It is five days before the launch of the website and six days before the launch party. This blog entry is a welcome note and proceeds many entries written since late this spring (2008). Each entry documents the research and development of this line of decorative replacement candle sleeves known forever more as kaarsKoker. The business journal I have recorded is honest so that others can learn from my process and mistakes. Many of the descriptions are not as detailed as they could be in order to protect my ever evolving best practices. If you have found this blog and the kaarsKoker shop, you probably searched with uninspiring success for a product like this. I hope you are pleased with the variety of candle sleeves finally available to customize your chandelier beautifully, inexpensively, uniquely. There are no rules in decorating and there are certainly no rules for decorating with kaarsKoker.

In August of 2006, my husband and I moved into our first home.  Newly renovated to our tastes and needs, I marveled mostly at the traditional yet minimal light fixtures that I spent hours and weekends carefully selecting.  The fixtures were the crowning jewels of our house except for one detail: the white plastic tubes that served as “candles”.  The fake white candle covers made my unique chandelier ‘generic’ and ‘ordinary’.  Immediately, I began making my own replacement candle covers and scouring the web for possibilities.  While I found a few websites that sold these chandelier parts known as candle sleeves or covers— they were simply not right. Still, I ordered dozens of ivory paper candle cover sleeves, hoping they would look better than the white plastic.  When the chandelier parts arrived, I noticed the texture of the paper instantly gave the light fixture a custom detail— this I admired— but knew I only scratched the surface.  I needed to push this idea even further.  My boring light fixtures went from crying white plastic to humming ivory paper.  However, I wanted them to sing!  I wanted them to have an individual style that made them extraordinary.  I envisioned classic, elegant patterns that would transform rooms and customize special occasions.  The seed had been planted!  And it naturally fit into aPa’s product mission of allowing individuals to have custom designs without hiring an interior designer.