars.

"The first one is 'swag bag and jet lag,' 'fake lashes and camera flashes,' and thirdis .. 'celebrities dayduring award show day," said Jansen."More relative to [those]with a sense of humour."

Both Buhse and Jansen have other full time jobs and expect they'll be burning the midnight oil to finish the order that has to be ready in the next threeweeks.

"We're both so passionate about our brand and its product,"said Buhse. "We feel so confident in it. We'd like to see it soar to new heights ...and we'll go wherever it takes us."